This authentic German potato salad recipe is made with red potatoes dressed in a warm vinegar dressing with bacon, onion, and grainy stoneground mustard.

Potato salads are my jam, and I enjoy them all. From my grandma’s classic potato salad to a loaded baked potato salad to Greek potato salad, I can’t play favorites. This German potato salad is another potato salad staple in my house. That tangy vinegar dressing is mixed with zesty grainy mustard and bacon to make an irresistible combo. My German potato salad recipe is adapted from one of my German immigrant grandmother’s handwritten recipes she added to the inside cover of her dog-eared and worn Joy of Cooking cookbook. Even the most devout mayo-lovers will be convinced—this potato salad is on a whole other level.

Why You’ll Love It

• This German potato salad requires minimal ingredients and is easy to make
• You can serve it warm or at room temperature
• This potato salad goes with just about anything and is a guaranteed family favorite

What’s in German Potato Salad

• Red potatoes—I like using red potatoes in this potato salad recipe because that’s exactly how my grandma made it. Yukon gold would work too.
• Kosher salt—always, for flavor
• Freshly ground black pepper—for a little pep
• Bacon—I use applewood smoked bacon
• Yellow onion—gets sautéed in bacon grease for the best flavor
• White vinegar—for the best tang and acidity
• Coarse stoneground mustard—for a nice tangy flavor and tiny mustard seed bites
• Sugar—for a little sweetness to balance everything out
• Fresh parsley—for a fresh pop and a bit of color

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make German Potato Salad

• Start the potatoes in cold water. Cook the potatoes over high heat in a large saucepan of boiling water seasoned with kosher salt.
• How do you tell when potatoes are done cooking? You can tell when the potatoes are down when you can easily pierce them with a fork and the skins pull away from the cut edges of the potatoes. This takes about 15 minutes.
• Drain, cool, and cut. Drain the potatoes and cool them until they can be handled. Cut into large dice then add back to the pan to keep warm.

• Cook the bacon. Add the sliced bacon to a large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a plate topped with paper towels to drain.
• Sauté the onion in the bacon grease. You aren’t caramelizing or even browning the onion. It just needs about 3-4 minutes of cooking.

• Make the vinegar dressing. To the skillet with the onion, stir in 1 cup water, the white vinegar, mustard, and sugar, and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the dressing has reduced to about 2 cups.
• Toss everything together. Add the potatoes back to the pan with the hot dressing and toss to coat. Add the chopped bacon and parsley. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve warm.

FAQ and Recipe Tips

• Can I make this with apple cider vinegar? If you don’t have white vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar instead. It’s a little milder in flavor than white vinegar and not quite as sour, so try using 1 ½ cups of cider vinegar to just ½ cup water when you stir together the hot German potato salad.
• Start your potatoes in cold water, not boiling water. Doing this ensures the potatoes will cook evenly.
• How long to cook potatoes for potato salad? The potatoes will cook for about 15 minutes or until fork-tender.
• Coarse ground or stoneground mustard is key to flavoring this salad. The better the quality, the better the salad. The whole mustard seeds add tons of flavor to the dressing that you won’t get from yellow, brown, or Dijon mustard.
• Somewhat frozen bacon slices easily. Pop the bacon in the freezer for 10-15 minutes then slice easily with a sharp knife.

Storage Tips

This German potato salad will last in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Reheat it gently in a skillet for the best results. I do not recommend freezing German potato salad.

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5 from 1 vote

German Potato Salad (with Warm Vinegar Dressing)

This German potato salad recipe is made with hot red potatoes dressed in a warm bacon, onion, mustard, and vinegar dressing.

Course Said Dish

Cuisine German

Keyword German Potato Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 323kcal

Ingredients

• 3 ½ to 4 pounds medium red potatoes quartered
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound bacon cut into ½-inch pieces*
• 1 large yellow onion minced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons coarse or stoneground German style mustard
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup parsley chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Cook the potatoes over high heat in a large saucepan until water comes to a boil. Season generously with about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium so that the water is still gently bubbling and cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until they are easily pierced with a fork and the skins are barely starting to pull away from the cut edges of the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and cool them until they can be handled. Cut into large dice and add back to the pan you cooked them in to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, cook the sliced bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a plate topped with paper towels to drain.
• Add the onion to the bacon grease and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onion is transparent but not brown. Stir in 1 cup water, the white vinegar, mustard, and sugar, and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the dressing has reduced to about 2 cups.
• Add the potatoes back to the pan with the dressing and toss to coat. Add the chopped bacon and parsley. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Notes

*Somewhat frozen bacon makes for the easiest slicing. Simply pop the bacon in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, then slice away.