Instant Pot “Baked” Potatoes

These Instant Pot “Baked” Potatoes are perfect for your next loaded baked potato bar or simple dinner side. They cook through in a fraction of the time compared to the oven and can be served an infinite number of ways. Have these “baked” potatoes cooking with just 5 minutes of prep.

Why you’ll love this Instant Pot Method

• Great side dish. If you cut each potato in half or use smaller potatoes, these make a perfect side dish. The best part is they can cook on their own while you work on the main meal to go along with it. It also frees up oven space!
• The perfect baked potato every single time. Pressure cookers are known for their consistency and ability to cook food perfectly every single time. Instant Pot potatoes are no different. Just press that pressure cook button and trust that you’ll end up with fluffy potatoes on the other side!
• Simple Ingredients. With just potatoes and water as the base, this is about as simple as it comes! There are a lot of different ways to spice it up once the potatoes are cooked, but you can keep it as simple as you’d like.
• Easy cooking process. It doesn’t get much simpler than cleaning the potatoes and sticking them in an Instant Pot with a cup of water! No foil, no messy clean up, and no dishes!

Ingredient Notes

• Large Russet Potatoes (skin on) – While this recipe only shows this Instant Pot method using 2 potatoes, you can fill your Instant Pot up to the max fill line with as many potatoes as you want without affecting the cook time. Great for larger crowds, meal prepping, or making freezer meals.
• Water – Anytime you use the Instant Pot, make sure you have at least one cup of water or other liquid to help the Instant Pot come to a boil and “bake” the potatoes.

How to Make Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

1. Clean and prep potatoes. Rinse them well and thoroughly scrub the potato skins to make sure all of the dirt is removed. Pierce each potato with a fork, about four times per side.
2. Prep the instant pot. Place trivet or steamer basket in the bottom of the instant pot. Pour water into pot.
3. Cook the potatoes. Place potatoes on top of the trivet. Secure the lid, make sure the valve is in “sealing” position, and pressure cook on high pressure for about 35 minutes.
4. Natural Release. When the Instant Pot beeps, allow for a natural pressure release for about 15 minutes and then switch the valve to “venting” to manually release any remaining pressure.
5. Check for doneness. Test to see if you have tender potatoes by piercing them with a fork. If the fork glides in with little resistance, they are cooked through. If they feel hard in the middle, pressure cook for another few minutes.

Serving Suggestions

“Baked” potatoes are incredibly versatile and can be served as both a main dish or side dish. If you’re not exactly sure how you’d like to serve them, try one of these ideas:

• A potato bar – Cook up enough potatoes to feed your family and set out a variety of toppings. The variations in toppings allow for everyone in the family to come away happy and customize to their heart’s content!
• With chili – Baked potatoes are fabulous served with hearty soups or with chili as chili potatoes. Try serving with a scoop of my Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili overtop as fully loaded baked potatoes.
• With plant-based protein – Baked potatoes are commonly served alongside steak or other simple proteins such as chicken breasts. In order to keep your meal vegan, try my BBQ Tempeh with Vegan BBQ Sauce and a side of Vegan Coleslaw.
• With meatloaf – My Classic Beyond Meat Meatloaf or Vegan Lentil Meatloaf with Oats would be the perfect main alongside baked potatoes and a side of Air Fryer Green Beans.
• With a Chipotle inspired twist – Instead of chili loaded baked potatoes, try a Mexican twist and serve your baked potatoes loaded with Chipotle Black Beans, Sofritas, Easy Guacamole and salsa like my Roasted Chili Corn Salsa and Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa!
• Serve for breakfast – Chop these potatoes up and add them to Vegan Chilaquiles or serve with Silken Tofu Scrambled Eggs and Smoky Tempeh Bacon Strips.

With a few delicious toppings, these baked potatoes make a delicious meal and will have your family giving you a five star rating!

Vegan Baked Potatoes Topping Ideas

• Cashew Sour Cream or store-bought vegan sour cream
• Vegan butter
• Vegan Tofu Bolognese Sauce
• Vegan cheddar cheese
• Tofu Mozarella
• Melty Vegan Cheese
• Vegan nacho cheese sauce
• Chives or green onions
• Copycat Chipoltle Black Beans
• Roasted Chili Corn Salsa
• Avocado Crema
• Vegan BBQ Sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Any other of your favorite toppings!

Variations

While good old Idaho potatoes are great, you could also try this pressure cooking method with different types of potatoes.

• Red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes: Use this same cook method, but cook at manual high pressure for 10-12 minutes. If you love Yukon gold potatoes, you have to try my Almond Milk Mashed Potatoes using this cook method!
• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes should have a very similar cook time to russet potatoes. Or if you prefer your sweet potatoes crispy, try my Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges.

Storage Instructions 

Instant Pot baked potatoes will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Let them cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container or bag. Make sure to store them within a couple of hours. For longer storage, the “baked” potatoes can be frozen for up to 3 months (or 6 months in a deep freezer).

To freeze: spread them on a baking sheet and flash freeze them until solid. After a few hours, wrap them individually in plastic wrap or stick them all together in a large freezer safe bag. If not wrapping individually, consider double bagging to help prevent freezer burn.

To reheat: Baked potatoes can be reheated in the oven at 350 degrees F, a microwave, or back in the Instant Pot for 1-2 minutes. A final, and less conventional option, is to reheat using a grill. Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and heat them up outside! If your potatoes appear to be drying out, rehydrate them with a couple tablespoons of water.

If you want more of a crispy skin your second time around, cut the leftover potatoes into pieces and fry them up with a little olive oil on the stove. An air fryer is another option for some crispy potatoes.

Recipe FAQs

Should baked potatoes be wrapped in foil?

While baked potatoes in the oven are often wrapped in aluminum or tin foil, it is not necessary in the Instant Pot. If you would like to wrap them to make it easier for people to grab and go for meal prep, it won’t hurt anything! You will just need to plan for a slightly longer cook time.

Should you poke holes in potatoes before baking?

Yes, it is smart to poke a potato with a fork 4 times per side. This allows the steam to escape, preventing the potato from exploding.

Do you always add liquid to the Instant Pot?

Yes! When pressure cooking, you need to have at least a cup of liquid to build up the pressure and avoid burning the food. It doesn’t necessarily have to be water, but it does need to be liquid to create steam.

How long do you cook Instant Pot baked potatoes?

This depends on the size and type of the potatoes. For 11-13 oz potatoes, cook on high pressure for about 35 minutes with a 15-minute natural release time. For medium russet potatoes, you would need a shorter cook time.

What is the best Instant Pot to use?

Most Instant Pots and alternative pressure cooker brands will perform pretty similarly to one another. Good Housekeeping made a list of 5 Best Instant Pot Models of 2022, Tested by Experts. They did a great job of summarizing the details of each one.

Tips for Success

• A note about smaller sized potatoes. This recipe is for large potatoes. If you use medium potatoes or smaller, it will require less time to cook (see specific notes in recipe card).
• Make sure that the valve is pointed toward “sealing.” This allows the Instant Pot to come to pressure. After the time has been reached, wait for 15 additional minutes before doing a quick release. Allow the pot to naturally release on its own for 15 minutes first so the potatoes can finish cooking through until fork tender.
• Make sure to use an Instant Pot trivet or steamer basket. If you don’t, the potatoes at the bottom will soak up that water and get soggy.

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