Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot

Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a delicious, wholesome side dish ready in a flash! A special ingredient delivers big satisfying flavor.

Mashed sweet potatoes are a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. This recipe is also easy enough for any weeknight dinner too. We have a simple little secret that makes the savory flavors incredible and the star of any holiday meal. Plus the entire sweet potatoes recipe is made in the Instant Pot. This leaves your oven and stove top free for other dishes. 

Sweet potatoes are sweet on their own. Instead of loading them up loads of brown sugar we opted for natural sweeteners of maple syrup and freshly squeezed orange juice to add light sweetness and additional flavor. We have an option for those who love their sweet potato mash on the sweeter side too.

These creamy potatoes are simple to mash (no immersion blender needed) once they are cooked. No whole milk or heavy cream is used. They turn into a creamy puree perfect for the holiday season.

More options for your Thanksgiving recipes: try our Smoky, spicy Instant Pot Chipotle Sweet Potatoes or our Classic Sweet Potato Casserole too!

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients Notes
• How to Make it
• How to use the Cooking Broth
• Variations
• Storing leftovers
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• Recipe

Why make THESE Mashed Sweet Potatoes?

• This easy recipe is ready in 30 minutes. The cooking time is 8 minutes!
• It is the perfect way to cook sweet potatoes to a mashable consistency and can be made at the last minute with little notice.
• The only ingredients added to the finished sweet potatoes are butter, orange juice and maple syrup; and just a bit on the last two.
• Cooking in a pressure cooker retains more nutrients of the ingredients too!
• All cooking is done in the electric pressure cooker so it leaves your kitchen free for other cooking.
• The mashed sweet potatoes are soft, savory with just enough orange flavor and maple sweetness to allow the natural sweet potato flavor to shine. They are truly irresistible.

Recipe Ingredients Notes

For the complete ingredient list and amounts, refer to the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

• Sweet potatoes. You’ll need 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces. Any variety of sweet potato can be used.
• Chicken Broth. We use regular chicken broth (not low sodium) to cook the potatoes instead of water. This simple difference gives the potatoes delicious flavor; truly a game changer.
• Unsalted butter. Two tablespoons will be melted into the cooked sweet potatoes before mashing.
• Orange juice. Use freshly squeezed orange juice. Trust me the flavor will make a difference! You’ll only need 2 tablespoons which depending on the size of the orange should be 1/2 to one orange worth of juice. TIP: roll the orange on a counter pushing down on it before juicing to render more juice.
• ​Maple syrup. Use pure maple syrup. You’ll need one tablespoon.

How to Make it

Pressure cooking the sweet potatoes is key to get a perfect mash-able consistency and fast!

NOTE: This recipe was developed using an Instant Pot 6 quart multi-cooker and the instructions correlate to that device though any electric pressure cooker will work!

STEP 1. Pressure Cook the sweet potatoes

Place the steaming trivet in the inner pot of a 6-quart Instant Pot. Pour in the chicken broth (photo 1).

Add the prepared sweet potatoes (photo 2). Lock the lid, select MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE and 8 minutes.

When the cooking is complete, do a QUICK RELEASE to release the pressure (photo 3). Allow the pressure cooker to stay on the WARM setting (the automatic Instant Pot default after cooking is done).

Remove the cooked sweet potatoes (spoon them out of the insert with a slotted spoon into a mixing bowl). Drain the cooking broth and reserve it (it does not go back into the potatoes; see next section below)! Remove the trivet.

STEP 2. Mash

Add the butter to the pressure cooker insert and allow it to melt (photo 4). Add the cooked sweet potatoes back into the insert and add the maple syrup and orange juice (photo 5).

Mash with a potato masher until smooth (it takes only a few mashings) (photo 6). Salt to taste.

How to use the Cooking Broth

The reserved cooking broth does not go back into the Pressure Cooker Sweet Potatoes but it is delicious (taste it and I know you’ll agree). Don’t throw it out! Use it for:

• Soup stock
• Making gravy
• Steaming liquid for vegetables

Variations

The Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes are perfect as is. BUT if you are making them for a holiday or dinner when you’d like to impress here’s how you can take it up a notch:

• Make a batch of Sweet Spiced Nuts. Chop some up to sprinkle on the top of the mashed sweet potatoes. The nuts are a fantastic addition, can be made up to 2 weeks beforehand and make great snacks too!
• Fry up a few slices of bacon until done but not overly crisp (still pliable). Drain on paper towels, remove any excess fat and chop to sprinkle on the mashed sweet potatoes.

Want sweeter mashed sweet potatoes? How sweet people like their sweet potatoes is variable. I have a solution to squash any table debates about whether they are sweet enough; a maple syrup drizzle.

Have a pourable container of maple syrup on the table or individual containers for each diner, to drizzle over the top of these creamy mashed sweet potatoes. This keeps it easy allowing diners to sweeten to their liking rather than over sweetening the base batch of Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Storing leftovers

Any leftovers of this sweet potato recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat before serving.

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Originally published: November 20, 2018