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Super Easy

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Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot

October 23, 2025 by //  by Holly Leave a Comment

These mashed potatoes are not only delicious, but the easiest, simplest, fastest way that I’ve ever made mashed potatoes! Plus the fewest dirty dishes!

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Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot

Classic Mashed Potatoes are made easy and delicious when cooked in the Instant Pot.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Pressure Cooking Time13 minutes mins
Total Time33 minutes mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Budget-friendly, Comfort Food, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Kid-Approved, Kid-Friendly
Servings: 6
Calories: 281kcal
Author: Holly

Equipment

  • 1 Electric Pressure Cooker
  • 1 Potato Masher

Ingredients

  • 2½ pounds potatoes Our favorites are the golden potatoes, but reds and whites work as well.
  • 1 cup water

The Yummy Stuff to Add After Cooking

  • 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
  • ½ cup butter Chop the butter into pieces. You can use less, if desired.
  • milk as needed

Instructions

  • Place whole potatoes in the Instant Pot with one cup of water. No trivet is needed for mashed potatoes.
  • Note: I don't peel potatoes anymore! The skins are full of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. Plus it's extra work and time that I don't have to do. I try to make cooking as simple and un-fussy as possible.
  • Close and secure lid.
  • Set valve to Sealing.
  • Select [Manual] or [Pressure Cook] program.
  • Press [+] or [-] to set cooking time of 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. *Time-saving tip: if you need your potatoes to cook faster, chop them into smaller pieces and adjust pressure cooking time to 8-10 minutes.
  • Set to High Pressure and wait 10 seconds for pot to beep and let you know it is heating up. It will take around 10 minutes for your Instant Pot to reach pressure, and then the clock will begin to count down. When the time reaches zero, the Instant Pot will beep again and switch to the [Keep Warm] mode, and begin to count up.
  • While keeping your face and hands away, Quick Release the valve by covering with a towel and turning steam release to allow the steam to escape. Open the lid and stick a fork in the potatoes to check for doneness. The potatoes should still be firm, but not at all crunchy. And the fork should go into the potato easily.

Mashing and Yummifying the Potatoes

  • After opening the Instant Pot, add salt and butter. Mash and stir with potato masher. Make sure the bottom and corners are mixed in well. Pull out any large pieces of potato peels.
  • Taste for salt and texture. Add milk if mashed potatoes seem dry. Add salt to taste. Stir well again.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 924mg | Potassium: 800mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 477IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

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Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Recipes Tagged With: Cooking, Dinner, family dinner, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids, pressure cooker, Super Easy

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

March 26, 2018 by //  by Holly 11 Comments

Last updated on July 28th, 2019 at 09:33 pm

What is the perfect recipe for hard boiled eggs in an Instant Pot? Many friends have become mortal enemies debating this issue, so we’re going to clear it up for you right now.

I’m going to give you…The Perfect…recipe for hard boiled eggs. Are you ready? Do you have something to write this down?

Here it is: …

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant PotRead More

Filed Under: Instant Pot, Keto, Kitchen Tools, Recipes Tagged With: 5 Minutes, Cooking, eggs, Food And Drink, Gluten Free, Hard Boiled Eggs, Instant Pot, Kitchen Tools, pressure cooker, real food, recipe, Super Easy

Instant Pot Texas Chili

January 17, 2018 by //  by Holly 12 Comments

Last updated on January 1st, 2019 at 11:18 pm

This is the second best chili recipe I’ve ever made.

The best pot of chili I’ve ever made was 20 years ago. Read to the end if you want to see a really sweet story about that special pot of chili.

Note: There’s lots of debate about different types of chili. The conventional wisdom is that Texas Chili has no beans. But we really like the beans in ours. And we’re from Texas. So it’s still Texas Chili. 🤠

On a more practical note, adding beans makes it about $3 cheaper per batch (depending on ground beef prices in your area.) That amount adds up over a few meals. …

Instant Pot Texas ChiliRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Keto, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Kitchen Tools, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: Cooking, Dinner, family, family dinner, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids, Kitchen Tools, Meal, pressure cooker, recipe, Soup, Super Easy

Instant Pot Italian Sausage Lentil Soup

October 3, 2017 by //  by Holly 4 Comments

Last updated on November 4th, 2022 at 04:49 pm

Several years ago, we were at Carrabba’s and I had their Sausage Lentil Soup. It was so good! I’ve spent the last few years trying to re-create it, and I think we’ve finally got it really close! I love working up recipes because I get to eat the results. 😉

This is a hearty and nutritious dinner for the whole family. Lentils provide lots of protein, fiber, iron, and B vitamins!  And it’s delicious! Everyone in our family gobbles up the first bowl and wants seconds, including the toddler! In the Old Testament of the Bible, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of Lentil stew—so you know it must be good!

…

Instant Pot Italian Sausage Lentil SoupRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Kitchen Tools, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: 30 Minutes, carrabbas, Cooking, Dinner, family dinner, Food And Drink, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids, Meal, Soup, Super Easy

One-Pot Pasta in the Instant Pot

May 2, 2017 by //  by Holly 9 Comments

Last updated on January 23rd, 2019 at 09:32 am

This is a family favorite that has lots of options for different dietary needs. It’s fast, delicious, and it’s so easy, the kids can make it!

One Pot Pasta in the Instant Pot

You have two options with this dish:

  1. Easy
  2. Extra-super-duper-come-on-this-is-way-too-simple-give-me-a-break easy

Which version you make depends on what ingredients and time you have on hand. If you choose the super easy version, you only need three things (well, four if you count water.) If you have a little extra time (like, literally 3 minutes) you can make your own sauce, and I’ve included my go-to recipe. It’s super-quick and tasty. And if you want to really jazz it up, there are all sorts of things you could add-in to take this up another notch!

We cooked this live on our Facebook page, so you can watch this video to see us prepare it from start to finish in about 20 minutes, and see which jobs kids of all ages can help with.

Kitchen Tools used:

6 quart Instant Pot
OXO Wooden Spatula
Cut Glove
Knife
Chopper

3 Easy Ingredients:

  1. Italian sausage or any other ground meat
  2. Spaghetti Sauce (jarred or follow recipe below)
  3. Pasta (16 oz.), any type

Spaghetti Sauce:

Let’s talk about this. That jar of spaghetti sauce in your pantry is really convenient. Just dump it in and move on. There are definitely times when I need that simplicity. And personally, even if I have a jar of sauce I want to use, I’ll add …

One-Pot Pasta in the Instant PotRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Recipes Tagged With: 3 Minutes, Cooking, Cooking Pasta, Dinner, Food And Drink, Instant Pot, Kids, One Pot Pasta, Pasta, Spaghetti, Super Easy, Tomato Sauce

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