This German Potato Salad is perfect if you’re into hearty, comforting dishes. It’s popular in the Midwest, especially at potlucks and family gatherings. It features tender potatoes, crispy bacon, and a tangy dressing. Plus, it’s made and ready to serve in less than 1 hour.
You’ll love this recipe if you enjoy Cauliflower Potato Salad and Italian Orzo Pasta Salad.
Instead of a cold mayonnaise-based potato salad, this one is served warm with a vinegar-based dressing. It’s very straightforward to make, with the key components including boiling the potatoes until tender, cooking the bacon until crispy, and then tossing everything together with a flavorful dressing made from apple cider vinegar, mustard, and bacon drippings.
Make it as a side dish for dinner tonight, or prep it in advance for a family barbecue. Leftovers also store really well, so you can enjoy this potato salad over the following few days.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to prepare.
- Leftovers store really well.
- Simple ingredients.
- Prepped and ready in under an hour.
- Perfect balance of textures and flavors with tangy, savory, and slightly sweet notes.
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make this German potato salad recipe
This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Boil Potatoes: Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until the potatoes are tender but firm, about 10-15 minutes (be careful not to overcook, or the potatoes will get mushy). Drain those and then set them aside.
Recipe Tip: To speed up the time it takes to make the recipe, you can cover the pot with a lid while the water comes to a boil, but you will likely want to keep the lid off once it’s boiling to avoid the water from boiling over.
- Cook Bacon: In a large skillet, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave the bacon grease drippings in the skillet.
- Sauté Onion: Add the chopped onion to the skillet with the bacon drippings. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Make Dressing: Stir in the apple cider vinegar, water, granulated sugar, mustard, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the cooked potatoes and bacon to the skillet. Gently toss to coat potatoes with dressing and heat through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add Parsley: Remove the skillet from the heat and gently stir in the chopped parsley.
- Serve: Transfer the potato salad to a serving dish, garnish with chopped chives, and serve warm.
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: Use red potatoes if you don’t have Yukon Gold. Both are waxy potatoes and hold their shape well during boiling. Avoid starchy potatoes like russets, as they tend to fall apart and become mushy.
- Bacon: Use turkey bacon or pancetta.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Substitute with white vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Dijon Mustard: Stone-ground mustard or yellow mustard can be used.
- Fresh Parsley: Try fresh dill or chives.
- White Sugar: Use brown sugar.
✨ Variations
- Spicy: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and/or a dash of hot sauce to the dressing for some heat.
- Vegetarian: Skip the bacon and use olive oil to sauté the onions.
- Herbs: Stir in a mix of chopped fresh herbs like dill, chives, and/or thyme for extra flavor.
- Veggies: Toss in some diced celery or red bell peppers for added crunch and color.
〰️ How to serve
- Protein — Grilled sausages, grilled chicken, pork chops, or baked fish.
- Bread — Crusty bread, pretzels, or a soft dinner roll.
💬 FAQs
How can I prep this advance to serve later?
Cook the potatoes and bacon as directed and store them separately in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the bacon in a skillet, add the onions and dressing ingredients, then toss with the potatoes and parsley. Garnish with chives just before serving.
How should I store leftovers?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat or microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through. Add fresh parsley and chives after reheating.
📚 More salad recipes
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Italian Orzo Pasta Salad
- Tuna Egg Salad
- Fresh Corn Salad
- Cauliflower Potato Salad
- Creamy Dill Cucumber Onion Salad
🍽 Recipe
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German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- 1 Tablespoon salt, for boiling potatoes
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard or stone-ground mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, for dressing
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Optional Garnish:
- Finely chopped chives
Instructions
- Boil Potatoes: Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 1 Tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until potatoes are tender but firm, about 10-15 minutes (be careful not to overcook, or the potatoes will get mushy). Drain and set aside.
- Cook Bacon: In a large skillet, cook diced bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving bacon drippings in skillet.
- Sauté Onion: Add chopped onion to the skillet with bacon drippings. Cook over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Make Dressing: Stir in apple cider vinegar, water, granulated sugar, mustard, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Combine Ingredients: Add cooked potatoes and bacon to skillet. Gently toss to coat potatoes with dressing and heat through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add Parsley: Remove skillet from heat and gently stir in chopped parsley.
- Serve: Transfer potato salad to a serving dish, garnish with chopped chives, and serve warm.
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