Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Pressure Cooker Baked Potatoes are the creamiest and easiest potato side dish recipe you’ll make. All you need is an Instant Pot and an air fryer lid or oven for baked potatoes that are crisp on the outside and fluffy in the center.
Hi everyone—Jenn again! My family loves potatoes. From mashed to gratin to chilled salads, we eat them just about every way.
This Instant Pot baked potato recipe truly makes the fluffiest, creamiest potatoes we’ve ever had—we’ll never bake potatoes in the oven again.
If you love potatoes that are crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, you’ll love this recipe too!
Making Pressure Cooker Baked Potatoes
This baked potato recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
The potatoes are certainly tasty after pressure cooking, but they reach fluffy perfection when crisped with the air fryer lid or in the oven.
Tip: After crisping, we like to wrap them in a piece of aluminum foil and gently pound them on the counter on each side. (If you pound too hard, you can crack the skin.) This makes the potatoes extra fluffy.
Then unwrap, slice, and top with your favorite add-ons. (You can reuse the same foil for all of the potatoes in the batch.)
What Kind of Potato Is Best?
The best potatoes for this recipe are russet potatoes that come in a 5-pound bulk bag. They’re not the huge baking potatoes sold individually in the grocery store. Ours averaged about 7 ounces and they were about 2 inches thick at the thickest part.
The best way to check if your potatoes are done is with an instant-read thermometer. If they’re not quite to 190°F when you remove the Instant Pot lid, add a few more minutes of cook time. The potatoes are perfectly cooked at 205°F.
Note: The size and shape of your potatoes affects your cook time. Our potatoes were more oval-shaped (long and flat). If your potatoes are very round and thick, they may need a few more minutes at high pressure.
Can I Skip the Crisping Step?
You don’t need to crisp your potatoes with an air fryer lid or in the oven if you prefer a soft skin on your baked potato. However, I recommend adding another 2 minutes to the cook time if you’re not crisping the potatoes.
How to Serve Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Serve pressure cooker baked potatoes with any of your favorite toppings. My family loves butter, sour cream, chives, diced bacon, and cheese.
More Instant Pot Potato Recipes
My family can’t get enough of these creamy, crispy, and savory potato side dish recipes. Bonus: they’re all made in an Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker:
- Pressure Cooker Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes because sweet potatoes are potatoes too! These are creamy, decadent, and perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- Quick Potato Salad. Light, summery, and refreshing with hard-boiled eggs that cook at the same time as the potatoes in the Instant Pot.
- Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes are for the crisp potato lovers out there!
- Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole (aka “Funeral Potatoes” in Utah) are cheesy comfort food with crispy breadcrumbs and potato chips.
- Chunky Potato Cheese Soup is a surprisingly filling soup loaded with chunky potatoes, bacon, corn, and two kinds of cheese.
- Loaded Potato Casserole from the Feathered Nester features a generous amount of bacon, butter, and cheese in an easy-to-make, flavorful side dish.
- Cheesy Potatoes and Sausage from 365 Days of Slow & Pressure Cooking features smoked sausage, corn, and tender potatoes in a cheddar cheese sauce.
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Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Crisp on the outside and creamy and fluffy on the inside, Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Baked Potatoes are one of the best side dish recipes.
Ingredients
- 6 regular-sized* russet potatoes (around 6 to 8 ounces each)
- Olive oil, optional, if crisping
- Kosher salt or sea salt, optional, if crisping
- Toppings of choice (butter, sour cream, chives, diced bacon, cheese, etc.), for serving
Instructions
- Place a trivet in the bottom of the pressure cooking pot and add 1 cup water.
- Pierce the potatoes in several places with a fork to allow the steam to escape.
- Place the potatoes on the trivet. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 20 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release.
- Use an instant read thermometer to check that the potatoes are cooked through in the center (205°F). If they’re close, secure the lid in place and continue to steam for a few minutes. If they’re under 190°F, lock the lid in place and add a few more minutes of cook time, followed by a 5 minute natural pressure release, and a quick pressure release.
- Remove the potatoes from the cooking pot. Discard the water and return the trivet to the cooking pot.
Crisping Instructions:
- If you’re crisping the potatoes, coat them lightly in oil and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste.
- Air Fryer Lid: Place the potatoes on the trivet in the cooking pot. Set the air fryer lid securely on top of your pressure cooker. Set the temperature to 400°F and an 8 minute cook time. When the cook time ends, carefully remove the lid and place it on the cooling pad. Use tongs to remove the potatoes.
- Oven: Preheat the oven to 500°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooling rack on top. Place the potatoes on the rack and roast for 5 minutes.
- To serve, slice the potatoes lengthwise and top with your favorite toppings.
Notes
*Your cook time will vary based on the size and shape of your potatoes. The potatoes we use come in the 5-pound bulk bag. They’re NOT the huge baking potatoes sold separately in the grocery store. Our potatoes averaged about 7 ounces and they were about 2 inches thick at the thickest part.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 218mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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Thanks for the instructions. I usually just airfry my jacket potatoes for about 45 minutes, but thought I’d give this method a go in my ninja foodi. I followed your instructions apart from spearing right through the middle of each potato with a skewer as well as stabbing all over with a fork. Pressure cooked for 20mins slow release for 10 and they have split really badly. I’ve yet to finish them off in the air fryer but wondered what I’d done wrong? Skewering them?
Thank you.
Hi Donella – the steam inside the potato needs to escape and the skin bursts to let the steam escape if the holes aren’t big or deep enough. I’m not sure if the skewers would affect that. Hopefully, they were still delicious after air frying.
L- I commented earlier and I just finished dinner. I followed your recipe to a T and my 5 yr old IP did not disappoint. 5# bag of medium potatoes, 6 or 7 spuds, you know the size where you want 2 🥔 🥔 🤗 I was so brief, I lifted the hot ones out with IP PC rack, drained the water, put them on rack back in. I aimed & poured OO & sea salt on top, not rubbing or turning. Guess what? The best baked ever ever ever! I took them out to cool and did crispy chicken & onion rings. Yum ❤️
I finished with your 8 minute air fry 👍🏼
Thanks for the rave review John! That sounds like an awesome way to serve them.
Hi Linda,
Great recipe. For cooks with undone, it is sad but true, there is not a lifetime warranty on IP (I thought there was). I searched on line and 1+ years depending on use. The heating element on the bottom goes first. I always make sure I have a good contact when pressure cooking. I clean my silicon every time and as it’s coming to pressure, I apply a little help pressing on lid gently or open/close will jump start it. Until our IP stops working 100%, I add more minutes. If it was real bad… I have to buy a new one, boo-hoo 🙂
Cooked two potatoes on high pressure for 22 minutes and not even close to being done. Had to cook for an additional 10 minutes and probably will do a total of 34 minutes next time. Not sure how you cooked 6 potatoes for 22 minutes. I followed your instructions exactly.
The size of the potatoes will determine the cook time. How big were your potatoes?
I’m wondering if they could be finished in an Air Fryer?
Hi Linda – yes, it’s a great way to finish them. I give the directions on how to finish them in the air fryer at the bottom of the recipe card.
If you have a regular Instant Pot, couldn’t you just drain any water that’s left, turn it on saute, and crisp the potatoes in the pot (without the rack of course!)??
Hi Donna – I haven’t tried it, but that should work as well.