Festive Instant Pot Potato Salad

Summer get-togethers call for a creamy, refreshing homemade bowl of potato salad. Instant Pot Potato Salad is super quick and easy to make. Like all classic potato salads, this recipe includes all the great flavors you expect in this family-favorite side dish.

Like any delicious recipe, choosing the right ingredients will make the difference on whether your recipe is a hit, a flop, or just okay. 

Start with selecting the best potato for Instant Pot potato salad. Your best choice is a waxy potato that will hold its shape better when boiled.

• Waxy potatoes are so much better in potato salad because of their high moisture and lower starch levels. 
• White potatoes with a yellow skin, such as Yukon Gold, are a great choice.
• Small yellow, purple, or red potatoes, or fingerlings keep their shape nicely. Another benefit of using these types of potatoes is that their skin is very thin so you won't need to peel them unless you want to.
• To make your potato salad really festive, use a combination of small red, gold and purple potatoes and leave their skins on. Cut them to size before adding the other ingredients. The added colors make a beautiful presentation for what otherwise is a rather bland colored salad.

The other ingredients will depend upon your personal tastes. This Instant Pot potato salad is a combination of classic ingredients that have been a long time favorite among my family and friends.

The real bonus is that you can make it ahead of time. Potato salad always tastes better after an hour or so in the refrigerator. But, you can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover the salad tightly and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it. 

What We Love About This Recipe

• The waxy potatoes hold up well and keep their shape. This Instant Pot potato salad has perfect chunks of potatoes that hold up well to the dressing and the other ingredients. You won’t end up with mushy, mealy potatoes that you may get with russet potatoes.
• Soft-skinned potatoes means I don’t have to peel my potatoes if I don’t want to, saving me time. The skin also adds color and texture to the potato salad.
• Hard boiled eggs. I love adding these to my potato salad. You can easily leave them off if you prefer. If you are taking these to a potluck or picnic, you can divide the salad between two bowls and add the eggs in only one bowl. Win-win.
• The hard boiled eggs and potatoes are all pressure cooked at the same time and in the same pot. Definitely a time saver for cooking and cleanup.
• So fast and easy. Yes, you have to wait for the pot to come to pressure. But, if you’ve ever waited for water to boil, especially on a hot summer day, and then watched the pot boil over later, you will appreciate this method!
• Classic ingredients. This potato salad dressing uses mayonnaise, onions, mustard, apple cider vinegar, herbs and spices for its traditional flavor. 

How to Make a Fantastic Pressure Cooker Potato Salad

1. Use waxy potatoes that hold up well during pressure cooking and keep their shape.
2. When the pressure cooking stops, do a quick release and then cool the potatoes slightly to stop cooking. 
3. Add the dressing to the potatoes while they are still warm. This will help the potatoes better absorb the dressings flavors.
4. Fold the eggs into the salad so they don’t break up into tiny pieces.
5. Chill the potato salad for one hour and up to 2 days before serving.

Variations to this Potato Salad Recipe

• I personally prefer mayonnaise. But, you can replace the mayonnaise with a salad dressing such as Miracle Whip or with plain yogurt. After mixing the dressing, adjust the other ingredients to your taste.
• Red onions add a nice pop of color in addition to the taste. But, a white or yellow onion would work well too.
• Exchange the fresh dill for fresh parsley, thyme, lemon thyme, or chives.
• Use a Dijon mustard or grainy mustard in place of the yellow mustard.
• Use 2 tablespoons pickle relish or shredded pickles. Reduce the amount of vinegar to 1 teaspoon and then add more as needed to taste.
• Add ½ cup to ¾ cup finely chopped celery to the potatoes along with the onions in step 6.
• Omit the eggs.
• Add ½ to ¾ cup cooked and crumbled bacon.
• Add 2 to 3 thinly sliced red radishes.

If you don’t have a steamer basket, you have 2 options. Arrange the potatoes on top of the steam rack that came with your Instant Pot. You will need to be more careful transferring the potatoes to and from the pot. You could also put the potatoes directly in the pot with the water and arrange the eggs on top. Reduce the amount of water to 1 cup and the cooking time to 3 minutes.