Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Cooked Whole
You are going to love this no-fuss, foolproof method for cooking Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes. They’re an easy and nutritious food that everyone loves. Serve your whole cooked sweet potatoes as a simple side dish with a pat of butter or your favorite toppings.
I think you’re going to love how easy and efficient it is to make Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes.
Compared to the time and effort it takes to cook whole sweet potatoes in an oven, cooking them in the Instant Pot is a cinch and will save a huge amount of time!
They’re done about 60% faster and you don’t have to poke holes in the potatoes before you cook them.
It’s honestly so convenient and I’ll never go back to using my oven to make delicious, healthy sweet potatoes that are perfectly cooked every single time.
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Benefits
Sweet potatoes are an incredibly healthy whole food. They are a source of gluten-free carbohydrates and are on my list of the healthiest foods to eat daily.
When making Instant Pot whole sweet potatoes, you:
- don’t have to prick the sweet potatoes to get them to cook evenly through,
- don’t have to pre-heat your oven and heat up your kitchen,
- can walk away and do other things while the Instant Pot does its magic!
If you’re new to cooking with the Instant Pot, be sure to check out my Beginner’s Guide to using the Instant Pot Duo.
Key Ingredients & Equipment
You only need one main ingredient for this recipe: whole sweet potatoes!
They are sometimes called Garnet Yams or Jewel Sweet Potatoes, but they have a reddish skin and a bright orange flesh inside.
You can also use this method for Japanese Sweet Potatoes (purple skin and white flesh) or Hannah Sweet Potatoes (tan skin and white flesh). If you want to cook Russet potatoes, see this guide on how to boil potatoes in the Instant Pot.
You’ll also need a cup of water to help bring your Instant Pot electric pressure cooker up to pressure. Use cold water or room temperature water.
When cooking whole sweet potatoes in a pressure cooker, I also recommend using a trivet, steamer basket, or just some balled-up pieces of aluminum foil to help keep the potatoes from sitting on the bottom of the pot.
This helps them cook evenly through and prevents them from getting soggy.
How to Pressure Cook Whole Sweet Potatoes
You aren’t going to believe how easy it is to cook whole sweet potatoes in an electric pressure cooker. To make gloriously soft sweet potatoes with a silky-smooth flesh, all you have to if follow these steps.
Step One
Wash and pat dry your sweet potatoes. It’s nice to get off any dirt on the skin.
The skin is actually edible, but you want it to be free from any dirt.
Step Two
Place them on a trivet inside the Instant Pot. If you have a steamer basket, you can use that too (see my favorite Instant Pot meal prep accessories).
Add one cup of water.
Step Three
Lock on the lid and set the amount of cook time based on the size of your potatoes.
- Small sweet potatoes – 12 minutes
- Medium sweet potatoes (most common size) – 18 minutes
- Large sweet potatoes – 25 minutes
Please note that the cooking time does not include the 10 minutes to come up to high pressure and any time for a natural pressure release (usually about 10 minutes).
Step Four
Cook on high pressure and then let the pressure come down naturally for about 10 minutes.
Use the natural release, remove the lid, and use tongs to transfer your perfect sweet potatoes to a serving plate.
I hope you agree that this pressure cooker sweet potatoes recipe is a great way to make tender sweet potatoes with very little effort or oversight. It’s my favorite way to make delicious sweet potatoes that I serve as a healthy side dish.
Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Recipe Tips
- Buy organic sweet potatoes if you plan to eat the skin. Otherwise, conventional sweet potatoes are fine.
- You can cook regular potatoes the same way! See my complete blog post on how to boil potatoes in an Instant Pot. Or, if you prefer to use the oven, see this guide for Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes have natural sugars that make them perfect for savory or sweet dishes. See my complete list of the best vegetables for picky eaters.
- To make them a main dish, you can stuff them with meat, beans, salsa, cheese, or whatever you like.
- Serve your cooked potatoes with whatever toppings you like. Most people like a little butter or vegan butter. For a treat, add a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar (or maple syrup or coconut sugar). And, if you’ve never tried sweet potatoes and nut butter, you’ve got to try it! Just drizzle the top with some room temperature almond butter or peanut butter. Add some granola or Air Fryer Candied Pecans and you’ve got yourself a healthy dessert. Try it!!!
- Got leftover baked sweet potatoes? Blend them into a Sweet Potato Smoothie that tastes like a sweet potato pie.
Recipe FAQs
A 3-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 3 medium sweet potatoes, a 6-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 5 or 6 medium sweet potatoes and an 8-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 10 or more medium sweet potatoes.
Small sweet potato – 12 minutes
Medium sweet potato (most common size) – 18 minutes
Large sweet potato – 25 minutes
The options are endless! Sweet potatoes can just be cut down the middle and served with some butter, ghee, or coconut oil. They also go great with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a drizzle of nut butter.
I even make a Sweet Potato Smoothie recipe that tastes like sweet potato pie.
You can also use them as a base for toppings like cooked beans or ground meat. Or, you can even make them into a Sweet Potato Casserole or my delicious gluten-free Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread!
Yes, but I like to remove them from the skin and just freeze the flesh. See my full post on how to freeze sweet potatoes.
Yes, but I recommend buying organic sweet potatoes if you want to eat the skin. Also, be sure to scrub them really well before cooking them.
Yes! But, I recommend peeling them and chopping them before cooking them. See my easy Instant Pot mashed sweet potato recipe for the details. This recipe is great for baby food too!
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes You Might Like
- Instant Pot Artichokes
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Instant Pot Beets
- Instant Pot Whole Butternut Squash
- Instant Pot Cabbage
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Instant Pot Whole Red Potatoes
See my entire index of healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Don’t Miss These Sweet Potato Recipes!
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
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Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Cooked Whole (Any Size)
You are going to love this no-fuss, foolproof method for cooking Instant Pot Whole Sweet Potatoes. They’re an easy and nutritious food that everyone loves. This article also includes some delicious serving ideas.
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 6
Ingredients
- 6 medium sweet potatoes, whole
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes, using a sponge or brush to scrape off any pieces of dirt. Pat dry with a clean towel.
- Place the trivet into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the water.
- Arrange the sweet potato on the trivet.
- Lock on the lid and set the cooking time to 18 minutes, making sure the pressure valve is set to “sealing.”
- When the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down naturally for 5 minutes, and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid and use tongs to transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a serving plate.
- Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Cooking times can vary based on the size of your sweet potato. Medium is the most common size. The small ones fit in the palm of your hand and the large ones are huge.
- Adjust the cooking time based on the size of your potatoes: Small sweet potato (12 minutes) Medium sweet potato (18 minutes) Large sweet potato (25 minutes).
- A 3-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 3 medium sweet potatoes, a 6-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 5 or 6 medium sweet potatoes and an 8-quart Instant Pot will fit up to 10 or more medium sweet potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes can just be cut down the middle and served with some butter, ghee, or coconut oil. They also go great with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a drizzle of nut butter like almond butter or peanut butter.
- The total cooking time includes 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure, plus a 5 minute natural release.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Instant Pot pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 112
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 71.5 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.2 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest is the author of the best-selling Instant Pot-authorized cookbook, The Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook. She has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and receives over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
At what temperature? HI or Lo?
High pressure.
I made this for the second time tonight. Delicious, warming, healthy. Thanks!
I’ve just bought instant pot and I can’t wait to make this. It sounds so easy and potato does look tender and flavorful. Saving this recipe. Thanks for sharing.