Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – Make Ahead Recipe
These delicious instant pot mashed potatoes with a make-ahead option are perfect for Thanksgiving Dinner, or as a side dish for any weeknight dinner. Smooth, rich, and bursting with garlic flavor, these velvety potatoes are so good you’ll never look for another recipe. Because these mashed potatoes can be made in the instapot, they are not only fast to make, but can even be cooking while you’re away from the house thanks to the automatic shutoff feature on the instapot. I often start these mashed potatoes right before evening chores, and then all I have to do is mash them right before dinner. These mashed potatoes can also be made ahead of time and either refrigerated or frozen because they reheat beautifully.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple- these are the best mashed potatoes because they are so easy to make, with just 8 simple ingredients. They are perfect for weeknight dinners because they can be made ahead of time, and because the instant pot turns off automatically and has a delay feature, you can set the timer on the instant pot ahead of time so even if you’re gone or busy, the potatoes will be ready to mash at suppertime. The instant pot has really been a game changer for me when it comes to making mashed potatoes, because I don’t have to wait for an hour for them to cook.
- Delicious – I’ve served these potatoes to lots of different people over the years, and they always ask for the recipe. You can also add garlic cloves to these potatoes while they cook and the flavor profile from the onion, garlic, and cream cheese makes these potatoes unlike any other mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten.
- A great way to use potatoes – we grow lots of potatoes in our garden, and since these mashed potatoes can be made so easily, they are a perfect side dish for supper.
- This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, because the Instant Pot saves stove space, and these can also be made ahead of time and then reheated in a crockpot. No last-minute potato mashing before dinner.
Ingredients
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Tools
A From Scratch Sourdough Thanksgiving:
How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Cook The Potatoes
Wash and chop the potatoes into small pieces. Peeling the potatoes is optional.
Add potatoes to the instant pot with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and cover with hot water.
Place the lid on the instant pot and set it to manual high pressure for 12 minutes. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to seal on the top, and the warm mode function is off. This will help it to cool off more quickly.
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Once the instant pot is done cooking, you can do a natural release of the pressure, or you can turn the vent to quick release so it loses its remaining pressure more quickly. This is typically what I do because we’re usually in a hurry for supper. I like to put a towel over the top of my instant pot to keep the steam from splattering all over my kitchen.
Once the pressure is released, open the lid. Drain off the liquid by using a colander, or by placing a plate over the top of the inner pot and using hot pads to hold the plate in place, drain off the liquid. You can keep the potato liquid and use it in your baked goods if you’d like, or just pour it down your sink drain.
Mash The Potatoes
Using a mixer of some kind or a potato masher, mash the potatoes.
Add the remaining ingredients to the partially mashed potatoes, and whip to your desired consistency. Add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
If making these potatoes ahead of time, place them in a baking dish or a crock pot. They can be refrigerated for up to one week, or frozen for up to three months.
To reheat, turn the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours, or bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until warmed through. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours before reheating.
Serve with sourdough gravy.
Tips
- Try adding fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or fresh chives.
- Whip the cooked potatoes without any added ingredients in your bosch mixer, then add in the rest of the ingredients. This makes for fluffier mashed potatoes that are the perfect consistency.
- To avoid starchy potatoes, don’t overwork them once cooked, and try to mash them as soon as possible after cooking.
- Make the leftover potatoes into potato cakes for breakfast.
FAQ
More Recipes Like This
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – Make Ahead Option
Equipment
- 1 instapot
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Hand mixer, stand mixer (like a Bosch), or potato masher
- 1 Crockpot or baking dish (if making ahead of time)
Ingredients
- 3 quarts 10-12 large potatoes will be about 3 quarts chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 4-6 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Wash and chop the potatoes into small pieces. Peeling the potatoes is optional.
- Add potatoes to the instant pot with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and cover with hot water.
- Place the lid on the instant pot and set it to manual high pressure for 12 minutes. Make sure the pressure release valve is set to seal on the top, and the warm mode function is off. This will help it to cool off more quickly.
- Once the instant pot is done cooking, you can do a natural release of the pressure, or you can turn the vent to quick release so it loses its remaining pressure more quickly. This is typically what I do because we're usually in a hurry for supper. I like to put a towel over the top of my instant pot to keep the steam from splattering all over my kitchen.
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid. Drain off the liquid by using a colander, or by placing a plate over the top of the inner pot and using hot pads to hold the plate in place, drain off the liquid. You can keep the potato liquid and use it in your baked goods if you'd like, or just pour it down your sink drain.
- Using a mixer of some kind or a potato masher, mash the potatoes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the partially mashed potatoes, and whip to your desired consistency. Add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
- If making these potatoes ahead of time, place them in a baking dish or a crock pot. They can be refrigerated for up to one week, or frozen for up to three months.
- To reheat, turn the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours, or bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until warmed through. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours before reheating.
- Serve with sourdough gravy.
Delicious and easy to make. I like I can make and freeze .
Thank you