Instant Pot Potato Salad

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 06/15/21
Instant Pot Potato Salad

The Spruce / Christine Ma
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 3 mins
Pressure Build/Release: 15 mins
Total: 33 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 pot
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
417 Calories
27g Fat
39g Carbs
6g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 417
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g 34%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 38mg 13%
Sodium 656mg 29%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 5g 16%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 19mg 93%
Calcium 56mg 4%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 1033mg 22%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The Instant Pot is an excellent way to cook potato salad. With just one pot, cleanup is a breeze, and the electric pressure cooker won't add as much heat to the kitchen as two pans of boiling water would. While cooking time is only three minutes, make sure you allow an extra 15 minutes for pressure buildup.

Feel free to customize your potato salad with your family's favorite additions. Radishes, bell peppers, cucumbers, celery seeds, and scallions are all excellent options.

Yukon gold potatoes are not as starchy as russets but not as waxy as red potatoes, making them a great choice for potato salad. They hold their shape nicely like red potatoes while absorbing some of the dressing like russets.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds potatoes, such as Yukon Gold

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste

  • 6 large eggs

  • 1 cup chopped celery

  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion

  • 1/4 cup chopped dill pickle

  • 1 tablespoon pickle juice

  • 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise, or to taste

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard, or Dijon mustard

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Instant Pot potato salad

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  2. Scrub potatoes—peeled or not—and cut them into 3/4-inch cubes.

    Diced potatoes on cutting board

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  3. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to Instant Pot, then place a trivet and steaming basket in it. Alternatively, you could put another trivet on the first trivet to keep potatoes from falling through into the water.

    instant pot with steam rack

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  4. Add cubed potatoes to basket and place eggs on potatoes.

    Potatoes and eggs in Instant Pot steaming basket

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  5. Secure lid and make sure steam release valve is in sealing position. Choose pressure cook (or manual on some models) and set timer for 3 minutes. It will take approximately 15 minutes to reach pressure.

    instant pot lid

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  6. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice and water.

    Ice and water in a bowl

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  7. When 3 minutes is up, carefully move steam release valve to venting position. When float valve drops, remove lid and transfer eggs to ice water.

    Cooling the hard cooked eggs in ice water

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  8. Let potatoes cool in basket, or spread out on a sheet of wax paper for faster drying and cooling.

    Cooked potatoes on a baking sheet

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  9. Peel and chop eggs.

    Eggs chopped on a cutting board

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  10. Put potatoes in a bowl and add chopped eggs, celery, onion, and chopped pickle with its juice. Toss gently to blend.

    potato salad ingredients in a bowl

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  11. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley, if using. Mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

    Instant Pot Potato Salad in a bowl

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

  12. Finish potato salad with a sprinkling of paprika and extra chopped parsley, if desired.

    Instant Pot Potato Salad in a bowl

    The Spruce / Christine Ma

Tips

  • Safety Tips: Keep potato salad chilled when transporting. Ideally, when serving in an outdoor setting, nest the serving bowl in a larger bowl of ice or serve it from a cooler. It should be at room temperature for no more than two hours, and only one hour if the temperature is above 90 F.
  • If the chopped onions are very strong, soak them in ice water for about 20 minutes. Drain thoroughly before adding them to the potato salad.

Recipe Variations

  • Replace the chopped dill pickles with chopped bread and butter pickles or hot sweet pickles and 1 tablespoon of the juice.
  • Instead of parsley, add fresh chopped chives to the potato salad.
  • Replace about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise with sour cream or Greek yogurt.