Perfect Instant Pot Baked Potatoes + Tutorial {Gluten-free, Vegan}
Learn how to make PERFECT fluffy Instant Pot Baked Potatoes in this post!! You will love how easy it is to make potatoes in your Instant Pot in just a few mins. Suitable for Gluten-free and vegan diets. Post includes Weight Watchers Points.
Is there anything better than a perfectly cooked baked potato? That fluffy, pillowy, potato-y goodness is just ready to be dressed with your favourite toppings (salt, pepper, cheese, butter, bacon, sour cream, scallions – whatever you fancy) and devoured in a moment of total potato-eating bliss.
Well folks, I’m going to show you how to make those yummy and perfectly cooked potatoes in the Instant Pot.
So perfect that you’re going to give a long consideration to those mahoosive sacks of potatoes you see at the supermarket that you normally would write off as ‘sooooooooooo many potatoes.’
Yeap, you’re going to become that person walking out of the supermarket with sacks of potatoes. And you won’t feel one bit bad about it.
These are especially delicious when served with this healthy and easy Pressure Cooker Chicken Breast Recipe.
How to Make Perfect Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
So how does one make Instant Pot Baked Potatoes? Very easily – with just water, potatoes and your Instant Pot.
Step 1. Add water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
Step 2. Add in the steaming rack. Prick the potatoes with a fork and then place them on the rack.
Step 3. Cover and seal the Instant Pot.
Step 4. Select the steam programme, press the ‘adjust’ button until you get 12 mins and let cook till done. (See the ‘How to Use the Instant Pot Steam Programme’ section below for more information about this function.)
Step 5. Allow the Instant Pot pressure to reduce naturally, this may take about 15 mins.
Step 6. Open, remove the potatoes and serve.
Super easy to get your fluffy baked potato.
How to Use the Instant Pot Steam Programme
‘Steam’ is one of the functions of the Instant Pot. You will always want to use the steam programme with a rack or steamer basket on the bottom of the Instant Pot inner pot so the food does not burn. There are two ways to change the time under pressure when you use the steam programme:
- If you select the steam programme and use the ‘adjust’ button, you will be able to choose from 3, 12 and 20 mins.
- If you select the steam programme and use the ‘+/-‘ button, you will be able to adjust the time up or down by 1 min with each press.
How Long Should You Cook an Instant Pot Baked Potato?
The time under pressure depends upon the size of the potato:
- 10 mins for small potatoes
- 12 mins for medium potatoes
- 20 mins for large potatoes
Try to choose potatoes of the same size to ensure even cooking. You can easily do 2-8 potatoes this way (this will depend on the size of your Instant Pot; I have an 8 litre pot) but be careful not to overcrowd.
How to Pick and Store Potatoes
When picking potatoes at the supermarket, look for potatoes that:
- Are smooth and firm
- Don’t have black or green spots
When storing potatoes, make sure:
- You do NOT store them in the fridge. This will spoil the flavour and cause spots to develop on the potato.
- The best place to store a potato is a cool, dark place (a pantry or cupboard will work).
- Do not store potatoes with onions as this will cause them to release gases and moisture that will lead to spoilage.
- You cut off any sprouts before eating them. Sprouted potatoes are safe to eat but not the sprouts themselves; cut the sprouts off before cooking the potatoes.
How to Make Crispy Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Some people looove the fluffy insides of a baked potato and couldn’t care less about the skin. Others live for that crispy potato skin and consider it part of the baked potato-eating experience.
If you live for crispy skin, don’t worry – you can crisp up your Instant Pot Baked Potatoes with ease. If you want crispy skin then rub oil on skin, salt it and bake in a hot oven for up to 10 mins. That is it.
Unique Toppings for Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Besides the usual butter, sour cream and bacon, here are a few different ideas:
- Sriracha sauce
- Cheese you don’t typically see on baked potatoes, such as blue cheese
- Instant Pot Chilli
- Harissa Hummus or other hummus
- Diced avocado
A Fun Way to Serve Instant Pot Baked Potatoes: A Baked Potato Bar
A baked potato bar is a great way to serve Instant Pot Baked Potatoes for your family or guests. (Kids will love this and adults will too – think girl’s night, book club, other parties.) Much like the mac and cheese bar I talk about in my Instant Pot Mac and Cheese post, line up a variety of toppings and let guests choose their favourites.
Weight Watchers Points in Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
There are 4 Freestyle Points in a serving of InstantPot Baked Potatoes.
Thank you for reading my Instant Pot Baked Potato recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.
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Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes scrubbed
- 250 ml 1 cup water
Instructions
- Add water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Add in the steaming rack. Prick the potatoes with a fork and then place them on the rack.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot
- Select the steam programme, press the 'adjust' button until you get 12 mins and let cook till done.
- Allow the Instant Pot pressure to reduce naturally, this may take about 15 mins.
- Open, remove the potatoes and serve.
Notes
- 10 mins for small potatoes
- 12 mins for medium potatoes
- 20 mins for large potatoes
- Sriracha sauce
- Cheese you don’t typically see on baked potatoes, such as blue cheese
- Instant Pot Chilli
- Harissa Hummus or other hummus
- Diced avocado
- Instant Pot Chicken Breast
I am so brand new at this . I just bought myself a pot and it has no book with it telling me what to do so I am writting everything I see into a tablet and saving it all till I get it figured out. Thank you so much for the basic ways to cook with it. Very very happy with your site!
I’m reading this having just eaten a baked potato! Cooking it sounds perfect in the Instant Pot – I hadn’t thought of using it for them before. Genius.
you sure are developing some amazing recipes with your instant pot. I am surely hoping to get one for Christmas!
Whaaaat?! Is there anything you can’t cook in an Instant Pot??! And why do I not have one?! So many questions, so many gorgeous recipes…. keep them coming! You must save so much time in an average week with all these super speedy instant pot suppers.
Oh my word! Who knew you could have fluffy baked potatoes so quickly!! This is life changing. Definitely trying this asap!
I’m all about finding ways to make everyday meals easier using the instant pot, this is such a good idea!