Name: Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 4 sweet potatoes (should be between 3-4 inches in diameter); Black beans; Corn; Pico de gallo; Cilantro; Jalapeno peppers; Green onions; Red onion; Sauteed bell peppers; Sour cream; Shredded cheese

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These Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes turn out perfectly every time! Follow these easy step-by-step instructions, then learn how to load ’em up for a delicious meal in one!

Cooking sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot

If you’ve never made an Instant Pot sweet potato, are you in for a treat! Thanks to the Instant Pot, you won’t have to wait over an hour for sweet potatoes to bake in the oven.

There are three varieties of sweet potato; white, orange, and purple. Regardless of their color, all three varieties can be prepared in the Instant Pot using the same method.

White – A white sweet potato is the sweetest, but in a typical grocery store, this variety can be a bit difficult to find in stock.
Orange – This common variety is what most people think of when sweet potatoes are the topic of conversation. Orange sweet potatoes are just a little less sweet than the white variety.
Purple – Of all the varieties, purple sweet potatoes are the richest in antioxidants. While still somewhat sweet, the purple potatoes taste the best in savory dishes like potato salad or sweet potato pie.

Making Instant Pot sweet potatoes step-by-step

Here’s how to make Instant Pot sweet potatoes in a flash – see the entire method step-by-step below and for the ingredients!

Add 1 cup of water to Instant Pot then add the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot to the bottom
Add sweet potatoes on top of trivet then pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Allow the pressure to release naturally (about 10-15 minutes), then remove the sweet potatoes
Let the sweet potatoes cool, then slice them in half and load with the toppings of your choice (make sure to add the cheese first!)

Can you freeze cooked sweet potatoes?

Yes! To freeze the cooked sweet potatoes, wrap them in foil once cooled for 30-40 min and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat them in the microwave for 7-8 minutes to defrost and serve. They are so perfect for meal prep because you can make them ahead of time and serve later.

Using the trivet or steamer basket

You will need to use a steamer basket or trivet to cook sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot. Use the trivet that came in the box with your Instant Pot (or get another trivet here for a cheap, usually under $1o) or use a steamer basket that will find in the inner pot. You’ll add just 1 cup of water and the sweet potatoes, making the prep time for this recipe only 5 minutes!

Quick release vs natural release

I find a natural release allows the sweet potatoes to keep on cooking without adding a ton more cook time. A natural release only takes 10-15 minutes and you can start preparing your toppings while everything is de-pressurizing. Doing a quick release may result in undercooked potatoes so if you’re looking to go that route, I recommend you add 15 more minutes on high pressure if you want to do a quick release.

How big should the sweet potatoes be?

Most sweet potatoes are 3-4 inches in diameter (or roundness) and that’s what works best with this recipe. You can do the following for other sizes of sweet potato:

10 minutes for 2-inch sweet potatoes
15 minutes for 3-4 inch sweet potatoes
20 minutes for 5-6 inch sweet potatoes
40 minutes for 7-8 inch sweet potatoes

Keep in mind this is in diameter and not length, so be sure to measure the thickest part of your sweet potatoes if you’re unsure of the cook times.

How many sweet potatoes can you cook at a time?

I typically cook 3 to 4 sweet potatoes at a time, all 3-4 inches in diameter. You can do anywhere from 1-6 sweet potatoes of this size for the cook times listed and they should all cook through the same. The amount of sweet potatoes do not tend to matter as much as the size of them and how thick they are.

Do you need to pierce the sweet potatoes?

You do not need to pierce your sweet potatoes in advance as long as you are using a steamer basket or trivet, although it won’t hurt if you’d like to pierce them just in case. It’s a matter of personal preference but I do not find it necessary.

How to make loaded Instant Pot sweet potatoes

Rather than the traditional brown sugar and marshmallow topping of Thanksgiving dinners, Instant Pot sweet potatoes can be topped with any number of healthy ingredients.

Load your potatoes with some (or all!) of these toppings:

Black beans
Corn
Pico de gallo
Cilantro
Jalapeno peppers
Green onions
Red onion
Sauteed bell peppers
Light sour cream
Shredded cheese

With all of these choices it’s easy to please a crowd.

The sweet potatoes themselves are set-it-and-forget when prepared in the Instant Pot. Spend your time preparing a slew of topping choices for lots of variety.

Storing sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes should be kept in a cool, dry place; never store them in a refrigerator. If they are properly stored, the shelf life of sweet potatoes is two to three weeks. If you have a dark, cool room (like a root cellar), they will last for about a month.

Prior to making Instant Pot sweet potatoes, use a vegetable brush to scrub away any dirt or debris from the potatoes. Remember, they are grown under the ground, so it’s not unusual to see a bin of sweet potatoes with dirt still on them.

What is the healthiest way to eat a sweet potato?

When sweet potatoes are boiled, they lose a lot of their nutrients in the water and when they’re fried, you end up with unwanted fat and calories. Baking a sweet potato keeps the nutrients inside. As long as you don’t go overboard with toppings, baked sweet potatoes are the healthiest.

One of the great things about this sweet potato Instant Pot recipe is that the potatoes do not sit in the water. By using the trivet inside the Instant Pot, the potatoes do not lose any nutritional value to the water. Plus, they will be perfectly cooked due to the circulation of the heat all the way around the potato.

Nutrition in sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes may be eaten raw or cooked by baking, boiling, roasting, or frying them. In this quick and easy recipe, we’ll use the Instant Pot to pressure cook the perfect Instant Pot sweet potatoes.

The bright orange interior gives away that orange sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene.They are also a great source of vitamins A and C, fiber, iron, and potassium.

The skin of the sweet potato is edible as well and contains many essential vitamins and minerals.

Other ways to use Instant Pot sweet potatoes

You don’t have to make these Instant Pot sweet potatoes fully loaded – you can actually use them in a variety of different ways! Here are some ideas of ways to use these sweet potatoes in daily meals:

Turn them into mashed sweet potatoes
Add some butter, salt & pepper, sour cream and chives to turn them into the equivalent of a baked potato
Dice the up and turn them into sweet potato hash

More Mexican Instant Pot recipes

If you love these Instant Pot sweet potatoes you are bound to love these Mexican-inspired favorites as well!

Instant Pot resources

If you’re looking to make more amazing food using your Instant Pot, I’ve got a whole bunch of free resources you can sign up for!

Sign up for free below:

Meal prep tools for this recipe

Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on adding Instant Pot sweet potatoes into your weekly lunches.
You can get another trivet here
Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls for up to 3 months