Instant Pot Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
If there is ever a time for brown butter, mashed potatoes is IT!
Of all of the Thanksgiving sides, my stomach saves the most room for mashed potatoes. There's not much more that I love along with my Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey more than hefty portion of soft and fluffy mashed potatoes, ladled with a generous amount of gravy. Of course I can't go without sausage apple stuffing and green bean casserole but the mashed potatoes are a true highlight for me.
Since I have hosted a fair share of Friendsgivings and helped in the kitchen with most Thanksgivings, I know how stressful and last-minute the mashed potatoes can be. Not only do they typically take up a lot of stove space, requiring a large pot to boil them in, but it's difficult to keep them warm if they're done too soon. So let's give a hand for the answer to all of our mashed potato problems: Instant Pot Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes!
Not only does the Instant Pot save the day by keeping the potatoes warm, but the addition of brown butter in these mashed potatoes is absolutely to die for. My love for brown butter is no secret, and might be the reason I could not control myself with these mashed potatoes.
The ingredients in these mashed potatoes are actually quite basic - Russet potatoes, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper. The thing that makes them special, as mentioned, is that brown butter.
How to Brown Butter
If you're new to brown butter, let me give you a quick overview on how to do it. First, it's pretty important to use a light colored pan to brown your butter in. It's much easier to see what's going on compared to a dark pan. Second, the quality of the butter you use will make a difference in how long it takes to brown. Cheaper butter has a higher water content, and will take longer than better quality butter as it has to cook off the liquid before the milk solids can be browned.
Simply, the process involves melting the butter over medium-low heat, swirling frequently, until little brown specks begin to appear. It will go from this to burnt quite quickly, so once you see the brown specks, remove from the heat immediately. And that's it! Your brown butter is ready to be used in these mashed potatoes.
How to Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
To make these mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot, you add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker, and then top with about 3 pounds of potatoes. They only take 10 minutes on manual high pressure to cook!
To mash the potatoes, I am a big believer in the potato ricer. Once I tried it, I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made in the texture compared to using a hand mixer or doing it by hand! There are absolutely no lumps and they stay perfectly fluffy.
To the mashed potatoes, you'll add most of the brown butter, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper. I like to drizzle mine with more brown butter and then a hefty sprinkle of chives for a pretty presentation. These Instant Pot Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes will definitely be the hit of your holiday table!
Like this recipe? Check these out too:
Brown Butter Roasted Brussels Sprout
Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole
Steakhouse Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes from The Stay at Home Chef
Instant Pot Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (12 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the water on the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add the potatoes and seal the lid.
- Cook on manual pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes and then release the valve to let the pressure fully release.
- While the potatoes are cooking, brown the butter.
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until brown specks begin to appear on the bottom of the pan. A light colored pan works best for this and, depending on the quality of your butter, this will take about 10 minutes. Try not to stir it and be patient!
- Drain the potatoes and return to the Instant Pot.
- Add all but 2 tablespoons of the butter, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper.
- Mash the potatoes. I prefer using a potato ricer or a masher to mash my potatoes, but you can use a mixer - just be careful not to over beat!
- Serve drizzled with additional brown butter. Enjoy!
