German Potato Salad
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Skip the mayo! Creamy potatoes, pickled red onions, and a zingy vinaigrette make this German potato salad a summer standout.
I’m a big fan of German-style potato salads, which are quite different from American potato salad. German potato salads swap the usual mayo dressing for a zingy vinaigrette, making them lighter and brighter. Inspired by David Hagedorn’s recipe in The Washington Post, this version makes a generous batch and somehow gets even better as it sits—a total win for potlucks or picnics.
The salad starts with new potatoes, which hold their shape and have a nice creamy texture (bonus: no peeling required). The recipe calls for a whole raw red onion, which might seem like a lot. However, once those onions are slightly pickled in the vinaigrette, they lose their bite and turn tangy and sweet. They are honestly the best part of the salad, and that’s coming from a long-time raw onion-phobe. For a variation, try adding 3 to 4 slices of crumbled bacon.
“This is crave-worthy! The short ingredient list had me wondering, but it’s a home run!”
What You’ll Need To Make German Potato Salad
- Baby Gold or Red Bliss Potatoes: Tender, waxy potatoes that provide a creamy texture and hold their shape well. Feel free to use a mix of red and gold if you’d like the color contrast.
- Vegetable oil, rice vinegar & sugar: These form the vinaigrette—rich and tangy with just a touch of sweetness to balance the potatoes. It’s flavorful without relying on mayo.
- Smoked paprika: Infuses a smoky depth of flavor that complements the bright vinaigrette and creamy potatoes.
- Red onion: Adds a sharp, tangy bite and vibrant color. The pickling process mellows its flavor so it doesn’t overpower the salad.
- Parsley: Adds freshness and brightness to the finished dish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the potatoes. To begin, place the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill the pan with enough cold water so that it covers the potatoes by about 1 inch. Add one tablespoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 2: Combine the dressing ingredients and add-ins. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oil, rice vinegar, sugar, remaining tablespoon salt (I know that sounds like a lot; feel free to add less and season to taste at the end but keep in mind that potatoes require a lot of salt), pepper, smoked paprika, red onion and parsley.
Step 3: Let the onion quick-pickle. Stir to combine and set aside, stirring occasionally and allowing the onions to marinate and pickle in the dressing while the potatoes cook.
Step 4: Cut the potatoes. Drain the potatoes in a colander. While they are still hot, cut them bite-size into halves, thirds, or quarters, depending on the size, and place in the bowl with the dressing.
Step 5: Toss it all together. Gently toss the potatoes with the dressing using a large rubber spatula—try not to mash them up too much. Let them cool to room temp, giving them an occasional stir so they soak up all the vinaigrette. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you’ve got the time. Before serving, give everything a good stir and taste to see if it needs a little more salt or vinegar. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with a bit more smoked paprika and parsley. The salad will keep nicely for up to 3 days in the fridge.
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German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3½ lbs baby gold or red bliss potatoes
- 2 tablespoons salt, divided
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium red onion, halved and very thinly sliced
- ½ cup chopped parsley, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill the pan with enough cold water so that it covers the potatoes by about 1 in (2.5 cm). Add one tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue cooking until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oil, rice vinegar, sugar, remaining tablespoon salt (I know that sounds like a lot; feel free to add less and season to taste at the end but keep in mind that potatoes require a lot of salt), pepper, smoked paprika, red onion and parsley. Stir to combine. Set aside, stirring occasionally and allowing the onions to marinate and pickle in the dressing while the potatoes cook.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander. While they are still hot (as hot as you can handle), cut them bite-size into halves, thirds, or quarters, depending on the size, and place in the bowl with the dressing. Using a large rubber spatula, toss the potatoes with the dressing, being careful not to break up the potatoes too much. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally until the potatoes soak up all the vinaigrette. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, bring the potato salad to a cool room temperature. Stir well, then taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, or sugar, if necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with smoked paprika and parsley.
Notes
- Potato salad should be left out for no more than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees). Leftovers should be promptly refrigerated.
- Make Ahead Instructions: This potato salad can be made and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead of time.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Good flavor but I would cut the amount of oil to this recipe
I’ve been meaning to try out this recipe for ages, but have had to make our regular creamy version due to popular demand. When I ran out of an essential ingredient last month, that was my chance.
This was really light and lovely and flavoursome (thanks to the pickled onions – very similar to the wonderful pickled onions in the Once Upon a Chef cookbook) and it made a refreshing change from the mayo-loaded version.
(Mine came out a little on the wet side, but I’m sure that’s my fault as I was boiling the potatoes late at night and probably didn’t drain them properly!)
Only one family member could not find it in them to make the transition from creamy to vinaigrette, so I added a mixture of mayo and sour cream to his, which worked really well, too.
Just to add to the confusion, my Berlin family’s ‘traditional’ potato salad is different again: Mayonnaise +/- yoghurt, with dill pickles and Maggi liquid seasoning!
(Maggi seems to work its way into everything… although I admit it is worth trying on fried eggs/ scrambled eggs at least once!) I’ve asked around and creamy versions are the only ones we’ve personally heard of, i.e. what would be served in restaurants or what you could buy at Lidl. But I suspect German potato salad had developed its own tradition in the USA – or may be even come about by some different etymological route, like German chocolate cake – or may be comes from a different region in Germany?
(I personally only every use American recipes for potato salad, even the creamy one, and think yours is super – it’s also ideal for my German grandmother, who had a colonectomy and can’t eat fatty dairy).
Thanks again for the recipe, Jenn! I hope to be making it again very soon 😉
I love this recipe. So delicious! I have been microwaving portions of it so they are just slightly warm. Thanks for yet another winning recipe.
What substitute would you use for a family that doesn’t like onions, especially red onions?? They’re ok with green onions would those work??
Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Rochelle, Green onions should work. I’d use a bunch of them. Please LMK how it turns out
I’ve been meaning to make this very appetising- looking potato salad for ages, but held off as my family keeps requesting the mayo version! Tonight I finally had the chance, as by good fortune I was missing an essential ingredient for our ‘regular’ recipe.
Made it in advance for tomorrow’s lunch and had a taste – it’s wonderful!
Quite smokey, which makes it feel somehow ‘German’, and the pickled red onions are really great. Should go well with frankfurter hotdogs (which is what I’ll be serving them with).
To complicate the debate even further, we live in the UK and our Berlin relatives make ‘traditional’ German potato salad completely differently again –
Mayo + gherkin + dill (or just dill gherkin) + S&P + Maggi liquid seasoning! This is what they make for New Year’s eve and eat with German Wurst.
Apparently the mayonnaise version is the only kind they have heard of, and if you go to a restaurant and order Bockwurst with Kartoffelsalat, that is what you will get. Our Lidl stores also sell only the mayo version.
Although I suspect that ‘German’ potato salad in the USA has a completely different tradition of its own – may be even a completely different etymology like ‘German’ chocolate cake?
And how glad I am that it is completely different – I never could bring myself to eat ‘Kartoffelsalat’ – especially the Lidl one…!
Thank you once again, Jenn. I am so happy to have found your version and looking forward to making it for long time to come!
(And perhaps even taking it to the relatives 😉
Can’t wait to try this for an upcoming BBQ… what oil could I substitute instead of vegetable?
Hi Bambi, I like vegetable oil here as it’s very mild in flavor, but you can replace it with another oil like olive or avocado oil. Hope you enjoy!
From what I’ve read, Kartoffelsalat is different depending on the region. The northern Germans use mayonnaise where the southern Germans prefer a vinaigrette.
Absolutely delicious, unfortunately, I didn’t have any leftovers. Another wonderful recipe, thank you.
I made this for a family BBQ along side our family’s old fashioned mayo style potato salad….everyone raved about this one and wanted seconds!!!! Another winning recipe! Thanks Jenn, you never disappoint!!
My German family was not impressed. Maybe call it something besides German Potato Salad. Really missed bacon, really missed the warm salad.
Hi Jenn!! I only have seasoned rice vinegar. Can I use that and omit the sugar? Thank you!!
Hi Michele, I haven’t tried it but I think that should be fine. 🙂
Absolutely incredible. The “pickled” onions were delicious and this was a nice alternative to our traditionally heavy mayo potato salads.