Potato fans will absolutely love this Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe! This super rich and creamy mashed potato dish is done all in one pot, making prep, cooking, and cleanup a breeze.
Mashed potatoes are a family dinner staple and classic side dish. I LOVE mashed potatoes, but haven't always loved making them on the stovetop.
Enter the almighty handy dandy electric pressure cooker. Using multicookers like the Instant Pot and the Ninja Foodi is my favorite way to get creamy potatoes.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If this is your first time making mashed potatoes in the electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot/Ninja Foodi), prepare to be amazed!
Maybe it's the rich, creamy texture that makes this easy side dish the ultimate comfort food.
Or maybe it's the way these gluten-free mashed potatoes go so well as a side dish with many different main courses. I love these garlicky mashed potatoes as a tasty Thanksgiving side dish with Spatchcock Turkey, or with Air Fryer Paprika Chicken on busy weeknights.
As the main cook of the house, I also love how everything is made in one pot, without much prep work. Makes for easy clean up, too!
🥔 Ingredients
Potatoes - Russet potatoes work the best for mashed potatoes. You can also use Yukon Gold potatoes, but I would not recommend using red potatoes.
Garlic - This recipe calls for 6 cloves of garlic, which I find to be just the right amount. Feel free to adjust the amount to your personal preference.
Butter - I know a cup of butter seems like a lot, but 1) that's what helps take these mashed potatoes to a whole new level, and 2) this recipe makes a LOT of mashed potatoes. So one cup (2 sticks) of butter is in proportion to the rest of the ingredients. If you must, you can reduce the butter to ½ cup (1 stick). Just be aware that in doing so, you will not end up with the same creaminess. So if you prefer chunkier potatoes, go ahead and reduce the amount of butter, cream cheese, and/or cream.
Broth - you can use homemade broth or stock, or store bought. You can also use chicken broth or vegetable broth - whichever you prefer.
Cream Cheese - Use half of a stick of cream cheese (4 ounces). You can also substitute with your favorite dairy-free cream cheese if you wish, or greek yogurt.
Cream - you can use half and half, heavy whipping cream, or even your preferred milk (including dairy-free milk alternatives). This adds a velvety smooth texture to the mashed potatoes!
Herbs - fresh or dried thyme and sage add depth of flavor.
Salt and pepper - the measurements are for kosher salt and ground black pepper. Be sure to adjust the amount if you are using regular table salt instead of kosher salt.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Detailed instructions on how to make these fluffy potatoes are in the recipe card below. Here's a quick step-by-step look at make garlic mashed potatoes in an electric pressure cooker:
- Peel and slice the potatoes.
2. Place sliced potatoes into the Instant Pot and cover with broth or water. Add the salt and garlic.
3. Close the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi lid and be sure the pressure release valve is in SEALING. Pressure Cook on high pressure and set the cooking time to 8 minutes.
4. Once pressure cooking is complete, use a wooden spoon or other utensil with a long handle to carefully move the pressure release valve over to VENT for a Quick Release. Once the pressure release valve falls all the way down, very carefully open the lid.
5. Drain the potatoes over a fine mesh strainer (see photo above) so that the garlic stays with the potatoes.
6. Return the potatoes and garlic to the Instant Pot and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes.
7. Add the butter, cream cheese, heavy cream or half and half, sage, and thyme. Mash the ingredients together with a potato masher until the potatoes reach your desired consistency.
You can also opt to use a hand blender (immersion blender) to puree the potatoes in the Instant Pot/Ninja Foodi until smooth and creamy.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Depending on how thick you've sliced your potatoes, it usually takes between 8 and 10 minutes of pressure cooking (not including Come to Pressure Time) for potatoes to be fully cooked and soft enough to mash.
This recipe results in super creamy mashed potatoes, thanks to pressure cooking in the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi, and the addition of a mixture of butter, cream, and cream cheese. If you want it even creamier, you can add more heavy cream or cream cheese while the potatoes are still hot/warm. You can also opt to use an immersion blender instead of or in addition to a potato masher to blend the potatoes and ingredients together until creamy.
Allow leftover garlic mashed potatoes to cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
While you can technically freeze mashed potatoes, it is not recommended. Frozen mashed potatoes do not thaw or reheat well; the consistency changes during the freezing process and you could end up with watery potatoes once they are thawed.
If you find your potatoes are too creamy, you could refrigerated them. This usually helps firm up the potatoes. When the potatoes are still warm, you could also try to add a little flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder to the warm potatoes and stir until it's reached the consistency you like. Keep in mind this second option changes the flavor, so you may want to add more seasoning (garlic, herbs, salt, and/or pepper) to balance out the flavors.
🍽 Serving ideas
We served these garlic mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving along with our Spatchcock Turkey and some homemade turkey gravy. They're perfect for any holiday meal!
Feel free to add any of your favorite potato toppings like sour cream, green onions, or cheddar cheese to this mashed potato recipe.
While these creamy potatoes are a great side dish for any weeknight dinner, I especially love serving them alongside these dinner recipes and other side dishes:
- Citrus Herb Chicken
- Soy Garlic Butter Chicken Bites with Asparagus
- Instant Pot Filipino Chicken Adobo
- Air Fryer Whole Chicken
- Cast Iron Rib Eye Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
- Air Fryer Paprika Chicken
🍷 Best wine pairings
If you're serving mashed potatoes as a side dish with, say, Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas beef roast, you'll want to choose a wine that pairs well with the main dish. However, some of those same wines will also pair well with these garlicky mashed potatoes on their own.
Since these mashed potatoes are rich and creamy, go for a big red wine to match. A Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, or Argentinian Malbec would pair well with mashed potatoes.
⏲ Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to start cooking? For this recipe, you just need a few basic kitchen tools:
Electric pressure cooker - I make this in my 8-quart Deluxe XL Ninja Foodi or my 8-quarter XL Instant Pot. You may also make this in a 6-quart Ninja Foodi or 6-quart Instant Pot but you may need to adjust measurements of ingredients slightly.
Potato masher - This potato masher helps mash the potatoes and mix in the creamy ingredients.
Cutting board, vegetable peeler, and knife- Use a sturdy cutting board, vegetable peeler, and sharp knife to prep the potatoes and mince the garlic.
Immersion Blender (optional) - If you find that a potato masher isn't making the potatoes as creamy as you would like, you can use an immersion blender (hand blender) to puree the potatoes in the pot.
🥦 More delicious side dish recipes
Check out all of our side dish recipes!
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 large Russet potatoes (about 3 pounds)
- 4-5 cups vegetable broth or water, just enough to barely cover the potatoes with some sticking out of the liquid
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh sage or dried sage
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
Instructions
- Peel and slice the potatoes into 1-inch to 1½-inch slices. Place them into the Instant Pot and cover with vegetable broth or water. Add the salt and garlic.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and be sure the pressure release valve is in SEALING. Pressure Cook on HI for 8 minutes. It will take your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes to come to pressure, and then it will start counting down.
- Once pressure cooking is complete, use a wooden spoon or other utensil with a long handle to carefully move the pressure release valve over to VENT for a Quick Release. Once the pressure release valve falls all the way down, very carefully open the lid.
- Drain the potatoes over a fine mesh strainer so that the garlic stays with the potatoes. Return the potatoes to the Instant Pot and add the butter, cream cheese, heavy cream or half and half, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mash the ingredients together with a potato masher until creamy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
Andrea says
Always in search of new instant pot recipes. Glad I found this one.
Jill says
Fantastic recipe! I am all about more butter in my mashed potatoes!
Beth says
These are simply delicious. Nothing better than a warm, comforting serving of mashed! Can't wait to make them again. They're so easy in the IP.
Andrea says
Easy to make and they look so creamy and delicious. A perfect side dish.
Tawnie Kroll says
These were so smooth and creamy and really easy to make!! Thank you!