Here's how to cook perfect INSTANT POT SWEET POTATOES. With this fool-proof formula, you can determine the perfect pressure cooking time based on the weight of your sweet potatoes.
Fill your Instant Pot with 1 cup of water and place the trivet that comes with your machine on the bottom, to keep the sweet potatoes above the water.
Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork to vent, then place them on top of the trivet. Secure the lid, moving the steam release valve to Sealing. Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. (This time will vary based on the weight of your potato; see the Notes below for the formula to use.)
When the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. This means you don't do anything until the screen reads LO:10. When 10 minutes has passed, move the steam release valve to venting to release any remaining pressure. (It's okay if the sweet potatoes rest in the pot for longer than 10 minutes, though-- they can't burn in there.)
When the floating valve in the lid drops, it's safe to remove the lid. Use oven mitts to remove the hot sweet potatoes from the pot. You can let them rest until cool enough to handle, or slice them in half immediately and serve piping hot.
Leftover cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months for future use.
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Notes
How to Calculate the Cook Time:If you know the exact weight of your sweet potatoes, you can use that to calculate the proper cook time. Multiply the weight of your potato (in ounces) by 2.5 to get the minutes you'll need to cook at high pressure. For example, an 8 ounce potato x 2.5 = 19.2 minutes. I round up to 20 minutes, since the Instant Pot only cooks in whole numbers. Always allow 10 minutes of natural release for the potato to finish cooking, before removing the lid.