Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Using an Instant Pot to cook your sweet potatoes is the best! They turn out perfectly sweet, creamy, and soft in half the time it takes to bake them!

My Instant Pot and air fryer are two workhorses in my kitchen. They’ve simplified dinner so much! Add this Instant Pot spaghetti, mashed potatoes, or meatloaf to your dinner lineup! You won’t regret it! Instant Pot recipes are always so quick and easy to make but turn out perfectly.

Soft and Tender Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

I love baked sweet potatoes, especially around the holidays! The only problem is, with the hour-long bake time, it doesn’t really work if you’re in a pinch. The Instant Pot saves the day, yet again! With this beyond-easy recipe, you can have soft and tender sweet potatoes ready in less than 30 minutes.

You’re going to be amazed at how soft, moist, and silky smooth they turn out. You can serve them with both sweet and savory toppings! (I have some ideas for you below!) You can also mash your Instant Pot sweet potatoes to use in a casserole! This is definitely a staple recipe to have around. If your family loves sweet potato dishes as much as mine does, it will especially come in handy with Thanksgiving just around the corner!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Only 2 simple ingredients are needed to make these amazing Instant Pot sweet potatoes! This recipe is the perfect foundation for all of your favorite sweet potato dishes! You can find exact measurements needed to make it below in the recipe card.

Sweet Potatoes: The size of your sweet potatoes affects cooking time, so if you want to follow my recipe 1:1 try to find medium-sized sweet potatoes! You may need to adjust the cooking time by a few minutes if your sweet potatoes are larger or smaller. You can also use jewel yams.
Water: Water is added to the base of the Instant Pot to add moisture to your sweet potatoes as they cook! This is a must for sweet potatoes that are soft and moist instead of dry and tough.

Tips for Picking the Best Sweet Potatoes

Look for sweet potatoes that are smooth and evenly shaped without cuts, cracks, or blemishes. Avoid sweet potatoes that are too big, as they will take longer to cook through evenly.

How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot

This recipe is foolproof and SO easy to make! I love how hands-off it is. It makes preparing dinner so easy.

Prep Sweet Potatoes: Wash the sweet potatoes well, and prick each potato about 4 times with a fork.
Add Trivet and Water to Instant Pot: Place the trivet in the bottom of the instant pot, then pour 1 cup of water into the pot.
Add Sweet Potatoes: Add the whole sweet potatoes to the pot and place them on top of the trivet. It’s ok to stack the potatoes if needed.
Seal: Place the lid on the Instant Pot, then set the valve to ‘seal’.
Cook: Select the manual/high pressure button. Adjust the time depending on the size of your sweet potatoes. Small potatoes= 15 minutes, medium potatoes= 25 minutes, and large potatoes= 50 minutes.
Release Pressure: Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure.
Add Cooking Time if Needed: If your sweet potatoes are not soft enough, place the lid back on the Instant Pot and add an additional 5-10 minutes.
Serve: Enjoy your sweet potatoes to your liking! I love to cook my sweet potatoes ahead of time to enjoy throughout the week, or to use in my sweet potato casserole.

3-photo collage of water being added to the base of an Instant Pot and whole sweet potatoes added inside.

Serving Suggestions

This Instant Pot sweet potato recipe is my favorite because it can be served in a variety of different ways. Here are a few of my favorites!

Sweet Toppings: If you like your sweet potatoes to be, well, sweet, try yours out with toppings such as cinnamon butter, honey, maple syrup, or marshmallow cream! Chopped pecans and a sprinkle of brown sugar is great too!
Savory Toppings: If you like to keep things simple, a dollop of butter and a little salt and pepper is always a good idea. You can also make loaded sweet potatoes with shredded cheese, bacon bits, chopped green onions, and sour cream.

Storing Leftovers / Making Ahead

This recipe is perfect for making at the beginning of the week so you have sweet potatoes to heat up for lunch! Instant Pot sweet potatoes make such great leftovers. Here’s how to keep them tasting as fresh and delicious as possible.

In the Refrigerator: In an airtight container, your sweet potatoes will last for 5-7 days.
In the Freezer: Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Easily reheat your sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot by adding water under your trivet and cooking for 3 minutes. You can also reheat your sweet potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F and in the microwave with 30-second intervals. (Although keep in mind that microwaving your sweet potatoes can sometimes dry them out.)

2 fully cooked sweet potatoes sliced open and served with butter and salt and pepper.