Instant Pot Potato Salad
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This Instant Pot potato salad is such a delicious side dish! This dairy-free, gluten-free potato salad features soft red potatoes in a light, creamy dressing.
The Best Instant Pot Potato Salad Recipe
My family loves potato salad, but it’s a bit of a pain to make. Boiling the potatoes to get just the right texture is frustrating. Some potatoes are done cooking before others, and inevitably they turn out a little too mushy or a little too crunchy.
So I was so excited to discover that the Instant Pot yields the perfect texture every single time. With just a four minute cook time, chopped red potatoes come out soft enough to absorb the dressing but solid enough to distinguish themselves from mashed potatoes.
It does take between 10 and 15 minutes for the pressure cooker to come to pressure, but there’s no babysitting involved like there is with stove top potato salad.
Step By Step Instructions to Make Instant Pot Potato Salad with Red Potatoes
Step One: Cook the Red Potatoes and Eggs in the Instant Pot
Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot, then add a steamer basket to the pot. Place the chopped potatoes and eggs in the steamer basket. Turn the valve to the sealing position and set the Instant Pot to 4 minutes on manual high pressure. Once it’s done cooking, do a quick release and remove the steamer basket from the pot using a pot holder.
Step Two: Mix Together the Ingredients
Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl, and put the eggs in a bowl of cold water to cool a bit. Then peel each egg, cut in half, and remove the yolks to a small bowl. Mash the egg yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, and mustard. Stir to combine evenly. Chop the egg whites and place them in the large bowl with the potatoes, along with the chopped celery and scallions. Pour the dressing onto the potato mixture. Stir gently to coat evenly. Sprinkle the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer red potatoes because they hold their shape well. They yield the classic potato salad texture and look, and their thin red skin isn’t thick or gritty. If you’d prefer a creamier potato salad, you could use a starchy version like russet potatoes.
I leave the skin on my red potatoes for a boost in fiber, and it gives some added color to the recipe. But you can peel them if you’d prefer, and it doesn’t impact the cooking time.
Cut the potatoes into evenly sized pieces of about 3/4 inches. At this size, they should be perfectly cooked after a 4 minute cook time in the Instant Pot. If you’re using a different type of potato or you cut the pieces bigger, it may take a bit longer to cook them. If they’re still hard after the 4 minute cook time, you can simply set the Instant Pot to Saute and continue cooking them, uncovered, for a few more minutes, until softened.
You can substitute onions and pickles for the celery and scallions. You can also substitute your favorite vinegar-based potato salad dressing.
The eggs can be omitted from this recipe. The dressing can be made as written without the cooked egg yolk, and the Instant Pot potato salad is still delicious.
Potato salad can be frozen, but the quality isn’t as good after defrosting. Rather than freeze the finished potato salad, it’s a better idea to freeze the plain cooked potato chunks. Once they’re defrosted, steam them briefly to heat them up, then add the remaining ingredients.
This Instant Pot potato salad really couldn’t be easier to make. My family enjoys it all year long.
Try my Instant Pot German potato salad for another variation of this delicious side dish. And this Instant Pot cauliflower is simple to make in your pressure cooker. It takes a cook time of zero minutes!
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red skin potatoes chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
- 2 eggs
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 4 scallions diced (white and light green parts only)
- 1/3 cup organic mayonnaise
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp stone ground mustard or your favorite kind
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh chives for garnish
Instructions
- Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot, then add a steamer basket to the pot. Place the chopped potatoes and eggs in the steamer basket. Cover the lid, turn the valve to sealing, and set the Instant Pot to 4 minutes on manual high pressure. Once it’s done cooking, do a quick release and remove the steamer basket from the pot using a pot holder.
- Place the potatoes in a large bowl, and put the eggs in a bowl of ice water to cool a bit. Then peel each egg, cut in half, and remove the yolks to a small bowl. Mash the egg yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, and mustard. Stir to combine evenly.
- Chop the egg whites and place them in the large bowl with the potatoes, along with the chopped celery and scallions.
- Pour the dressing onto the potato mixture. Stir gently to coat evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Instant Pot Red Potato Salad Price Breakdown
This recipe costs a total of $3.90 to make, or $.24 per half cup serving. Try this easy red potato salad in the Instant Pot the next time you’re feeding a crowd. Everyone will love it!
Note: This post was originally published in 2018, and it was updated in 2022.
Using the 6 qt Instant pot, and approximating the size of the potatoes, shown, as being about 3/4 in. widie, “4 minutes” was inadequate. You can do it with potatoes chopped to small pieces, like 1/4 in wide, but it takes at least 8 min manual pressure cook to get red potatoes of 3/4 in average width to an al dente texture. I made a dijon vinagrette (oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard and lemon juice) and added 3 TSP vegan mayo. The recipe, as presented, is terrific. The Instant pot works well, for this.
So interesting! I’ve made this recipe many times in my 6 quart Instant Pot at 4 minutes, and the potatoes come out soft every time. What altitude are you at? I know that high altitudes require slightly higher cooking times. My potatoes would definitely turn to mush if I cooked them for 8 minutes here in Massachusetts.
I am excited to learn that my Instant Pot can cook potatoes for potato salad! I didn’t know that yet. Because you are right the traditional way of boiling is a total pain. Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! Such a great use of the instant pot! I love how it is a sure-fire way to get the potatoes the perfect texture.