Instant Pot Potato Salad The Soul Food Way
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You can make a soul food Southern potato salad recipe using the Instant Pot! It’s a genius modern twist on a beloved classic. It brings all the flavor, richness, and cultural soul of the traditional recipe. But faster and easier, thanks to this modern kitchen appliance.
Black folks’ potato salad is renowned for being creamy and well-seasoned, packed with hard-boiled eggs, sweet relish, mustard, and mayo. It’s a signature soul food recipe full of texture from onions to sweet relish and celery. Always served cold, and always made with love and precision. When made with the help of the Instant Pot, the process is simplified, but the flavor stays 100% authentic!
Southern potato salad in the Instant Pot
For a potato salad recipe, the Instant Pot handles two of the major steps. It cooks the potatoes to tender perfection, and it hard-boils the eggs. That means less time, fewer dishes, and no boiling water sloshing on the stove.
So whether you’re feeding the family or prepping for the cookout, this Instant Pot version lets you cook with tradition and convenience, side by side. No waiting for water to boil. Less mess, same soulful flavor.
Ingredients (same soul, just faster!)
Using the Instant Pot doesn’t cut corners. It respects the recipe’s cultural roots and just makes the journey a little faster. The destination is still that beloved, bold, creamy side dish that says, “Yes, this came from somebody’s Southern kitchen. And they knew what they were doing.” Because each ingredient serves a purpose, building layers of flavor, texture, and tradition.
- Russet potatoes are the foundation of the dish — starchy, soft, and absorbent. Russets hold up well under pressure (literally, in the Instant Pot) and soak in all that creamy, tangy dressing.
- Hard-boiled eggs are chopped and folded into the salad (and sometimes used as a garnish). They add richness, body, and a creamy mouthfeel that’s essential to Black folks’ potato salad.
- Onion, celery, and sweet pickle relish are the quiet background singers in the flavor choir that keep the salad from becoming too one-note or mushy. Not the stars, but essential to the harmony, finely chopped for subtle sweetness, crunch, and flavor, they give a gentle bite without overpowering the creamy base.
- Mustard is the flavor pop that cuts through the fat of the mayo and eggs. It brings tang, sharpness, and color, giving that signature yellow hue that says, “Yes, this is real Black folks’ potato salad.”
- Mayonnaise is the creamy, smooth base of the dressing. It binds the salad, making it luxuriously rich and cool.
- Salt, black pepper, and sugar because the flavors need to pop and under-seasoned potato salad is a soul food culinary sin!
- Paprika is sprinkled over the top for that finishing flair. Optional, but iconic for presentation. A little paprika turns a bowl of potato salad into a showstopper!
Best potatoes for potato salad
The type of potato you use can make or break a soul food potato salad. Russets are the OG. Soft, creamy, built for soaking up all that mayo-mustard-relish goodness, and sturdy enough to hold their shape when pressure-cooked.
How to make potato salad in the Instant Pot
This method keeps all the flavor, soul, and tradition you love, with way less time and stovetop mess. It’s creamy, tangy, eggy, and seasoned like it came straight from Big Mama’s kitchen… Just quicker!
- Add the potatoes and water to the Instant Pot after placing the trivet rack inside.
- Pressure cook the potatoes once you’ve added the water and sealed the pot.
- Let the cooked potatoes cool, then coarsely chop them.
- Add the trivet rack, eggs, and water to the Instant Pot, then pressure cook the eggs.
- Dice the vegetables and add them to the chopped potatoes.
- Gently fold in the ingredients: mustard, mayonnaise, seasonings, and the chopped boiled eggs.
- Garnish with paprika, serve, and enjoy!
Here’s how to make potato salad the traditional stovetop way.
Peeled vs unpeeled potatoes
For this recipe, russet potatoes are the preferred choice. Since they have thicker skins, it’s best to peel them to achieve a creamy, smooth potato salad. If you decide to include optional small red or purple potatoes, leave the skins on, as their vibrant colors enhance the dish.
How long does it take to boil potatoes in the Instant Pot?
The Instant Pot simplifies the process of boiling potatoes and has become one of my favorite time-saving kitchen gadgets. It takes just 10 minutes once the potatoes are added to the pot, allowing you to pressure-cook them without being tied down in the kitchen!
What to serve with Southern potato salad
Soul food potato salad never stands alone! It’s always part of a flavorful, well-balanced spread. Whether you’re throwing a cookout, hosting Sunday dinner, or feeding the crew at a holiday gathering, this creamy, tangy, well-seasoned side is made to complement some of the best dishes the South has to offer, including cookout heavy hitters, BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, and fried chicken.
Equipment
- Potato peeler
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
- Instant Pot trivet rack comes with the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 Russet potatoes
- 4-6 potatoes small red or purple potatoes (optional)
- 2 cups water divided
- 5 eggs large
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup sweet pickles diced (or sweet relish)
- ½ cup celery diced
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion diced
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (Start with the recommended ⅓ cup of mayo, and add another ¼ cup if you prefer extra creamier potato salad.)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika to garnish
Instructions
- Peel the russet potatoes and leave them whole. (If you’re using the optional small red or purple potatoes, do not peel them.)
- Open the Instant Pot lid and place the Instant Pot trivet rack inside the stainless-steel inner pot. (The trivet rack isn’t required – but it keeps the potatoes above the water in the pot, so they’re steaming instead of boiling on only one side.)
- Add 1 cup of water and then the potatoes on the trivet rack.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
- When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Use an oven mitt to remove the trivet rack with the potatoes.
- Allow the cooked potatoes to cool enough so they’re still warm to the touch (but not hot).
- Then coarsely chop the potatoes into medium-sized chunks and add them to a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the vinegar over the chopped potatoes while they’re still warm, and set the bowl aside.
- Add the trivet rack or egg rack inside the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.
- Add the eggs to the racks and then pour 1 cup of water over the eggs.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.
- While the eggs are boiling, dice the pickles, celery, and onion and add the diced vegetables to the bowl of chopped potatoes.
- Add the mustard, mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and pepper to the bowl and set the bowl aside.
- When the cooking time for the eggs is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 5 minutes.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Open the cover immediately after the pressure release. Using tongs (because the eggs will be hot!), place the boiled eggs into an ice bath to cool off.
- Once the eggs are cool to the touch, peel them, coarsely chop four of the eggs, and add them to the large bowl with the potatoes and seasonings. (Reserve one egg for garnishing.)
- Gently fold the ingredients into the potatoes so that the vegetables, seasonings, mayonnaise, and mustard are evenly mixed to coat the potatoes.
- Garnish this Southern potato salad recipe by sprinkling paprika and then slicing the reserved boiled egg to garnish on top. Cover, refrigerate for at least an hour, then serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I prefer to make the potatoes and eggs using my Instant Pot.