Instant Pot Baked Potatoes: Make fluffy, fork tender potatoes in the electric pressure cooker every singe time! Directions on how to cook potatoes in Instant Pot with troubleshooting tips.
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Don’t you agree that a baked potato is one of the most perfect side dishes?
Baked potatoes compliment just about every main course perfectly. My family loves a good baked potato with Chicken Cordon Bleu, Apple Pork Roast, and of course a steak.
But on busy nights, I don’t have a lot of time to roast potatoes. But I always have time if I use my Instant Pot to make Baked Potatoes.
And after learning how to perfectly cook fresh and frozen chicken, cook dried beans without soaking, and cooking frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot–you all wanted to know—How do you make a potato in the Instant Pot?
And I am going to walk you through my tips and help you learn from my failed experiments (I have finally PERFECTED a Pressure Cooker Baked Potatoes!)
How to Perfectly Cook Baked Potatoes in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Pour 1 cup cold water over the bottom of the pot, and then place in your trivet that came with your instant pot.
- Be sure to use COLD water, as using warm water will change how the time the Instant Pot takes to get to pressure, which will change cook times and your results.
Step Two: Place anywhere from 4-8 scrubbed potatoes into your Pressure Cooker.
Important Tips to Remember when Cooking Potatoes in Instant Pot
- Be sure to prick your potatoes with a knife or fork to allow steam and pressure to exit or your potatoes could explode while cooking.
- Make sure your potatoes are resting on rack and not touching the water–if they cook in water, they will get mushy instead of perfectly fluffy (I know this from experience!)
- For reasons I can not adequately explain, I have found cooking less than 4 potatoes in a 6 or 8 quart instant pot takes LONGER to cook. I always prepare at least 4 and if not using, save potatoes for leftover hash, etc. You can easily cook 1-2 potatoes in the mini pressure cooker.
Step Three: Set to high pressure and cook
- 10 minutes on high pressure for small potatoes.
- 12 minutes on high pressure for medium potatoes (standard potatoes that you find in most bulk bags from grocery store)
- 20 minutes for extra large potatoes (like the ones you get at Costco)
Step Four: Allow pressure to release naturally for 8-10 minutes and then turn valve to release to release any remaining pressure.
Step Five (optional) Brush potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and crisp in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes–this is NOT necessary!
Step Six: Serve plain with butter and sour cream or stuff with Pulled Pork and shredded cheese for a great meal!
Now a few things you may be wondering about Cooking Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- What is the texture like of potatoes cooked in Instant Pot? Fluffy and creamy–just like an oven baked potato. This method is SO much better than the texture of a microwave baked potato.
- Do you have to use your trivet? YES!! The trivet prevents the potatoes from getting watery;
- Do you have to add water to bottom of Instant Pot? Yes, that moisture allows the pressure to build up in your instant pot.
- Do you have to use cold water in your Instant Pot? Yes! If you start with warm water, the cooking time will vary and that may result in under or over-cooked potatoes.
Tips and Troubleshooting Cooking Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- I have tested this recipe out with 4, 6, 8, and 10 potatoes. At 10 potatoes, my 6 quart instant pot needed longer than 12 minutes to perfectly cook the potatoes, but at 4, 6 and 8 the 12 minutes was a perfect time.
- I would not recommend cooking more than 8 potatoes at a time. Doing so, would overcrowd your Instant Pot and therefore would cause it to take forever to reach pressure.
- If you are using giant potatoes, I would not use more than 6 at at time.
- In all my tests, it has never taken longer than 8 minutes to reach pressure for this recipe. So from heating up to releasing pressure these potatoes are ready in less than 30 minutes.
- Use these Instant Pot Baked Potatoes to serve as side dish or to make Twice Baked Potatoes or as base for Oven Baked Frittatas.
- Looking to cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot? Check out my recipe for Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes (spoiler alert–it is NOT the same!)
- If you are a new Instant Pot user, be sure to read my Instant Pot 101, where I walk you through important must knows when using an electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Basic Recipes
- Instant Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot Chicken Stock
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes scrubbed clean
Instructions
- Place 1 cup cold water in Pressure cooker pan and place trivet in instant pot.
- Pierce potatoes 5-6 times with a fork to allow pressure to release while cooking.
- Add potatoes carefully on trivet (stacking on top of each other if needed). Place lid on instant pot and seal the valve.
- Set to high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Once cook time has elapsed, allow pressure to naturally release for 8-10 minutes, do a quick release. Remove potatoes from Instant Pot and serve up with whatever toppings you like.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- 10 minutes for small potatoes (less than 2 inches in diameter or 4-5 ounces)
- 12 minutes for medium potatoes (between 2-3 inches in diameter or 5-7 ounces)
- 16 minutes for large potatoes (between 3-4 inches in diameter or 8-10 ounces)
- 20 minutes for extra large potatoes (4-4.5 inches in diameter or 11-13 ounces)
Best baked potato I have had in a long time !!!
I love hearing that!
Thanks for sharing! These turned out AMAZING and so perfectly fluffy
Thank you for leaving a review 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed!
Perfect!
I have cooked 5 lbs of potatoes in the insta pot. All were perfectly cooked
Wonderful! So glad to hear this!
I love your site. I have used this recipe for my “huge” potatoes and they came out perfectly. I have shared with my friends. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and making it so easy to follow along.
I am so glad you are finding these recipes spot on and helpful and thank you for spreading the love!
They turned out perfectly, we will use this recipe again!
I am glad to hear this will be a staple Kody 🙂
THIS IS THE BEST INSTANT POT BAKED POTATO RECIPE OUT THERE!!! (and I’ve tried many different ones) It worked exactly as you said it would. Now, my family keeps asking for baked potatoes every night! THANK YOU!!!
I am so glad you had such great success Steve 🙂
I adjusted this for high altitude. I put five extra large potatoes in my insta pot and set it for 26 minutes at high pressure. They came out absolutely perfect1
I am glad this worked following the high altitude conversions Ginger! Thanks for leaving a review.
I followed the Medium potato instructions and found that the 12 minutes with 10 minute natural release was not quite enough to get the center of my potatoes cooked (6 medium potatoes). Put them back on at high pressure for 5 minutes, quick released, and the ones closer to the bottom of the pressure cooker were fluffy and amazing, while the two that sat on top of the others were still slightly firm in the center. Next time I am going to try just 4. Glad I tried it because they do come out smooth and fluffy! Just need to tweak a bit to get them all evenly cooked.
Hi Ry! It is always a good idea to take notes on what works for your instant pot–just like ovens, each unit can vary a bit. Be sure to also use a cold/room temp water for even cooking as well.
Soft, fluffy and somehow also creamy.
It is truly amazing Amy, isn’t it? And so easy!
Thanks! This worked perfectly… I was using larger potatoes (I weighed them they were 9-12oz each). I did 6 on the trivet with 1 cup of cold water (just from the tap cold) for 20 min cook time and I think they pressure released for almost 15 min (just because I lost track of time.) And they appear to have cooked perfectly. I did the extra step of putting them in the toaster over for 10 min with oil and salt… And the entire potato was perfect to eat, skin and all! thanks
I am so glad you enjoyed so much Tracy! And don’t worry about letting pressure release too long–no rush for this recipe 🙂
Anyone know if this works for a pot full of potatoes. I need to make several!
It sure will Diana! It make take a few extra minutes to come to pressure, but it works!
Even though I had fairly small potatoes, I followed the recipe to the letter for large potatoes and they were nowhere near done. I put them back on high pressure for 4 more minutes and allowed the pressure to naturally release for another 10 minutes. Still not done! Frustrated, I applied a thin coat of oil and salted them before placing them in a 375 oven for 15 minutes. I think they may be done now. Thanks but I’m looking for a different recipe next time.
Hi Mike. I am sorry you had issues with your baked potatoes. On high pressure cooking for at total of 20 minutes (16+4 per your comment) for small potatoes should have been more than enough time. A few things to take note: be sure to use cold water in your instant pot and be sure your pressure is set at high. It is easy to accidentally adjust to low pressure and that would cause your potatoes to not cook in the allotted time.
same thing happened to me…my water was ice cold and my potatoes were hard on the inside…this is the second or third time I tried…so frustrated
Oh goodness Katie! That sounds like an issue with your pressure cooker. The water should be extremely hot, way too hot to touch. I would be happy to help further troubleshoot for you. A good place to start is to try the water test again (or for the first time) if you have not already to ensure your Instant Pot is working correctly. Reach out with questions and I can help you get on the right path to making the instant pot work for you!
She probably meant she started out with ice cold water. 🙂 I used 4 medium potatoes and I needed 4 extra minutes on high for mine to be cooked through. I’m at high altitude, not sure if that’s the difference.
HAHAHA! You are probably right Christy! I was thinking she meant the water was ice cold AFTER cooking. But using ice water would not cause the need for longer cook time, in fact it may result in shorter cook time as it takes longer to come to pressure. Higher elevation would need longer cook time.
Same here, I did 16 minutes and 10 minute natural release for 3 potato’s, skins started to come off but the potatoes were hard, put them back in for 5 minutes with another 10 minute release. Still too hard to eat so I threw plastic wrap over and had to finish in the microwave. I could have done them in the oven in that amount of time and had crispy intact skins. Sorry it just did not work for me either.
Hi Matt! I am sorry you had issues. As stated in my recipe notes, this recipe takes longer if using less than 4 potatoes. I would add 5 minutes cook time if making less than 4 potatoes.
So no aluminum foil?
Not needed Pamela.
I was always bad at making potatoes in the oven, they never cooked through. These turned out awesome, thank you!
So glad this recipe helped you perfect potatoes Shannon!