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This German potato salad is loaded with tons of bacon and has the best homemade sweet and tangy dressing that has no mayo. It’s a classic for your summer table!
You may also like my Easy Potato Salad with Bacon or No Mayo Potato Salad.
Why you’ll love it
This is the best potato salad recipe you’ll ever try. Really! The magic comes from tossing the potatoes in the fat that’s left from cooking the bacon. It infuses goodness without being too heavy. There’s no mayo in the dressing here, but it’s overflowing with satisfying flavor.
The dressing is both savory and slightly sweet, and the smokiness of the bacon paired with the fresh parsley just takes it over the top. It’s a flavor explosion. This is typically served warm, so if you’ve never eaten potato salad that way before, you’re in for a treat!
What is German potato salad?
- Every German grandmother makes her potato salad a little differently. There are literally thousands of versions out there! Generally what many people are looking for in a German potato salad is one that uses bacon, has no mayo, is made with a warm tangy-sweet vinaigrette, and is often served without chilling it first.
- Some use a splash of broth to add a bit of moisture to it like in my version, and others do not. Mine is more of a Bavarian style. It varies from region to region in Germany, and probably everyone won’t agree on a single definition. But I think every adaptation I’ve come across is pretty tasty, to be honest!
What you’ll need
- Red potatoes – you can use Yukon Gold potatoes if you prefer or another waxy variety. You don’t need to peel them either.
- Bacon – make sure to grab a pack with lots of white marbling since the rendered fat is very important for the dressing
- Red onion – this variety is best for any salad since it’s not sharp
- Garlic – if you’re not a garlic lover like me, it’ll still taste delicious without it
- Chicken or vegetable broth – adds a little moisture to the salad. I wouldn’t recommend omitting it.
- White vinegar or cider vinegar – either is good, but I prefer the extra tang of white vinegar
- Sugar – a touch of white sugar just balances out the acidity and goes well with the bacon. It doesn’t make this overly sweet.
- Mustard – if you can find actual German mustard, go for that, but Dijon works
- Italian parsley – for a great pop of freshness and color
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- It’s easy to cut up the bacon with kitchen shears, and here is the skillet I use to fry it.
- Store sugar in one of these airtight pantry containers. They’re my favorite!
- Mince the garlic quickly with one squeeze of a garlic press.
How to make German potato salad
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil your potatoes whole (skins on). Add the dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Meanwhile, cut the bacon up and fry it in a skillet until crispy.
Transfer it to a paper towel lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add in the onion and sauté until translucent, then stir in the garlic and dressing mixture and cook it until it’s reduced by half.
Chop the boiled potatoes, and add them in along with the cooked bacon and parsley. Toss it right in the skillet and serve hot with extra salt & pepper if needed.
Substitutions and variations
- Yes, you can eat German potato salad cold! I find that it’s definitely tastiest when it’s hot and freshly made, but it’s really good at room temperature or chilled as well. You definitely won’t have any complaints either way.
- You could use fresh chives in addition to the parsley for even more freshness and flavor.
- If you’re someone who knows they like really sweet dressings, you can increase the sugar up to about 1 tablespoon or so!
What to serve with German potato salad
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken, wieners, Easy Pan Seared Pork Chops or Baked Pork Chops, or a schnitzel would go fabulously.
- It’s a rich and filling dish and has protein, so you could even serve it with simple lettuce-based salad and call it dinner.
- It also works as a dish that you can bring to a BBQ, potluck, or any summer gathering.
Leftovers and storage
- When potato salad has been sitting out for up to 2 hours, be sure to finish it right away or throw it out for food safety reasons.
- If properly refrigerated in a covered container, it’ll last 4-5 days; that is, if no one eats it sooner!
More summer side dishes
Questions about this German style potato salad? Do you like it better than American versions? Let me know in the comments below! Tag me on Instagram if you made it.
German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red potatoes
- 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon white sugar see note
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or German mustard
- 12 ounces bacon
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Chives for garnish optional, to taste
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes (leave the peels on, and cut them in half first if they're large). Once they're easily pierced with a knife, drain and let them cool just enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, add the broth, vinegar, sugar, and mustard to a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- When the potatoes are close to being done, cut the bacon up (easy with kitchen shears) and fry it in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy (about 10 minutes).
- Turn the burner off for this step to allow the skillet to cool a bit. Take the bacon out of the skillet and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.
- To the skillet, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, cut the cooked potatoes up into chunks or slices (large or small is totally up to you). You can leave the peels on or peel them with a knife – the peels will be very easy to remove.
- To the skillet, stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the broth mixture to the skillet. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, let it come to a boil, and then cook for 1-2 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half (don't let it evaporate too much).
- Take the skillet off the heat and then add the potatoes, cooked bacon, and parsley to it. Toss to coat.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed and transfer potato salad to a serving bowl, or you could serve it right in the skillet as it retains heat and will keep it warmer for longer. Top with chives if desired and enjoy warm.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 as a side depending on how hungry people are. Or share it with one other person and eat it as a main course. I won’t judge.
- The dressing is fairly sweet without being cloying. If you’re someone who loves sweet dressings, increase sugar up to 1 tablespoon (I found it too sweet with 1 tablespoon sugar when I first tested it). You could probably use less than suggested if you don’t like sweet dressings, but it helps balance the vinegar.
- You can also find this recipe in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My Mom always added sliced dill pickles to her German Potato Salad… gives it an unique flavor..
Yes! Absolutely!
Delicious and came out fantastic! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re very welcome, Brenda! 😀
I made this yesterday as written to go with some wurst from Aldi. The dressing was fragrant and full of flavor but when I added it to the 2 pounds of red potatoes it was nowhere near enough. Maybe my potatoes were extra thirsty. 😉 Next time I will use this recipe with a double or triple portion of the dressing. Easy enough to do with such simple ingredients. No complaints from hubs!
Sure! So glad you enjoyed it, Stacy.
My Oma’s potato salad was SO different. I don’t believe it was a traditional German potato salad, but it is DELICIOUS. Everyone who tries it says its not what they were expecting, but they really enjoy it. She made it with red potatos with the skin on, Granny Smith apples, dill pickles, mayo, ketchup, red wine vinegar, yellow mustard, and green onion with salt and pepper to taste. I know it’s sounds odd, but its amazing. The apples give it a tangy sweet crunch in addition to the pickles, and the red wine vinegar a bit of tang also. Then you get a hint of sweet from the ketchup. Don’t knock it til ya try it. 😉
I love that!
This was so good, very flavorful and yummy. My bf said he hated potato salad bc it’s cold and mayo-y and I thought hm I’ll make a german then and he loved it. I had a 3lb bag of red potatoes so i did 2x broth, whole head of garlic, huge onion. I might slice the potatoes before boiling next time. Great recipe and pretty easy. Don’t skip the fresh parsley!
I’m so happy you guys decided to give it a go!! 😀
I have never made it before. I am a personal chef. My customer loved it! This is the best German Potato salad that he even had.
That’s great! Thanks, Deborah!
So my family is from Czechoslovakia and I wanted to make this for them when they came down from Germany and let me tell you they approved. I absolutely loved this dish. I made it with schnitzel’s. And my stuffing balls with gravy all of it was amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe.
That’s amazing!!! Thanks, Daisey!
This was very good. I think I could have doubled the sauce. 1/4 cup of chicken broth? So little. Barely covered all of the potatoes. But it was yummy anyway
Hi Paula! It’s not meant to be very “saucy” but yeah, you could definitely double the broth next time.
I tripled this for a bratwurst banquet, but have some left over. If putting in a FoodSaver, would it be ok to freeze?
Hi Julia! I’ve never frozen potato salad before, so I can’t speak to the results, but I think it’s worth a try if you’d have to throw it out anyway. Since the dressing isn’t creamy, it’ll likely hold up better than others. Let me know how it goes! 🙂