How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot?

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 about 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. 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 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 an 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 letting the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then releasing 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 cooking 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 stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days after cooking.

How to Serve Sweet Potatoes?

1. Just some salted butter!
2. Smear with butter & sprinkle some cinnamon.
3. Season with salt & pepper
4. Top with yogurt or sour cream and some nuts/seeds
5. Top with maple syrup
6. 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.