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This loaded Instant Pot Potato Salad is the dish that everyone will love. This recipe has mayo-free options for a healthier potato salad and is the perfect make-ahead side dish for your next BBQ. No pressure cooker? You’ll also find stovetop instructions include in the post.
This Instant Pot potato salad (with or without mayo) will knock your socks off!
And just like my Artichoke Salad and Cucumber and Onion Salad, it will be the hit of your next meal, BBQ, or get-together.
If you are new to pressure cooking and the Instant Pot, check out this post on recipes for Instant Pot beginners.
Baked Potato Salad Ingredients
This recipe has:
- Potatoes
- Onions – both white and green (scallion)
- Bacon
- Shredded cheddar – I recommend extra sharp
- Plain Greek yogurt OR mayo (try Instant Pot yogurt)
- Celery (optional)
- Garlic powder
- Smoked paprika
- Dill – fresh or dried
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar
What Is The Best Kind of Potato To Use For Potato Salad?
In my experience, russet potatoes hold up best during the cooking, mixing, and chilling process.
If you prefer to leave the skin on the potatoes, try red or gold potatoes. You can also try a mix of 75% russets and 25% red potatoes. This is your world my friend; we all just get to live in it.
How to Make Instant Pot Potato Salad
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Chop the bacon and cook it in a skillet until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Pro tip: you can save time making this loaded potato salad by precooking the bacon in the oven or making air fryer turkey bacon or air fryer bacon.
Scrub your potatoes with a vegetable brush under cool running water. If you prefer to peel your potatoes, do that now and then cut them into ~1-inch cubes.
Add 1 cup water and the salt to the Instant Pot. Place a steamer insert into the pot and place the potatoes on top.
I do not have a fancy steamer basket, but rather a basic metal steamer insert. If you are looking for a basket, this one is very popular.
Pro tip: You can use the metal trivet that came with your pressure cooker, but you’ll want to make sure the pieces of potato sitting directly on the trivet are a bit larger to prevent them from falling through.
Secure the lid, switch the vent to sealing, and press Manual>High Pressure>4 minutes. When it has finished cooking, carefully flip the steam release handle to “venting” and allow all the pressure to be released.
Carefully drain the potatoes into a colander/strainer. Let them drain for 10-15 minutes. Pro tip: if you have the space in the fridge, you can place the colander in a large bowl and let them cool in the fridge while they drain.
Transfer the drained potatoes to a mixing bowl (or put them back in the empty Instant Pot insert), and carefully toss them with the apple cider vinegar. If you didn’t have them in the fridge during the draining process, put them in the fridge now. They’ll need to cool for 1-2 hours.
In a small bowl mix Greek yogurt (or mayo), garlic powder, dill, and lemon juice and set aside.
Add the white onions, celery, half the bacon, half the green onions, and half of the cheese to the potatoes, and pour the yogurt dressing over the top. Gently toss to coat. Refrigerate.
Just prior to serving, top with freshly ground black pepper, the rest of the cheese, bacon, and green onion. Sprinkle a pinch of smoked paprika over the top and serve.
Making Potato Salad With Hardboiled Eggs
Adding chopped or sliced hard-boiled eggs is a great way to change up this Instant Pot potato salad.
You can even cook the eggs in the Instant Pot at the same time as the potatoes! Simply place the eggs (still in the shell) on top of the potatoes in the Instant Pot prior to cooking.
Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, perform a quick release to release the pressure. Using tongs, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water. Once cooled, slice or chop the eggs and add them to the potato salad when you combine all the ingredients.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Make Ahead: Potato salad is actually better if it sits in the fridge for 12-24 hours before serving. If possible, make it a day before your meal/event.
Meal Prep: You can peel and cut the potatoes up to 24 hours prior to cooking. Simply keep the cut potatoes submerged in cold water in the fridge and they will not oxidize (brown). Drain the potatoes prior to adding them to the Instant Pot.
You can also cook the bacon and refrigerate it for up to a week, or freeze it for 3-6 months. The onions and celery can be chopped and stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
The yogurt/mayo dressing can be mixed and stored in the fridge for 48 hours. If you’re using Greek yogurt, it may become watery after 24 hours. The water is called whey and it’s a harmless product of yogurt. Simply stir the dressing prior to mixing it with the potatoes.
Storage: Keep the mixed potato salad in a container with an air-tight lid in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezing Leftovers: I do not recommend freezing this Instant Pot potato salad recipe.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Do your best to cut the potatoes to uniform sizes so that they cook evenly.
- Feel free to increase the amount of cheese and bacon if desired. Cheese should always be measured with your heart.
- Add 2 tbsp relish to increase the tangy factor. Related: Homemade Dill Pickle Relish
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This potato salad in the Instant Pot can be doubled in a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot. I do not recommend doubling it in a 3-quart Instant Pot.
If you double the recipe, use 2 cups of water in the Instant Pot insert instead of 1 while cooking the potatoes. The cooking time will remain the same (4 minutes), but it will take longer to come up to pressure and depressurize.
Nope! Feel free the leave the peel on if you’d like.
If you’re not peeling the potatoes, I recommend using gold or red potatoes. The peels of Russets can become tough when cooked.
There is no need to rinse the potatoes after cooking. Doing so can cause them to become mushy which will lead to a watery potato salad.
Yes! Fully draining and cooling the potatoes prior to mixing them with the rest of the ingredients is a key step in making the best potato salad.
Hot potatoes will react to the yogurt/mayo dressing and veggies, causing those ingredients to release extra water. That will lead to a watery salad with mushy potatoes.
In my experience, if you cooled the potatoes prior to mixing all the ingredients, the potato salad will not thicken in the fridge.
If the potatoes were hot when all the ingredients were mixed, it might thicken in the fridge, but there will also be water at the bottom of the bowl.
More Recipes Likes This:
- Check out all my Instant Pot Side dish recipes
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Greek Yogurt Egg Salad
- Instant Pot Asparagus
- Chicken Salad With Dill
- Instant Pot Cowboy Beans
- Healthy Green Pea Salad
- Air Fryer Fried Okra
- Cabbage Salad With Bacon
- Air Fryer Fried Pickles
- Air Fryer Egg Rolls
- Pickled Vegetables
- Air Fryer Zucchini Chips
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
If you used Greek yogurt, one serving of Instant Pot Potato Salad will have 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 strips bacon {chopped}
- 4 lbs russet potatoes {peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes}
- 1 cup cold water {1 cup for IP, 4 cups for stovetop}
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt {or mayo}
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp fresh dill {use 1 tsp dried}
- 1 tsp lemon juice fresh
- 1/2 cup onion {diced}
- 3 ribs celery {chopped}{optional}
- 3 green onions {sliced}
- 1/4 cup cheddar {shredded}
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Chop the bacon and cook in a skillet until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.3 strips bacon
- Peel (optional) and cube the potatoes in 1-inch cubes.4 lbs russet potatoes
- Add 1 cup water and the salt in the Instant Pot. Place a steamer insert into the pot and place the potatoes on top.1 cup cold water, 1 tsp salt
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle to “Sealing”. Press Manual>High Pressure>4 minutes.
- When it has finished cooking, carefully flip the steam release handle to “venting” and allow all the pressure to be released. (This is called a quick release)
- Drain, transfer to a mixing bowl, and toss with the apple cider vinegar. Place potatoes in the fridge for 1-2 hours.2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Mix greek yogurt, garlic powder, dill, and lemon juice and set aside.1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp fresh dill, 1 tsp lemon juice
- Add the white onions, celery, half the bacon, half the green onions, and half of the cheese to the potatoes, and pour the yogurt dressing over the top. Gently toss to coat. Refrigerate.1/2 cup onion, 3 ribs celery, 3 green onions, 1/4 cup cheddar
- Just prior to serving, top with freshly ground black pepper, the rest of the cheese, bacon, and green onion. Sprinkle a pinch of smoked paprika over the top and serve.1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Notes
- Use extra sharp cheddar for a bold cheese flavor.
- If you’d like to double the recipe, use 2 cups of water in the Instant Pot. The cooking time will remain the same (4 minutes), but it will take the Instant Pot longer to come up to pressure and depressurize.
- To add hard-boiled eggs, simply place the eggs (still in the shell) on top of the potatoes prior to cooking. Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, perform a quick release to release the pressure. Using tongs, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water.
- Follow steps 1-2 above.
- Place in a pot, add the salt, and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, cooking uncovered for 15 minutes or until a knife can pierce the cube.
- Follow the draining, cooling, and mixing instructions above.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We made this using the stove top preparation instructions. It was delicious and a big hit with our neighbors for a cookout! My husband was shocked that it didn’t have more ingredients or levels of complication – the flavor was so complex!
I love hearing that, Erin! Thanks, as always, for taking the time to leave a review.
I recently made this for the millionth time and it was a hit again! I love that the recipe is forgiving so if you just dump everything in the bowl with steaming hot potatoes, it’s still amazing!This time I took the leftovers and friend them in butter. All I can say is mmmmmm!
I love how you repurposed the leftovers; yum!!