Instant Pot Okinawan Sweet Potatoes
A simple, healthy side dish or vegetarian main, cook Okinawan Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot for faster preparation. Top with a super easy coconut milk and feta cream. This recipe is for one potato, but do note that you can easily scale this recipe up (see notes)
Servings 1 potato
Calories 210kcal
Ingredients
- 1 Okinawan purple sweet potato (see notes)
- 1 cup canned coconut milk , well-shaken (see notes)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese (or goat cheese)
- smoked paprika (for garnish)
- chopped pistachios (for garnish)
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Scrub the potato with a scrub brush, and slice off any rough ends.
- Add one cup of water to the inner pot of the Instant pot (or 1.5 cups of water for the 8 quart), and insert the trivet or a steamer basket. Place the potato on the trivet or in the basket
- Close the lid and seal the vent. Set manual pressure to the time indicated in the notes below. At the end of cooking, natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- While the potato cooks, whisk the coconut milk (along with some of the cream from the edge of the can) with 2 tablespoons of the cheese, until creamy. It may be a little lumpy – that's okay. Taste. If the cheese is not strong enough, add another tablespoon or two and whisk again.
- When the potato is finished, carefully remove the lid and test for doneness by inserting a knife into the potato - it should yield easily. Use tongs to transfer the potato to a plate or bowl.
- Slice the potato into cubes, or in half, and season lightly with kosher salt (Penzey's Fox Point seasoning is also awesome here). Gently smash the flesh (not completely smooth). Season with a pinch of salt, and spoon the cream over the potato. Sprinkle the paprika lightly over the cream and top with the pistachios. Serve immediately.
- Leftover cream can be refrigerated for several days.
Notes
When pressure cooking potatoes, it's the thickness of the potato that determines cooking time, not the length of the potato, or even the quantity. And you can actually cook as many potatoes as will fit properly in the inner pot, without increasing the time.
Measure across the sweet potato at its thickest part, and use these times as a guideline:
2" wide: 14 minutes
3" wide: 18 minutes
4" wide: you're better off slicing them in half lengthwise and cooking for 12 to 14 minutes!
After the cooking time has completed, do a 10-minute natural release, before quick releasing the pressure.
If cooking multiple potatoes at once, try to select potatoes of a similar width so that they'll all cook evenly.
The quantity of coconut and feta cream will easily top 4 or 5 potatoes.
Nutrition
Calories: 210kcal