Instant Pot Potato Salad Recipe
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This Instant Pot potato salad recipe is truly life-changing! Potato salad will be ready in less than 30 minutes, and this includes cutting the potatoes!
If you don’t have an Instant Pot and want to make potato salad today, just follow my regular recipe for best ever potato salad and also check out my article “What Is An Instant Pot“. But if you are an Instant Pot owner, Instant Pot is definitely THE way to go when it comes to a potato salad. Once you try making a potato salad in the Instant Pot, you’ll never make it any other way!
How To Make Instant Pot Potato Salad
Instant Pot potato salad method is so amazing because eggs and potatoes cook together in the Instant Pot at the same time! Put cut-up potatoes, 1 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp vinegar and 4 cups of water in the Instant Pot, put eggs on top and pressure cook on High for ZERO (0) minutes, followed by Quick Release (QR). Eggs and potatoes will be perfectly cooked, and the potatoes will be perfectly seasoned!
If you are wondering how can 0 minutes work – well, with this technique things cook while the Instant Pot is coming to pressure. Since we are using 4 cups of water for this recipe, it will take longer to come to pressure (about 10-15 minutes total), which is enough to cook potatoes and eggs to perfection!
I have a bunch of other recipes that use a “zero minutes” technique – check them out here: Instant Pot Zero Minutes Pressure Recipes.
While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, chop the onions and celery and make a mayo dressing (see a printable recipe card on the bottom of this article for exact ingredients and instructions).
When the Instant Pot beeps that it finished cooking potatoes and eggs, quick release the steam, remove the eggs to a bowl with ice water and drain the potatoes.
Return drained potatoes in the pot of the Instant Pot (just so you don’t have to wash another bowl), peel and chop the eggs and add to potatoes, add chopped vegetables and mayo dressing to potatoes and mix everything together to make this epic Instant Pot potato salad.
Chill potato salad in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Potato salad will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This is a perfect make-ahead recipe!
Secret Ingredient In Instant Pot Potato Salad
This is the best potato salad I ever tasted, period. The secret ingredient in this recipe is sweet pickle relish. When added to the mayo dressing, it makes this potato salad truly addictive. People just gobble up this potato salad and rave about it crazily. You definitely need this amazing Instant Pot potato salad in your life!
If you like this Instant Pot potato salad, you will also love these easy Instant Pot recipes:
- Instant Pot Hamburgers – don’t slave over the hot grill, make burgers in the Instant Pot instead! They are so juicy!
- Instant Pot Hot Dogs – yes, Instant Pot is perfect not just for burgers, but also for hot dogs! This is the best way to make hot dogs for a crowd!
- Instant Pot Ribs – these are the best BBQ baby back ribs I’ve ever tried! Truly fall-off-the-bone! Super easy in the IP!
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes – perfectly baked potatoes in your Instant Pot, you will love them with your favorite toppings! Yumm!
- Instant Pot Pasta – cooking pasta in the Instant Pot is life-changing! You don’t even need to drain it, it absorbs all the water! Talk about all the pasta salad possibilities :)
- Instant Pot Lemonade – yes, you can even make lemonade in your Instant Pot! Perfect for picnics with potato salad!
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 8 potatoes
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 4 cups cold water for pressure cooking
- 1 tbsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 onion
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika optional
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Put cubed potatoes, water, salt and vinegar in the Instant Pot. Put eggs on top of the potatoes.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve to a Sealing position. Press the "Pressure Cook" or "Manual" button and set the time to zero (0) minutes on High pressure (the potatoes and egg will cook through while the Instant Pot is coming to pressure).
- While the Instant Pot is coming to pressure, peel and chop the onion and chop the celery.
- In a small bowl, mix mayo, mustard and sweet pickle relish to make a dressing.
- When the Instant Pot beeps that it's done cooking, quick release (QR) the steam. Remove the eggs to a bowl of ice water. Drain the potatoes and return to the Instant Pot.
- Chop the eggs and add to the potatoes. Add chopped onion, celery, the mayo dressing, pepper and sweet paprika. Mix the potato salad until combined.
- Refrigerate the potato salad for at least 1 hour before serving.
These are the very ingredients my mother uses to make her potato salad and it is fantastic. As you can imagine, hers takes longer to make the traditional way. I’m going to make it this weekend for my wife and me and I know it will be fabulous. Great job, Melanie! Thank you very much!
Where have you been? We here in the south have been using sweet pickle relish since day one. Maybe that’s why we’re better cooks! Just kidding, but we have always used the relish.
Melanie I said I’d make this this weekend and I did. It was fantastic. I halved the recipe since it’s just my wife and me. It truly tastes just like my mom’s but in far less time. Absolutely wonderful.
There are so many different potato salad recipes from the US and around the world. Each has its own deliciousness. This one, however, is the one I grew up on and the one I choose above all others.
Great job, Melanie!! Adapting this recipe to the Instant Pot is outstanding.
When you halved the recipe did you halve the water? 4 cups to two? I am a newbie!
Keep water at 4 cups and increase cooking time to 1 minute.
so sorry for the very late reply. I left the water the same because the potatoes cook during the pressure building stage and that would shorten if I decreased the water.
I just made this. When I stumbled on your recipe I knew this was “the one”. I just threw it in the fridge (we will be eating tonight with burgers). I tasted it before refrigerating….delicious! (I didn’t have sweet pickle relish so I chopped up dill pickles and threw them in!)
Melanie. Several questions. How big are the potatoes…oz, grams, small/med, anything but just 8. Same for size of eggs to use (require different cook times to hard boil based on size). Also, what kind of potatoes did you use, e.g. red, russet, new, fingerling, Yukon or does it matter? Lastly, this will be a trial so would like to halve the recipe; would this require different IPot settings and times?
Medium potatoes, I didn’t weigh them. I used russets, but it will work with any potatoes. I used large eggs. To halve the recipe, just halve all ingredients except water, keep water at 4 cups and increase cooking time to 1 minute (as it’s quicker to come to pressure when there is less stuff in the Instant Pot).
You were right on guru. Used your instructions for half recipe (test mode) and came out great. Will use as preferred method from now on. Much easier, saved much time and the number of dishes/utensils to clean up. FYI, I used two medium russets (weigh @ 1-1 1/4 pounds, or around 500g), makes close to 4 cups. Adding 1 minute to cook time to compensate was real insight tip I would not have considered, potatoes and eggs were both perfect. I was mostly interested in technique, so used my own dressing recipe for a deviled egg potato salad. Tip: I always use Heinz Sweet Relish, can’t be beat.
So glad I found this recipe this is the fastest I’ve ever made potato salad!
Notes:
I used a 5lb bag of red potatoes and added maybe an extra cup of water. 1 minute on manual instead of zero to accommodate the extra potato’s. I also did 12 eggs!
Just made this, but I did not have pickle….Still amazing and so quick and easy…NEVER doing this another way!!!
This was great!
Looks like I’m hogging the discussion but oh well. The first day of May always reminds me that warmer days will become the norm and it’s time for summer cooking. Potato salad is as much a summer staple as hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon. Melanie, as per my previous post, your recipe is the best. Great flavor and so easy to make. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to providing us with delicious and convenient recipes.
What does the vinegar do? Does it give it more of a sour taste?
It seasons the potatoes so they taste just right for the potato salad. It doesn’t make them sour :)
This is the only potato salad I make. Comes out perfect every time and very yummy. I followed the recipe except I didn’t add the sweet relish. Personal preference. My mother-in-law always put it in. My mother did not. But this recipe is great. Try it.
Hello, I just made the salad using my instant pot and it was such a quick and easy way to do it. I did have one question though as the dressing turned out pink ?due to the paprika. It says in the recipe to add it into the salad but after seeing the picture in think I should have added it to the top although it didn’t say to do that. What do you do?
I add most to the salad and sprinkle some extra on top. Mine didn’t turn pink, maybe it depends on the type of paprika?
Oh my gosh! This is so fast and so easy! And really the best tasting potato salad! Yay, instant pot!
Excellent!! loved the taste, only added a few pickles & spicy salt Crowd pleaser
This is delish! I halved the recipe and used unpeeled red potatoes. ? The flavor is spot on. Thank you for sharing such a fast, easy, and amazing recipe!
Question… If I triple this recipe, do I need to change the cook time and amount of water? After reading the reviews I can’t wait to make this! This will be my first time making potato salad ever! I have a BBQ party this weekend so I’ll need to make a big batch ;)
The amount of water and cooking time stays the same. I haven’t tried trippling it though, but I’ve heard of people doubling it.
Best Potato Salad I have ever eaten. As odd as the process is…it works.
Added 2 tablespoons white vinegar to the dressing really brought out the flavor
My potatoes needed more cooking time. Eggs also. Mine is 8qt instant pot, and if I made again would pressure 3-5 minutes as the quick guide suggests. Liked how fast it came together. This is perfect for potlucks.
Love the recipe, it’s easy to do, and you can add anything you like . I also add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to the dressing.