Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Onions and Bacon

CREAMY INSTANT POT MASHED POTATOES WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND BACON. Creamy, dreamy mashed buttery mashed potatoes with sweet/savory caramelized onions and smoky, salty bacon.

This potato side dish is incredibly easy to make and puts your instant pot to work!

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Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Trust me when I say this is a simple dimple, easy peasy potato recipe to make!  The biggest thing that will take your time is caramelizing the onions, but the process is easy and it allows you to do other tasks while browning the onions.

PLUS.. you can make this mixture AHEAD of time so it really cuts down event day prep!!

The recipe card below might look like there are a lot of steps, but really there isn’t. I’ve just really explained the steps in detail, so it might look intimidating, but it really isn’t.

Ingredients

• Potatoes: I recommend using a starchy potato, like the russet. They make fluffier, creamier mashed potatoes.
• Onions: You can use regular yellow onions, but if ideally, sweet Vidalia or Walla Walla would be even better.
• Bacon: Use a good quality, naturally smoked bacon.
• Butter
• Heavy Cream
• Spices

Directions for making these loaded mashed potatoes

This part will take the longest. We will be caramelizing the sliced onions which means cooking them slowly over low heat to encourage the natural sugars in the onions to develop and become sweeter.

Do onions contain sugar? You bet! Even the strongest smelling onions contain sugar. Roasting them in the pan in butter will make them sweeter, but you need to cut them as thinly as possible.

Use a mandolin if you have one, or carefully use a knife to slice them.

Next, with your sharp knife, carefully dice the bacon.

Begin to saute the bacon in a bit pot. Cook the bacon until it’s ¾ of the way to crispy, then remove from the pot and set aside.

Leaving the fat in the pot, add the onions and salt,  and start sauteing them. Keep stirring them frequently.

This process will take about 35 – 45 minutes, depending on how thinly the onions were sliced.

When the onions are very wilted (at least half of the volume has disappeared) and golden in color, add back the bacon.

Season the onions and bacon and continue to saute a bit longer to deepen the color of the onions even more.

As the onions are cooking, peel the potatoes, cut them into big chunks, and put them in the Instant pot after putting the trivet in the bottom of the pot.

Add the water and pressure cook.

**The fully detailed and printable recipe with exact amounts and directions is at the bottom of this post.

After pressure cooking the potatoes, carefully transfer them to a bowl (using tongs).

Add the parsley, garlic and butter.  Begin to mash. Add the cream in small increments until you reach the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. 

Transfer the potatoes to a baking dish, smooth out, and then cover with the onion and bacon mix on top of the potatoes and distribute evenly.

. Broil in the oven for a few minutes BUT WATCH CAREFULLY as the onions can burn quickly!

Drizzle the optional butter over the dish and then serve!

Can I make this in my Ninja Foodi?

Yes, you sure can and I would encourage it! The directions for this mashed potato casserole are the same as the instant pot, and the bonus would be that you can assemble and finish the dish right in the Foodi using the crisping lid, so no oven use is necessary.

What can I serve with these Instant Pot Potatoes?

The options are endless really. If there is anything you specifically like to serve with potatoes, this dish will go well with. I like to serve it with my Grilled Balsamic Chicken, my Country Style Pork Ribs, or pairing it with my One Pan Tzatziki Chicken is delicious!

Handling the Leftovers

These onion and bacon mashed potatoes will stay great in the fridge for up to 5 days or so. Keep them covered tightly and reheat in the microwave in individual portions for a minute or two.

You can freeze leftover mashed potatoes as long as they have butter and cream added to them. If they are dry (just mashed) they don’t freeze well. So if you want to freeze the leftovers, cover them tightly in a freezer-safe container and they should be great for up to a month.

To reheat them, thaw completely, and reheat in a 360-degree oven with a lid for about 20 minutes until heated through. Remove the lid in the last five minutes or so to crisp up the toppings again. They won’t be as delicious as when you made them fresh, but these pressure-cooked mashed potatoes will still be tasty!

I hope you consider trying this recipe! It’s great for any holiday table or even any weeknight. The onions take the longest, and that’s around 30-40 minutes, but you can get other things going while you do this, and TRUST ME .. when you taste these delectable bites of the creamiest instant pot mashed potatoes with onions and bacon… you’ll totally understand what I am talking about.

Thanks for stopping by The Salty Pot today, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

~Joanne

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