Pressure Cooker Smashed Red Skin Potatoes

I love smashed red skin potatoes on a weeknight. They’re so much less fussy than real mashed potatoes - no peeling, no dicing, no worries about lumps. Lumpy potatoes? Who cares! They’re smashed, that’s how they’re supposed to look.

My pressure cooker makes these instant pot red skin mashed potatoes an easy weeknight side dish. Toss everything in the pot, set the timer, then ignore them until the pressure cooker beeps. The potatoes are perfectly done. Quick release the pressure, mash ’em right in the pot, and they’re ready to go. (If I’m really in a hurry, I bring the pot liner full of mashed potatoes to a hot pad on the table, stick a spoon in the pot, and let everyone serve themselves.)

Ingredients

• Butter
• Garlic
• Red skin potatoes
• Fine sea salt
• Water
• Whole milk

How to Make Smashed Red Skin Potatoes in a Pressure Cooker

Prep the potatoes: Melt the butter using Saute mode in an Instant Pot (medium heat in a stovetop PC). As soon as the butter stops foaming, add the potato slices and the garlic to the pot. Stir the potatoes in the Instant Pot to coat with butter. Sprinkle with the salt, pour the water and the first ½ cup of milk into the pot, and stir again.

Pressure cook the potatoes for 7 minutes with a Quick pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 7 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (Manual, Pressure Cook-High or Pressure Cook-Custom in an Instant Pot), or for 6 minutes in a stovetop PC. Quick release the pressure, then open the lid away from you.

Smash the potatoes: Smash the potatoes in the pot with a potato masher to break them up, then pour in the second ½ cup of milk and smash until you get the right consistency, adding a little more milk if they’re too thick. Serve and enjoy!

Substitutions

• Other potatoes: I prefer red skin potatoes for this recipe. If you're going rustic, you want the red skins to stand out, and waxy potatoes hold up a little better to smashing than floury potatoes like russets. You can substitute Yukon Gold potatoes for the red skins, and they taste great, but they yellow skins aren't as fun to look at in the mash.
• Sour Cream for some of the milk: If you like the tang of sour cream, use it in place of some or all of the ½ cup of milk that's stirred in after pressure cooking.
• Heavy Cream vs Skim Milk: If you want extra-rich potatoes, substitute cream for some or all of the milk. (Heavy cream and butter. Yum!) If you're looking to cut calories, substitute 2% milk or skim milk for the whole milk.

Storing Leftovers

Leftover mashed potatoes store well. They'll last for a few days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer. I store them in 2-cup containers so they're easy to microwave when I need to reheat them.

What’s the difference between mashed and smashed potatoes?

Mashed potatoes are peeled, smooth, and evenly mashed. Smashed potatoes are more rustic, mashed with their skins still on, and noticeable lumps of potatoes afterwards. (That's why I like them for a weeknight. I don't have to be careful, I just mash until it feels right.)

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What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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