The Best German Potato Salad Recipe
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Y’all, I’m not kidding with the title up there. If you love German potato salad as much as I do, the first bite of this will bring tears of joy to your eyes. With crispy bacon and potatoes tossed in a scrumptious bacon and onion gravy (or dressing), this really is the BEST German potato salad!
So, I first found this recipe in one of my Grandmama’s old cookbooks that I inherited and tweaked it a little bit to come up with this heavenly warm German potato salad. The secret is all in the dressing. You see, it’s absolutely infused with flavor because the base is bacon. Did you know that bacon drippings are the most flavorful grease there is? Seriously. Well, you take those bacon drippings and then you sauté some onions in it, then you add a little bit of this and that, flour to thicken it, some vinegar to splash it up a bit, and you basically end up with bacon gravy, but we’re calling it dressing in this post.
Before we dive in, I want to share another tip so you make the best German potato salad recipe EVER. Pay attention to the timing of when to pour the bacon gravy over the potatoes. See, when your potatoes are warm, they are absorbent. If you wait until they cool to pour your dressing over, they have formed a starchy film over them and they won’t soak it up, so it will just coat the outside. If you pour it while they are still warm, though, they’ll actually absorb part of the dressing and become infused with the flavor.
With crispy crumbled bacon and tender potatoes tossed in a delectably tangy bacon onion gravy, I just know y’all are going to love this potato salad as much as me. It’s a great side dish to bring to your next barbecue or potluck, but I’ve also included lots of serving suggestions below. Now, have a hanky handy, cos it’s time to make the best German potato salad you’ve ever tasted 😉.
Recipe Ingredients
- Red potatoes
- Bacon (we use turkey bacon now and it’s still just as delicious).
- Sugar
- Flour
- Onion
- Salt
- Pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
How to Make The Best German Potato Salad
Boil yer taters with their coats still on :).
Just wash your potatoes and then put them all in a pot, covered with water, and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. You’re going to want to boil these until they are fork tender. I boil mine for about 20 minutes or so.
Fry you up some bacon.
That is one of my favorite instructions to read or write in a recipe. Most folks have a specific brand or type of bacon that they prefer. We really enjoy uncured turkey bacon.
Here’s a Tip!
After you get this bacon cooked, remove it to a paper towel-lined plate but don’t do anything with all of that lovely in your skillet. If you don’t have a lot of grease due to using turkey bacon, add a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil.
After you remove your bacon, add your chopped onion to that skillet and cook it over medium heat, stirring often, until your little onion bits are all translucent and golden like this.
Take this off the stove eye (or burner for y’all up north) and set it aside for a minute.
Drain your potatoes and then pour them into a large bowl to let them cool for just a few minutes so they can be handled without feeling like you’re holding hot coals.
Don’t blink because I’m about to explain how to get from that last picture to this one:
Making the Bacon Onion Dressing
Once your onions are lightly brown, remove the skillet from the heat.
Stir in the water, vinegar, sugar, flour, and salt and pepper to taste (I start with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper).
Return to heat and bring just to a boil (over medium heat) while stirring constantly.
Once it comes to a boil, boil for one minute, while still stirring.
“Gee, Christy, you just ain’t letting up on this stirring thing.” I know. Now hush and do it, I’m hungry.
And BOOM! You have what is pictured above.
Now I want you to act fast!
Remove the dressing from the stove eye or burner. Carefully slice your potatoes and place them in a bowl.
They will break up a little bit and that is okay. Just do the best you can to carefully slice them and make an attempt at keeping them intact and their skin on.
Crumble all your bacon and place it on top of the cooked potatoes.
Now, pour all of that warm thick dressing over them.
And listen, the dressing is thick because it was thickened with flour, not because it was made with bacon drippings. It is delicious because it was made with bacon drippings.
Stir carefully and well to coat all of your slices. This is the key and doing it while the potatoes are warm makes a world of difference in the flavor of your potato salad.
Last step: serve warm.
And… eat the potato salad. Eat all the potato salad.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, either bring to room temperature or gently warm in the microwave. Otherwise, you can totally serve it cold as well.
Recipe Notes
- Substitute almond flour and gluten-free bacon to make this a gluten-free recipe.
- Garnish your potato salad with chopped green onion and fresh dill, chives, or fresh parsley. It’s also not traditional, but you can garnish with some parmesan cheese too.
- While I prefer red potatoes, you can also use new potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. Just try to avoid russet potatoes!
- For additional flavor, add 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic to the vinegarette.
- Substitute the white onion for red onion if you like.
- For a vegetarian potato salad, simply omit the bacon.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with German potato salad?
Serve this warm potato salad as a side dish alongside roast or barbecue meats. Think grilled chicken tenders, roast chicken, chicken schnitzel (try my chicken fried steak recipe or crispy breaded pork chops), or even beef brisket.
What is the difference between American potato salad and German potato salad?
The biggest difference between these two potato salads is the dressing. American potato salad includes a mayonnaise-based dressing and is served cold. Meanwhile, German potato salad is best served warm and includes a bacon and vinegar-based dressing. But spoiler, both salads originated in America. German potato salad was inspired by early German immigrants.
You may enjoy these other delicious potato recipes:
Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
Sweet Potato Skins With Candied Bacon and a Spicy Basil Cream Sauce
Kielbasa Skillet with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium red potatoes
- 5-6 turkey bacon slices
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3-5 tablespoons flour
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes whole, without peeling, until fork tender. Drain and allow to cool until you can handle them. Slice as thin as you can into a large bowl. Set aside.6-8 medium red potatoes
- In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve the bacon grease in the skillet. Crumble bacon on top of the potatoes in the bowl.5-6 turkey bacon slices
- Saute onions in bacon grease over medium heat until tender. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the water, vinegar, sugar, and flour (add flour a little at a time to your liking, you can always add a little more later). Also, add salt and pepper to taste (I start with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper).1 chopped onion, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 3-5 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper to taste
- Return to heat and bring just to a boil while stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, while still stirring. Remove from heat and pour over the bacon and potatoes. Carefully stir until well coated and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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I love German potato salad and was wondering if you could substitute Splenda for the sugar?
Absolutely! I’d add a little less than you think you need as Splenda sweetens it slightly more than sugar.
Exactly as my German family in Wisconsin made kartoffelsalat and as you say, pour over warm potatoes. I really don’t remember having a mayo based potato salad as I was growing up. This was IT and I have always loved it. My hubby isn’t as crazy about it as I am, but if I add enough bacon, he will devour it too. 🙂
I love it too Nancy!!!
Hey Christy,
I’m fairly new to your site and wanted to just say I LOVE IT!! I discovered your site while searching for southern pinto bean recipes and stopped searching when I found yours. I made your version and got hooked imediately. It was very close to my moms, god rest her soul, which being poor growing, she made 2 or 3 times a week for our supper. Yours was sooo good that after I finnished licking the bowl, I came back to your site and bookmarked it. And, I did something I never did before on a recipe site, I signed up! I am of polish(mom) and southern heritage (polebilly)…lol, so I have experienced some very unusual and delicious foods and know what I’m talking about when I tell you that your recipes are keeping it real. I truely love your humorous family stories, they make me smile and sometimes laughout loud. And your insperational quotes make me pause and give thanks. Please keep your great recipes and stories coming I truely enjoy them. Heres hoping you and your family a blessed and happy day, sincerely, Ken.
P.S. almost for got to say I will be trying your german potato salad after I wipe the drool from my mouth from looking at the pictures… 🙂
Welcome to Southern Plate Ken!!! I am so glad you found me. Thank you for trying my pinto beans and I hope you find many other recipes to try…so grab a glass of sweet tea and join us at the table. We are all looking forward to getting to know you and having you as a part of the “family”.
Hi Christy
I am going to make that German Potato Salad! It looks so good in the picture. I want to comment on the cassrole dish the salad is in. It’s called Blue Heaven and was made by Royal China. My heart skipped a beat when I saw yours. My mom (who just passed away in February)had a complete set in the 60’s but she used it so much several of the pieces were broken or came up missing through the years. I am currently trying to replace as many as possible. It’s always a pleasure to receive your emails.
Replacements is a company in North Carolina that has china, crystal, silver patterns. They are very nice. I have bought items from them. They have vintage patterns. Pat
I’ve never made German Potato salad, but made this as a side for brats. I chose this recipe because of the title (& the comments) The sauce was really tasty – I loved the flavor, but 5 tablespoons of flour? It was a gluggy mess – I kept adding water to try and thin it out (probably about another cup) It was still thick and gluggy but I didn’t want to dilute that lovely flavor any more. So I went ahead and served it anyway, but ended up throwing 3/4 of it away. When I checked other recipes, many had no flour, some had flour but much smaller amounts. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Jenny, so glad you loved the flavor! Sorry to hear the consistency wasn’t what you would have liked. Next time I would add the flour a little at a time til you get to the consistency that you like. I updated the recipe to make this more clear to others. Thank you for your feedback 🙂 Hope you try it again and love it.
I have only eaten German Potato Salad maybe once in my life. Your recipe, Christy, looks delicious & I’m going to make it tonight for dinner. Not sure if my picky husband will like it but I’m going to make it anyway. My family comes from Kentucky and we’ve always called the top stove elements “eyes.” 🙂
I am from Alabama and I have always heard them called, eyes, also
🙂
Can you use Yukon gold potatoes
I haven’t ever made it using Yukon gold potatoes Barbara. They tend to be a softer potato so they may fall apart on you quicker. Other than that, it should work just fine.
My recipe is very similar to this one, and I have used russet potatoes when I couldn’t find red potatoes. I make the gravy and let it simmer while I peel and slice the potatoes. I like to use equal parts vinegar and sugar, and I like chopped green onions (raw) mixed in with the potatoes instead of the sauteed onions. I agree that pouring the sauce over warm/hot potatoes makes it very tasty. I always make this to go with schnitzel, but it’s great with burgers and brats with a side of baked beans. I also serve this with ham. Bacon grease in the sauce and crisp bacon mixed in with the potatoes makes this such a tasty side dish that it is always gone when I bring it to a pot luck in Alabama. I grew up in Wisconsin where German Potato salad was home cooking!
I would think you could since both potatoes are “waxy” and are great for roasting, mashing, and salads.
I am from Georgia, and all I ever heard was stove eyes.
Christy,
Potato salad was one of my Mother’s favorite things to eat! She would have loved this recipe, with some baked beans, a hot dog and a glass of iced tea…
Oh yeah, I can’t forget the sliced maters and onions on the plate too!
OH! And banana puddin for dessert.
Think I’ll have to make this for the kids this weekend to remember her by…
I remember you wrote about “stove eye’s” on here before, as some didn’t know what they were. It had been a long time since I had heard that term. We just always said burner…
Except for my sister Ann. She said stove eye. I asked her one day why, and she said her Mother in Law said it that way, and she just adopted it.
Her Mother in Law was from… you guessed it, Alabama!
As always, a great recipe from you and good memories, whether they are yours or mine.
Ladies, I am in dire need of your recipe for potato salad with pickled herring. When I saw it on the net I nearly fainted, this was my Mommas New years salad, and I am dying for that taste but my Omi passed many years ago and my Momma followed her last year. Now here I am, I remember the taste, but not how it was made.
I would be ever so grateful if you could send it to me via e-mail, or direct me to a cookbook that is publishing this.
Hey Helga! I can see the email addresses of folks who leave comments on the back end so I will email Angie H for you in case she doesn’t see this 🙂
Christy, pickled herring in potato salad is delish, and love hot potato salad we left off the German since it was just a family salad. The recipe was one I wrote in my notebook when we moved from home. Will print your recipe off, and make it for Sunday. Bacon and bacon grease are staples in my life, makes great biscuits, and not too bad pie crust especially for Tortiere at Xmas.