Count this German Potato Salad recipe on your list of PICNIC ESSENTIALS! You can serve it as a cold or warm potato salad, and with a tangy oil and vinegar dressing, bacon bits, and fresh dill, it makes one of the best picnic foods.
Our German Potato Salad recipe is easily one of our top picks for best picnic recipes ever and also one of our favorite German Recipes.
This potato salad with bacon is easy to pack in your picnic basket and is loaded with flavor from a tangy oil and vinegar dressing and fresh herbs. Serve it as a cold or warm potato dish and pair it with other easy picnic food recipes like hot dogs, hamburgers, roasted or fried chicken, and picnic sandwiches like an Italian Pressed Sandwich or Japanese Pork Cutlet Sandwich!
German Potato Salad Ingredients
The best part about this authentic German side dish is that because the dressing is vinegar based, you don’t have to worry as much about keeping it cold like you would with a potato salad with mayonnaise. As a matter of fact, you would traditionally serve this as a warm potato salad or at least at room temperature. That’s a real plus when planning picnic side dishes!
To make this German potato salad recipe, you need just a few common ingredients:
- 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ pound bacon strips, reserving about 2 Tbsps. of bacon fat
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- ¾ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup Japanese rice vinegar*
- ½ cup vegetable oil
This easy potato salad recipe yields 12 servings using these ingredients.
*—Japanese Rice Vinegar: Note that rice vinegar is a mellow vinegar, much less acidic than other kinds of vinegar. We do not recommend substituting other kinds of vinegar for the rice vinegar in this recipe. You can easily find Japanese rice vinegar at most supermarkets with brand names like Mizkan Nakano or Marukan. It has a yellowish white color. Other uses for rice vinegar include making stir fry, cooking vegetables, or mixing with oil for dressing for any green salad. If you can’t use Japanese rice vinegar, use ¼ cup more of red wine vinegar, making a full cup.
How to Make Potato Salad
Homemade potato salad is an easy task, and well worth it, especially when you’re making this classic German potato salad! Not only is this one of our favorite potato salad recipes for how easy it is to make, but it is also one of the best sides for a picnic. You could even serve it as a side dish for BBQ!
Follow these steps to make this easy potato salad recipe at home:
- Boil the potatoes in their skin in enough salted water to cover the potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Begin checking at 15 minutes, as smaller potatoes may cook more quickly. Drain and allow to cool so you can handle and peel them.
- In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain bacon on a paper towel, saving about 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Chop the cooked bacon and set aside.
- While potatoes are cooking, dice the onion and chop the dill and parsley.
- In a separate bowl, mix chicken stock, sugar, salt, pepper, and vinegars.
- Peel potatoes and cut in half, then in ¼-inch slices. Place in a large mixing (or serving) bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the potatoes and stir gently to incorporate. The warm potatoes will soak up the dressing.
- Add the bacon, onion, and herbs, then add the reserved bacon fat and stir gently again.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes, then add oil. Start with ¼ of the oil, folding in gently. Then add remaining oil. The mixture will be soupy at the bottom but, over the next 15 or 20 minutes, the potatoes will soak it up.
- If you have any remaining parsley or bacon bits, sprinkle them over just before serving.
While you can serve this potato salad recipe cold, German potato salad is best served warm or at room temperature.
Tips for Making the Best Hot German Potato Salad
Warm German potato salad is a fairly simple to make recipe, and our top choice for picnic salads. Here are a few tips for making this vinegar potato salad even more delicious:
- Boil the potatoes whole and let them cool a bit. This technique makes the potatoes easy to peel and cut—much easier than trying to do it when they are uncooked.
- The dressing for German potato salads is typically oil and vinegar dressing with a bit of sugar, plus chicken stock. Pour it on when the potatoes are warm so they soak up all the tangy deliciousness. If you wait too long and the potatoes cool too much, they won’t absorb enough of the flavor.
- Add the fresh dill, parsley, and lots of crumbled bacon bits for an exciting blend of flavors in every bite! We recommend saving some bacon bits and herbs to sprinkle over the top just before serving for a beautiful presentation and to add a little crunch.
We know you’re going to love this warm potato salad as much as we do. Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe? Tell us about it in the comments section below! We love to hear all the different variations and to try new things.
What goes with potato salad?
Whether you’re taking this German potato salad recipe with you on a picnic or serving it at home, you’ll want to know the best foods to pair with it. Try enjoying our potato dishes with:
- Steak Foil Pack
- Grilled Chuck Steak with Compound Butter
- Porterhouse Steak Recipe
- Buttermilk Roast Chicken
- Mushroom Swiss Burger
- Loaded Burgers with Bacon and Asparagus
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Slow Cooker Short Ribs
For the perfect drinks to pair with this recipe, try Moscato Sangria or Rose Sangria. If you want a drink to take with you the kids can enjoy, too, then try this Watermelon Mint Lemonade! For dessert, we recommend Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits or Strawberry Dole Whip. Just make sure to keep them chilled!
More Picnic Food Ideas
For more picnic food ideas and cookout side dishes, try out these recipes:
- Greek Cauliflower Rice Salad
- Spanish Potato Salad
- Elote Recipe (Elotes Mexicanos)
- Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad
- English Tea Sandwiches
- Grilled Peaches Salad
- Jalapeño Popper Deviled Eggs
German Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ pound bacon strips reserving about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat
- 1 small red onion finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- ¾ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup Japanese rice vinegar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in their skin in enough salted water to cover the potatoes until fork tender about 20 minutes. Begin checking at 15 minutes because smaller potatoes could be done sooner. Drain and allow to cool so that they can be handled and peeled.
- In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain bacon on a paper towel and save about 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Chop the cooked bacon and set aside.
- While potatoes are cooking, dice onion and chop dill and parsley.
- In a separate bowl, mix chicken stock, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegars.
- Peel potatoes and cut in half, then in ¼-inch slices. Place in large mixing (or serving) bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the potatoes and stir gently to incorporate. The warm potatoes will soak up dressing.
- Add the bacon, onion and herbs. Add the reserved bacon fat and stir gently again.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes, then add oil. Start with ¼ and fold in gently. Then add remaining oil. The mixture will be soupy at the bottom but over the next 15 or 20 minutes, the potatoes will soak it up.
- If you’ve saved any parsley or bacon bits, sprinkle them over just before serving.
- German potato salad is best served warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
This post was updated on July 12, 2019. Photos and recipe are by Marion Myers of Life Tastes Good (linked in recipe).
Shaina Wizov says
I love potato salad, but HATE when the potatoes are drowning in a rich, creamy mayo-based dressing. This sounds so much lighter and refreshing, and perfect for ANY picnic!
carolinescookingblog says
I much prefer the German vinegar-based dressing than the mayo versions – this looks great!