Instant Pot Potato Salad is every bit as good as old-fashioned, classic potato salad--just made with much less effort!
Serve this easy Instant Pot Potato Salad alongside Burgers, Italian Pasta Salad, Old Fashioned Baked Beans, and Creamy Cucumber Salad for a perfect summer feast!
Faster Without Sacrificing Flavor
I have been making potato salad for decades.
The old-fashioned way. Boiling potatoes, hard boiling eggs, and then chopping it all up and tossing with a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing.
It was a labor of love.
Until I mastered making Potato Salad in my instant pot.
What used to take hours, take minutes of hands-on prep--and tastes EVERY bit as delicious as the classic.
This Instant Pot Potato Salad makes making classic potato salad so much faster! By cooking the eggs and potatoes together perfectly in the pressure cooker, the prep time on potato salad has been cut drastically. Then the potatoes and eggs are tossed together with a classic mayonnaise-based dressing for an out-of-this-world, creamy potato salad.
Ingredients for Potato Salad
The ingredients for this potato salad are simple. No mustard. No pickles. Just classic old-fashioned flavors.
- Russet Potatoes--For classic potato salad, only russet potatoes will do! This is not the recipe to use red or gold potatoes.
- Eggs: Use standard large eggs and allow them to come to room temperature for fewer chances of craking when cooked.
- Mayonnaise--Use real mayonnaise, like Hellman's or Dukes, not Miracle Whip. Reduced-Fat Mayo is fine, but don't use fat-free, as the flavor will change drastically.
- Vinegar--distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Celery--The celery will add texture and crunch.
- Onions--Use standard yellow onions, not a red or sweet onion.
How To Make Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Pour 1 ½ cups of cold tap water into the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
- Add in a steamer basket.
- Place cubed potatoes in the steamer basket.
- Gently nestle the eggs on top of the potatoes.
- Close the pressure cooker and be sure to check to see if the vent knob is sealed. Set to cook on HIGH pressure for 4 minutes (yes, I normally hard boil eggs in Instant Pot for 5 minutes, but this takes longer to get to pressure with the potatoes, so 1 minute needs to be subtracted from the total time).
- Once cook time has elapsed, allow pressure to release naturally for 4-5 minutes. Then do a quick release of pressure.
- Remove eggs and place them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Remove steamer basket with potatoes from Instant Pot and let cool slightly while you prepare the potato salad dressing.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together mayonnaise, salt, vinegar, onions, and celery until well combined.
- Peel two of the hard-boiled eggs, and cube.
- Add eggs to the mayonnaise mixture and gently combine.
- Add in potatoes and gently fold the potatoes into the mayonnaise mixture, until the dressing is evenly distributed through the potatoes.
- Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes before serving, best after 2-3 hours.
Storage Instructions
To store potato salad, prepare as directed and place in an airtight container or a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate immediately and store in store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
How to Serve Potato Salad Safely
Because this potato salad is mayonnaise-based, it is not safe to keep at room temperature for extended periods of time--I recommend no longer than 60 minutes at room temperature and no longer than 30 minutes in temperatures that exceed 80 degrees. You can read more about food safety tips from the FDA.
To safely serve for a party, place a large bowl of ice underneath the serving bowl that contains the potato salad. Change out the ice as it melts. This helps keep the potato salad safe for about 2 hours.
Be sure if you are transporting potato salad to a gathering, you transport it in a cooler that has been packed with ice.
Recipe FAQs
Let your eggs come to room temperature before pressure cooking, this helps to prevent cracks.
I always suggest hard-boiling 4-6 eggs, even though this recipe only calls for 2 hard-boiled eggs. Even with room temperature eggs, sometimes cracks happen. And it never hurts to have extrafor breakfast, a snack, or to make egg salad.
Yes! You can easily double this recipe to fit in a 6 or 8-quart instant pot.
Yes! To keep the cubed potatoes from falling through the rack or sitting directly in the water and becoming water-logged, I do strongly suggest using a steamer basket.
More Instant Pot Potato Recipes
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Crispy Potatoes
- Instant Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
If you tried this Instant Pot Potato Salad, I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below.
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups russet potatoes- peeled and cubed into 1 inch chunks
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar
- ½ cup celery finely diced
- ¼ cup onion finely minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Pour 1 ½ cups cold water into the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
- Add in a steamer basket. Place cubed potatoes in the steamer basket. Gently nestle the eggs on top of the potatoes. (I typically make 4 eggs instead of 2, just in case any crack.)
- Close the pressure cooker and be sure to check to see if the vent knob is sealed.
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 4 minutes. Select the manual or pressure cook and use the plus or minus buttons to adjust the timer to 4 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow pressure to release naturally for 4-5 minutes. Then do a quick release of pressure.
- Remove the eggs and place them into ice water. Remove potatoes from Instant Pot and let cool slightly while you prepare the potato salad dressing.
- To prepare the potato salad dressing, mix together mayonnaise, salt, vinegar, onions, and celery until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
- Peel two of the hard-boiled eggs, and cube them into bite-size pieces. Add the eggs to the mayonnaise mixture and gently combine.
- Add the potatoes and gently fold the potatoes into the mayonnaise mixture, until the dressing is evenly distributed through the potatoes.
- Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes before serving, best after 2-3 hours.
Notes
- Storage: Store potato salad in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
- Let your eggs come to room temperature before pressure cooking, this helps to prevent cracks.
- The recipe only calls for 2 hard-boiled eggs, but I like to make 4 in case one egg cracks or just to use for a snack.
- You may need to add an additional ½ teaspoon of salt, taste, and season as desired.
- See Instant Pot High Altitude Conversion if cooking 2500+ feet above sea level.
Lu
Great recipe! So easy in the Instapot!
Boiling the potatoes does make them mushy. This way does not. Will never make hard boiled eggs in the stove again & easy to peel!
Mom
How long for doubling please?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi there! The cooking time will remain the same regardless of doubling. Enjoy!
Louise Gilson
Can you add pickle relish to this Potato a salad Recipe after pressure cooking the potatoes and eggs? If so how much relish would you use?
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely! I would start with 2 tablespoons and give it a taste and then you can add in more if needed.
Susan K
I have a potato salad recipe that uses red potatoes. Can I cook the red potatoes in the instant pot. I noticed you said not for red or gold potatoes, why?
Kristen Chidsey
I just don't find the texture of red potatoes to work for this potato salad, but yes, you can certainly cook your red potatoes this way for your recipe 🙂
Gwynn
Just as easy to do this on the stove top
Kristen Chidsey
That is a great tip to cook your eggs on the stove-top with your potatoes as well.
Diane
Hi. I'm curious why you suggest russet potatoes for potato salad? Russets are a mealy type of potato that loses shape and turns to mash easily when cooked. I've always used red potatoes for salads because this type of potato retains its shape when cooked. I learned this lesson long ago at my first attempt at the German type of potato salad and I what ended up with was a mashed potato salad.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Diane! Red potatoes are classic in German potato salad. In the classic mayo-based potato salad, the creaminess from the russets is key. However, you can make this using red potatoes. It just won't be as creamy.
Diana
Haven't tired it yet, but wanted to comment on your safety section. It is actually a myth about mayo causing spoilage, unless it's home made. Commercial mayo actually helps keep food from spoiling. Look it up.
Phyl
If I halve the recipe, does the time and water amount remain the same?
Kristen Chidsey
That is correct Phyl:) Enjoy!
Sjk
Kewl worked out great cooked it at night put a tee towel under it to absorb liquid and sprayed it lightly w pickle juice. put in fridge overnight. Put rest of ingredients in in the morning
Diane Chrislip
When I first read this recipe, I thought, "What? No mustard? No pickles?" But I sucked it up and made it just like the recipe said (except for the addition of a little sweet red pepper and chives from the garden just because they're there.) Really good. Delicious. I might cut the salt down a tad next time. Can't wait to serve this to my guests. (PS My potatoes and onions were freshly dug from the garden. Oh, heavenly!)
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you gave this a try Diane, despite your reservations! Enjoy with your company!