German Potato Salad Recipe

This authentic German potato salad is Yukon Gold potatoes caramelized in rendered bacon fat with yellow onion and finished with beef stock, white wine vinegar, and fresh parsley. It’s so easy to make, and in just 30 minutes, I have a warm, smoky, and crazy flavorful side dish ready to serve. You are going to love this one.

German Potato Salad

German potato salad, known as Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat in southern Germany, is a vinegar-based potato dish dressed with caramelized onion and bacon and traditionally served warm. The South German vinaigrette-style version is the one most American cooks picture when they hear German potato salad.

I know there are hundreds of German potato salad recipes online, but I promise mine is unique because I always add my own chef’s touch. Most versions boil the potatoes and toss them with sautéed onion, hot beef stock, and vinegar so the warm potatoes soak up the dressing like a sponge. I take it one step further by rendering the bacon first, then adding the sliced parboiled potatoes and onion directly to the rendered fat.

Those extra 5 minutes on the sauté? Seriously, that is what takes it over the top. The stock and vinegar deglaze the pan after, concentrate down a bit, and the potatoes absorb every brown bit off the bottom. The end result tastes as if it spent twice as long on the stove for the same 25 minutes of work. It’s a solid technique to use for this, and I can’t recommend it enough. It’ll be your new favorite side.

Featured Comment:

OMG, this was also my first time making German potato salad, and I will definitely make it again and again. Super easy, so much better the next day. I used extra bacon because, well, why not!
-Wendy-

Ingredients and Substitutions

This German potato salad recipe needs only 6 ingredients if you count the salt and pepper. Be sure to get some good bacon for this. Here is what I use along with a few substitutes:

• Yukon gold potatoes are starchy-but-waxy and balanced enough to stay intact through a parboil and a sauté. Red bliss potatoes are the closest substitute, and russets are the fallback. But those tend to break down faster, so I don’t recommend them.
• Yellow onion – this is the best onion to use because it caramelizes so well. A White or sweet onion will definitely work as well.
• Thick-cut bacon is sliced before cooking so that the fat renders more quickly and the bacon crisps up more evenly. German speck is the classical ingredient, but you’ll need to hit up a German butcher if you can find one. I like thick-cut bacon in this, but regular cut, of course, will work. This is where all that salty umami goodness comes from in the dish.
• I use my homemade beef stock if I have it, and a good store-bought stock if I do not. Homemade vegetable stock is a decent substitute.
• White wine vinegar – The acid is what makes this German potato salad German. Champagne vinegar is a good swap-out. You could use a plain distilled vinegar, sherry, or even an apple cider vinegar if that’s what you have on hand.
• Fresh parsley, salt, black pepper – Finely minced flat-leaf parsley folded in at the end and another spoonful sprinkled on top to give it a punch of color and a touch of freshness. Salt and pepper after the vinegar hits the pan and the flavors fold in.

How to make German Potato Salad from Scratch

Slice the Yukon potatoes: Rinse the unpeeled Yukon golds, rub off any dirt with your hands, and slice them crosswise into thick, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch rounds.

Parboil the potatoes: Add the sliced potatoes to a large pot of boiling salted water that tastes like the ocean and cook for 4 minutes, just until a knife slices through. After 4 minutes, the slices go soft, and the sauté breaks them down too quickly.

Drain and dry the potatoes: Strain the potatoes in a colander, then give the strainer a few shimmy-shakes and let them sit in the colander while the bacon cooks.

Render the bacon: Lay the sliced bacon strips in a large shallow rondeau or wide frying pan over medium to medium-high heat and cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pieces are brown and crispy.

Lift the lardons out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and leave as much of the rendered fat in the pan as possible.

Caramelize the potatoes and onion in the fat: Turn up the heat to high, add the dried potatoes and the medium-diced yellow onion straight into the hot bacon fat. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring every minute, until the edges of the potatoes start to brown up and the onion softens.

Deglaze with stock and vinegar: Pour in the beef stock and the vinegar. Scrape the pan with a spoon to lift every brown bit off the bottom. The liquid will look like a lot at first, but the potatoes soak it up in about a minute.

Finish with bacon, parsley, and seasoning: Add 3/4 of the crisp bacon back into the pan along with the finely minced fresh parsley. Then season it with salt and cracked black pepper, and fold everything together with a spoon until the liquid is fully absorbed.

Plate and garnish: Spoon the salad into a serving bowl and sprinkle on the remaining crisp bacon across the top. I like to finish it with another sprinkle of finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve it warm, straight off the stove. Delicious!

Serving Suggestions

Any chance I can show off some skills to friends, I serve this up right next to a schnitzel with a wedge of lemon and a side of red cabbage (Rotkohl). You can go to the next level and spoon this beside a plate of German beef rouladen. So good. It’s a really solid German side dish in addition to my homemade spaetzle.

For a backyard cookout with friends and family, I serve this warm out of a cast-iron skillet alongside a bowl of mustard roasted potatoes. For anyone who prefers something more traditional, pair it with my homemade soft pretzels and a jar of homemade sauerkraut on the table tip the whole plate Bavarian, and the German potato salad is the dish my friends go back to twice.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 day ahead of time. 

How to Reheat: Place the desired amount in a small pan or pot and heat over low heat until warm. You can also heat it in the microwave until warm.

How to Store: Cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze this recipe, although you will lose moisture and flavor, for up to 3 months, covered.

More Potato Recipes

• Potato Soup
• Southern Potato Salad
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Casserole