Sweet potatoes are not only delicious, but are also really good for you. They have quickly become a family favorite in our home, and it’s easy to cook Instant Pot sweet potatoes with very little effort, but tons of flavor! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can cook sweet potatoes in any pressure cooker.
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using one of these links, I will receive a small commission.
I have to be honest, I never really thought I liked sweet potatoes until a couple of months ago. I was and still am a huge fan of it’s cousin the russet potato, which is used mostly when making baked potatoes. A couple of months ago, my husband and I decided it was time to make some changes to our diet, and decided to try sweet potatoes since they are full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and are a great source of potassium and dietary fiber. Wowzas, was I surprised! They are now one of my favorites, and the rest of the family now loves them too…win, win for this mom! I swear, they almost taste like dessert, but without all of the guilt. We’ve been cooking sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot, and it truly takes zero effort. If you prefer russet potatoes, check out my post on How to Cook Baked Potatoes in an Instant Pot HERE.
If you don’t own an Instant Pot and are interested in purchasing one, you can find the Instant Pot I have HERE.
How to Cook Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Start by scrubbing your sweet potatoes and removing any dirt or debris. Nobody wants to eat dirt, right?
Don’t worry if some of the skin comes off of the potatoes…that is totally normal and won’t effect the way the potatoes cook.
Next, drop the steamer basket into your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. If you don’t have a steam basket, you can use a vegetable steamer or purchase this steamer basket.
Then add one cup of water to your pressure cooker. This is super important for cooking the potatoes well. Funny story…I once forgot to add the water and let’s just say that steaming potatoes with no water isn’t a great idea, and thank goodness the new versions of pressure cookers have safety shut offs.
Place your sweet potatoes on the steamer basket. I cook anywhere from 2-6 sweet potatoes at a time.
Close the lid and set the timer to Manual for 15 minutes. Then sit back and let the Instant Pot do the work for you!
Once the timer goes off, you need to leave the steam release valve set to natural release for 25 minutes. This will allow the sweet potatoes to finish cooking properly. Once 25 minutes is up, move the valve to quick release, then remove the lid.
Use a pair of tongs to remove the sweet potatoes and serve immediately. If you want to cook them ahead of time, you can refrigerate them and reheat them in the microwave later.
Slice the sweet potatoes open and gently mash the inside of the table using a fork.
Add some butter and enjoy! If you like to be adventurous, you can add a dash of cinnamon…I promise, it will not disappoint!
Serve these delicious sweet potatoes with just about anything you cook. We love to pair them with steaks, chicken and pork chops.
Here is a quick video showing just how easy it is to make amazing sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot…
Love this easy Instant Pot recipe? Be sure to print out my free Printable Pressure Cooking Times Chart and grab all of my Instant Pot recipes below!
PRINTABLE INSTANT POT COOKING TIMES CHART
Looking for a chart to help you with cook times, liquid measurements and whether you need to use natural pressure release or manual release? You can download my Instant Pot Pressure Cooking Times Chart HERE…it’s totally free, and you can print it or download it to your computer or phone to use later!
INSTANT POT RECIPES
I’ve put all of my Instant Pot recipes in one place so you can access them all easily! Click HERE to see all of my easy and delicious pressure cooker recipes!
roast a sweet potato, peep it, mash lightly with a fork, then drizzle hot bacon drippings on it. It’s awesome.
Is there any way to make sweet potatoes and regular potatoes together?
For sure…the only thing is that they may taste a little similar if cooked together because the flavors will definitely intertwine with each other. Hope this helps!
Could you wrap one of them in aluminum foil?
I’m sure you could, but you really don’t need to.
If I don’t have a steamer basket, can I set the potatoes on the trivet?
I think they should be fine…they may be a bit more mushy though if they aren’t lifted out of the water a bit.
Do you need to poke the sweet pot with a fork first?
Yes!
I did poke mine at all and I used a trivet same about of time and natural Release!
What would change if cooking only 1 big sweet potato? Im the only 1 who eats them.
I would still cook the same since sweet potatoes are so tough before cooking. Hope this helps!
How many can you put in a 8 quart instapot
Please reply soon would like to make with baked ham tonight
I would say 4-6 as long as they fit in with the lid! Hope this helps!
Made these tonight followed directions and they were perfect. Thank you so much, I’m still new at with instapot but loving it
I have very large sweet potatoes, should I cut them in half first
No, I never cut my big potatoes in half.
I cooked my small sweets for 12 minutes and they were almost too mushy. Next I tried 11 minutes and they were perfect.
I’m making mashed sweet potatoes as one of the sides for Thanksgiving. Can I peel the sweet potato first?
Absolutely, but the peel will come off very easily after pressure cooking :)