Fluffy on the inside with a lovely browned skin on the outside, baby or fingerling potatoes can be perfectly cooked in no time by combining traditional and pressure cooking techniques.
We turn the recipe upside-down to achieve a delectable result. Raw potatoes are browned first, and then cooked to tender perfection. Piercing the potatoes right before pressure cooking keeps the skin intact- it won’t split into unpredictable shreds. The minimum amount of liquid helps steam the potatoes without boiling them.
Now, here’s how to do it!
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure Pan or larger | none | 5 min. | High (2) | Natural |
Pressure Cooker Roast Potatoes
Author: hip pressure cooking
Recipe type: pressure cooker
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
INGREDIENTS
- 4-5 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
- 1-2 lbs (500g - 1k) Baby or Fingerling Potatoes (however many will just cover the base of your pressure cooker)
- 1 sprig, Rosemary
- 3 Garlic Cloves (outer skin on)
- ½ cup Stock
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- In the pre-heated pressure cooker, add the vegetable oil. When it has heated through add the potatoes, garlic and rosemary. Roll the potatoes around and brown the outside of the raw potatoes on all sides (8-10 minutes).
- Then, with a sharp knife, make a small pierce in the middle of each potato (do not stir the potatoes, anymore). Pour in the stock.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
- For electric pressure cookers: Cook for 7 minutes at high pressure.
For stove top pressure cookers: Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker indicates it has reached high pressure, lower to the heat to maintain it and begin counting 5 minutes pressure cooking time. - When time is up, release pressure using the Natural method - move the pressure cooker to a cool burner and do not do anything, wait for the pressure to come down on it's own (about 10 minutes). If the pressure has not come down in 10 minutes, release the rest of the pressure using the Normal pressure release - push, twist or lift the button or valve to release pressure.
- Remove the outer skin of the garlic cloves (and serve whole or smash, to taste).
- Then, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper to taste and serve!
Do you think I would get same results if used russet potatoes cut up in quarters instead. It’s what I I have on hand. Thanks.
Try it. I use most potatoes interchangeably unless I’m making potato salad (there for sure you want a waxy potatoes) or baked potatoes (you want floury “old” potatoes). But for mashes, etc. I use any kind I have on hand. I made the mash Cottage Pie for dinner last night using “salad” potatoes – and it was perfect. : )
Ciao,
L
I made the roast potatoes today and was asked for the recipe. When I said pressure cooker their little faces fell. Pretty sure they will have to buy one soon but they know so little about them that they did not notice I was using one.
Helen
People think pressure cooking isn’t cooking. Meanwhile, in restaurants they’re re-heating stuff in plastic bags and par-cooking all of the fat of out everything. It’s kind of funny if you think about it.
@Jake
Sorry didn’t see your reply before. Food is becoming a whole new ballgame. Many of us obsess about speed and/or convenience. Many about that ‘Gourmet touch’ that requires hours of labour and planning, Others are so concerned about health and/or safety that they are afraid to eat it seems, and there are those who don’t care what they eat as long as it is easy.
Me I care about speed, convenience, healthy ingredients and I admit that Gourmet touch:). I do enjoy sous vide and there are some less than healthy frozen foods I occasionally buy. But I try not to obsess. For me cooking is interesting and eating is meant to be enjoyed.
I made this potatoes recipe to go with an oven chicken & gravy recipe that we love. They were delicious and perfect with fresh green beans. Can I cut back on the amount of oil. Say to 2 tbs? Thank you again for another great recipe!
Just getting started, my first day. Can I make baked sweet potatoes the same way…or different technique??
pathvr, this particular technique will not work with sweet potatoes, but you CAN pressure cook them. Either use the half-baked method:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/short-cut-potatoes-a-crunchy-crust-in-half-the-time/
OR slice them in half and steam them above another dish as in this recipe:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/sweet-potato-and-black-eyed-peas-one-pot-meal/
Ciao and welcome!
L
@Lindaingo
I use less oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. First time I used it all, no difference I could see. I usually precook the potatoes till the pressure cooker step and finish off just before serving. Especially great if for a company dinner to cut down on stress.
@pathvr
You could do sweet potatoes this way but I doubt the skins would be the same. Sweet potatoes don’t crisp up for me? I would cut them in smaller pieces but never done it. I generally bake my sweet potatoes/yams. Perhaps next time I cook one I will put it in with the roast potatoes:)
Wow! As a type 2 diabetic who was able to control it and get off insulin by taking off some weight, this sounds like a miracle to me! I miss pasta and potatoes and while I realize it cannot be an everyday thing, this technique may just put those things back on my table occasionally. Thank you so much for sharing
I’m sorry but that makes no sense. Pressure cooking doesn’t change the carbs in a potato. Generally, a small potato is about 28 grams of carbs.
Baked, mashed, fried, roasted or chipped, a potato is a potato. You’re adding calories with butter and salt and such but “it is what it is”.
This is a delicious recipe but it is not healthy – it’s not even an easier recipe when you consider that rolling baby spuds in oil and throwing them in the oven at 425 is essentially the same thing. Yes, this recipe is QUICKER – yay, pressure cooking! – but the simplicity is still there.
(These fingerlings are better, though. I love my instant pot!)
Good for you regarding your diabetes. Well done.
Kestrel, I think Fran was referring to this study. It doesn’t have to make sense, it’s scientifically proven.
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-potato-nutrition/
Ciao,
L
I tried these with thyme since I had no rosemary and they are singularly delicious. Smooth and creamy like mashed, only needing a shake of black pepper and sea salt. My pressure cooker had been languishing on the shelf but it will get more use now, I could enjoy these regularly.
Will this recipe work with regular-sized Yukons? Not the really big ones, but not the small fingerling ones, either.
For larger potatoes you will need to increase the time as the heat will take longer to get into the middle to cook them right through. Then because you increase the time, you may also need to increase the liquid. Laura has specified pretty minimal liquid quantities here. Increasing cooking time may mean that the pot will run dry and start burning. But this will depend on how much liquid your specific PC loses. They are all different.
Also while I am not familiar with Yukons (by that name anyway), in general larger potatoes have thicker less pleasant skins so that will also need to be considered.
I have done regular size (2 inch diameter or less) and no change necessary. Both red and Yukon Gold. Bigger I would cut in half.
Great suggestions Greg and Helen!
Ciao,
L
Thanks all; I just made it tonight. Yukons have thin skins. I used ones that were about 2 or 2.5 inches in diameter (about 6 cm for those of you who are metric), and they needed about 8 minutes cooking time. But as advertised, they came out very smooth and creamy with unbroken skins. Very good recipe!
Thanks for the feedback Sandy. Good to know.
Thanks for coming back to tell us how it worked out, Sandy!
Ciao,
L
I would like to slightly undercook the red potatoes and cook with baby carrots in the pressure cooker and then finish roasting in oven. Do you think this could work and if yes how long should I cook in pressure cooker?
Michelle, it would depend on the size of the potatoes – take a look at the half-baked potato technique and recipe. It’s closer to what you’re looking for:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/short-cut-potatoes-a-crunchy-crust-in-half-the-time/
Instead of putting the half-pressure cooked potatoes on the oven rack, add them to a roasting pan with the carrots and slather with oil, herbs and salt.
Ciao,
L
Fail. The potatoes were adequately cooked, though I had to cut the time a bit, because they were small. But the pre-browning had no effect. I still needed to saute in a frying pan after the pressure cooking to get them a bit caramelize. They tasted great, but it was disappointing to have to finish them.
What type of pressure cooker did you use to brown them and how long did you brown them for? The color you put on them at the start of the recipe should remain in large part on the potato until the end of the recipe.
Ciao,
L
I have made this recipe numerous times and they come out just like the picture. Not quite like oven baked but lovely.
I sauté until they look like picture and this is how they stay.
Maybe my expectations are different but I have never had to brown them after.
(I also use the same size for smaller potatoes)
Oops I meant same time.
Can this recipe be adjusted for larger quantities? I have just purchased the Instant Pot and have never done any pressure cooking. But just covering the base of the pot won’t be enough potatoes for my family.
Yes you can. Just do the braising step in batches. The actual pressure cooking time shouldn’t change. Though the total cooking time will go up a bit as it will take longer to come to pressure.
The top layers won’t get the benefit of braising in the stock though so they will have a different flavour profile
Things to remember when changing the quantities in a recipe:
NEVER go over the 2/3 fill line. So don’t fill your IP right up with potatoes.
Don’t increase the liquid. Unless you need to for your minimum.. In your case you should be using 1.5 cups of stock (the minimum for the IP) or stock + water.
Don’t change the pressure cooking time.
Thank you! So much to learn about this.
Hi! These look great! Can they remain on keep warm for a bit? Or is it important to remove after the NPR of 10 mui?
What if you ca’t find a sprig of rosemary?
Thyme would work well too. Or perhaps just use a shake of dried “Italian Herbs” from the supermarket.
Also while I haven’t tried it with this method, I also find a good Spanish paprika works well with traditionally roast potatoes. As does freshly grated nutmeg. It should work well here too.
I still can’t believe I cooked red rosemary potatoes in 10 minutes in my pressure cooker! They came out really good in fact it seems like the herb infused more into the potatoes
What type of stock do you use for your potatoes? They look delicious and I’m making them tonight.
Thank you. :)
Kathy, whatever you have around will work. I usually use my homemade double-concentrate meat stock (made with whatever the butcher gives me – usually a mix of veal, beef and pork bones). How did the potatoes turn out for you?
Ciao,
L
I would respectfully suggest that these are steamed or boiled potatoes, not roast potatoes, because roasting requires dry heat, like in an oven.
May I point out that Heston Blumenthal, one of the world’s best chefs, boils his potatoes prior to finishing them in the oven. He has no problems calling them “Roast Potatoes”
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/heston-blumenthals-roast-potatoes
The name is more to do with what you can expect the end result to resemble, such as the pressure cooker “baked” apples – which are also not actually baked.
It’s not clear whether you didn’t like the recipe, or the name- If they didn’t turn out well, please let me know what kind of pressure cooker you have and, if it’s a stove top what kind of heat was used along with any variation you used from the recipe.
Ciao,
L
Made these last night and they are so good! I used veggie broth and some dried rosemary and they were so flavorful. Can’t wait to try them again with fresh rosemary. Thank you for helping me fall in love with pressure cooking!
I cut mine into quarters, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. They came out super soft and mushy, almost to the point that of being mashed. Was it bc I quartered them?
Probably. Cooking time is directly related to the thickness of the items being cooked. By quartering them you almost certainly made them thinner. But it will depend on the size they were before you cut them.
I try to get evenly mid sized potatoes all the time. Now and again I will be unable to avoid a whopper. I will cut that one so it is about the size of the others.
Heston Blumenthal (of Fat Duck fame) recommends precooking roast potatoes to almost that stage, then giving them a blast in a hot oven to crisp up the outsides. SO don’t sweat the super soft.
Yes. Watch the video here for details:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/halve-or-double-pcs/
Basically you used a “whole potato” pressure cooking time for a “large potato cut in pieces” which would require less time to cook, thus overcooking it. : )
Ciao,
L
I made these last night and they were soooo good! Loved how moist & creamy the insides were! They weren’t dry at all. I used fat free, low-sodium chicken broth. They were amazing! Thank you for your website, recipes & tips.
These sound wonderful. Do you think I could do this with sweet potatoes, onions and carrots?
Carolee, I don’t think you’ll find small enough sweet potatoes to do this. Why not try the short-cut potato recipe. It works wonderfully with sweet potatoes!
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/short-cut-potatoes-a-crunchy-crust-in-half-the-time/
Ciao,
L
Laura, the potatoes sound fantastic, so glad I found hip…I’d love to try this with tiny potatoes about 1 inch around, but a lot of them about 3 lbs. any suggestions on cooking time and I have two instant Pots so no problem dividing them between two pots.
Rose, the cooking time doesn’t change – this works best if you only get the potatoes in an even layer. So I would even do two batches if you need to ( no point in dirtying two pressure cookers for this side dish!)
Ciao,
L
Thanks for the response and since it takes only takes minute I might do that…Today I’m doing the potatoes for 12 people on St. Patrick’s Day a time saver. I’m also going to do 2 fresh corned beef briskets that I corned, but will have to cut them in half (6 lbs each). I went over to Dad Cooks Dinner with a question about time for 6 lbs hoping to hear back, but if no answer today I’ll go with 90 minutes and go from there…
Hi Rose,
In general, the cooking time of anything in a pressure cooker does NOT change with weight. It changes with size of the individual pieces you are cooking. One grain of rice will take the same time to cook as 4 cups of rice.
So it is the size of the cut that matters. Not the weight. A corned piece of silverside will take longer to cook that the same weight of brisket. This is because the silverside tends to be thicker than brisket.
That said, if you jam two large pieces of meat into the PC they are likely to cook as if they are one large piece. Thy need room to move around.
Thanks Greg and I’ll get back to yo with one issue that I had with homemade “corned” beef….
This just didn’t work for me. Not sure if it was the type of potatoes (just a bag of ‘baby’ potatoes from the supermarket). I sautéed them for over ten minutes but they just didn’t seem to brown very much. Eventually had to stop and just go for pressure cooking as the rest of my meal was cooking. Sealed and came to pressure, 7 minutes in the instant pot and then it was 12 minutes before I released the pressure. Not only were the skins not even a hint of crispy, but the potatoes were really firm, just about edible but more like a salad potato consistency. The flavour of the garlic and rosemary was nice but overall they did not come out as expected. What am I doing wrong? How much longer should I cook the potatoes to avoid a mush? Should I sauté on the normal temperature or put it up to high to get some semblance of brown skin?
Chloe, I’m not saying that’s the case here, but I’ve seen some people “saute'” by constantly stirring the food in the pan – this is usually done with a wok to keep food from burning. When you saute’ in a pressure cooker, you only need to stir things occasionally and that’s how it can brown and change color.
The other thing, I would say to watch out for is if your “saute'” is set to “less”. The newer Instant Pots “remember” the last setting even in the “saute'” program and it personally drives me nuts because I just dump things in push the button and when they take forever I remember that I had turned it down previously to simmer something. Or, whatever I’m sauteeing starts burning, and I forgot that I had set it to “more” to sear some meat. Grrrrr…
Lastly, the consistency sounds about right – baby potatoes are waxy which is what IS used for potato salads. But the extra “roasted” flavor and texture come from browning the potatoes well at the beginning. They’re not going to be “crispy”, tho.
Ciao,
L