This Southern Instant Pot Potato Salad recipe is your go-to version of the classic dish. It uses an Instant Pot to save time and preserves all your favorite Southern potato salad flavors. Perfect as a Black cookout or potluck side dish. Enjoy this with our BBQ Hennessy Wings or my Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs.
Why Make Southern Potato Salad in an Instant Pot
Southern Potato Salad is a classic cold side dish. Here are a few reasons why you should make this easy twist on classic potato salad:
- Saves time: Using an Instant Pot to boil the potatoes takes about 10 minutes as opposed to the time it takes for the water to boil and your potatoes to become fork-tender in a regular pot.
- No mushy, water-soaked potatoes: The Instant Pot potatoes cook without submerging them in water. This means that you don’t have to worry about soggy potato salad.
Ingredients Needed
This potato salad uses many of the same ingredients that you probably have in your favorite recipe. The main difference is using the Instant Pot to save time.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: Peeled
- Eggs: Hard-boiled, peeled and diced. You can buy hard-boiled eggs, make air fryer boiled eggs, or simply boil them the traditional way.
- Yellow onion: Thinly diced
- Green bell pepper: Thinly diced
- Celery: Thinly sliced
- Celery seed
- Mayonnaise
- Yellow mustard: Prepared
- Sweet relish
- Sea salt: Fine
- Black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Garlic powder
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of the post for the exact ingredient amounts and recipe instructions.
Best Potatoes For Southern Potato Salad
When choosing potatoes for this salad, go for the waxy or all-purpose ones, not starchy. The best potato options for Southern salad are:
Waxy Potatoes
- New potatoes
- Red potatoes: these worked well in Patti LaBelle’s potato salad recipe.
- Fingerlings
- Baby potatoes
All-purpose Potatoes
- Yukon gold potatoes
- White potatoes
- Purple potatoes: if you want to have a fun color. But, I would not take potato salad made with purple potatoes to a cookout (since I don’t believe in experimenting at important family events)!
How To Make Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot cooking pot.
- Add the potatoes to a steamer basket insert of the Instant Pot—pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Manually remove the pressure and remove the potatoes from the heat, then allow them to cool.
- Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes and all the other ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Instant pot alternative: You can use Ninja Foodi pressure cooker function instead.
- Adjust recipe: You can adjust the recipe with your go-to potato salad recipe if you just want to use an Instant Pot to save time.
- Allow the potatoes to cool: Wait for the potatoes to cool before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients to avoid mushiness.
You don’t have to make your salad the day before, but you can. It gives the salad enough time to have the flavors meld together.
Not draining your potatoes well after boiling or not waiting for them to cool before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. This is one of the main reasons that I enjoy using an instant pot or pressure cooker to make potato salad.
This Instant Pot potato salad recipe doesn’t use vinegar. However, some people add apple cider vinegar for a tangy flavor and to keep the potatoes from drying out.
You should always use cold water before boiling or cooking any food.
Storage and Leftovers
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
More Southern Salad Recipes
Here are some other easy side dishes that you can add to your cookout menu:
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot
Ingredients
Instant Pot Potatoes
- 3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled
- 1 cup water cold, for the bottom of the Instant Pot
Southern Potato Salad Add-ins
- 5 large eggs hard-boiled, peeled and diced
- ½ cup yellow onion thinly diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper thinly diced
- ½ cup celery thinly sliced
- 2 tsp celery seed
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise or more for added creaminess
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard prepared
- ⅓ cup sweet relish
- 1 tsp sea salt fine, or more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or more for additional smoky flavor and color
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Boil Potatoes in Instant Pot
- Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot cooking pot.
- Add the potatoes to a steamer insert of the Instant Pot.
- Pressure Cook the potatoes on high for 10 minutes.
- Manually remove the pressure from the Instant Pot and open the lid. All of the potatoes should be tender. But, you can place the instant pot lid for an additional 5 minutes if needed to soften the potatoes more.
Make Potato Salad
- Remove the potatoes from the heat so that they stop cooking. Allow the potatoes to become cool to touch. About 20 minutes. They should cool so that they don’t turn to mush as you stir them and the other ingredients.
- Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes and all remaining ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.