Instant Pot Potato Salad

Peeps, this is it. You think you’ve had Instant Pot Potato Salad but this right here is the best Instant Pot Potato Salad there is. In fact, it’s the best potato salad there is. Yeap, I said it.

My family loooooooves potato salad and it is just so much easier with the Instant Pot. When I boil potatoes, I feel like a babysitter. Is the texture perfect now?

What about now? And before you know it the potatoes could go for too long and you’re left with mashed potatoes. Pressure cooker potato salad eliminates the guesswork with the simple press of a button.

This recipe makes me sooooooo happy that I own a pressure cooker. Potato salad has been added to the long list of things I love to make using my Instant Pot.

Cooking the potatoes and eggs together saves time and both come out cooked to perfection. After cooling both down, you’ll be able to add them to the rest of the ingredients for the perfect potato salad.

If you like this you might also like this Instant Pot Potato Soup, or this Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes and the best creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.

Ready to make Instant Pot Potato Salad? Gather your ingredients and I’ll show you how….

How to Make Instant Pot Potato Salad

1. Add the water to the Instant Pot Insert.
2. Put the trivet inside the insert, and place the potatoes and eggs on top.
3. Cover the Instant Pot and turn valve to seal (not venting). Set for manual/pressure cooker, high 5 mins.
4. Once cook time has completed, allow a natural pressure release for 5 mins, then perform a quick pressure release to remove remaining pressure.
5. Place the eggs in a bowl of ice water for 5 mins. Then peel, chop and set them aside.
6. Once potatoes are cool, transfer to a large salad bowl and add in the chopped eggs, bell pepper, sweet corn and scallions.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar and add salt to taste. Then pour on top of the Instant Pot Potato Salad and stir until fully coated.

Instant Pot Potato Salad Tips

• Double up! This is an easy recipe to double or triple if you need to feed a crowd. It’s a great side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas AND for alllll your summer picnics.
• You do not have to peel the potatoes before putting them into the Instant Pot. Yeap, they’re soooooo much easier to peel once they’ve cooled down. Plus you also can leave the skin on if you prefer.
• If you don’t have apple cider vinegar you can swap out for the vinegar you have stored in your pantry.
• You can customize Instant Pot Potato Salad as you wish. I added sweet corn and peppers into my Instant Pot Potato Salad, but you can add mustard and pickles for a classic Potato Salad flavor.

Pressure Cooker Potato Salad – Why You’ll Love It

Let’s be honest, folks. The Instant Pot can make a lot of difficult meals turn out really great with not a whole lot of effort on your part. Pressure cooker potato salad is the perfect solution to getting easy-to-peel eggs and the right texture on the potatoes for mixing.

My family loooooooves potato salad but it is so much work on the stove top. Trying to boil the potatoes to get the right texture is frustrating.

Too long and they’re complete mush and no one likes a mushy potato salad. Too short on the boil and my kids give me that “We’re not eating this” look.

The Instant Pot takes the guess work out and does all the work for you. And it’s quick. Quick enough when your extended family decides to pop in for a dinner visit and you need to whip up something fast for them to eat with what you have in your pantry.

Can You Make Instant Pot Potato Salad Without A Steamer Basket?

Yeap. You can simply place your potato and eggs directly on the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot. No steamer basket necessary.

Instant Pot Potato Salad with No Mayo

To make a tasty Potato Salad No Mayo version, just swap the mayo for yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil. Adding a tablespoon of Dijon or spicy brown mustard will give it a nice zesty flavor too.

Vegan Instant Pot Potato Salad

To make this a vegan potato salad you need to omit the eggs and make the no-mayo version of the dressing as described above. You can add in extra veggies, such as green beans (just toss them in to steam with the potatoes). And sprinkle in fresh herbs such as dill or tarragon for extra flavour.

Instant Pot Potato Salad with Bacon

For the non-vegan meat lovers out there, fold in some crumbled bacon to give your Instant Pot Potato Salad some extra crunch and lots of of smoky bacon goodness. Amaaaaazing!

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

Folks, I wasn’t a believer in hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, but with the 5:5:5 method you get perfect eggs with shells that peel right off every single time.

The 5:5:5 method is simply;

• 5 mins of cook time on high pressure
• natural pressure release of 5 mins
• 5 mins in an ice bath

Steps for using the 5:5:5 method

• Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot insert.
• Put the trivet rack in the bottom of the insert and place the eggs on the rack.
• Once the 5 mins natural pressure release is done, perform a quick pressure release to release the rest of the pressure.
• Use tongs to place the eggs in the 5 mins ice water bath. This is an important step, as it stops the eggs from continuing to cook.
• Once cooled, peel and enjoy your perfect eggs.
• Your Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

The Best Potatoes for Potato Salad

There is no right or wrong answer as to which are the best potatoes for potato salad. But there are two varieties you’ll want to stick to: waxy and starchy.

Starchy potatoes are the potatoes you use for baking, like Idaho and Russets. A starchy potato may need a little more attention when boiling but they will soak up all that delicious and flavourful dressing you’ve made.

I used Russet potatoes in this Instant Pot Potato Salad recipe. Make sure to always cut your potatoes to be about the same size to cook evenly and cool completely before gently mixing in the dressing.

Waxy potatoes are red potatoes, new potatoes and fingerlings. Waxy potatoes tend to be the preferred potato for potato salads, but will not soak up the dressing like a starchy potato will. Whilst not as fluffy as their starchy counterparts, waxy potatoes are smoother and less grainy.

When cooked, waxy potatoes will be firmer than their starchy counterparts. And like with the starchy potatoes, make sure to cut your pieces to be about the same size and cool completely.

Potato Salad Safety Tips

According to the FDA Food Code, all foods should be kept out of the ‘danger zone’, which is defined as 41F – 135F (5C – 57C). Follow these tips to so your Instant Pot potato salad remains delicious and safe to eat.

• Store your potato salad in an airtight container inside your fridge for no more than 3-4 days.
• Try this handy trick when serving: nest the serving bowl inside of a larger bowl that is filled with ice.
• When transporting potato salad to an event, wrap the container with blue ice containers (freezer packs) and place inside a well-insulated cooler.
• Make sure to cover your potato salad and stick it back in the fridge as soon as mealtime is over. Experts recommend tossing if is left out longer than 2 hours.

How to Store Potatoes

When you are storing your potatoes follow these simple rules:

• Don’t store potatoes in the fridge. This will spoil the flavor and cause spots to develop on your potatoes.
• Keep them in a cool, dark place like your pantry.
• Do not store potatoes with onions because potatoes will release gases and moisture that lead to spoilage.
• Cut off all sprouts before eating. Sprouts are not safe to eat but the potato is fine to cook and eat.

 Weight Watchers Points

By replacing the mayonnaise with non-fat greek yogurt, one serving of Instant Pot Potato Salad will contain 4 Freestyle SmartPoints.

Serving Suggestions

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

Juicy Air Fryer Hamburgers

Slow Cooker Ribs

Instant Pot Chicken Breast

More Potato Salad Recipes

Red Potato Salad.

Thank you for reading my Instant Pot Potato Salad recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.

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