How to cook perfect Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot? This is part of my Instant Pot Cooking Basics series. Sweet Potatoes cook to perfection in the instant pot...oh so tender and creamy. These pressure cooker "baked" sweet potatoes are fast & easy to cook, and make a delicious snack or side dish!
True story...my husband never liked sweet potatoes. But these silky smooth creamy sweet potatoes have finally converted him. Yay! Our favorite way to enjoy them is with lots of butter...salted butter of course.
Sweet potatoes are super nutritious, high in fiber and absolutely delicious. They are rich in beta carotene and Vitamix A. They are also low fat and have no cholesterol. Hence they are a great addition to a vegan & gluten-free diet.
Did you know sweet potatoes are also called yams? I grew up in India, and yams is what we called sweet potatoes.
I love to boil and steam veggies in the instant pot. I have shared how to boil russet potatoes and how to perfectly steam broccoli before.
The best thing of making instant pot sweet potatoes is you just put in the whole sweet potatoes, set the timer and forget them. Come back to creamy perfect moist sweet potatoes in less than an hour!
When I don't have a side dish planned for dinner, these sweet potatoes come in handy. If you like roasted sweet potatoes, check out my air fryer sweet potatoes recipe. And for a cozy warm dinner, here is my easy dump-and-go sweet potato soup recipe.
Oh..and these tender sweet potatoes work great as a baby food too. My 11 month old daughter loved them. You can also peel and steam the sweet potatoes as I do when making baby food in the instant pot.
Why cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot?
- They are fast - It takes less time than oven and we don't have to heat up the house especially in summer.
- They are completely hands off and need less than 5 minutes of your active time.
- They are cooked to perfection with a moist creamy interior.
- Healthy & nutrient-packed
How long to cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot?
Cooking potatoes or sweet potatoes is the one recipe where you need to adjust the cooking time based on the size of the potato. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all pressure cooking time.
The cooking time depends on the size of the sweet potatoes. Now I will share some pointers so you can measure the circumference of the sweet potato to determine the cook time.
Below are the size and pressure cooking time on high pressure:
Small-Medium (6-7 inch circumference) - 15 minutes
Large (8-10 inch circumference) - 22 minutes
Very Large (12 inch circumference) - 30 minutes
Follow this with a natural pressure release. If you are in a hurry, then you can do a 10 minute NPR. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then release the pressure manually by turning the knob to venting.
Do note that the instant pot takes time to come to pressure and release pressure.
The important thing to note is that I do not pierce the sweet potatoes when cooking in the instant pot.
Just in case the sweet potatoes are not done well, then pop them in again for 5 minutes.
Pro-tips for Perfect Sweet Potatoes
- Select sweet potatoes similar in size as they would have the same cook time.
- You do not need to pierce sweet potatoes to cook in the instant pot.
- You can stack sweet potatoes similar to how you might stack potatoes while cooking in the instant pot.
- Use this timing as a reference, adjust according to your preferred texture and altitude.
- If some sweet potatoes are very large in size, you can cut them in half to reduce cooking time, similar to potatoes.
- And finally these sweet potatoes can be store in refrigerator for up to 3 days after cooking.
How to serve these delicious Sweet Potatoes?
- Just some salted butter!
- Smear with butter & sprinkle some cinnamon
- Season with salt & pepper
- Top with yogurt or sour cream and some nuts/seeds
- Top with maple syrup
- Loaded Mexican style
I hope you enjoy these amazing creamy Sweet Potatoes cooked in the instant pot! We have been making them so frequently now that we have this easy method to cook them in the instant pot!
If you are looking to steam other vegetables in the pressure cooker, check out my guide to Pressure Cooker Steamed Vegetables.
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot?
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Sweet Potatoes
- 1.5 cups Water
Instructions
- Rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes with water.
- Add water to the instant pot steel insert. Place the trivet and whole sweet potatoes on the trivet. Close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set to Pressure cook or manual mode at high pressure for:Small-Medium (6-7 inch circumference) – 15 minutesLarge (8-10 inch circumference) – 22 minutesVery Large (12 inch circumference) – 30 minutes
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. If in a hurry, you can release pressure 10 minutes after the beep.
- Open the lid and using tongs to carefully remove the sweet potatoes. Let them cool a bit before serving.
- Serve with your fav toppings.
Notes
- Select sweet potatoes similar in size as they would have the same cook time.
- You do not need to pierce sweet potatoes to cook in the instant pot.
- You can stack sweet potatoes similar to how you might stack potatoes while cooking in the instant pot.
- Use this timing as a reference, adjust accordingly to your texture preference and altitude.
- If some sweet potatoes are very large in size, you can cut them in half to reduce cooking time, similar to potatoes.
- And finally these sweet potatoes can be store in refrigerator for up to 3 days after cooking.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Chris M says
What would be the cooking time for just 2 sweet potatoes (medium/large)
Susan says
Perfect instructions! Thank you taking the time to measure the sweet potatoes to get to the most likely cooking times.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Susan - Thank you 🙂
Suneena says
Always love your detailed recipes. I still have a question. Does the steam mode work for sweet potatoes or manual high pressure is better? If steam mode can work than how long? Thanks!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Suneena - You can use steam mode on high pressure for the same time as in the recipe too. Hope you enjoy the sweet potatoes.
Alyssa says
Game changer. Amazing potatoes. Thank you so much! Moist and tender, they mashed nicely with some butter, ginger, cinnamon & sugar. Best ever and so easy. 💕
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi Alyssa - So happy to hear that. Thank you sharing back 🙂
Kolaylezzet says
Thanks for this detailed recipe for sweet potatoes.