How to Boil or Steam Potatoes in the Instant Pot? This is part of the Instant Pot Cooking Basics series. Potatoes are perfect for steaming in a pressure cooker, and it takes less than 30 minutes to get perfectly cooked potatoes. I use boiled potatoes in many dishes, such as potato peas curry and spiced mashed potatoes.
I had always boiled potatoes in my stovetop pressure cooker. However, it did need some monitoring. With the instant pot, just set the time and do a natural pressure release, while I can do other chores.
Having pre-boiled potatoes at hand is great for meal planning. I can then use them as needed to make quick meals. Some interesting Indian dishes you can make with boiled potatoes:
- Mumbai Vada Pav, which is a popular Indian-style burger.
- Savory Potato Puffs – This is similar to the paneer puffs I have shared. Just use boiled potatoes in place of paneer.
How to Steam Potatoes in the Instant Pot?
It is as easy as it gets. Just place the potatoes on a trivet. Add some water to the pot. Hit the Steam button. Adjust the time based on the size of the potatoes. It usually takes between 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. For potatoes about 7 oz in weight, I steamed for 10 minutes. If potatoes are about 9 oz, then steam for 12 minutes. You get the idea!
Can I steam potatoes without a trivet?
If you want to boil potatoes while cooking something else in the main pot, then I suggest to use the mode needed for what you are cooking in the main pot. The Steam function works best when food is being steamed on a trivet. It increases the temperature inside the pot very fast, as it does not expect to have any food directly in contact with the bottom of the pot.
How to steam small baby potatoes in the instant pot?
For baby potatoes, I prefer to use a steamer basket. Add water to the instant pot steel insert. Place the steamer basket with baby potatoes in the instant pot insert. Pressure cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally.
Check my detailed post about Steamed Baby Potatoes in the Instant Pot and if you want to directly make seasoned potatoes, check out these Spicy Bombay Potatoes..yum!
How to steam diced potatoes in the instant pot?
For diced russet potatoes about 1 inch in size, pressure cook for 3 minutes when using a steamer basket. If you are cooking them in the main pot, just 1 minute on pressure cook mode will be enough.
Try these easy steamed potatoes and don’t forget to share how you used them!
Check out other instant pot cooking basics:
How to Boil Potatoes in Instant Pot?
Instructions
- Clean potatoes with water. Add 1 cup water in the instant pot steel insert. Place trivet and place potatoes on top of the trivet. Close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Pressure cook on Steam mode at high pressure for 10 mins. (see notes for cooking time variation)
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. If in a hurry, you can release pressure 10 minutes after the beep.
- Remove the potatoes from the instant pot to stop additional cooking.
Video
Notes
- Adjust time between 8-15 mins depending on size of potatoes. For example, if the potatoes are about 9 oz each, then steam for 12 mins.
- The cooking time remains the same even if you increase or decrease the quantity of potatoes, however the size of the potatoes affects the cooking time as mentioned in previous note.
ypu can make logs out of aluminum foil to work like a trivet also.
Can you do 8 potatoes at once?
Hi Joe – Yes, you can boil 8-10 potatoes at a time too. The pressure cooking time remains the same.
I don’t have a steam selection on my instant pot. What would you suggest?
Hi Teresa – You can use the pressure cook setting to cook on high pressure.
Sorry I meant to say wide mouth rings not lids. Does maje more sense huh?
Hi Pam – That is such a great idea. Thanks for sharing back!
I didn’t have a trivet, so I used 3 wide mouth canning lids & put my potatoes on top of them. Worked like a charm! Here’s to thinking outside the box. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, I live in Spain and the electricity price has gone through the roof, so I thought get out that Instant Pot from the back of the cupboard, then I found your web site, Oh my! you have open a whole new world of cooking so much so I bought an 12L Air fryer, the one with racks like a mini oven and cooked some of your recipes. I’m so impressed with them I am now waiting for another 18L Air fryer to be delivered so now with the 2, I can cook for my friends. A big big thank you Meeta and keep the recipes coming. Tonight we are having the Healthy Chickpea Salad.
A regretful fan,
Jennifer.
Ps I also look forward to your e mails.
Hi Jennifer – So glad to hear that you have been enjoying the recipes and the emails. Thank you so much! Your lovely message makes me so happy 😀
Thanks. I’m new to the InstaPot feature on my multi use crock pot. Kitchen renovations rendered my Kitchen Aid stove top unusable, and after buying all the ingreadients for a chowder with time constraints…The pressure cooker to steam the veges helped tremendously….I then used the Crock Pot to add the clams/bacon/clam broth /parsley to make a delicious RI (clear) chowder and never panicked because of your clear instructions!
Hi Kathy – So glad that the instant pot and slow cooker helped you to make a complete meal even during kitchen renovations. Thank you for sharing back!
Thank you, I am memory impaired. And every time I cook even if it’s something I cook often I have to look up the recipe to remind me how so your recipes and basic cooking tutorials with the Insta pot help me feel useful around the house and greatly improves my quality of life. 😉
This makes me so happy. I feel blessed that the blog has helped you in everyday life. Thank you for sharing back ❤️
I don’t have one of those racks for the instapot can I still do my potatoes like this?
Hi Eric – Sure, you can cook the potatoes without the rack. Some potatoes will be in the water, but that should be okay.
I didn’t have a trivet, so I used 3 wide mouth canning lids & put my potatoes on top of them. Worked like a charm! Here’s to thinking outside tge box. Thanks for the recipe.