Old Fashioned German Potato Salad is dressed with a dijon vinegar dressing and can be served either hot or cold.
German Potato Salad is a traditional potato side dish originating in Southern Germany. In Northern Germany, the dish is different and more similar to an American style potato salad with mayonnaise. Generally, German Potato Salad refers to this Southern style dish.
MY OTHER RECIPESWhat is the difference between German Potato Salad and American Potato Salad?
In a Southern German Potato Salad, the dressing is made from bacon drippings and vinegar. In an American Potato Salad, the dressing is largely mayonnaise based.
What is German Potato Salad called in German?
Kartoffelsalat is the name of German Potato Salad in the German language.
Is German Potato Salad served warm or cold?
Either! German Potato Salad can be served either warm or cold. It’s a matter of personal preference, and it is delicious either way.
Storage of Leftovers: When chilling, you can simply cover the bowl in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. For longer term storage, this salad should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Since it can be enjoyed cold, no reheating is required.
Other German Recipes:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe, including tips and tricks along the way. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Old Fashioned German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red potatoes diced
- 1 pound bacon diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in diced potatoes and boil until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, add bacon to a cold large skillet. Heat over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove bacon from grease and set aside, leaving grease in pan.
- Add red onion to grease and cook 5 minutes until onions are soft. Whisk in vinegar, olive oil, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour sauce over cooked potatoes. Toss with bacon and parsley. Serve hot, or chill to serve cold.
Nutrition
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Weston says
Made recipe exact. Was excellent and still good as leftovers and reheated. I will use a bit less sugar next time to lessen the sweetness but was great regardless. Thank you.
Connie says
Tried this recipe tonight and loved it!! Had it with Bratwurst and Knockwurst Currywutst! Husband and son enjoyed it.
Candice Feagin says
I found out at the last minute I was almost out of olive oil so I had bastic salad dressing that had olive oil in it and seasoning use that it was just as good.
Anne says
This is very reminiscent of my fathers potato salad. He was born in Chicago from polish immigrant parents. He emigrated to Australia after WW2. He used boiled potato, hard boiled egg and crispy bacon, the dressing was white vinegar mixed with powdered mustard (I use Keens) all done to taste. My dad has been passed 27 yrs now but he lives on through this recipe.
AMY says
Loved, loved, loved this!! I used cheap bacon so had a lot of grease, so didn’t use all of it and still had the bacon flavor and wasn’t dry. I added green onions on top for extra color. The family and potluck crowd went back for seconds and thirds!!
Jeff says
been trying to find a good recipe this is very good and reminds me of the German restaurant that I used to get it at
Jeff says
Made this recipe at our firehall to serve with smoked brisket, ribs, and chicken, along with slaw. I had to 5x the recipe to feed so many, but the guys absolutely tore it up. It was delicious. I was a little concerned of greasiness due to using so much bacon along with the olive oil, but it turned out fine. I could see adding some of the other items mentioned by other reviewers like celery and/or eggs, but i would cook the original recipe first to give yourself a baseline. You van always tweak the recipe when you make it the second time. Again, this was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!
Kathleen Baumgardner says
Going to try it like this
Crab Dynasty says
Looks sooo much more healthy and better than the sour cream/ mayo based version. Especially if Lactose sensitive. My only concern is, it has way too much grease from the bacon.
Margaret Campbell says
Can u add more tang more vinager or mustard after you mix it. Just did not have enough favor for me
Ursula says
I doubled the dressing but I left the olive oil out completely and it was delicious another variation that we used to do is chop a few pickles in it and put a little bit of pickle juice in. I don’t know if that’s just our family or if that’s the Schwartzwald variation.
Andrea says
I’m with you, I like a good tang to my potato salad as well. A good tip when making any type of potato salad is to toss the piping hot potatoes with some straight vinegar (extra from what a recipe calls for) immediately after you drain them from the water. The heat helps the potatoes absorb the vinegar and makes for a much more flavourable end product.
Frank Koob says
I quoted this because I live alone. The flavor Is reminiscent of good days past. I love it. I found it better right after it’s made either warm or room temperature. Is the 100% I added some chopped celery for a little crunch. I would also probably put some slice tag either stirred into it or on top because that’s what my mother always did. I didn’t do it this time and it was excellent the way it was. 24-hour if I left out the bacon and substituted more oil instead, I would have to do something else for flavor. Perhaps some Italian seasoning Would skewered more toward an Italian potato salad. I could try that.
Diane Chervony says
Will leaving out the sugar change the dressing significantly? I don’t like my potato salads tasting sweet.
Rachel Farnsworth says
You can leave it out.
Trisha Krajewski says
I love German Potato Salad and have always wanted to try and make it from scratch. This recipes looks really good and I can not wait to try it.
Lilly Gorman says
YUM! German Potato Salad was one of my favorite things to eat growing up. Can’t wait to try this one!
Rachel says
Can you substitute something for the bacon and grease? I’m on a low fat diet due having my gullbladder removed.
Rachel Farnsworth says
The bacon is a significant portion of the flavor in this recipe. You’d have to skip it all together.
William says
Rachel,
I agree with you about bacon. My mom’s brocolli salad calls for bacon and it is not worth making without it!
I made it once w/o bacon because I was told to do so as a vegetarian was coming to the party. She never showed up and I took the leftover home and put bacon in it!
😀
William
Daphne says
My mother is from Munich. She has never, ever used bacon in her salat. She does put in a couple of hard boiled eggs, tho, just on top, quartered for presentation. She also uses green onions instead of red, and just uses oil and vinegar. There are ways to get around the bacon.
Carmen says
My Mom is from Munich also and I agree with everything you said. Can you provide your Mutti’s recipe.
Bb says
Turkey bacon cooked in the olive oil?