Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker Recipe) (2024)

Published: Dec 15, 2021 by Richa · This post may contain affiliate links.

These Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes are super creamy and take 30 minutes and one electric pressure cooker from start to finish. They should be called melt-in-your-mouth mashed potatoes because they are sooo good!

You are just 20 minutes from the most amazingly soft and creamy mashed potatoes of your life. This is the kind of recipe that gets me incredibly excited about being a food blogger. Because it means that I get to taste test and make the most awesome instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in my kitchen, and then share them with you guys.

My goal was to make these the easiest garlic mashed potatoes you will ever make. Totally mess free, one pot and really ready in 30 minutes. And I think I have achieved that here. The Instant Pot really helps because I think this is now my favorite way of cooking potatoes. If you have never tried a pressure cooker to cook potatoes, it's a game changer - the double action of steam and high pressure makes sure the potatoes cook evenly and give you a fantastic texture and great tasting potatoes.

Why these Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the easiest mashed potatoes

• Everything is one pot so you have only one pot to clean
• It takes 30 minutes from start to finish when you are cooking with 1 kg/ 2 pounds potatoes including the prep time to peel and chop potatoes
• The garlic cooks with the potatoes, infuses them and becomes really soft so that it gets mashed easily
• No fancy ingredients - just simple staples that are available in your pantry

Don't have an Instant Pot? Try these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes or Stovetop Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients for IP Mashed Potatoes

Here's what you'll need. Really short ingredient list I promise!

What Kind of Potatoes Work Best

People love Yukon Gold if you live outside India. But in my opinion russet potatoes also work well. If you live in India, avoid using new potatoes as they leave more water and don't cook evenly, which also makes them harder to mash. Older potatoes are your best friend if you are making mashed potatoes.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes - Step by Step

This is the quickest mashed potatoes you'll ever make and you'll never go back.

1. In the inner pot of the Instant Pot add potatoes, garlic, water, salt and one and a half tablespoons butter.

2. Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. (My Instant Pot took 10 minutes to come to pressure, so the total time taken was 18 minutes). Release pressure immediately by turning the knob to 'vent', and open the lid once the pressure is released.

3. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in the Instant Pot for really creamy potatoes. For fluffier mashed potatoes, you can drain the water and then mash the potatoes.

4. Once the potatoes are mashed, mix in the remaining butter, sour cream and cream cheese.

5. Mix well while the potatoes are still steaming hot.

6. Pour in ¼ cup hot milk. Don't worry if it looks like too much - the potatoes will just soak it up

7. Mix well again - taste and add more salt if required. Top with more butter and chives and serve.

8. This is an optional step - if you see lumps in your mashed potatoes, you can run them through a sieve for really smooth and creamy mashed potatoes

The One Pot Mashed Potato Technique

The technique that we are using with these instant pot garlic mashed potatoes may seem a bit weird, because we are adding only ½ cup water to about 1 kilogram/ 2 pounds potatoes and then mashing the potatoes with a potato masher right in there with the remaining water, without draining them. We like our potatoes really creamy and smooth which is why this works really well for us. In the beginning, things may look a bit runny, but just keep going and as you finish mashing, the consistency will thicken and everything comes together. Add the sour cream, cream cheese, milk and butter and you have potatoes that are the perfect creamy consistency and almost feel like soft pillows of whipped cream.

Mashed Potatoes Toppings and Add-Ins

We like keeping things simple with just some more butter and chopped chives but here are some ideas for other toppings that can take any mashed potatoes to superstar levels:

• Add-ins such as cheddar, ranch and parmesan can add a lot of subtle flavors to mashed potatoes. For cheese, mix in ¼ cup while the potatoes are still hot. For ranch, mix in a teaspoon or two
• Herbs like rosemary and thyme or even sage add more earthiness and bold flavors
• You can also top your mashed potatoes with cooked chicken, steamed broccoli, bacon or if you feel super fancy - some browned butter

I have now tried these garlic mashed potatoes multiple ways - by infusing the garlic in oil and mixing it in, by roasting the garlic in the oven and then mixing it in and by just straight up adding them to the Instant Pot. Also always with my favourite Roast Chicken with Crispy Skin or if I'm in a hurry a Spatchco*ck Chicken Roast

I hope you enjoyed this handy dandy post which seems to have become a tutorial on how to make mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot/ Pressure cooker and trust me, the day you attempt these - you will never look back!

Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe Video (Step by Step)

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More Instant Pot Favourites

• Instant Pot Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
• Instant Pot Lasagna (Vegetarian)
• Pressure Cooker Beef Bourguignon
• Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew
• Instant Pot Chicken Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon
• Instant Pot Chipotle Chilli