This Instant Pot Potato Salad Recipe is SO quick and easy! Potatoes are perfectly cooked in your Pressure Cooker and combined with Mayo, Sour Cream, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon and other Spices! Yum!
Potato salad is a staple of many social gatherings. Whether is it a cookout, picnic or tailgating party, you can almost always be sure to see Potato Salad as a side dish. I’ve always LOVED Potato Salad! But, have you ever noticed the difference between store bought Potato Salad and homemade? There really is no comparison. You gotta go with homemade!
Instant Pot Potato Salad
The only problem is that making Potato Salad in your kitchen is SOOOO labor intensive. It takes SOOOO long. Well, not anymore. I’ve been a huge fan of my Instant Pot for a couple years now and I constantly surprised with all the recipe shortcuts I continue to find. You can make some really great Instant Pot Side Dishes that are super easy in your pressure cooker, like these Instant Pot Baked Beans, Here is one more. Now I can make Potato Salad in an Instant Pot in about half the time that it usually takes. With this recipe, you won’t have to worry about boiling your potatoes! Yay!
Our Instant Pot Potato Salad Recipe doesn’t use any egg, but I’ve included some easy instructions below to add egg if you want.
What will you need for this recipe? Pretty simple stuff, you probably already have most of it in your kitchen:
- Red potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
- Seasoning salt
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Bacon, chopped
- Green onion for garnish
What Is The Best Potato To Use For Potato Salad
I’ve seen some recipes using Russet Potatoes for Potato Salad. But, honestly, I’d stay away from those as they are pretty starchy and may fall apart when cooking in a pressure cooker. We like to use Red Potatoes.
Do you need to peel your potatoes when making potato salad? That is completely up to you. We didn’t peel ours for this recipe. It’s certainly a taste and aesthetic thing.
Best Way To Store Instant Pot Potato Salad
Store in an air tight container and keep in your fridge. Your potato salad should stay good for up to 4-5 days. Never store at room temperature. Can you freeze potato salad? Well, yes, you can freeze it, but thawing it can be tricky. NEVER thaw it at room temperature or microwave it. Always thaw it in your refrigerator. Some of your ingredients may separate during the thawing process. You can stir the potato salad to try to remedy this. But, in general, I’d advise against freezing this recipe.
Notes, Tips and Variations:
- Eggs?- We didn’t put egg in this recipe, but cooking a Potato Salad with Egg in an Instant Pot is super easy. Simply put a couple eggs in with your Potatoes. They will both cook together all in one pot! You’ll want to put them in an ice bath after cooking and get them fully cooled before incorporating them into your recipe. I’d remove the egg yolk and mix it in with your wet ingredients. Then dice up the egg whites and mix them in afterwards with the bacon! Put a couple eggs in if you want so you’ll have some extra hard boiled eggs for a snack if you need it later!
- Mayo Sub?- This recipe is best with real mayonnaise. Trust me. But, if needed you can sub for reduced fat mayo if you really need to.
- Setting Time- The longer you can let these ingredients set together in your fridge, the better. Plan accordingly. You will want AT LEAST 3-4 hours.
- Keep Cool- A neat trick is to put a large bowl of fresh ice under the serving dish when you serve this Instant Pot Potato Salad. This will help keep the dish cool and fresh during your function.
What To Serve With Your Instant Pot Potato Salad
I’ve got some great recipes if you are looking for something yummy to use as a side dish:
- Open Faced Gruyere Cheese Sandwich with Apple and Bacon
- Smokehouse Turkey and Cheddar Sandwich
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

- 3 pounds red potatoes cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- Green onion for garnish
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Place the chopped potatoes in the steam basket for the Instant Pot.
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Add water to the bowl of the pot and place the steam basket inside. Place the lid on the pot and seal the vent. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. When the cook time is up, do a quick release and remove the lid.
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Carefully take the steam basket out of the pot and allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature. Place the basket in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process, if desired.
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When the potatoes have cooled, season with salt, pepper, and seasoning salt. Stir to coat.
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Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Stir to combine.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill at least four hours. Garnish with chopped green onion before serving.
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