We love this German Potato Salad recipe made with a vinegar and mustard-based dressing that swaps the oil for bacon drippings. Serve this one hot. That’s fantastic.
This German Potato Salad was a reader request, and we’re eternally grateful for the push to work on it, as we’ve happily enjoyed it with dinner (and lunch) several times over the past few weeks.
Unlike us creamy potato saladyou will serve this one hot. Nice for pollution and relaxation, and it’s an easy preparation for mains like pork chops, baked ribs, beer bratsand more (we’ve compiled a list below).
Main ingredients:
- Potato. We love creamy, yellow potatoes (Yukon Gold) for this salad, but red potatoes or fingerling potatoes would be great too. Keep the peel.
- Bacon. Instead of making our sauce with oil, we use bacon drippings (it’s so good). You’ll start this recipe by cooking the bacon until crisp, reserving the crispy bacon for the salad and the bacon fat for the dressing.
- Onions and garlic. These add a lot of flavor and the onions we quickly cook in the bacon fat turn sweet.
- Apple cider vinegar. The basis of our German potato salad dressing. The acidic vinegar cuts through the heaviness of the bacon fat and makes the salad really hard to eat.
- Mustard. We use two types of mustard, Dijon and whole grain, to add a punch to the dressing. If you only use one, stick with Dijon.
- Chicken stock. This prevents our potato salad from drying out. You don’t need much, but it lightens up the salad a bit. I also keep leftovers on hand when reheating (remember to serve this salad warm). When the salad sits in the fridge, it absorbs all the liquid, so an extra sprinkle when reheating works wonders.
- Fresh herbs. You won’t find any potato salad recipes on this blog without herbs, but they really make this salad better (again, lightening things up a bit and adding freshness). We love fresh dill and parsley.
Check out the full recipe with measurements below.
How to make German potato salad
Tip 1. Cook the potatoes completely. We do this with most of us potato recipes (unless we’re making really big potatoes). When you cook the potatoes all the way through, the texture inside is a little fluffier and less dehydrated. That’s why we go for smaller potatoes when buying this recipe.
To cook, place in a large pot, cover with at least an inch of water, add salt (be generous) and bring to a boil. Once you’re at a boil, reduce the heat and let them cook until you can easily drive a fork through them. Whole potatoes take a little longer, but we think it’s worth it.
Tip 2: Serve bacon for the sauce. The German potato salad really makes the bacon sauce stand out. So go with good thick cut bacon, chop it up and cook it until it’s crispy and the fat is rendered. Since we really want the bacon drippings for this recipe, thicker cut bacon works a little better.
When cooking bacon, do so over medium-low heat. We like to look for the fat bubbling and bubbling around the bacon when you know the fat is rendering well.
Tip 3: Make the sauce in the bacon pan. After removing the crispy bacon bits, you’ll be left with rendered bacon fat. Use it to quickly cook the onion, then add the garlic, chicken stock, vinegar and two mustards. Keep this aside, away from the heat, until your potatoes are ready.
Tip 4: Let the potatoes sit in the sauce. Once done, cut the potatoes into chunks and then add them to the pan with the sauce. Toss gently, then leave it there for 10 minutes so they can absorb the flavor of the sauce. If the pan seems too dry when they sit, add some chicken stock.
Tip 5: Finish with bacon and fresh herbs. Just before serving, top with your crispy bacon bits and fresh herbs. Again, if the salad looks dry, feel free to add more chicken broth.
Service offers
This potato salad has quickly become a year-round favorite. It’s great for summer pickles, like with cooking classics ribs, burgers, grilled chickenand: corn salad. But it is equally excellent in the colder months, combined with a pork loin roast, baked pork chops, fried chickenor even meat loaf.
If you want to lean into the German theme, try this one or ours fermented sauerkraut or our faster style fresh sauerkraut. Then add some grilled sausages or one of these our favorite pork recipes and call it a day.
More of our favorite potato recipes
German potato salad
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PREP
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Cook
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TOTALLY
This Warm German Potato Salad with Dressing and Bacon amazes me every time we make it. We’ve served this with BBQ mains, in chutneys, and as a side pork tenderloin, meat loafand: pork chops. It’s really fantastic.
We use small to medium potatoes and cook them whole so they don’t fall apart. If you have large potatoes or want to speed up the cooking time, cut them into 1-inch pieces and expect them to take less time (10 to 15 minutes).
Serves 6
You will need it
2½ pounds (1,135 g) medium Yukon Gold potatoes (7 to 8 potatoes)
6 oz (170 g) thick-cut bacon, diced
1 small sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
⅓ cup (80 ml) chicken broth
¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sugar, optional (see tip below)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
1:Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by at least 1 inch. Season heavily with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to simmer. Bake until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.
2:Drain the potatoes and let them cool in a colander.
3:Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat renders and bacon is crisp. Transfer the ham with a slotted spoon to a small bowl, leaving the cooked fat in the pan.
4:Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
5:00Stir in the chicken stock, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and whole grain mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. If the sauce is too sour, add a little sugar (see tips below).
6:00When the potatoes are cool enough, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Add the potatoes to the pan, season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and gently toss to coat while hot. Let sit for 10 minutes to absorb liquid.
7:00Fold the reserved bacon, dill and parsley into the salad. Serve hot or warm. If the salad seems dry before serving, gently stir in an additional splash of chicken stock.
Advice from Adam and Joan
- This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Heat in a pan or in the microwave, adding a little splash of stock to loosen it up a bit.
- Additional sugar. some German potato salad recipes call for sugar in the dressing to balance the vinegar. When using sweet onions, we do not feel the need to add sugar. That said, feel free to add 1 to 3 teaspoons of sugar to the sauce if you find it too tart.
- Nutrition facts provided are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Serving size
a generous 3/4 cup (1 in 6)
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Calories
280
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Total fat
11.6 g
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Saturated fats
3.8 g
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Cholesterol
18.7 mg
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Sodium
564.3 mg
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Carbohydrate
35.4 g
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Dietary fiber
5.2 g
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Total sugars
5.3 g
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Proteins
7.8 g
