German Potato Salad
Prep: 20 Minutes | Cook: 40 Minutes | Resting Time: Optional: 2 Hours | Total: 1 Hour
Makes 10 Servings
Ingredients
2 lbs Red Potatoes
12 oz bacon
1 Small onion, diced
2 Tbsp Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Dressing
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Sugar
1⁄4 Cup Apple cider vinegar
Recipe Summary
Wash and cut potatoes.
Boil potatoes and then strain them. Cover them with a towel to steam off
Cook bacon until crispy
Cook onion in bacon grease
Make dressing
Mix potatoes with dressing, onions, bacon
Recipe
1. Wash potatoes and cut them into small 1" pieces. Starting the potatoes in a pot of cold water and start a timer for 30 minutes. Boil potatoes at medium heat. At the 30 minute mark, potatoes should be easily pierced with a fork, if not cook for for 2 minutes at a time until they are soft enough. When finished cooking strain the potatoes and cover with a towel to allow excess water to steam off.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, cut bacon into 1⁄2" slices. Cook until crispy and retain half of the grease. When the bacon is done cooking, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to another bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up the pan used to cook bacon again leaving the bacon grease in. Add in diced onion and cook until slightly browned
4. In a separate bowl mix together the vinegar, sugar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
5. Add onions, bacon, and dressing to the potatoes. Mix carefully so the potatoes aren’t broken and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes for the flavors to soak into the potatoes. Serve hot.
Why the Recipe Works
German potato salad differs from traditional American potato salad because it doesn't use mayonnaise. Instead, it relies on bacon and vinegar to create a lighter, tangier dish with deeper savory flavor. The bacon is the foundation of the recipe. Rendering the bacon first creates flavorful fat that serves two important purposes: it provides flavoring when caramelizing the onions and becomes the base of the warm dressing. As the vinegar is whisked into the bacon fat, it forms a light emulsion that coats the potatoes, allowing them to absorb maximum flavor.
Parsley is an essential finishing ingredient. Potatoes provide an earthy base, bacon contributes smoky richness, and the parsley adds a fresh, bright note that balances the dish. That freshness works particularly well with the acidity of the vinegar, preventing the potato salad from feeling too heavy.
Apple cider vinegar is the preferred choice because it offers a mild sweetness along with its acidity. If necessary, red wine vinegar or white vinegar can be substituted with comparable results.
The recipe contains sugar, but the goal is not to make the salad sweet. A small amount simply balances the vinegar's acidity and helps highlight the savory flavors of the bacon and onions.