Okay, okay, okay, while I love a good rich and creamy southern-style potato salad, sometimes I want something different. I really like German potato salad because it’s a little bit lighter on the palate with its tangy mayo-free vinaigrette dressing, but it still has plenty of body and flavor, thanks to BACON. It makes a great side dish for bratwurst and sauerkraut, grilled kielbasa, or anything you might be serving at your backyard summer BBQ!
“I made this for a potluck and got so many compliments on it. I did have to make it earlier in the day but I dressed it and then popped the whole thing in the fridge and served cold a couple hours later and it was still delicious. I’ll be keeping this one in my recipe for binder for another time for sure!”
Kelsey
This German potato salad is one of those simple yet elegant dishes I love to make. It’s the perfect alternative to a creamy potato salad! It features thickly sliced potatoes, bacon, onions, fresh herbs, and a tangy mustard vinaigrette dressing. I use the fat from the bacon to sauté the onions and build the vinaigrette, so every bite has that wonderfully smoky bacon flavor. You can serve it hot or cold. I’ve done both, and it’s always a hit either way.
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Boil the potatoes: Wash 2 lbs. of small red potatoes well. Place them in a large pot and add enough water to cover them by one inch. Add about 1 tsp of salt to the water to make sure the potatoes are well seasoned. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat to high. Bring the pot to a boil, then continue to boil the potatoes until they are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork (12-15 minutes, depending on the size).
Cook the bacon: While the potatoes are boiling, cook 4 oz. of bacon in a skillet over medium heat until the bacon is brown and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon from the skillet. Leave the bacon fat in the skillet as it will be used to cook the onions and make the dressing.
Sauté the onion: Add one diced yellow onion to the skillet with the bacon fat. Continue to cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. The moisture from the onions should dissolve all the browned bits of flavor stuck to the bottom of the skillet from the bacon.
Make the dressing: Once the onions are soft, reduce the heat in the skillet to low and add 1 Tbsp grainy mustard, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar.
Whisk the ingredients in the skillet until they form a light sauce, then turn the heat off.
Slice the potatoes: Once the potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander and let them cool for just a few minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch thick half-moons.
Add to the dressing: Roughly chop the cooked bacon and ¼ cup of fresh parsley. Add the sliced potatoes, bacon, and parsley to the skillet with the dressing.
Serve: Toss the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated in dressing and parsley. Give the potato salad a taste and adjust the salt or other ingredients to your liking.
Serve hot and enjoy!
If you’re making this recipe for a party or potluck, you can easily prep it the day before. I’d cook the potatoes and bacon and make the dressing, but keep everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Then, when you’re ready to serve, mix the dressing to recombine (it might separate during storage) and toss it with the potatoes and bacon.
German potato salad can be served hot or cold and makes a great addition to any potluck or BBQ spread. This week I served mine with my glazed pork chops. It also goes great with sausage, like bratwurst or kielbasa! Just like creamy American potato salads, German potato salad also makes a great side dish for lunch items, like a chicken club sandwich.
You can keep this salad refrigerated for about four days. The dressing will absorb into the potatoes as it chills, so it may become slightly more dry as the days go on. You can either save some extra dressing to add just before serving, or make an extra batch to add later.
Our German Potato Salad recipe was originally published 5/30/23. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 6/21/25.
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