THE BEST German Potato Salad is a warm potato salad recipe featuring tender red potatoes and bacon in a tangy dressing for the ultimate summer side dish!
If you're a fan of potato salad, be sure to check out my Simple German (Swabian) Potato Salad {Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat}, Herb & Greek Yogurt Potato Salad, or Classic Potato Salad!
Summer vacation is right around the corner, y'all! Between that and Memorial Day weekend coming up, I would say that summer grilling season is upon us. And what goes better with dinner from the grill than potato salad? Even better if it's warm, bacon-loaded German Potato Salad!
What Is German Potato Salad?
It's the million-dollar question, y'all.
When Americans ponder potato salad, we often think of two distinct varieties. There's the mayonnaise-based potato salad popularized in the U S of A, of course, that's served cold. It typically features some combination of peeled Russet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, pickles, celery, and often a touch of mustard.
And then there's German Potato Salad, which we tend to think of as being served warm and featuring unpeeled red potatoes. It's loaded with bacon and dressed in a delicious combination of vinegar and bacon grease.
The truth is, different regions of Germany have their own distinct styles of potato salad, and what Americans commonly think of as "German Potato Salad" -- like today's recipe -- is most typically associated with the Bavarian region of southern Germany. That being said, you will encounter different types of potato salad even across Bavaria!
So to summarize, every person's German Oma probably makes her potato salad differently. My mom is actually from Germany, but she always made us American potato salad growing up -- ha. My Oma and other relatives in Germany make a traditional Swabian potato salad, common to the Stuttgart area. And while the warm, bacon-loaded recipe in today's post is what we Americans typically think of as "German Potato Salad"...it's not actually found in that many areas of Germany. 😉
Nevertheless, it's positively scrumptious. So I'm going to unashamedly call it German Potato Salad (I'm half German, after all, so I can do that) and show you how to make it today!
How to Make German Potato Salad
Now that we've established that German Potato Salad has as many different definitions as there are stars in the sky, this recipe starts out in a pretty standard way. Wash some red potatoes, toss them in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, add plenty of salt, and simmer until tender.
Then comes the fun part! After draining and setting aside your potatoes, you get to start on the most delicious step — frying the bacon!
Once the bacon is cooked, don't discard that hot bacon grease! Instead, it's going to form your dressing by stirring in apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and sugar. After allowing the mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes, you'll add some minced garlic and then toss your cooked potatoes in the sizzling mixture.
The potatoes soak up all of that bacon-y, vinegar-y, sugary goodness, leaving you with a recipe that’s tangy, salty, and sweet all at the same time. Oh, and don’t forget to stir in your cooked, crumbled bacon and some fresh chopped parsley before serving. Holy moly, can't you just taste it???
Hot or Cold?
I think that this particular potato salad is best served hot or warm. However, it’s also tasty at room temperature, should it start to cool down before serving. It’s a side dish that can readily go from grillside to potluck to picnic without too much stress over keeping it on ice.
Of course, this potato salad (as well as any food prone to spoiling) should not sit at room temperature for more than an hour or two before being refrigerated. So if your picnic or potluck isn't starting right away, pop it in the fridge as soon as you make it!
Tips for Making German Potato Salad
- Scrub those potatoes before you boil them. And then be sure to cut the big ones into equally sized chunks to ensure even cooking.
- Always start your potatoes off in cold water before bringing them to a boil. If you put potatoes directly into boiling water, the outsides will cook immediately and the insides may take longer, resulting in potato salad that could have some hard and soft pieces.
- Don't forget to salt the water after adding the potatoes, which will flavor them from the inside out.
- After the potatoes are cooked and drained, let them steam (or "dry") a bit in their still-hot (but drained) pot. This will allow them to absorb the bacon grease-vinegar dressing more easily.
- Be very gentle when stirring the potatoes into the dressing. Otherwise, your dish may end up looking more like mashed potatoes.
So have I convinced you to try German Potato Salad this summer and/or add it to your Memorial Day or Independence Day menu? Whatever the occasion -- and whether it's like your German Oma's recipe or not -- I guarantee that it'll disappear like that!
More Summer Side Dishes
German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt, for boiling the potatoes
- 12 ounces bacon
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic, about 3 large cloves
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes and cut any large potatoes in half so that all of the potatoes are approximately equally sized. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt. Reduce heat and simmer the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender when stabbed with a fork. Drain the water. Leaving the potatoes in the pot, return the pot to the still-hot (but turned off) burner. Leave the lid off of the pot and allow the potatoes to steam dry for a couple minutes.
- Set another large pot over medium heat and, using kitchen shears, cut the bacon strips into approximately 1-inch pieces directly into the pot. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crispy. While the bacon is cooking, cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch thick slices, cutting any extremely large slices in half. Set aside. Once the bacon is done, remove the pot from the stove and use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon pieces to a plate or bowl while leaving the bacon grease in the pot (I had about 1/4 cup).
- Slowly and carefully add vinegar, sugar, Dijon, salt, and pepper to the pot of bacon grease. Place the pot back on the burner, bring the mixture to a simmer, and stir for a couple of minutes. Stir the minced garlic into the mixture and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the garlic starts to turn a light golden. Remove the pot from the heat and toss in the sliced potatoes, gently mixing until potatoes have absorbed all of the liquid. Carefully fold in the cooked bacon pieces and chopped parsley. Transfer the potato salad to a serving dish and serve hot or warm. Potato salad should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours before refrigerating any leftovers.
Notes
Post originally published on May 19, 2014.
Kim
Amazing and authentic German potato salad! Easy to follow instructions that I'll use again. The only thing I might do differently next time is use the green parts of scallions instead of parsley for garnish. Thank you for a recipe with bold flavors!
Jen
I cooked an Oktoberfest meal to celebrate my husband's birthday, and this potato salad was the best part of the meal besides dessert!
Linda
Texture was PERFECT following the directions, made a half-recipe for 2 people with plenty leftover for lunch tomorrow. This is not the sloppy guey sauce found at some Germanfests! I had to run out for 15 minutes after slicing potatoes and decided not to add them to the slowly simmering sauce until I got back, so they "steamed until dry" like the recipe says, I probably would have rushed it. Then the sauce completely incorporated into the potatoes and texture was light for something based on bacon grease!
Gil
I also added finely diced onion to bacon grease & used dill weed as well as parsely at the end. Also used half the sugar. My wife & I both loved this dish! Ate it all but about one scoop that we will fight over tomorrow!
Rafaela
I agree about the sugar. I’ll cut way back on it if I make it again. And I also added onions. Would have added celery to jazz it up a little too, but I didn’t have any. Otherwise, it was very good.
Patrick
Easy excellent recipe. I do add about 1 cup of onion to the hot bacon grease.
Maria
Excellent recipe
Carol Angelo
The best German potato salad I have had. A must on my cook list.
Janet
Wow it was the best potato salad ever my family loved it.
SuzAna
Super delicious 😋
I’m adding this to my favorite recipes!
Thank you for sharing
SuzAna
This was delicious 😋 It is being added to favorite recipes. Thank you!!!
Nwalton
Amazing!!!
Wish I had found this recipe years ago it is wonderful!!
Debbie
I made your recipe exactly as written call it German or what ever it was dam delicious
Sarah
Can I use white wine vinegar?
I’m out of apple cider.
Samantha Skaggs
That should be fine, Sarah. 🙂
Carrie
Easy enough of a recipe but the end result was too sweet without enough complexity. I lightly crushed (not mashed) about 1/4 of the potatoes which gave the dressing something to hold on to. The longer it sat, the better it was.
Kathy
Can you substitute red potatoes for russets?
Samantha Skaggs
Hi Kathy! Just want to make sure I understand your question. 🙂 This recipe already calls for red potatoes, and I haven't tried it with russets. They would probably taste fine, but I think they may break down a little too much for this recipe. Hope that helps!