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Home » Instant Pot

Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Published: Nov 18, 2022 · Modified: Oct 15, 2024 by Kristina Tipps · This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn a small commission.

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This Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe creates a velvety, smooth and creamy potato. It's a quick and easy recipe that uses just a few pantry staple ingredients- but that's all you need to create delicious mashed potatoes!

instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in a white bowl topped with butter and black pepper
Table Of Contents
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Tools Needed
  • Step-By-Step Instructions
  • Tips For Using The One Pot Method
  • Variations
  • Mashed Potato Toppings
  • What To Serve With Garlic Mashed Potatoes
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Recipe
  • Recipe Reviews

Making my no drain Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes is incredibly easy. There's no big heavy pot of water and messy stove top to clean up. You need only your pressure cooker and a potato masher.

The garlic cloves cook right with the potatoes and then they're both mixed with butter, salt, pepper and milk to make flavorful and creamy mashed potatoes. Or you can use air fried roasted garlic or slow cooker garlic confit instead of raw garlic.

You can use the same no drain, one pot method to make mashed sweet potatoes and Instant pot mashed cauliflower (or crockpot mashed cauliflower). These simple side dishes are always crowd pleasers, which makes them great for both weeknight family dinners and fancy holiday gathering alike.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • There is no draining necessary! The potatoes are steamed in just enough water for the pot to come to pressure so you don't need to lift a heavy pot over the sink or chance making a mess on the counter.
  • Made entirely in one pot. The garlic and potatoes are cooked together, then mixed with butter, milk, salt and pepper right in the inner pot.
  • It's made with just 5 simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen.

POTATO RECIPES TO TRY NEXT

  • Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
  • Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes
  • Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
  • Crockpot Meatloaf With Potatoes and Carrots
  • Instant Pot Lemon and Mint Potato Salad

MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

  • Instant Pot Meatloaf and Potatoes
  • Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
  • Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
  • Pressure Cooker Leg of Lamb
  • Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in a white bowl topped with butter and black pepper

Ingredients

  • Potatoes: my preference is for Yukon gold potatoes because they have a high starch content and a natural buttery flavor. Russet potatoes, other varieties of golden potatoes and red potatoes can be used too but will give you slightly different overall textures and flavor.
  • Garlic: use whole garlic cloves. If fresh garlic cloves aren't available, you can use garlic powder. ½ teaspoon of garlic powder equals about 1 medium sized garlic clove. If you have roasted garlic, that is a great substitution for added garlicky flavor.
  • Butter: good old fashioned unsalted butter is the best, but margarine and plant-based butters are acceptable substitutes.
  • Milk: to make a rich and creamy mashed potato, whole dairy milk is my preference but any type of milk works. You can also use heavy cream or a plant-based milk.
  • Salt and pepper: use my recipe as guide and increase or decrease the amounts as you'd like for your taste preferences.
  • Water: we use just a cup of water to steam the potatoes. You can substitute the water with chicken broth if you'd like.

Tools Needed

  • Electric pressure cooker: depending on how many servings you make, any size pressure cooker will do. As written this recipe works in 6, 8 or 10 quart cookers.
  • Potato masher: to mash the cooked potatoes to a perfect texture. For extra smooth potatoes, use an immersion blender.
  • Vegetable peeler: if you choose to peel the potatoes.

Step-By-Step Instructions

STEP 1: Wash and dry the potatoes. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skins. Remove skin from garlic cloves. Put the whole potatoes, garlic cloves and 1 cup of cold water into the inner pot of the pressure cooker.

whole peeled gold potatoes and garlic in the pressure cooker inner pot

STEP 2: Close and seal the lid. Set to pressure cook or manual on high for 10 minutes. If you've chopped the potatoes, see notes for cook time.

mashed potatoes in a pressure cooker with a stick of butter, milk, salt and pepper

STEP 3: Quickly release the pressure when done cooking. Use the potato masher or immersion blender to mash to the texture you'd like. Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper to the pot. Continue to mix until butter is melted and potatoes are smooth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

garlic mashed potatoes in the instant pot

Serve topped with optional herbs of choice.

Tips For Using The One Pot Method

  • Only use 1 cup of water to steam the potatoes. If you cover them completely with water you will need to drain them.
  • If you want the cook time to be less than 10 minutes, cut the potatoes into halves or quarters.

Variations

  • Make vegan/dairy-free: use plant based milk like soy or oat milk and a plant based butter alternative.
  • Make cheesy: throw in some delicious cheddar cheese to make cheesy mashed potatoes.
  • Add bacon bits: make loaded garlic mashed potatoes by adding bacon bits as a topping or to the entire pot.

Mashed Potato Toppings

To make over-the-top Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes, consider these optional toppings:

  • extra pats of butter
  • fresh herbs, like chives, parsley and oregano
  • crispy bacon bits
  • sour cream
  • shredded cheese, such as cheddar or pepper jack

What To Serve With Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes are a fantastic side dish for most dinners all year round. They are great for holiday dinner sides on Thanksgiving and Christmas too.

Mashed potatoes are a classic served with:

  • Simple & Easy Air Fryer Meatloaf Recipe
  • Air Fryer Frozen Salmon
  • Air Fryer Chicken Tenders - Pecan Crusted
  • Instant Pot French Onion Chicken
  • Air Fryer Kielbasa and Peppers

Garlic mashed potatoes pair well with simple vegetables like:

  • Air Fryer Asparagus Parmesan
  • Instant Pot Asparagus
  • Air Fryer Green Beans
  • Instant Pot Broccoli
instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in a white bowl topped with butter and black pepper

Recipe FAQs

Do I Need To Cut The Potatoes?

No. You can pressure cook the potatoes whole to eliminate the extra time it takes to chop them. But you can certainly cut them into halves or quarters if you'd like. The smaller you chop the potatoes, the less pressure cooking time they will need. For whole potatoes, pressure cook for 10 minutes on high. For halved potatoes, cook for 8 minutes and for quarters, cook for 5 minutes on high.

Can I Leave The Skins On?

Yes! You can leave the skins of potatoes entirely on or peel them roughly so there are a few bits of skins in the end product. The more skin you leave on, the less smooth and more chunky and texturized the resulting mashed potatoes will be.

Is A Quick Release Or Natural Release Better?

Normally when pressure cooking starchy foods like potatoes, a partial or full natural release works best to prevent lots of hot starchy liquid from spraying out of the vent and making a big mess. But since we are only using a small amount of water in this recipe, there isn't any liquid left at the end to spray out of the vent. A quick release is the best type of pressure release for this specific recipe.

How To Store Mashed Potatoes

Keep mashed potatoes in the fridge for up to one week in an airtight container. They can be frozen in freezer safe storage bags or containers for up to 6 months. This makes garlic mashed potatoes great for make ahead holiday dinner planning.

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!

Recipe

instant pot garlic mashed potatoes in a white bowl topped with butter and black pepper

Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Kristina Tipps
This Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe creates a velvety, smooth and creamy potato. It's a quick and easy recipe that uses just a few pantry staple ingredients- but that's all you need to create delicious mashed potatoes!
4.92 from 36 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes minutes
Total Time 25 minutes minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 193 kcal

Equipment

  • pressure cooker
  • potato masher
  • vegetable peeler

Ingredients

  • 2.5 lbs potatoes Yukon gold prefered
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 6 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
  • fresh herbs such as chives, oregano or parsley for serving

Instructions
 

  • Wash and dry the potatoes. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skins. Remove skin from garlic cloves. Put the whole potatoes, garlic cloves and 1 cup of cold water into the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
  • Close and seal the lid. Set to pressure cook or manual on high for 10 minutes. If you've chopped the potatoes, see notes for cook time.
  • Quickly release the pressure when done cooking. Use the potato masher or immersion blender to mash to the texture you'd like. Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper to the pot. Continue to mix until butter is melted and potatoes are smooth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
  • Serve topped with optional herbs of choice.

Notes

Tip #1: for an extra smooth and velvety texture, use an immersion blender rather than a potato masher.
Cook time: for whole potatoes, pressure cook for 10 minutes on high. For halved potatoes, cook for 8 minutes and for quarters, cook for 5 minutes on high.
Storing: store in the fridge for up to 7 days in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 6 months in freezer-safe storage bags or containers. 

Nutrition

Serving: 6ozCalories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 372mgPotassium: 624mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 276IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe?Give a shout out to @tastyovenrecipes or tag #tastyovenrecipes!

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