Sometimes, a boiled potato won’t do. Only the fluffy starch and crunchy crust of a baked potato will quell the turbulent fall gusts of cool wind that follow us through the door. But baking a potato simply takes too long.
My oven takes 15-20 minutes to pre-heat to the scalding temperatures potatoes need to be baked to a crispy skin. Add 45 minutes to an hour to bake them and to someone who is used to pressure cooking everything the whole process just seems like a wasteful use of energy that takes entirely too much time.
On a whim, and then over and over and over again, I tossed the potatoes in the pressure cooker to pre-cook them a bit while my oven was pre-heating. Depending on the size of the potato, they need just 10-15 minutes in the scalding oven to crisp-up their skin and turn their flesh into a comforting fluffy pillow of potato-y goodness.
Start-to-finish your potato will go from raw to baked in under 30 minutes using this method!
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 L or larger | none | 10 min. | High(2) | Normal |
(per serving)
- Serves: 4
- Serving size: about 1½ potatoes
- Calories: 150.0
- TOTAL Fat: 0.0
- TOTAL Carbs: 39.2g
- Sugar Carbs: 4.5g
- Sodium: 0.0
- Fiber Carbs: 4.5g
- Protein: 6.0g
- Cholesterol: 0.0
- 1 cup water
- 2 pounds (or 1 k) medium baking potatoes (also called Idaho or "old potatoes"), well scrubbed - about 6 potatoes
- Place the washed potatoes in the pressure cooker and pierce the side of the potato facing up with a fork a few times or poke each a few times using point of a knife. Then, add a cup of water.
- Turn on oven to 450F/245C so to pre-heat while the potatoes are pressure cooking.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Electric pressure cookers: Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
Stovetop 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 8 minutes pressure cooking time. - When time is up, open the cooker by releasing the pressure.
- Using tongs, and being careful not to remove too much of the skin, place each potato directly on the middle rack of the oven (poked holes facing up) and bake for 10-15 minutes - take out the smallest potatoes and serve first. Then, turn off the oven and let the larger potatoes continue to bake using the oven's residual heat for another 5-10 minutes.
- Enjoy your crispy, fluffy baked short-cut potatoes!
I’m planning on having a baked potato bar at my daughters open house this spring. Is it work if I was to freeze the potatoes after using the pressure cooker, thaw them out a couple of days before, then bake them in the oven?
You should do a test run with a few potatoes. They could turn black, or – worse- rubbery.
Ciao,
L
I would just take the cooker to her house and cook there for the freshest food served.
Season the water!!! So important.
I always season the water with some chicken seasoning even tho my potatoes, even cubed, are in a basket above the water. Makes a big difference.
Hi, Laura:
Can you come to my house, bring all the equipment and ingredients, then cook the potatoes for me, serve me, and then clean-up?
(Some of the comments here are too funny.)
Nice website!
Walt
Thank you, this is worth trying when it could save time.
Would you adjust the time under pressure if you were only cooking 2 potatoes?
The pressure cooking time is the same no matter how many, or how few, potatoes you use.
Ciao,
L
Could you do this in a 3qt instant pot?
Yes, you can do as many potatoes as will fit under the max line – make sure to adjust the pressure cooking time for the mini as noted in the pressure cooking time chart.
Ciao,
L
Have you tried this with other vegetables? I like the idea of oven-roasted vegetables in theory but, as you said, it always seems like a lot of electricity for just a few carrots or what-have-you.
I’m wondering about pre-steaming and then popping under the broiler, or using the upper-heat feature in my convection oven. Has anyone tried this?