You’ll love this classic potato salad–there’s no need to even heat up your stove!

This Instant Pot potato salad is a simple side dish perfect for a summer BBQ or potluck!
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There are some summer side dishes that can very easily take you back in time to simpler days of running tirelessly through sprinklers, listening to the sky-splitting boom and crackle of fireworks above, and gathering with family over a red-checked tablecloth.
Eating is so much a time of connection and memories, and I’ve found that it’s often the simplest foods that bring those memories to the top of mind.
One of those foods for me is a classic, home-style potato salad. It’s one that my dad requested often to accompany the grilled barbecue chicken he frequently prepared on summer evenings.
My mom would whip it up in a flash, popping it in the fridge to cool a bit before serving.
She used to boil the potatoes on the stove, but I’ve begun making Instant Pot potato salad, which is such a great hack!
In fact, it’s one of my favorite Instant Pot side dishes for a BBQ, because it’s a quick and easy crowd-pleaser!
More Delicious Side Dishes You Need to Try:
- Easy Macaroni Salad
- Aldi Copycat Chickpea and Edamame Salad
- Simple Italian Pasta Salad
- Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad
- Easy Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
- Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Easy Potato Salad Recipe
If you love a good helping of classic potato salad, you’re going to love this easy recipe!
It’s quick and easy–the thing that takes the most time is just dicing the onions and a couple of ribs from a stalk of celery. But even that only takes a few of minutes!
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, feel free to simply boil the potatoes on the stove top, and then follow the rest of the recipe as written.
How to Make Potato Salad in the Instant Pot
It’s really easy to make this simple side dish!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Russet potatoes
- Eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Yellow mustard
- Coarse mustard (optional)
- Sugar
- Vinegar or dill pickle juice
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Celery

How to Make Potato Salad:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Pressure cook. First, you’ll add the potatoes and eggs to the insert pot of the Instant Pot, letting them rest on the trivet. Alternatively, you can use an Instant Pot steamer basket. Add some water into the insert pot to create the steam during cooking.

Make the dressing. Next, while the potatoes and eggs are cooking, you’ll mix up the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and salt.

Cool and combine. Last, once the eggs are cool, you’ll peel and dice them and add them to the potatoes. Add in the celery and the dressing, stirring gently to combine.
Chill until you’re ready to serve!

Notes and Adaptations:
- While you can serve this dish right away without chilling it first, I prefer it cold. I recommend chilling it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
- If you don’t have coarse ground mustard on hand, you can simply omit it and double the amount of yellow mustard.
- Feel free to add in diced onions or pickle relish if you’d like!
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker
- Steamer basket (optional–you can also use the trivet that came with your Instant Pot, which is what I do)
Quick & Easy Instant Pot Potato Salad

This easy potato salad is a classic summer side dish--perfect for a BBQ!
Ingredients
- 6 medium russet potatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard (*see recipe notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp coarse ground mustard (*see recipe notes)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar or dill pickle juice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup diced celery
Instructions
- Place the trivet in the insert pot of the Instant Pot (or you can use a steamer basket, if you have one). Pour 1 cup of water into the insert pot.
- Onto the trivet, place the chopped potatoes. Nestle the eggs onto the potatoes.
- Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position. Select a cook time of 4 minutes at high pressure.
- While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, coarse mustard, sugar, vinegar or pickle juice, pepper, and salt. Set aside.
- When the cook time is complete, allow a 5 minute natural release, followed by a quick release of presure. After the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid.
- Carefully lift out the trivet or steamer basket. Place the eggs in a bowl of ice water to quickly cool. Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl to cool slightly.
- Once cool, peel and dice the eggs, then add them to the potatoes. Add celery to the potatoes.
- Stir in the dressing, turning gently to coat the potatoes well. While you can serve this warm or at room temperature, I prefer to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- I prefer to use a combination of yellow mustard and coarse mustard, but you can certainly only use yellow if you don't have coarse. Simply increase the amount so you have a total of 3 teaspoons of mustard.
- Feel free to add diced onions or pickle relish if you'd like.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 315Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 382mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Since you can’t really freeze mayonnaise, this recipe is a great way to use up what’s hanging around in your fridge! Be sure to pin it for later!

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