Following the traditional white-potato pressure cooker mash method (boiling and mashing in the cooking liquid) will get you a soggy sweet potato mash! That’s because sweet potatoes, though technically higher in starch than white potatoes, lack the white potato’s binding power to capture any extra liquid and turn it milky, creamy thickener.
I originally came up with this technique when I used sweet potatoes as part of a one-pot meal – slicing them in half ensures that they’re evenly cooked from tip to bulge.
When making only a mash, there is no need for a steamer basket – the bigger halves can be used as a support to keep the other halves out of the water. I was originally going to publish a fancier recipe and I tried various flavor combinations- including fresh-squeezed orange juice and ginger or whipping in a bit of unsweetened coconut milk and curry. But, I found that the more I “gilded the lily” the less I could actually taste the sweet potatoes. I opted for this very basic recipe that can be served as-is or serve as a blank canvas to your imagination.
Share your favorite sweet potato mash combinations in the comments, below!
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 L or larger | none | 10 min. | High(2) | Normal |
(per serving)
- Serves: approx. 6 cups (10 servings)
- Serving size: 1/10th
- Calories: 84.9
- TOTAL Fat: 1.5g
- TOTAL Carbs: 16.8g
- Sugar Carbs: 5.2g
- Sodium: 44.7mg
- Fiber Carbs: 2.7g
- Protein: 1.6g
- Cholesterol: 0.0mg
- 3 pounds (1.5k) sweet potatoes - about 5 large ones
- 1½ cups (375ml) water (see recipe notes)
- 2 pinches sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Wash the sweet potatoes well, trim off the ends and slice them in half length-wise.
- Pour
water in the pressure cooker's base. - Place the potato halves face-up in the base of the cooker in an even layer- starting with the largest halves. Add the consecutive layers cross-wise (see video) to leave enough room for the steam to cook all of the potato halves evenly.
- Close the lid and set the valve to pressure cooking position.
- Electric pressure cookers and stove top pressure cookers: Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Normal release - release pressure through the valve.
- Using a slotted spoon strain the halves out of the pressure cooker into a mixing bowl.
- Tease the skins away - or leave them on for a more rustic mash.
- Sprinkle the salt and olive oil onto the potato mash.
- Mix well with a fork or puree with an immersion blender for a smoother mash.
Hi, I wish to commend you on the overhead use of the camera in your video “Sweet Potato No Soggy Mash”. The camera angle produced a video that showed EACH STEP of the preparation CLEARLY though a bit too fast but it was very CLEAR teaching. I feel that a video is a teaching tool ONLY IF IT CLEARLY DISPLAYS what it is teaching, so that more of these videos should accompany ALL of your cooking lessons, and CLEARLY DISPLAY EACH AND EVERY STEP that you are teaching. The sweet potato video was well done (a bit fast) and helpful! Maria
Maria, all of our videos are recorded from that perspective and with that level of detail. Many “vloggers” cut out the prep steps, but since I know that there are many beginners to cooking in general that are starting to cook with their first pressure cooker, I also record when I’m prepping the vegetables as well. I generally show the first one at normal or near-normal speed, and then when I repeat a step I speed it up (otherwise the video might be 30 minutes and very boring instead of 3 very exciting minutes. ; ) Thanks for noticing and appreciating – I’ll make sure that future videos don’t feel rushed.
Meanwhile, here are the other videos:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/category/videos/
Ciao!
L
Hi,
Thank you for the explanation on the video speed.
I look forward to more great cooking videos!
My first video and thing I will cook YEAH !!! We love sweet potatoes
Is normal release quick release or natural release? The name would imply natural, but the way you talk about it makes me think quick release…
At the top of the recipe, where the release is stated if you click on it, you’ll be taken here:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/now-release-pressure/
Ciao,
L
I’m new to the pressure cooking (Instant Pot) and am searching for timing and method for all the basic foods. I’m finding lots of variation! I tried technique for sweet potatoes and found it worked perfectly for me. Peeling and dicing sweet potatoes just to mash them always seemed like extra work, but whole sweet potatoes can fall apart while peeling. Halving them seems to be the happy medium. The peels came off so easily and the flesh was not waterlogged or hard in places – just as you described. I may try mashing the peels in next time; I do like them in with true potatoes. Thank you!