Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
An easy way to make mashed potatoes + a helpful Thanksgiving cookbook
I’m starting to feel a holiday vibe in the air, which has made a craving for mashed potatoes kick into high gear. But why wait until Thanksgiving?
We’ve all been trained to think that mashed potatoes are only for Thanksgiving, but they really can be made any night of the week.
Mashed potatoes are a filling and comforting side dish, whether you’re serving turkey or chicken or salmon or meatloaf or steak or ham. Potatoes go with anything.
On a weeknight, load them up with butter and skip the gravy, or use store-bought.
These days, I always make mashed potatoes in my Instant Pot. Instant Pot mashed potatoes are also great for the holidays when you need to keep burners on the stove open for other dishes.
Here’s how you do it: Cut potatoes into 1 to 2 inch chunks. Steam the potatoes for 8 minutes in the Instant Pot. The steaming water will evaporate and also be absorbed by the potatoes, so there’s no need to drain it out. Use a hand held mixer to whip the potatoes with butter, milk and salt right in the Instant Pot.
Find the detailed recipe for Instant Pot mashed potatoes here.
Tips for Making Mashed Potatoes
I like using Yukon Gold potatoes because the flavor is buttery and the texture is naturally creamy. Red potatoes are fine too, but I find them to be slightly less flavorful. Russets blend into fluffier, lighter mashed potatoes. Be careful not to blend Russets too much, however, or the extra starch can give the mashed potatoes gluey texture.
Don’t skimp on the salt, butter and milk. Mashed potatoes will always need more salt, butter and milk than you think they will.
Plan for at least 1/2 a pound of raw potatoes per person. So if you're feeding 4 people, use 2 pounds of potatoes. If you're feeding 10 people, use 5 pounds of potatoes.
Leftover mashed potatoes can be warmed in the microwave but usually don’t return to their creamy glory. Try warming milk with the potatoes and whisk it into the leftover mash. You can also use leftover mashed potatoes to make shepherd’s pie. Or, saute sliced cabbage then mix the cabbage into mashed potatoes. Spread out the cabbage and potatoes in a baking pan and cover with grated cheese. Baked at 400F for about 30 minutes.
Cookbooks
Although I’m a confident home cook, hosting Thanksgiving always gives me anxiety. When you only cook a turkey and stuffing once every few years, it’s hard to get it right. Especially when your house is full of hungry people and the turkey and stuffing are only 2 of dozens of dishes that will be served that day.
Food writer Sam Sifton understands Thanksgiving anxiety. For many years, he answered a Thanksgiving help line for panicked home cooks. He has also tried every possible method for cooking turkey: wet brined, dry brined, smoked, roasted, deep fried, high heat, low heat, butter basted, roasted upside down, roasted in pieces…you name it, he’s tried it.
Throughout his slim Thanksgiving cookbook he offers encouragement and very traditional recipes that cover all the basics. There is one entire chapter on how to cook a turkey, which I will definitely be reading through several times. You’ll also find recipes for green beans, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing and gravy.
These are not trendy or short-cut recipes. They are meant for cooks who are ready to rise to the challenge of Thanksgiving and make their best attempt at getting it right. While there is a little bit of preachiness from Mr. Sifton about how to cook a Thanksgiving meal correctly, there is also encouragement and a very lofty promise:
This book is going to make it possible for you to cook Thanksgiving and not lose your mind.
Hmm. I’m not sure if that’s possible, but I’m open to all the help I can get!
Dinner in Real Life
I started last week with a detailed meal plan that quickly fell apart. Monday was the only night we ate a recipe that I had planned. The rest of the week I was just winging it. Life felt really busy, with hardly any time or energy left for cooking.
Monday: I had mixed results with a recipe for Instant Pot Indian butter shrimp from the cookbook Dinner in an Instant. We all liked the creamy tomato-based sauce gently seasoned with garam masala and other Indian spices. But the shrimp were definitely overcooked. I’ll probably try the recipe again, but next time use chicken.
Tuesday: Halloween! The kids ate mac n’ cheese. Honestly, I don’t even know what I ate for dinner during the whirlwind of activity before trick-or-treating.
Wednesday: Nothing fancy, just bean and cheese quesadillas. It was hot outside and the kids and I skipped school and work to spend a few hours at the neighborhood pool. I was definitely not in the mood to put much effort into dinner.
Thursday: We had homemade sushi (or sushi rice bowls) as I mentioned in my newsletter last week.
Friday: There were still quesadilla leftovers in the fridge which I repurposed into tacos. I also roasted onion, zucchini and a few bell peppers that had been hanging out in the produce drawer, which made a tasty veggie tacos filling.
That wraps up this week!
Yesterday I finally pulled the fake spiders and spider web off our front porch. I am genuinely impressed by anyone who has started (or finished?!) their holiday shopping already and has ordered Christmas cards. I honestly don’t know how you do it. Can you come over to my house and help me?
This weekend we have a 13th BIRTHDAY happening which definitely feels like a big deal. We’ll be celebrating with a day at the beach, take-out food and ice cream.
Hope you have a fun weekend too!
Jenny