These Instant Pot baked potatoes are an easy way to make whole, fluffy, “baked” potatoes in about 35 minutes without the need for foil or using your oven.

Overhead shot of a baked potato with sour cream, parsley and salsa on a small white plate.

How to Make Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

Making baked potatoes in the Instant Pot is as easy as popping them in and turning them on! I love this method and make them weekly for easy meals. It’s perfect for food prep too since they can cook while you’re preparing other items. Let’s go through how to make them step-by-step.

Step 1: Prepare the Instant Pot.

To prepare the Instant Pot for cooking whole potatoes, add 1 cup of cold water to the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.

You should have received a trivet with your Instant Pot. If for some reason you don’t have yours, an Instant Pot steaming basket also works.

Overhead image of an Instant Pot filled with 1 cup cold water and a trivet.

Step 2: Prepare the Potatoes.

To prepare the potatoes for cooking, scrub 3-6 Russet potatoes, poke each one with a fork 5-6 times and place them on the trivet in the Instant Pot.

Poking the potatoes with a fork allows steam to escape as they cook, preventing them from exploding.

3 Russet potatoes on a cutting board with a fork.

Step 3: Set the Instant Pot.

Here’s a step-by-step for setting the Instant Pot to cook whole potatoes:

  1. Seal the lid and make sure the Venting Knob is set to Sealing.
  2. Press “Pressure Cook” and adjust the timer to 14 minutes (see timing guide below for various potato sizes).
  3. The Instant Pot will take 7-9 minutes to come to pressure. During this time, it will read “On”. Once it reaches pressure the timer will begin counting down.
  4. Once the timer beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release for about 12-15 minutes ie. don’t touch anything.
  5. After 15 minutes, move the Venting Knob to Quick Release to let out any pressure left inside.
  6. Carefully open the lid. The Instant Pot Baked Potatoes are ready!

Cooking Time for Instant Pot Potatoes

For a medium-sized, average Russet potato, the kind you might find in a standard bulk bag, I’ve found 14 minutes to be the perfect cooking time.

  • 12 minutes for small potatoes
  • 14 minutes for medium/average-sized potatoes
  • 20 minutes for extra-large potatoes
Instant Pot cooking times for small, medium and large Russet potatoes.
3 Russet potatoes in an Instant Pot.
A sliced open baked Russet potato on a small white plate,
A baked potato with sour cream and parsley with a bowl of salsa in the background.

Optional: Finish in the Oven for Crispy Skins

Once the potatoes have cooked in the Instant Pot, they can be finished in the oven to crisp the skins more like traditional oven baked potatoes. This is totally optional but here’s how:

  1. Set the oven to broil.
  2. Rub each potato with a tiny bit of olive oil. I use an oil sprayer to spritz them with olive oil or avocado oil. Alternatively, drizzle a scant 1/4 tsp over each then rub it in with your hands. You can also use cooking spray.
  3. Place the potatoes on a baking tray and sprinkle them with a little sea salt and black pepper.
  4. Broil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes, flipping after 2-3 minutes.
A baked potato with sour cream, parsley and salsa on a small white plate.

Instant Pot Potatoes FAQ

Do I have to use the trivet when cooking potatoes?

Yes. If not, the potatoes will sit in the cooking water and become watery when cooked.

Do I have to add water to the Instant Pot?

Yes. Water is needed to build pressure inside the Instant Pot. Always start with cold water.

What is the texture of Instant Pot potatoes?

Cooked in the Instant Pot, the texture of the inside of the potatoes is similar to baked potatoes, fluffy and delicious! However, they do not develop a crisp skin like they do when baking. If you’d like a crisp skin, see the optional step above to finish them in the oven.

Do Instant Pot Baked Potatoes save time?

A little. This is one case where using the Instant Pot is actually faster than another method of cooking a plant-based food. The total cooking time is about 35 minutes for a standard, medium-sized Russet potato, including the time it takes to come to pressure, cook and release the pressure.

The same potato would take about 1 hour to bake in the oven, so it doesn’t save a ton of time but I just love how easy it is.

How long do baked potatoes last?

To store leftover potatoes, let them cool then store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Technically they will keep longer than that but I think they’re best after 2-3 days max.

Can you freeze baked potates?

Yes. To freeze whole cooked potatoes, first make sure they’re completely cooled before freezing. Once cold, wrap each potato in a small resealable bag, squeezing as much air out as possible before sealing. Place those inside a larger resealable freezer bag. They will keep like this for 10-12 months.

A baked potato topped with sour cream and salsa on a plate with a fork.

Below you’ll find a recipe for cooking whole potatoes in an Instant Pot. You will need about 35 minutes to cook an average-sized Russet potato and can cook up to 6 at a time. For more details and tips, be sure to review the post above.

Cooking whole potatoes in the Instant Pot is convenient, yummy and healthy and while they don’t develop the crispy skin oven-baked potatoes do, it’s so easy to pop them in, set it and forget it. Instant Pot potatoes are also perfect for food prep and keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Toppings

Here are my favourite toppings for baked potatoes:

For a quick and easy plant-based meal, I like topping the cooked potatoes with black beans or kidney beans, salsa and nutritional yeast or steamed broccoli, black beans and vegan queso sauce.

Both of these topping ideas are healthy, satisfying, fat-free, provide plant-based protein from the nutritional yeast and beans and work great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

For more Instant Pot recipes, check out my Instant Pot Rolled Oats, Potato Kale Soup and Quinoa Chili or this list 25 healthy plant-based Instant Pot recipes.

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Overhead shot of a baked potato with sour cream, parsley and salsa on a small white plate.

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

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  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 2 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 32 minutes
  • Yield: 3-6 potatoes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Vegan
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Description

Make whole baked potatoes in an Instant Pot in under 40 minutes. This recipe is easy, hands-off and makes a healthy and filling plant-based meal when you add your favourite toppings like salsa, nutritional yeast and beans.


Ingredients

  • 36 medium-sized Russet potatoes
  • 1 cup cold water

Instructions

  1. Add 1 cup of cold water to the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
  2. Wash 3-6 Russet potatoes and poke each one 3 times on each side with a fork.
  3. Place them inside the Instant Pot, stacking them on top of each other if needed.
  4. Seal the lid and make sure the Venting Knob is set to Sealing. Press “Pressure Cook” and set the timer to 14 minutes. The display will read “On” until the Instant Pot comes to pressure, this will take 7-9 minutes, after which the timer will begin.
  5. Once the timer beeps to indicate cooking has finished, let the pressure release naturally for at least 12 minutes, then release any residual pressure by carefully moving the Venting Knob to Quick Release. 
  6. Carefully open the lid and remove the potatoes. 

Notes

Cooking time will vary slightly. It will take 7-9 minutes for the pressure cooker to build pressure, 12-20 minutes to cook the potatoes, depending on size and 12 minutes to release the pressure naturally. For small potatoes, use 12 minutes cooking time, for average, medium-sized potatoes, use 14 minutes cooking time and for extra-large potatoes use 20 minutes. I’ve found 14 minutes is perfect for an average-sized potato.