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Instant Pot Potato Salad

Instant Pot Potato Salad (Ready in 4 Minutes of Pressure)

Creamy without being heavy, this potato salad tastes tangy and savoury all the way through rather than just on the surface. The mashed-yolk dressing spreads richness evenly across every piece, while yellow mustard, buttermilk and a splash of pickle juice keep it sharp instead of cloying. Yukon Golds stay in soft, buttery chunks, with celery, red onion and minced pickles running crunch and bite through the whole bowl.
It looks pale gold and glossy, flecked with green celery, purple onion and pale egg white, so it reads as homemade rather than scooped from a tub. Serve it chilled in a wide shallow bowl where the texture shows, with a scatter of cracked pepper or chopped pickle on top. It sits happily on a table next to grilled meat, sandwiches, or anything else that wants a cool, creamy side.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 10
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Calories: 150
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Pot
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes chopped into evenly sized pieces
  • 3 eggs straight from the fridge is fine
For the Dressing
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard or half dijon mustard for a warmer, less tangy result
  • A splash of pickle juice taken from the jar the pickles come from
  • Salt and pepper to taste
For the Mix-Ins
  • 2 ribs celery
  • 1/4 cup red onion chopped
  • 2 pickles minced

Method
 

  1. Load the pot. Pour the water into the bottom of the Instant Pot, add the chopped potatoes, then rest the eggs on top of them so they sit above the water line and cook in steam.
  2. Seal it up. Fit the lid, lock it into place, and turn the valve to the sealing position. If the valve is left venting, the pot will never come up to pressure.
  3. Set the timer. Choose high pressure or manual and set the time to 4 minutes. The pot will take a few minutes to build pressure before that countdown begins.
  4. Release and drain. As soon as the timer beeps, quick release the pressure. Lift the eggs into a bowl of cold water to halt their cooking and make peeling easier, then drain the water out of the pot.
  5. Separate the eggs. Peel the hard-boiled eggs, split them, and drop the yolks into a mixing bowl. Set the whites aside for now, since they go in later as texture rather than as dressing.
  6. Mash and mix the dressing. Break the yolks down with a fork until no lumps remain, then stir in the mayonnaise, buttermilk, mustard, a splash of pickle juice, and salt and pepper to taste. The dressing should look smooth and pourable, not stiff.
  7. Dress the warm potatoes. Pour the dressing over the potatoes while they are still warm so it soaks in. Chop the egg whites and fold them in along with the celery, onion, and pickles.
  8. Stir and chill. Mix until everything is evenly coated, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for a few hours so the flavours settle and the onion mellows.

Notes

Recipe Notes

A few things are worth knowing before you plan around this salad.
The chilling time is not optional in any practical sense. Straight out of the pot the dressing tastes sharp and loose, and the red onion is at its most aggressive. A few hours in the fridge thickens the dressing as the potatoes take on more of it and rounds the sharp edges off the mustard and onion.
The celery is the only ingredient that gives you crunch, and it is listed without a preparation note in the original recipe. Slicing it thinly spreads that crunch through more bites than cutting it into chunks.
If you do not have an Instant Pot, this same salad works as a traditional stovetop potato salad instead.