• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Email Series!

5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

Free email series of my best tips!

Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Free Email Series!

    5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

    Free email series of my best tips!

  • Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes

Rachel Cooks®

Easy Healthy-ish Recipes

  • Recipe Index
  • Popular
    • Instant Pot Pinto Beans
    • Green Beans with Bacon
    • Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
    • Roasted Sugar Snap Peas
    • Beef Stew Seasoning
    • Chili Seasoning Recipe
    • Thousand Island Dressing
    • Poppy Seed Dressing
    • Copycat Panera Squash Soup
    • Chocolate Chip Blondies
    • Instant Pot Pork Loin Roast
    • Frosé
    • Best Chocolate Cake
    • Dill Vegetable Dip
    • Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
    • Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Learn to Cook
    • All The Basics
    • Crostini
    • Delicata Squash
    • Butternut Squash
    • Kabocha Squash
    • Spaghetti Squash
    • Guacamole
    • Croutons
    • Snap Peas
    • Baked Potatoes
    • Baked Bacon
    • Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
    • Simple Syrup
    • Pickled Red Onions Recipe
    • Toasted Pine Nuts
    • Roasted bone-in Chicken Breasts
    • Poached Chicken
    • Roasted Whole Chicken
    • Easy Cheese Sauce

Dinner Made Easy:

Slow Cooker

5 Ingredients

Grilling

Make Ahead

Sheet Pan

Tacos

Pizza

Home Recipes by Type Sides & Vegetables
PC Instant Pot GF Gluten-Free DF Dairy-Free VG Vegetarian 5I 5 ingredients or less

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Perfect Every Time!

4.41
/5
45 mins
177 Comments
Jump to Recipe Video
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 08/29/2022Updated: 12/12/2022

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes might be your new favorite way to make sweet potatoes. They’re so easy and ready in about 30 minutes (including pressure release!) and they come out silky smooth every time. #sweetpotatoes #instantpot #side #easy
Sweet potato, text overlay reads "instant pot sweet potatoes."
Sweet potato, text overlay reads "instant pot sweet potatoes - so easy."
Sweet potato, text overlay reads "perfect instant pot sweet potatoes."
Sweet potato, text overlay reads "instant pot sweet potatoes."

Instant Pot sweet potatoes come out silky smooth every time. Pressure cooking sweet potatoes may be the best way yet!

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Pressure cooking is a very easy way to cook sweet potatoes and there’s no need to turn on your oven. They turn out great!

How long it takes: 40 minutes total
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot/pressure cooker, wire trivet
Servings: make as many as you like (within reason!)

Perfectly cooked instant pot sweet potato.
Table of Contents
open
  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 About This Recipe
  • 3 What You’ll Need
  • 4 A Sweet Little Scrub Brush
  • 5 How To Make Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
  • 6 How To Use Cooked Sweet Potatoes
  • 7 FAQs
  • 8 Storage & Reheating Tips
  • 9 More Instant Pot Basics
  • 10 Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Perfect Every Time!

I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. I mean, A LOT. Roasted, in a hash, sweet potato toast, mashed, pureed, noodled, baked, turned into chips, basically any way I can. On special occasions, I love to make scalloped sweet potatoes with bacon and Gruyère.

When I have done a Whole30 diet in the past, sweet potatoes satisfied my carb cravings but I had to get creative to keep from getting bored. I also had to find quick and easy ways to prepare them so I didn’t have a reason to fall off the Whole30 wagon.

Enter the Instant Pot, one of my favorite Whole30 tools. It makes the most perfect sweet potatoes.

I’ll admit, I sometimes resort to the microwave to cook sweet potatoes. Stab them with a fork, wrap them in paper towel, and they’re ready in about 5 minutes. However, that method does tend to dry them out, whereas the Instant Pot will not.

This is definitely my new go-to method, and I think it’s going to be yours, too.

About This Recipe

This more of a how-to than an actual recipe. Once you’ve learned how to use your Instant Pot to cook sweet potatoes, it will be a cooking method you turn to over and over again, like Instant Pot hard boiled eggs or Instant Pot shredded chicken.

It’s a food prepper’s dream. Just get that Instant Pot working on food for the whole week. You can stock your fridge with boiled eggs, cooked chicken, and now creamy cooked sweet potatoes. Dinner will be a snap! Prep Instant Pot white rice and freeze it in serving size bags. It’s so handy. Works for brown rice, too, or quinoa!

Instant Pot sweet potatoes are steamed. The flesh becomes velvety smooth and creamy; the skin is very soft. They differ somewhat from baked sweet potatoes which are a bit drier with a tougher skin.

Cooked sweet potato with Instant Pot pressure cooker in background.

I’ll get you started here and give you helpful tips and information. As always, look for the recipe card near the end of the post for complete instructions and nutrition information.

What You’ll Need

  • Sweet Potatoes: Look for medium-sized sweet potatoes that are about two inches in diameter. After testing this recipe several times, we came to the conclusion that larger potatoes just don’t cook as evenly. They tend to stay hard in the middle even if you increase the cooking time. The recipe is written for four sweet potatoes; you can cook fewer or more potatoes as you wish.
  • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker/Multicooker: I use a 6-quart Instant Pot.
  • Water: Don’t forget to add the water! Water is necessary to create steam; the steam builds up, and pressurizes the cooker.
Uncooked sweet potatoes and water.
Fruit and vegetable brush product image.

A Sweet Little Scrub Brush

Buy a good brush to scrub the outside of your potatoes. I love this one – it has soft and firm bristles and it’s dishwasher safe. I also love the way it fits in your hand.

Buy it on Amazon

How To Make Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Scrub the sweet potatoes well and trim if necessary. I usually trim the wrinkly ends off.

Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the pot. Put the wire trivet into the pot and arrange the sweet potatoes on the trivet.

Instant pot sweet potatoes before being cooked.

Lock the lid in place and set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook (or Manual – High Pressure, depending on your model). Set the cook time for 15 minutes. It will take approximately 10 minutes to pressurize.

After the 15 minute timer goes off, allow the pressure to release naturally. That means you don’t do anything for fifteen minutes. When fifteen minutes have passed, release any remaining pressure; carefully remove the lid.

Instant pot sweet potatoes after being cooked.

The sweet potatoes should be perfectly well-done, silky smooth and delicious! The skin will be very soft and is totally edible.

Now that you know how to make perfect sweet potatoes, eat them just the way they are (I like topping them with a little cinnamon and butter) or try one of the ideas below.

Close up of sweet potato flesh.

How To Use Cooked Sweet Potatoes

Stuffed sweet potatoes

Cut a slit in the middle of the potato and open it up. Add any sort of filling you like: chili with all the toppings, scrambled eggs with avocado, black beans and tomato salsa, bacon, salmon, shredded chicken, whatever! Recently we’ve been loving these quick-cooking fried chicken bites.

Mashed sweet potatoes

Scoop the sweet potatoes out of the skins and mash it. Add seasonings like chili powder, curry powder, or taco seasoning. A drizzle of hot honey is so good! Top them with a sprinkle of savory granola, toasted pine nuts, or roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Try vanilla bean mashed sweet potatoes.

More ideas

Try handheld sweet potato casserole, sweet potato bread pudding, or twice baked sweet potatoes.

I can’t wait to hear from you : What are you going to do with these Instant Pot sweet potatoes?

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes?

According to NutritionFacts.org, the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes is to boil them. It lowers the glycemic index by half and they undergo a cellular change which makes the nutrients more available.
However, sweet potatoes are a very healthy food, whether they are boiled, baked, or roasted. If you like them better baked or roasted, you’ll probably end up eating more sweet potatoes, and that’s going to be great for your health!

Can you freeze sweet potatoes?

Yes, sweet potatoes can be frozen for up to twelve months. Raw sweet potatoes do need to be blanched first because of the high water content. For a good guide on how to freeze sweet potatoes, both cooked and raw, check out HomeCookBasics.

Can you eat the peel of a sweet potato?

Yes, the peel of sweet potatoes is totally edible and has more antioxidants than the flesh (ten times more!).

Pressure cooker sweet potato with lots of butter.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They will keep in the freezer for up to 12 months in a freezer safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

To reheat, microwave until heated through.

More Instant Pot Basics

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes – Easy and Perfect Every Time!

Instant Pot Brown Rice

Instant Pot Pinto Beans (no soaking needed!)

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Browse All

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Instant pot sweet potato with butter melting inside it.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Perfect Every Time!

4.41 from 252 votes
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Additional Time to Pressurize: 10 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
8 servings
Print Rate Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instant Pot sweet potatoes come out silky smooth every time. Pressure cooking sweet potatoes may be the best way yet!

Ingredients

  • 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes (10-12 oz. each), approximately 2 inches in diameter (see note)
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  • Scrub sweet potatoes and trim if necessary. Pour water into Instant Pot. Place wire trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot and place sweet potatoes on top of the trivet.
  • Secure the lid and turn valve to seal.
  • Select Pressure Cook (or Manual on High) for 15 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
  • Allow pressure to release naturally (do nothing after the timer goes off) for 15 minutes.
  • Release remaining pressure, remove lid, and serve.

Notes

  • Serving size: Half of 1 medium sweet potato.
  • Sweet potatoes with a diameter much larger than 2 inches cook less evenly, even if you add extra time.
  • You can add fewer sweet potatoes or add more. Cooking time is the same but it will take less/more time for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
  • Cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 0.5potato, Calories: 97kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 0.1g, Saturated Fat: 0.02g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.001g, Sodium: 64mg, Potassium: 381mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 16031IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
Did You Make This?Be sure to upload a photo & tag me at @RachelCooksBlog. I love seeing what you made!
Share A Photo! Tag on Insta Rate It
Free email series

Master Cooking

in your Instant Pot!

Free email series of my best tips!

FREE BONUS!

You May Also Like...

  • 25 Sweet Potato Recipes
  • Farro stuffing in round white bowl garnished with fresh herbs.
    Instant Pot Farro Stuffing with Sausage and Sweet Potatoes
  • twice baked sweet potatoes rachelcooks.com
    Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
  • Vanilla bean mashed sweet potatoes in a round bowl.
    Vanilla Bean Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Two whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, one with a bite out of it.
Previous Post
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oats
Braised lamb shank served on a white plate.
Next Post
Braised Lamb Shanks

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

  1. Jane says

    August 22, 2022 at 6:01 pm

    1 star
    Followed instructions to a T and even though I only cooked 3 med sized yams instead of the recommended 4 the yams came out very hard in the middle and undercooked.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      August 23, 2022 at 9:14 am

      Hi Jane! Did you have the valve turned to seal and the rubber ring securely in?

      Reply
  2. Erin says

    November 26, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    Our kitchen is currently under construction, and so I needed a way to cook sweet potatoes for a Thanksgiving dish. I’m an instant pot novice, and I’m so excited that this method worked perfectly! The sweet potatoes (6 small/med) came right out of the skins to mash so easily. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 28, 2021 at 9:48 am

      So glad it worked well for you! I made them this way too! :)

      Reply
  3. Janel says

    January 26, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    Instant pot said  burned but juices just burned in bottom-only cooked for 10 min because had quartered my husbands huge sweet potatoes he grew. Even though we forgot to put the plastic liner on lid for pressure they came out amazingly soft!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      January 28, 2021 at 9:49 am

      I’m glad it still worked out!

      Reply
  4. Aaron says

    November 25, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    What would you recommend for the cooking time with large sweet potatoes? 

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 26, 2020 at 8:13 am

      Maybe try 18 minutes? Let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
  5. Sierra Haile says

    November 2, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    My husband and I LOVED THIS!! This is by far our new favorite way to make sweet potatoes! Thank you so much for the info!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 7, 2020 at 10:10 am

      I’m so happy to hear it, I’m glad it was helpful! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

      Reply
  6. Rod Ferris says

    October 11, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Just cooked my last big Sweetie and six small russets will let them cool and let the starches gel! They’re going to be wonderful with fried chicken I might roast tte pots in the oven too! 
    How did I live without an Instant Pot? 

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      October 11, 2020 at 10:00 pm

      It’s a great kitchen tool! :)

      Reply
  7. Meg Corrigan says

    August 17, 2020 at 11:23 am

    So easy, quick and came out with a wonderful texture. This was a perfect method for cooking sweet potatoes.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      August 19, 2020 at 9:45 pm

      So glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

      Reply
  8. Marlene Craven says

    June 9, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Such an easy way to cook sweet potatoes. I agree that this is how I will make them from here out. I passed this along to all my friends and family that have an instant pot. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      June 10, 2020 at 4:16 pm

      So glad to hear it! Thanks Marlene!

      Reply
  9. yvette says

    June 8, 2020 at 4:52 am

    I love sweet potato and this is now our preferred method of cooking and eating them. Great recipe. Can I just confirm while on high pressure, mine defaults to Normal temp range, should I use More? I found the cooking time took longer than instructed.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      June 10, 2020 at 4:23 pm

      So glad to hear it! I’m not sure what you mean about normal temp range? Do you have an Instant Pot brand pressure cooker?

      Reply
  10. Marie Roberts says

    June 4, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    2 large sweet potatoes at 18 min made exactly as per the recipe and they were absolutely perfect! Thank you:)

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      June 6, 2020 at 1:40 pm

      So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a rating! Means a lot!

      Reply
  11. Susan Marie Bowen says

    May 1, 2020 at 1:39 am

    So perfect. Even making one by itself was perfect! Soft and creamy. My teen even ate the skin. Won’t be making these any other way again. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      May 1, 2020 at 12:36 pm

      So glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  12. Francine says

    April 19, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Perfect sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot.  I even eat the skin when prepared in the IP, but I don’t when it’s oven baked. 
    Usually we just sprinkle a little Ceylon cinnamon on top but today, I’m going to mash with crushed pineapples and top with marshmallows-just like thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      April 20, 2020 at 9:42 am

      Yum, I love that! Sounds delicious!

      Reply
  13. Sarah Sakas says

    April 1, 2020 at 6:18 am

    I will never make baked sweet potatoes any other way. They were so creamy…almost like mashed. Delicious!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      April 4, 2020 at 9:11 am

      So glad to hear you liked this method! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment, it means a lot to me!

      Reply
  14. William R. Fleming says

    March 2, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    Sweet potatoes turned out perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      March 3, 2020 at 9:00 pm

      So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply
  15. Cristal DuBois says

    February 16, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    Same for me; crunchy. So, added another cup of water (just in case) and ran through same cycle again (15 minutes on high with natural release) and STILL not soft. They are softer but quite firm in middle. About to put in oven. :(

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 17, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      Sorry to hear that! Was your valve turned to seal and your rubber ring securely in place?

      Reply
Older Comments
Newer Comments

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Rachel! Life can be complicated, cooking shouldn't be! I believe that you can put a delicious meal on the table without stressing. It's possible, and I'm here to help. Have a seat at my table...let's chat, eat, and have fun! Read more...

Air Fryer Instant Pot 30 Minutes One Pan Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Slow Cooker Vegetarian 5 Ingredients

Trending

Cooked salmon fillet on a grey-toned plate with cooked asparagus spears. The salmon is being flaked with a fork.

Air Fryer Salmon – easy and delicious!

Pizza pasta being scooped from a pan with a wooden spoon.

Pizza Pasta – 1 pan, 20 minutes

Image of a giant bowl of spaghetti with turkey meatballs.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Asparagus Panzanella Salad

Seasonal

Beef and vegetable stir fry in a black wok.

Beef Stir Fry With Vegetables

Hot honey chicken sheet pan dinner with honey being drizzled on.

Hot Honey Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Sweet and sour shrimp lettuce wrap garnished with green onion.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

BBQ Chicken burrito bowl with avocado and sour cream.

BBQ Chicken Bowl

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
Free Bonus!

5 Cooking Secrets to Save Time & Stress

Free email series of my best tips and recipes!

Featured On:

Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Work with Me
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
© 2023 Rachel Cooks®
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled