Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Pressure cooking surrounds the potatoes with moist heat, so the interior steams to a fluffy texture in a fraction of the time an oven takes, and a short stint under the broiler afterward crisps and blisters the skin so you're not stuck with the soft, steamed-only skin pressure cooking alone produces.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes russet potatoes, medium (8-10 oz each)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, for serving
- 1/4 cup sour cream, for serving
- 1 tbsp chives, sliced, for serving
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 277
- Protein
- 5g
- Carbs
- 38g
- Fat
- 12g
Based on the recipe as written, one serving. Recalculates if you swap an ingredient above. An estimate only, exact values depend on the specific ingredients used.
Need different units or a different yield? Try our Conversion Calculator →
Instructions
- 1Scrub the potatoes clean and pat them dry, then pierce each one 4-5 times with a fork so steam can escape as they cook.
- 2Rub each potato all over with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- 3Pour the water into the Instant Pot liner and set a metal trivet or steamer basket inside.
- 4Arrange the potatoes on the trivet in a single layer; they can lean against each other but shouldn't be stacked more than two deep.
- 5Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes (use 15 minutes if any potato is larger than 10 ounces).
- 6When the cook time ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to venting to release any remaining pressure.
- 7Open the lid and pierce a potato with a knife; it should slide in with no resistance. If there's any firmness, reseal and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- 8For crisp, blistered skin, transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet and broil 5-7 minutes, turning once, until the skins darken and blister.
- 9Slice each potato open lengthwise, fluff the interior with a fork, and top with butter, sour cream, and chives.
Tips & variations
- Pick potatoes that are close to the same size so they all finish cooking at the same time; a mix of small and jumbo potatoes means either overcooked small ones or undercooked large ones.
- Skip the foil. Wrapping potatoes traps moisture against the skin and works against the broiler step at the end.
- To double the batch, keep the water and cook time the same and just add more potatoes to the trivet in a second layer; the Instant Pot only needs to build steam, not submerge the food.
- Sweet potatoes work with the same method but need only 10-11 minutes at high pressure since they're generally less dense than russets.
Storage & reheating
Refrigerate leftover baked potatoes in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat whole potatoes in a 400°F (200°C) oven or air fryer for 10-12 minutes to re-crisp the skin, or microwave for 2-3 minutes if a soft skin is fine.
Tips from the Tulo kitchen
- A steamer basket works just as well as a trivet if that's what's on hand; the goal is only to keep the potatoes out of the water.
- Testing doneness with a thin paring knife rather than a fork gives a clearer read on whether the center is fully soft.
FAQ
How long do you cook baked potatoes in an Instant Pot?
Medium potatoes (8-10 ounces) need 12 minutes at high pressure; potatoes larger than 10 ounces need 15 minutes. Add roughly 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure before the timer starts.
Do you need a trivet to cook potatoes in the Instant Pot?
Yes. Potatoes sitting directly in the water will boil rather than steam, giving a wetter, waterlogged texture instead of a fluffy one.
Can you stack potatoes in the Instant Pot?
A single layer cooks most evenly, but a second layer works fine for larger batches since the pressurized steam circulates around all the potatoes, not just the bottom layer.
Will the skins get crispy straight out of the Instant Pot?
No, pressure cooking steams the skin soft. A 5-7 minute stint under the broiler afterward is what actually crisps and blisters it.
