Step-by-Step Guide on how to cook Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes. Best way to cook buttery creamy whole sweet potatoes in Instant Pot based on our Test Kitchen experiments. Enjoy this delicious healthy baked sweet potato side dish, appetizer, or snack.
The Curious Case of Sweet Potatoes.
It’s kinda crazy. But it took us over 2 months to find all the different sizes of sweet potatoes, so we can conduct 8+ tests to craft this foolproof sweet potatoes Instant Pot recipe and time chart.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes, often confused with yams, are far from potatoes with a sweet boost. They taste like dessert but healthy like green leafy veggies. The eye-catching bright orange flesh with a creamy buttery sweet taste. Simple but irresistible.
Did you know sweet potatoes are one of the top Vitamin A food, containing more Vitamin A than spinach and kale? It’s also low fat, has no cholesterol, and is high in antioxidants (beta-carotene), anti-inflammatory nutrients, and fiber.
Crowned as a “Nutritional All-Star – one of the best vegetables you can eat”. No wonder I got so excited eating veggies (sweet potatoes) as a kid!
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Experiment
The best cooking time is mostly dependent on the thickness of the food, rather than its weight.
So, when sweet potatoes come in all sorts of weird shapes and sizes, it’s a little tricky to find the best cook time for pressure cooking sweet potatoes in Instant Pot.
There’s no one-size-fits-all cooking time to solve the Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes mysteries. That’s why some users succeeded, while others failed at cooking whole sweet potatoes in Instant Pot.
To avoid having more sweet potatoes suffer. No more hard & undercooked or mushy & overcooked sweet potatoes! Time for a Pressure Cooker Sweet Potatoes experiment.
Sweet Potatoes Experiment Results
We did 8+ tests with varying sizes of sweet potatoes in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker using different cook times.
Note: The pressure cooking times are tested in 6qt Instant Pot at Sea Level.
How Long to Pressure Cook Sweet Potatoes
After playing around with various factors, we developed a foolproof system for pressure cooking sweet potatoes in Instant Pot.
- Liquid: 1 cup (250ml) cold tap water
- Location: Sweet potatoes on the steamer rack
- Pressure Cooking Method: High Pressure (use Manual/Pressure Cook Button)
- Pressure Cooking Time (depends on the sweet potatoes’ circumference)
- Preferences: fully cooked with some chew – fully tender
- 6 inches: 15 – 20 mins
- 8 inches: 25 – 30 mins
- 10 inches: 35 – 40 mins
- 12 inches: 45 – 50 mins
- Pressure Release Method: Natural Release (takes roughly 10 – 11 mins)
How to Cook Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients for cooking sweet potatoes Instant Pot recipe.
Sweet Potatoes: We developed this recipe and time chart with whole sweet potatoes. Their circumference ranges from 6 – 12 inches, and their weight ranges from 160g – 700g.
Tools for Sweet Potatoes Instant Pot Recipe
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
- Steamer Rack
Wash Sweet Potatoes
First, rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes in cold water.
Pressure Cook Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot
Put 1 cup (250 ml) of cold water and a steamer rack in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
Put whole sweet potatoes on the steamer rack.
Close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.
Use the time chart below to find the best time to pressure cook sweet potatoes based on your whole sweet potatoes’ circumference.
Pressure Cook Sweet Potatoes Time Chart:
- Preference: Fully cooked with some chew – Fully tender
- 6 inches: High Pressure for 15 – 20 mins, then Natural Release
- 8 inches: High Pressure for 25 – 30 mins, then Natural Release
- 10 inches: High Pressure for 35 – 40 mins, then Natural Release
- 12 inches: High Pressure for 45 – 50 mins, then Natural Release
Note: The natural release will take roughly 10 to 11 mins.
Once the Floating Valve drops, remove the lid.
Measuring Circumference: Wrap your measuring tape around the whole sweet potatoes once to find the circumference.
Sweet Potatoes with a Circumference 11 inches or more. Save time by cutting the sweet potatoes in half (lengthwise) before pressure cooking. This cut short the pressure cook time from 45 mins to 25 mins!
Serve Sweet Potatoes
Serve the baked sweet potatoes as is or drizzle some maple syrup and butter on top of the steamed sweet potato.
“Baked” Sweet Potatoes Topping Ideas: Butter, salt and pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, maple syrup, sour cream, chives, shredded cheese, Greek yogurt, Jalapenos, pico de gallo + black beans, Instant Pot shredded chicken, bacon + egg + cheese, guacamole.
What Goes Well with Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes is a tasty and versatile ingredient, side dish, appetizer, or snack. You can use it to make dishes like mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, or sweet potato puree. Or you can enjoy it as a baked sweet potato with or without toppings.
Sweet potatoes go well with a large variety of main dishes including chicken, pork, turkey, duck, beef, or fish. Pair it with a protein and vegetables to enjoy a complete meal.
Here are some delicious recipes that go well with sweet potatoes:
Chicken and Turkey
Beef
Pork
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Instant Pot Ribs
- Instant Pot Pork Chops
- Instant Pot Ham
- Instant Pot Pork Shoulder
Enjoy Creamy Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes!
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 - 4 whole sweet potatoes (circumference: 6 – 12 inches, weight: 160g – 700g)
- 1 cup (250ml) cold water
- Optional Toppings: butter & maple syrup
Equipment
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Instructions
- Wash Sweet Potatoes: Rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes in cold water.
- Pressure Cook Sweet Potatoes: Put 1 cup (250ml) cold water and a steamer rack in Instant Pot. Put whole sweet potatoes on steamer rack.Close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure cook sweet potatoes at High Pressure (depending on your sweet potatoes' circumference) for:Preference: Fully cooked with some chew - Fully tendera) 6 inches: 15 - 20 minsb) 8 inches: 25 - 30 minsc) 10 inches: 35 - 40 minsd) 12 inches: 45 - 50 minsThen, do a Full Natural Release (roughly 10 - 11 mins). Open the lid carefully.
- Serve: Serve the sweet potatoes as is or drizzle with maple syrup and butter. Enjoy your sweet treat! 🙂
Video
Notes
- Measuring Circumference: Wrap your measuring tape around the whole sweet potatoes once to find the circumference
- Sweet Potatoes with a Circumference of 11 Inches or More: Save time by cutting the sweet potatoes in half (lengthwise) before pressure cooking. This will cut short the pressure cook time from 45 mins to 25 mins!
- Cooking More Sweet Potatoes: If you're pressure cooking more sweet potatoes or using an 8qt Instant Pot, you may need to decrease the pressure cooking time by 1 to 3 minutes depending on how many you're cooking. Make sure not to pack them too tightly and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Purple Sweet Potatoes: We briefly tested a few purple sweet potatoes with the cooking time chart and they worked.
- Size: look for small to medium sweet potatoes
- Weight: feels heavy for their size
- Appearance: skin should be firm, smooth (not highly wrinkled), even-toned, no brown/black discoloration, hydrated, no soft spots, no bruises, not wet, no freshly growing roots or sign of sprouting
- Cool, Well Ventilated, Dark Place: Try to store sweet potatoes in a loosely covered bag or basket to allow air circulation (e.g. wrap in newspaper or brown paper bags); don't refrigerate because they don't keep well in the fridge.
- Storage Duration (if stored properly):
- Raw Sweet Potatoes: last for about 3 - 5 weeks
- Cooked Sweet Potatoes: last for 7 days in the fridge in a tightly closed container
- Still Good to Eat? You can cut it open and check. If there are no dark brown spots inside the flesh, it should still be good to eat.
Nutrition
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