Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

This Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes tutorial will help you choose the best cooking time to prepare sweet potatoes for a range of soul food recipes like Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Pie with Condensed Milk.

Why Make Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot

• Saves time and space: boiling sweet potatoes can take up time and space on the stove. When I’m preparing for holiday meals, I prefer to put my gadgets to use to free up space on the stove and in the oven.
• Versatile: whether you want to soften a sweet potato for Easy Baked Sweet Potato Rounds, need sweet potato puree for Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Easy Sweet Potato Waffles, or some texture in between to make recipes like my Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes, the Instant Pot can be a great tool.

Ingredients Needed

• Sweet Potatoes: I use about 2-3 large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs) in my 8 qt. Instant Pot.
• Water: you need cold water for the bottom of your Instant Pot

How To Make Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Regardless of the recipe, the initial steps to make pressure cooker sweet potatoes are the same. The cooking time will vary based on how soft you’d like your sweet potatoes to be.

1. Add the sweet potatoes to the steamer insert of an instant pot.
2. Pour one cup of water into the bottom.
3. Cook the sweet potatoes on high pressure for 8, 10, or 12 minutes, depending on the recipe. 
4. Use quick pressure release to stop the cooking process.

How Long to Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot

The cooking time will vary based on how soft you’d like your sweet potatoes to be. Here you’ll see how sweet potatoes look at three different cook times, I’ll also include some recipes to make by cooking time.

8 Minutes

This cook time is perfect when you need to simply soften a sweet potato, while still having them firm. I’d use this when making something like a sweet potato hash.

10 Minutes

This cooking time is perfect when you need a fork-tender sweet potato. This is my preferred time when making dishes like Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes. The skin peels off with a butter knife and it can still be cut into rounds without completely falling apart.

12 Minute

I use this time when I’m making pies like Sweet Potato Pie with Graham Cracker Crust because I need to easily turn my sweet potatoes into a puree. I often take my sweet potatoes out of the Instant Pot and place them in a blender or food processor.

It also works well when making Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Recipe Tips & FAQs

• 12 Minutes is the max: sweet potatoes can get stringy when overcooked and when stored improperly. So, be sure to consider the cooking times and recommended recipes to get ideas for how the sweet potatoes will turn out. I would not recommend cooking for longer than 12 minutes.
• Don’t overload the cooking pot: I use about 2-3 sweet potatoes or about 2 lbs. Using more will change the cooking time.
• You can always make the sweet potatoes softer, but you can’t firm them back up. So, when in doubt, cook using less time and simply put the lid back on the Instant Pot for 5 minutes to steam the sweet potatoes some more. You don’t need to turn the Instant Pot on since it will still be hot.