When you’re looking for a quick side dish, Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes are the easy answer. Tender and hearty, these are more than boiled potatoes, they’re the perfect side to any number of main dishes.
Serve them alongside Baked Chicken, Easy Garlic Green Beans, and Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions for a delicious supper or use them as the base for Easy Homemade Deli Potato Salad. Leftovers are great as a salad topping!
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The electric pressure cooker does a lot of things well.
Easy Mac & Cheese in the Instant Pot? Check.
Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches? Check.
Boiled potatoes? You better believe it.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish that comes together in minutes without the fuss, Instant Pot Potatoes are your answer!
Why Make This
They’re quick and easy, totally hands-free. With just ten minutes of active cooking time, these instant pot “boiled” potatoes come together in less than half an hour with little effort on your part.
They’re delicious. The pressure cooker steams these whole small potatoes so that they are super tender. Toss them with olive oil and spices and you’ve got a satisfying side dish.
Ingredients
All you need for these easy Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes:
small whole potatoes – I like the tri-colored ones for a really pretty plate. If large potatoes are all you have, scrub and/or peel them well, and cut them into quarters or 1-inch chunks.
water – When cooking in the instant pot, you always need a bit of water. In this case, just a cup is all you need, so much less than if you were boiling a pot of potatoes on the stove.
seasonings for later – Once your potatoes are cooked you can use them in recipes that call for cooked potatoes, or season them with butter or oil and some salt and pepper or your favorite spice blend, like this Homemade Seasoned Salt.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a steamer basket that fits inside the Instant Pot insert. Add water to the insert. Put on the lid and close the vent.
- Set the machine to manual for 8 minutes.
- Once the cycle is complete, release the pressure.
- Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and toss with the seasonings. Serve hot or at room temperature.
FAQs
Cooking potatoes in the electric pressure cooker isn’t really boiling them. Instead they steam under pressure, resulting in a super tender potato.
The process for cooking potatoes for mashing in the instant pot is the same as for serving whole. Best to use large russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks. Once the cycle is complete, drain the water and proceed with your recipe for mashed potatoes.
If you’re going to cook small whole potatoes in the instant pot, it’s nice to have a trivet to keep them off the bottom of the insert. You can use a steaming basket, a trivet, or fashion a makeshift trivet with a coil of aluminum foil in the bottom of the insert.
More Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes
Equipment
- Electric pressure cooker
- steamer basket
Ingredients
- 2 lb baby potatoes
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Homemade Seasoned Salt
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a steamer basket that fits inside the Instant Pot insert. Add water to the insert. Put on the lid and close the vent.2 lb baby potatoes, 1 cup water
- Set the machine to manual for 8 minutes. Once the cycle is complete, release the pressure.
- Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and toss with the seasonings. Serve hot or at room temperature.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon Homemade Seasoned Salt
Cheri A
I needed to make some quick potatoes and had saved this recipe. It was great! Thank you!
sahmpaw
Do you find the 6qt is plenty big? My husband dropped ours so am re-purchasing.
Thinking of getting an 8 qt because it’s cheaper than the 6qt.
Jessica Fisher
I do. We have two 6qt machines and they have been plenty big.