This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for details.
Not everything in an electric pressure cooker cooks faster, but Crockpot Express Mashed Potatoes are definitely faster (and easier) than their stove top counterpart.
Growing up, I loved instant mashed potatoes. I preferred them to homemade potatoes, which is just wrong, I know. Now that my palate has matured, I really can’t stand the grainy texture of instant potatoes. But occasionally, a box of them will end up in my pantry because they are just so much faster and easier than making mashed potatoes the old fashioned way. [Insert trumpet fanfare here] Crockpot Express Mashed Potatoes to the rescue!
Here’s the thing: my kids are all over the map when it comes to mashed potatoes. Bryce has despised them his entire life. Even as a baby, he couldn’t stand them. For him, it’s about the texture. Henry used to love them (he would order them at restaurants as his main meal) but recently has started leaving them on the plate. Charlie will eat them if you force him to, but he’d rather not.
Because I’m making them mostly for my husband and myself, I wrote the recipe a little on the small side. But the great thing about Crockpot Express mashed potatoes is the cook time doesn’t change, even if you decide to double or even triple the recipe!
It will take longer to come to pressure, but the results will be the same: creamy, fluffy potatoes just begging for butter! If you don’t already have one of these magic machines, you can get one on Amazon here!
And if you’re looking for another option for potatoes, be sure to check out how to make Crockpot Express Baked Potatoes! It’s so nice to have them for lunch without heating up the house by running the oven.
Crockpot Express Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes (Russet) peeled and quartered
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and wash the potatoes, being sure to cut out any dark spots. Cut them in quarters.
- Place the trivet in the pot and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Place potatoes on top of the trivet. It's OK to stack them if you need to. Don't put the potatoes in the water or they'll get mushy!
- Press Steam and adjust time down to 8 minutes. Press Start/Stop. When the cook time has elapsed (timer will beep) do a QPR (quick pressure release) by flipping open the steam release valve.
- Remove potatoes from the pot and place in a mixing bowl. Add butter, milk and salt/pepper and then mash with a potato masher until creamy and well mixed.
Notes
Nutrition
Click here for more great Crockpot Express Recipes! I think these would go really well with my Crockpot Express Whole Chicken! Maybe I need to buy a second CPE just for cooking sides…
- Chocolate Orange Cookies - November 2, 2024
- Nutella Banana Bread - October 14, 2024
- Bacon Onion Dip - September 13, 2024
brent says
I have been reading you more than a couple years and still don’t know why you use Steam so much in yr recipes. It seems hotter and shorter than the other settings? I’m still getting used to it.
Anyways 5 stars. I chunked out the potatoes like you said, 8/Steam was a great number, threw about 3 garlic cloves in there to ‘roast’ then mashed it all up with butter and half and half and the seasonings. Great side dish and fantastic meal.
I appreciate your recipes and your hard work. I realize that you must have got a lot of stuff wrong before you got it right because that’s the nature/learning curve of this device. You did the work so we don’t have to. Thank you and God bless.
Nicole Burkholder says
According to the manufacturer (and my own long term testing) every pressure setting is the same. It’s just a default setting for time and pressure. So most often “steam” is the setting I need because many of my recipes have a short cook time, and Steam is the closest. The only exception I’ve ever come across is the Multigrain setting, and that one doesn’t even exist anymore on the newer pots. If the first pots had a “manual” button, I would have written all my recipes using that as the setting, I’m sure.
I’m glad you enjoyed the potatoes! Adding some garlic was a great idea. I appreciate your kind words! And thank you for the star rating!
Christine says
If I want to do a full 8qt. pot of potatoes, do I increase the time and water?
Nicole Burkholder says
I’d increase the water by 1/2 cup just to be safe. The size of the potatoes matters more for the time than the actual fullness of the pot. It will take longer to come to pressure if it’s full, but cook time shouldn’t really be affected.
Ashley G. says
I was so excited to find such a simple recipe for mashed potatoes that was for Crockpot Express and not Instant Pot, I thought “for sure, fool-proof”, but then to my dismay, things went wrong. First I tried doubling the recipe but I was unsure if I was to also double the amount of water added or if I needed to add more cook time. To be safe, I doubled the water but made sure the potatoes were not sitting in it. Perfect, I thought. I added 2 more minutes to the timer, a total of 10. And 20 minutes later my CP-E had still not come to pressure. It started to smell like burnt potatoes and I got an error “E3” message that would not quit beeping until I unplugged completely. I would try again but I’m not sure what I did wrong? Maybe I should start by trying the recipe exactly as listed above?
Nicole Burkholder says
It sounds like maybe you forgot to close the steam release valve and it couldn’t build pressure. Was the liquid gone when you opened it up? If the potatoes were up out of the water, how were they getting burned? I’m just trying to get a better picture here to help you out.
If the pot is very full, it can take longer to come to pressure. But it shouldn’t have been burning anything and the E3 definitely means something was going wrong.
Nicole Burkholder says
If you receive this code while using one of the pressure cooking settings, then the lid probably did not close or seal correctly.
To resolve, follow the steps below:
1. Rotate the Steam Release Valve to the “Release” position and wait for the unit to de-pressurize.
2. Take off the lid and look underneath to make sure the Sealing Gasket (large rubber ring) is properly secured to the underside of the lid.
3. If your recipe looks like it may need more liquid now that you have released some of the steam after removing the lid, then add more, stir your ingredients, and reattach the lid, making sure the Steam Release Valve is in the “Seal” position.
4. Unplug the unit for at least 5 seconds, and then re-plug it in and re-program your cook settings to begin cooking.
*********PER CROCK POT EXPRESS WEBSITE