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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – No Drain! Made by Kids {VIDEO}

Something amazing happened this week.

Because I’m teaching my kids to cook, dinner got on the table on time when it never would have otherwise – including the easiest homemade mashed potatoes ever!

Instant Pot mashed potatoes no drain - Instant Pot kids recipes

Tuesday was a crazy day, with one meeting stacked upon another and school conferences at 4:30 p.m. I neglected my own meal planning tips and advice, and didn’t decide what we were having until over halfway through the day!

I barely had time to throw a pork tenderloin into the Instant Pot – like literally throw it in, drizzle some olive oil on, haphazardly shake in some Italian seasoning and ask Google, “How long to cook a pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot?” and then stab at the buttons.

Pro tip: 30 minutes with a natural pressure release will do it for 2 pounds of meat, if you need to know.

However, a hunk of meat doth not a meal make, especially when there are in-laws coming over and 4 hungry children!

My original plan was to get mashed potatoes started in our other Instant Pot – yes, we have two of them – before I left for conferences, but it just didn’t happen. I had 3 minutes, exactly. Guess what you can do in 3 minutes?

  • You can remind your 12-year-old boy about how he and his sister made a video of Instant Pot mashed potatoes a few months ago and ask him if he can do it tonight.
  • You can skim through the recipe with him and make sure the deer-in-the-headlights look is out of his eyes since you sprung this on him with no warning – Yes, son, don’t worry, you do know how to make mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot.
  • You can show him where the red potatoes are and remind him his sister likes lots of butter in her mashed potatoes.

And then you can rush out the door, feeling grateful that dinner is in good hands and amazed at how teaching kids to cook is paying back!!!

Related: More recipes kids can make!

Teaching Kids to Cook

kids in kitchen with mom

It’s my hope for YOU that your kids can save dinner sometime, too! BUT if you’re going to ask your kids to do this, they need some kitchen skills first. We’d love to help you out with our Kids Cook Real Food eCourse, teaching 30 basic cooking skills to kids ages 2-12 in organized, FUN video lessons.

The key is to teach the kitchen skills in advance, when there’s NOT time pressure for dinner. Then you can reap the rewards when you’ve made all the bad planning choices in the world one day. Winking smile

Also Read: Teaching kids to cook leads to healthier adults!

Make your Instant Pot work for you!

The Instant Pot has gotten a lot of hype over the last couple years – for good reason. It really can do just about anything.

Although it can seem a bit daunting to use at first, it really becomes quite simple once you give it a try.

Use the techniques, tips and simple recipes from the Instant Pot Guidebook to get started, and before you know it, your Instant Pot will become indispensable!

Get the Instant Pot Guidebook for FREE!

Instant Pot Kids Recipes

I’ll show you how to make the easy no drain mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot too. But, since you don’t have to drain the water off, it’s a perfect recipe for kids – no heavy lifting that usually comes with draining mashed potatoes!!

Also, boiling potatoes in the Instant Pot means no boiling over.

I may have a bit of a boiling-over complex myself, because I’m always trying to cook as fast as I can and multi-task, which means at least 75% of the mashed potatoes I’ve made in my life created more work for me later, cleaning off the stovetop – at least I know how to do it naturally and effectively, right? #smallwins

This Instant Pot potato salad is another recipe that kids can tackle without having to deal with boiling potatoes on the stovetop. Or you can give this kid-friendly golden rice recipe a try! Instant Pot smashed potatoes are fun, too, although they involve some oven work as well (great for intermediate and up!).

Your kids can learn to cook, even if you don’t know where to start

My 4 kids and I created the online Kids Cook Real Food lessons to help bring real food and independence to families all over. Over 10,000 kids have joined us and we’d love to invite you along for the adventure!

Kids watching a cooking lesson at a kitchen island

I’m so pleased to offer a little gift from our family to yours, a knife skills lesson as a free preview of the full cooking eCourse!

Actually, let’s let the kids show you how easy it is to make Instant Pot mashed potatoes – they’re 6, 9, and 12 in this video. Didn’t they do great?

VIDEO: Instant Pot Kids Recipes – No-Drain Mashed Potatoes

Recipe: How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – No Drain!

In case you didn’t catch all the amounts in the video, here’s the written recipe:

Print
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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – No Drain!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Katie Kimball
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: side dish

Description

These mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot are so easy, kids can make them. No draining, no heavy pots, no babysitting the stove.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 23 pounds potatoes (no more than 8 cups for a 6-quart Instant Pot) *red, Yukon, Idaho – whatever you have
  • 1 1/2 c. water OR chicken broth (for added nutrition)
  • 1 tsp. Real Salt
  • optional: fresh garlic, 1-2 whole cloves
  • 1/2 c. milk
  • 4 Tbs. butter (or to taste)


ship kroger


Instructions

  1. Cut the potatoes into large chunks. Quarters is fine for red potatoes; big bakers will need to be more pieces.
  2. No need to peel if you don’t want to, although you may.
  3. Put the potatoes and water into a 6-quart or larger Instant Pot.
  4. Add salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase) and optional garlic.
  5. Check the seal and lock in the lid. Turn the valve to “Sealing.”
  6. Set the Instant Pot for 10 minutes on high pressure (usually this is the “Manual” button).
  7. It will take 5-10 minutes to get up to pressure. When the 10-minute cooking time is up, use a long wooden spoon to safely open the valve and release the pressure.
  8. Open the lid carefully. Most of the water will be absorbed, but if it still looks a little liquid-y, don’t worry – mashing will solve the problem.
  9. Add milk and butter (to taste) and any other seasonings you enjoy.
  10. Mash the potatoes right in the pot (or do as my Grandma does and use a KitchenAid mixer paddle, but that’s not as safe for kids, moving hot potatoes around).
  11. The Instant Pot will automatically be on “keep warm” so you can close the lid again and serve the potatoes any time in the next few hours!

Notes

Other seasonings like Herbs de Provence can make your mashed potatoes step up a notch in elegance!

Non-dairy milk works fine as well as olive or avocado oil.

A huge thank you to Bethany at Woodhaven Place for the basic no-drain technique!

  • Need a little help getting healthy food on the table every day? Real Plans takes the stress out of meal planning and puts the nourishing food BACK on your table. There’s a plan for every diet type, including GAPS, Paleo, AIP, Whole30, vegetarian and more! You remain totally in control: use your own recipes, accept theirs, and teach the system what your family likes…Check out how powerful it is here!

That’s it!

Instant Pot mashed potatoes no drain. Boiling potatoes in Instant Pot lets you cook these big chunks and you don't have to drain!

And on conferences day, to finish up that story, thank goodness Paul was on the task. I didn’t get home until nearly 6! I was able to quickly saute some frozen veggies and boom – dinner, on the table. Instant Pot + kids who can cook = miracle! Now that’s my kind of math! Winking smile

RELATED: Recipes for leftover mashed potatoes.

Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes no drain. Instant Pot Kids recipes. Boiling potatoes in instant pot.
Do your kids know how to cook? Has the Instant Pot ever saved your dinner?

Where to Buy an Instant Pot

This is the 6-quart Instant Pot I started out with. After a few years, we added an 8-quart partly because I knew I would use two at the same time often enough, partly because it was the Prime Day sale, and also because I wanted more space for certain recipes. Both are a pretty basic model and you don’t need more bells and whistles than that!

If you’re deciding on size, most people say it’s better to get a deal on the 6-quart and just have 2 rather than go big, BUT if your family has 5 or more people or you really like to batch cook or do more than a pound of beans, the 8-quart may be the best choice. My full Instant Pot review and buying guide for features, size, and model.

If you’d like to shop directly at Instant Pot’s website instead of Amazon (or just compare prices), check them out here.

You can even get a carrying case to travel with it! See my review of the Instant Pot carrying case we have.

If you’re still on the fence about adding an Instant Pot to your kitchen appliance arsenal here are my Instant Pot pros and cons.

=Traditional Cooking School Instant Pot Sourdough Cornbread Pressure Cooker Recipe
 

My dear friend Wardee at Traditional Cooking School can do just about anything with her Instant Pot – cakes, bread, main dishes, veggies, even “stacking” multiple kinds of food at once!

She’s offering a free sourdough cornbread Instant Pot recipe!

This cornbread is delicious, nutritious, super easy to make, and it only needs 12 minutes of cook time.

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.

6 thoughts on “Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – No Drain! Made by Kids {VIDEO}”

  1. We tried this recipe and it came out very watery 🙁
    The taste was still good enough to eat, and I think the recipe could clarified a bit? When it says “Put the potatoes and liquid” into the pot I assumed that meant the 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of milk… will give this recipe another shot because it seems like a wonderful, hands off, kid friendly way to make them 🙂

    1. Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship

      I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you the first time Kari. Thanks for pointing out how it could be clarified. The liquid referenced at first is just the water and you add the milk later. Did you let your potatoes do a natural release or quick release as soon as the cooking time was done? If you accidentally let it naturally release for awhile it may have then let off less steam and kept more water in the pot? I hope you’re able to get it working next time!

  2. My go-to mashed potatoes recipe! Love this recipe so much. Ridiculously easy, flavorful and delicious!






  3. My Boaz's Ruth

    We don’t have a Instant Pot. Does the cooking with kids ecourse depend on that piece of equipment?

    1. Laura Snell @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Great question, I’m glad you asked! There’s no problem if you don’t have an Instant Pot.

      You won’t need a pressure cooker at all for the full original course. The Instant Pot premium content class is just one section that is an add-on to the full course, and everything taught in that section can also be done in a slow cooker.

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