Instant Pot Baked Potatoes: Make fluffy, fork tender potatoes in the pressure cooker every singe time! Directions on how to cook potatoes in Instant Pot with troubleshooting tips.
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.
MY LATEST VIDEOS
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
Growing up, potatoes were always served up as a side dish. My family was a meat and potato kind of family when I was a child.
I will never forget going to my aunt’s house one night for dinner (she was watching up for my parents to go on a date) and she served up Baked Potatoes as the main course. I thought it was BRILLIANT!
I was not much of a fun of meat myself, so the fact that I could top my potato with broccoli and cheese and call it dinner sounded like heaven to me. 30 years later, I still like to call baked potatoes dinner.
Step By Step Directions for Making 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 Trouble-Shooting 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.
- Looking to cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot? Check out my recipe for Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes (spoiler alert–it is NOT the same!)
- Be sure to check out all my Easy Healthy Instant Pot Recipes.
- 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
- Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh or Frozen)
- How to Make Chicken Stock in In the Instant Pot
Instant Pot Baked Potato Recipe
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
How to cook fluffy baked potatoes in the pressure cooker.
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.
Recipe Notes
Time to get to pressure: 5-6 minutes
Time to cook: 12 minutes
Time to release pressure: 10 minutes
My Must Have Instant Pot Accessories
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Thanks so much for being a part of A Mind Full Mom!
(And in case you misplace your Floating Valve, you can get an extra to fit your model on this here.)
Lauren says
Please fix your post. The instructions above the photo says to start with 1/2 cup of water in the IP.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Lauren, good catch. The post is updated. My recipe stated 1 cup and I accidently put 1/2 cup in directions. Sorry about that!
Laura says
One other thing, you do not need to ‘prick” or score potatoes. They will not explode.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Laura,
I have not tried NOT pricking potatoes. It only takes one potato exploding to make me NEVER risk that again 😉
I will say by pricking the potatoes, you also change the cooking time and the way the skin on the potato cooks up as well.
Jessica Hughey says
Laura: UM, YES, potatoes certainly will explode! It happened to me. And you’re right, Kristen, it only took one time for me to never, ever bake potatoes without poking them, again. What a mess! Definitely, always poke those potatoes!
Kristen Chidsey says
Exactly Jessica! It is quite a mess!
Penny says
Our ancestors pricked em for a reason. They can start splitting on their own without pricking. And very likely to explode whether in a microwave, oven, or instant pot. Good cooks prior to us knew what they were doing and why. I blanche my corn and peanuts before freezing…the old way…and others put them in without blanching. Even leaving the husks on the corn.
Jo says
If it is important to use cold water, I recommend that it says “Place one cup COLD water in Pressure cooker pan” under Instructions. The only place where cold water is mentioned is in the “Now a few things you may be wondering about….” section.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Jo! Sorry you missed it, but I have in Step 1 to place 1 cup water in Instant Pot. I also state it in the recipe card. But yes, the water is very important.
Fran says
How much time for one only baked potatoe?
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Fran, For one potato, it should be the same amount of time, but I can’t say for sure as I have never tested that. One thought would be to cook several to use throughout the week–you can even dice the baked potatoes up for a frittata.
Cheryl says
I am almost sure you would use the same cook time no matter how many. What changes with anything you put in the IP ( meat, large quantities of liquid, more vegetables, and if its frozen, etc) is the time it comes to pressure. That is what I do and never have issues.
Kristen Chidsey says
You are EXACTLY right for most things Cheryl. The pressure cooker is all about volume, not quantity—BUT for whatever reason in the 6 and 8 quart IP,cooking less than 3 large potatoes, INCREASES time. So just be aware that your potatoes may not be perfectly cooked if you only do 2 at 12 minutes. And if you try at 12 minutes and they aren’t cooked through, just pop the lid back on and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes. 🙂
Lani Minson says
Her point was that it only says water…not COLD water ☺
Kristen Chidsey says
Oh my goodness, Lani–you are SO right. Isn’t funny how easy it is to misunderstand things online?! I changed post to say “Cold” water. Thanks for that clarification!
Kristen Chidsey says
Jo, I am so sorry I misunderstood that you were meaning to clarify cold water in recipe card–someone just pointed that out to me! You are absolutely right and I fixed the post to say that! Thanks!
Eleanor says
Dear Kristen
I do not have Instant Pot brand, and my brand came with the most useless manual. However, I am determined to make this work, as it was a gift. Since I do not have a manual over-ride option, what setting would you recommend I use? I have the following options:
Soup/ Porridge, Meat/Poultry, Rice/ Multigrain, Cake, Bean/ Chili, Steam, Slow Cook, Yogurt.
Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey says
Do you have a manual button? If you do, set for high pressure for 12 minutes. If not meat function for 12 minutes SHOULD be high pressure and work 😉
Bridget says
This is genius, thank you.
What time length do you recommend for just two baked potatoes? Would that work or am I better off doing four and calling it leftovers?
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Bridget! You can do two potatoes, but 4 work much better and the leftover are great for another dinner, or diced up for breakfast hash 🙂 Enjoy!
Gail says
Followed directions to a T, potatoes came out pretty much raw. I did two large potatoes, could this be the reason why? Do you HAVE to do 4 or more for it to cook properly?
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Gail, I am sorry you had an issue with this. Did you use the cooking time for extra large potatoes?
In my experience, less than 4 potatoes don’t cook up the same way, hence why I recommend only using this method with at least 4 potatoes (it has to do with pressure)
Courtney Lopez says
What a thorough explanation on how to make instant pot baked potatoes!! 🙂 Thank you for breaking it all down and really making this so much easier!
Kristen Chidsey says
You bet Coutney! I love that you found this useful <3
Carl says
Thank you for this recipe! I just got a Mini Duo 3qt as a secondary pot. I put one plastic cup worth of water (the one that comes with the pot) and used your method including the oven finishing with just 2 russett potatoes. Results: SUBLIME. Just in case anyone with a mini is wondering 😎
Kristen Chidsey says
WAHO!!! Thak you so much for sharing your success Carl 🙂
Alice says
Thank you for posting about the Mini! I got one recently and have: boiled water, made rice one time, made chili last night. I want a potato and am short on time, so this is perfect!
Julie says
For 4 baking-sized potatoes (large) 22 minutes isn’t long enough. We each cut into 1 and they hadn’t cooked through. 2 remained in the pot so I’m hoping high pressure for additional 10 minutes and NR will salvage them.
Kristen Chidsey says
Oh dear Julie I am so sorry. They must have been really large potatoes!
A few things to check–make sure you use 1 cup water and prick your potatoes. The other 2 potatoes should be just fine too!
Jennifer says
What if you don’t have a trivet in your instapot? Can you just bake the potatoes without the water?
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Jennifer. Unfortunately, NO you can not cook anything in your pressure cooker without water. The water (or liquid) of some type is needed to create pressure. I STRONGLY recommend getting a trivet or metal rack. I have links to amazon on this post you can check out. You don’t want to sumburge the potatoes either as that would create soggy potatoes. Sorry.
Heather says
I have heard you can roll up foil to use as a makeshift trivet.
Kristen Chidsey says
YES!!! It is really easy to do as well. Just be sure to not to use tin foil when cooking something acidic–as it will react to the acids and ruin your dish. But it will work with potatoes well. And add in the 1 cup liquid!
Beth says
I used tin foil and did 2 medium potatoe and it works fine.
Kristen Chidsey says
Thanks for sharing your success Beth 🙂
Amber says
Thanks for providing these instructions and cooking times. Why is it the cooking times in the recipe books that come with the instant pots are always so off?!
Kristen Chidsey says
LOL!!! Isn’t that the truth Amber?! I use those as guides and then I test and test and test some more 🙂
Mish says
I used 3 very large potatoes with 1 cup water… poked them with fork and put kosher salt on them. Did 19 minutes and they were raw on the inside and mushy on the outside. All the water was gone an pot was dry when I opened it up. Are we supposed to close the valve or leave it open? I am very new at this and my pot is a faberware pressure cooker which looks and has settings just like the instant pot. Mine is a six quart also. So far my microwave potato bag works best for quick baked potatoes.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Mish! Well a couple things, first…you need to be sure your valve is SEALED. If not the pressure will not be reached and the water will evaporate. Also for very large potatoes you need 2o minutes on high pressure. Hope that helps!
Sally says
Late to the game here but I just got this same result, the outsides were cooked beautifully but when I tried to open them up the core was hard. I noticed on my IP on manual it auto set to the low pressure setting, I’m going to try high pressure for 10 minutes and see if that fixes the problem!
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Sally! Yes, this exact thing happens to a lot of people. If your potatoes are not cooked at 12 minutes–it is typically because your pressure was on low, not high. Always best to double check the pressure setting 😉
I hope that you have perfect instant pot potatoes from here on out!
Brenda Necaise says
Hi I have bought the mini lux and the 6 oz instant pot. I have only used the 6 oz one so far, once. Roast came out GREAT!! My question is where can I find recipes for the mini? I cook for only myself so they are small meals. I really would like to know how long to cook one baked potato in the mini please. Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Brenda! So the mini instant pot can be used just like a regular pressure cooker. In my experience, the timing is the same (just the amount of cook is less) you should be able to cook your one potato (with at least 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups water) for same time I direct in recipe based on size of your potato. Enjoy 🙂
Nazli says
Thanks for posting this ! I get overwhelmed by my instant-pot and appreciate you taking the time to post these recipes for free and without subscription. It’s funny how rude peoples comments can be – as if they are paying you for a service and received a faulty product!
post script :
I don’t know how the potatoes are going to turn out, but I appreciate your time regardless!
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Nazli-So happy to help! I hope you try my instant pot potatoes–pretty sure you will find they are a five star recipe 🙂
Alice says
Oh my goodness, these look AMAZING!! You take beautiful photos! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe/tricks, it makes cooking so much more manageable. Can’t wait to try these out with dinner tomorrow!
Kristen Chidsey says
Oh Alice, you are SO welcome. Thank you for the compliments! I absolutely LOVE helping to make cooking more manageable and enjoyable for people. Enjoy!
marcia says
These turned out absolutely perfect–much better than a microwave. Thanks for the clear directions.
Kristen Chidsey says
Yay Marcia! So glad you enjoyed!
Angie says
Bought my Instant Pot yesterday…started googling today and found your blog. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Baked potatoes were my maiden voyage and they worked perfectly!! I’m so grateful!
Kristen Chidsey says
Welcome to the IP Club–you are going to LOVE your Instant Pot. So glad you found my blog to help guide you. Be sure to sign up here for all my new instant pot recipes: https://mailchi.mp/amindfullmom/instant-pot
Pam says
I put 3 medium Idaho potatoes in under high pressure for 25 min with 10 min NR and they were hard. I had tried doing these before on another similar recipe and had the same result. I put them in my convection oven to finish. I don’t get it. Maybe I’ll try 45 min next time. This should be easy peasy.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Pam. I am sorry you are having issues with your pressure cooker. A couple things to consider—if you are using a 6 quart or 8 quart pressure cooker, this recipe works best with 4-8 potatoes. Also, be sure you have a full cup of water underneath your rack and that your pressure is on HIGH not low. My mom had many issues herself and then found out it was that her pressure was set to low. Now she has success at 12 minutes every time. Hope that helps Pam!
Stacy says
I heard if you use hot water that it will come to pressure quicker. Sounds like we might be trying to cook potatoes in the instant pot for the first time tonight. Just like Carl, we also have a 2nd pot that is a 3qt. And was thinking about using that since we will only be doing 2 potatoes.
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Stacy! Please don’t use hot water in your pressure cooker. You are right it will come to pressure quicker, but that DRASTICALLY changes the cooking time. So you don’t want to mess with that 🙂 And for your 3 quart, 2 potatoes is PERFECT–just be sure to still use 1 cup water. Enjoy!
Brittany says
It worked! Such a nice time saver. They did kind of bust apart a little but maybe they needed to be poked more. Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey says
Instant Pot baked potatoes are SUCH a time saver!! And yes, if they burst open a bit, poke them a few more times in the future. I hope you use this recipe again and again Brittany 🙂
Werra Watson says
I finally got around to trying to make Bake Potatoes in the Instant Pot. I had some left over potatoes today that really needed to get used. I was completely skeptical about making them in the IP as I was afraid they would be mushy. I followed your directions exactly. They were PERFECT. Finishing them in the oven with the Olive Oil and Kosher Salt put them over the top. Great texture and not mushy at all. 12 minutes was perfect for the size of Potatoes I had. Thank you for your detailed recipe down to sizes of Potatoes and time.
Kristen Chidsey says
Oh thank you so much Werra for sharing your success with all of us! I am SO SO glad you found this recipe successful–it will make your life easier (and your house cooler in the summer!)
Rebecca Karstetter says
Got home pretty late after my son’s baseball game, and needed to get dinner on the table quick. Occurred to me that maybe I could cook baked potatoes in my IP. I found your recipe, and it worked like a charm. They were so fluffy. Just perfect. Thank you so much! (I forgot to poke them with a fork, and just about had a heart attack, but they were fine. Whew!)
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Rebecca! I am so glad you found my recipe and that it was a success!! I am also glad your potatoes did not explode–WHEW!!! Have a great day!
Melodi Lyerly says
Trying baked potatoes in the Instant Pot for the first time… Googled instructions and yours was the first to pop up. They’re in there right now, fingers crossed, I only did two, for 12 minutes, I hadn’t read through the comments to see about changing the time for less than four. But I want to know about your plates! They look like my Mikasa Stanton pattern, which I love!
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Melodi! I sure hope you enjoyed your potatoes last night 🙂 We use this method almost weekly at my house.
As for my plates, they are from Kohls (the Food Network Brand) I just love how basic they are and go with everything!
Leslie says
thanks for the instructions. I cooked 8 chicken drumsticks below 2 backed potatoes – used a trivet under the chicken and 2nd one under the potatoes – 20 min for all – was perfect.
Kristen Chidsey says
Awesome!! I am so glad you were able to enjoy both potatoes and chicken together. I love pot in pot (or rack on rack) cooking 🙂
Vicki Nelson says
I forgot to put water in my instant pot while I was cooking potatoes and when I realized I added it. It never sealed but I had it on. My question is did I mess up my pot because I have turned on my potatoes 3 times already and it hasn’t cooked them all the way did I mess up something please help. My email is vnelson7626@gmail.com
Kristen Chidsey says
Hi Vicki!
I don’t think you ruined your Instant Pot. However, it can be hard to seal the instant pot after opening it up. First of all, let it cool down. Then retry by adding 1 cup of water and then recooking your potatoes with your lid fully sealed. Because your instant pot was not sealed when cooking, water will evaporate, pressure will not be reached and your potatoes (or anything) can’t cook properly. You can find more about why your IP won’t seal here: https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-not-sealing/
I really think all will be okay. Keep me posted.
Lisa Patrick says
These are great. The inside is cooked just the way I like them. I had no idea that you could make these in an instant pot. I am eating a lot more baked potatoes now that I’ve found this recipe. Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey says
Lisa, I am right there with you! We eat so many more baked potatoes now that they can be ready so quickly! And they taste just as good as Oven Baked.
BlueKarma says
I successfully cooked 5 potatoes last night using your method. They were from Costco, and I picked through the bag to find 5 of similar size (and not the gigantic ones). I stabbed each one almost through with my paring knife (only one poke). My only alteration was to cook them for 24 minutes, as we live at 5,600 feet elevation.
I didn’t do the oil/salt step as we were eating two as broccoli cheese potatoes for dinner, and the others were saved to be used at a later time. The interior was fluffy and delicious, fully cooked.
Thanks for your research and sharing!
Kristen Chidsey says
I am so glad you enjoyed!! I love serving my potatoes with broccoli and cheese as well.
Emily says
Thanks for this recipe!
We made 5 potatoes (from a 10lb bag) at high pressure for 14min and they came out slightly underdone. Not inedible, just not as cooked as I would have preferred.
We are assuming this may be a result of living at altitude…
And thoughts?
Kristen Chidsey says
I am so sorry you had issues Emily! And yes, it must have had to do with altitude. I need to post about altitude adjustments. But this should help:
3000 ft–5% increase
4000 ft–10% increase
5,000 ft–15% increase
Keep adding 5% additional time per 1000 ft of altitude.
Kim Pierce says
I am a newbie I did my water test, I have boiled eggs, and tonight I followed your recipe for baked potatoes. I’m not sure where I went wrong but they were still hard/firm not light and fluffy like I expected. What could I have done differently to fix this? I did 4 potatoes on manual for 12 mins and NPR for 10 mins. (All the steam was already out by then anyway). Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey says
Hey Kim! I am sorry you had an issue. There are a couple thins to check.
–Make sure you use cold water.
–Make sure you poke your potatoes
–If your potatoes are large, increase time by 5-6 minutes.
–Be sure pressure is set to high (not low) I say this because I have seen people struggle by hitting rice for 12 minutes or thinking pressure cooker was on high and it was on low pressure.
Hope that helps!