Quick & Easy Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Whole30 & Paleo)

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of these mashed potatoes, I have to preface this post by explaining why it's taken me so long to get an Instant Pot. It's kind of a funny story. If you're not here for funny stories, now would probably be a good time to jump ahead.

Last Christmas, Santa (Chris), got me an Instant Pot (or so we thought). It sat in the box well into February mainly because the steep Instant Pot learning curve wasn't one I had the energy to conquer. Finally, towards the end of February I decided to face my fears and try it out. 

When I pulled it out of the box, I thought it was kind of strange that this "Instant Pot" was oblong unlike the cylinder shaped ones I had seen all over the Internet. Nevertheless, I dumped in the ingredients for a super simple taco recipe, and then attempted to follow the recipe word for word.  Except a lot of the words being used in the recipe didn't exist on this "Instant Pot." There was no "pressure cook" option and seemingly no pressure release valve or anything to lock the lid in place. 

Chris and I were utterly dumbfounded. We frantically flipped through the manual trying to figure out what on earth we were doing wrong, and then it finally dawned on us.

Fun fact: The brand INSTANT POT also makes something called a Gem Multicooker. It's a slow-cooker with about 247 really cool features, pressure cooking not being one of them. 

So long story short, Chris (bless his heart), bought me the wrong appliance. Needless to say, we never had tacos that night.

Flash forward: I finally invested in the real deal when Instant Pots were dirt cheap on Amazon Prime Day. Once I took the time to figure it out, my world changed for the better. Instant Pots simplify cooking, and my recipe for garlic mashed potatoes is here to prove it. 

These mashed potatoes are an incredibly easy side dish for the holidays or weeknights. They reheat well in the microwave, so they'd even be great for meal prep! Now that I have this delicious mashed potato recipe in my index, I will definitely be volunteering to bring the mashed potatoes to all of the upcoming holiday festivities. 

This recipe uses just a few simple ingredients to create a side dish that is hard to resist, and why would you? Coconut milk replaces real milk and ghee replaces butter making them completely dairy-free, gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30. I've said this before and I'lll say this again and again: I don't recommend doing a Whole30 over the holidays, but if you are, this side dish is a great option for you to dig into!

Here's what you'll need for these Quick & Easy Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil- Any cooking fat with a high smoking point will work just as well. 
• ¼ cup yellow onion (minced)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced) - I can't stress it enough how important getting a very fine mince on the onion and garlic is. You want the onion and garlic to add flavor to the mashed potatoes without adding a bite. If minced, they'll blend right into the mashed potatoes without adding any texture. I don't know about you, but I'm not okay with crunchy mashed potatoes.
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 cup chicken bone broth - I've found that it's easier to find a compliant store-bought bone broth than it is to find a compliant store-bought chicken broth. Either will work, but I think using bone broth adds more depth in flavor. 
• 1.5 pounds baby gold potatoes (skin on/quartered) - Large gold potatoes will work as well. You'll just need to cut them into roughly 1-inch chunks.
• 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk - If everyone your serving can tolerate dairy, the coconut milk can easily be swapped for real milk.
• 2 tablespoons ghee  - See above. The ghee can easily be swapped out for butter.

Here's what you'll do to make these Quick & Easy Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

1. Preheat your Instant Pot's "saute" function. I've learned quickly that this function gets HOT and it gets HOT fast, so always keep a close eye on whatever you're using the "saute" function for. In this case, we're using it to quickly soften the minced onion and garlic. Once it's preheated for about a minute, pour in the extra virgin olive oil and warm it until it's hot but not smoking (no more than a minute). Dump in the minced onion and garlic and "saute," stirring continuously until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the salt and ground white pepper and then turn the Instant Pot off (hit "cancel"). I recommend turning the Instant Pot off as soon as the onion and garlic begins to soften because otherwise, they will burn up real quick. Yuck.
2. In the Instant Pot, with the sauteed onion and garlic, dump in the potatoes and the bone broth. Secure the lid and make sure the vent is set to "seal." Hit "pressure cook" and set the timer to 5 minutes (told ya it was quick).
3. As soon as the timer stops and the Instant Pot beeps, do a quick manual release of the pressure. Once all of the pressure has released, carefully remove the lid.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and the ghee. Using a potato masher or a heavy wooden spoon, mash everything together until the desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with additional salt and ground white pepper. Ta-da! 

These mashed potatoes turn out light, fluffy, garlicky and naturally delicious in about 20 minutes. They're perfect for making right before serving, but they also can be made in advance. Simply reheat them in the microwave or in the Instant Pot. If reheating in the Instant Pot, I would heat them over the "saute" function for about 5 minutes or until they're heated through and then turn on the "keep warm" function. 

This is a pretty back to the basics recipe for mashed potatoes, but if you really want to load these taters up, there are plenty of things you could add to them once they're finished. My personal favorites are crispy bacon bits and fresh cut chives!

AND THAT'S THAT! It doesn't get much easier than this! With the chaos of the holidays quickly approaching, you're going to want quick and easy recipes like this one up your sleeve! So what are you waiting for?! Pin this recipe for later, and if you post any pictures on social media, please tag me and use the hashtag #paleoishkristaeats! Thanks!

Pin now! Cook Later!