Go Back
+ servings

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

5 (12 ratings)
Created by Shinee D.
Servings 6 -8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Enjoy creamy and fluffy Instant Pot baked potatoes without sacrificing crispy skin and all. Useful tips and tricks are included!

Ingredients
  

  • 6-8 medium russet potatoes Note 1
  • 1-1.5 cups water
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil optional

For serving:

  • coarse kosher salt
  • garlic powder
  • chives/scallions
  • butter
  • sour cream
  • grated cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

  • Wash and scrub the potatoes well. Poke the potatoes with a fork (or a small pairing knife) in 5-6 places. (Rumor has it that the potatoes may explode if not pricked, as steam needs to escape.) (TIP: If you’d like to peel and repurpose the baked potatoes for another dish, cut an X on one end of the potato for easy peeling. See it in action in the post below.)
  • Pour 1 cup (or 1.5 cups if you have 8qt Instant Pot) in inner pot of Instant Pot. Place the trivet (or a steamer rack) and arrange the potatoes on it. (TIP: Make sure potatoes are not touching the water, or they’ll come out mushy.)
  • Close the lid and make sure the pressure valve is set to sealing. Set the Instant Pot on Manual/Pressure Cook for 15 minutes. (If you’re cooking large potatoes, set it to 18 minutes. See Note 2 for more details about size of potatoes.)
  • When time is up, do NPR (natural pressure release) for at least 5 minutes, and then do a quick pressure release by turning the pressure valve to venting.
  • Carefully open the lid and remove the potatoes using a pair of kitchen tongs.
  • For crispy skin, preheat the oven to 500°F (broiler). Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet, lightly oil them and sprinkle some salt. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until nice and crispy, flipping half through. Keep a close eye on them to prevent them from burning.
  • Remove from oven and serve with your favorite toppings.

Notes

This recipe has been tested in my favorite Instant Pot DUO 6qt.
Note 1: Pick similar sized potatoes, if you can. But if you have potatoes of various sizes, place the bigger ones on the bottom and smaller ones on top. And if needed, cook the bigger ones for an additional 2 minutes, after you remove the cooked smaller potatoes.
Testing notes: In my experience, the fuller the pot, better the potatoes cooked. Meaning, if you fill the pot with potatoes of various sizes and cook for 15 minutes with 5min NPR, all the potatoes cooked perfectly. Whereas when I cooked only 4 potatoes (2 large and 2 medium) for 15 minutes with 5min NPR, the large ones would still be a little hard.
Note 2: For the most part, 15 minutes is sufficient time to cook medium to large potatoes. However, if you’re cooking pot full of large to extra large potatoes, then I’d cook them for 18-20 minutes. For small potatoes, cook for 12 minutes. Read the post below to determine what size is your potato.

Nutrition

Serving: 1potatoCalories: 189kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 5gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 13mgPotassium: 888mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 2mg

* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only.