These Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes for a crowd feature 5 pounds of russet potatoes, garlic, and herbs to make enough delicious mashed potatoes to feed an army or a family on Thanksgiving. This Instant Pot Mashed Potato Recipe will declutter your stovetop during the holiday season giving you more time to relax and less time worrying about the potatoes boiling over.
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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for a Crowd
Mashed potatoes are such an epitome of a Thanksgiving and holiday meal. I am pretty sure it is on every family’s table right? So this year I decided to make the mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker and boy is it nice!
By doing the mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker that leaves my stovetop and mind free to think about other foods that need to be made like a Spiral Ham, Dry Brined Turkey, or Classic Prime Rib.
Now by doing the potatoes in the pressure cooker I don’t think it saves any time but I definitely think it is easier and a more consistent result!
5 Pounds of Russet Potatoes + Pressure Cooker
To top it all off this is definitely a recipe for a crowd because it makes a lot of mashed potatoes, like 5 pounds worth!
My pressure cooker is 6 quart Instant Pot, so anything 6 quarts and larger should handle this recipe just perfect!
Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
Buy Now →Now because there are so many potatoes this recipe does take a while to come to pressure because most likely you will be filling water to the max fill line to cover the potatoes.
Garlic & Herbs
Now I love good old plain potatoes but at the same time I find them a bit boring, so these potatoes are ‘spiced up’ with minced garlic and herbs so add some fantastic flavor.
On top of a huge tablespoon of garlic the herbs consist of parsley, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper.
The potatoes are also finished with butter, milk, and sour cream for maximum flavor and creaminess.
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe
You will start by peeling and quarter cutting all of the russet potatoes. Try to get all of the pieces about the same size.
Add prepped potatoes to the pot of the pressure cooker. Cover with water (Being careful to not exceed maximum level, leave potatoes slightly uncovered if needed).
Seal lid, turn steam vent to sealing, and select manual/pressure cook. Set to high pressure for 15 minutes. With the large amount of water the pressure cooker will take between 20-30 minutes to preheat before cooking.
Meanwhile in a large bowl (large because you will transfer your potatoes into it). Add garlic, parsley, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, and milk.
When the timer goes off quick realease the steam vent carefully. Once the float has dropped carefully open the lid. Note that because this recipe contains a lot of water there will be a lot of steam, be prepared.
Using a slotted spoon transfer the potatoes to a large bowl on top of the other ingredients draining as much water from the potatoes as possible.
Let the potatoes rest on top of the other ingredients for 3-4 minutes warming up the milk, butter, and sour cream before proceeding. By giving the dairy a few minutes to warm up before mashing all of the ingredients will combine easier and make fluffier mashed potatoes.
Then using a potato masher mash the potatoes until your preffered consistency. Serve immediately or to keep warm simply drain the pot and return the mashed potatoes to the pot on the ‘keep warm’ setting before serving.
tips, tricks and questions
You can substitute fresh herbs for the dry herbs but double the amount of fresh herbs you use since fresh herbs are less concentrated than the dried ones.
Plain or Greek Yogurt can be subbed for the sour cream. I also recommend using whole milk and unsalted butter if available. And if you are looking for really rich potatoes you could even sub cream for the milk.
If need be you could whip/mash the potatoes in a stand or electric mixer but using a real potato masher makes the biggest difference! I promise the consistency using a real masher makes the best mashed potatoes.
Don’t skip the wait time and make sure you let the potatoes slightly warm up the butter, sour cream, and milk before mashing. Waiting for those ingredients to no longer be cold makes a big difference. Alternatively you could warm up the ingredients slightly in the microwave first but I figured the potatoes could do all the hard work and I wouldn’t have to add another step.
How to Prep these Mashed Potatoes for a Crowd ahead of time.
You can do all the prep work ahead of time/the night before for these mashed potatoes to make the big day so much easier.
For the potatoes simply peel and cut. Then place submerged in water overnight in the fridge. This could be in a large bowl or a few separate containers. Once you are ready to make the mashed potatoes transfer the prepped potatoes to the pressure cooker and proceed as normal.
You can also prepare the rest of the ingredients ahead of time by measuring out and adding everything to an airtight container and in the refrigerator until it is time to make the potatoes.
By doing these two steps ahead of time you simply have to start the pressure cooker and mash the potatoes once cooked, no need to cut or measure anything at the time they need to be made!
If you are looking for more dinner & holiday side dished check these recipes out:
- Roasted Carrots with Dill & Brown Sugar
- Roasted Pear & Pecan Salad
- Parmesan Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Cranberry Orange Relish
- Sunflower Seed Pie
- How to Make A Sheet Pan Snack Platter
- Apple Cranberry Salad with Turkey
- Dried Beef Pickle Roll Ups
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for a Crowd
these delicious garlic and herb pressure cooker mashed potatoes are made from 5 pounds of russet potatoes and are easy to make and a perfect side dish for the holiday season
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Russet Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Peel and quarter cut all of the russet potatoes.
- Add prepped potatoes to the pot of the pressure cooker. Cover with water (Being careful to not exceed maximum level, leave potatoes slightly uncovered if needed).
- Seal lid, turn steam vent to sealing, and select manual/pressure cook. Set to high pressure for 15 minutes. With the large amount of water the pressure cooker will take between 20-30 minutes to preheat before cooking.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl (large because you will transfer your potatoes into it). Add garlic, parsley, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, and milk.
- When the timer goes off quick realease the steam vent carefully. Once the float has dropped carefully open the lid. Using a slotted spoon transfer the potatoes to the large bowl on top of the other ingredients draining as much water from the potatoes as possible.
- Let the potatoes rest on top of the other ingredinets for 3-4 minutes warming up the milk, butter, and sour cream. Then using a potato masher mash the potatoes until your preffered consistency. Add more liquid if needed.
- Serve immediately or to keep warm simply drain the pot and return the mashed potatoes to the pot to keep warm.
Notes
You can substitue fresh herbs for the dry herbs but double the amount of fresh herbs you use since fresh herbs are less concentrated.
Be careful releasing the steam on this recipe, since there is so much water in the pot I noticed it results in a lot of steam!
Plain or Greek Yogurt can be subbed for the sour cream. I also recommend using whole milk and unsalted butter if available.
If need be you could whip/mash the potatoes in a stand or electric mixer but using a real potato masher makes the biggest difference!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 271Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 499mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 5gSugar: 2gProtein: 7g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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