German Potato Salad
If you like easy yet delicious potato salads like the Greek Red Potato Salad, you’re going to love this creamy German Potato Salad. Tender potatoes are combined with boiled eggs, and pickles and served in a simple yet irresistible creamy dressing. This is German comfort food at its best.
About German Potato Salad
Want to enjoy this potato salad as the Germans do? This German Potato Salad is as traditional as it gets. Try it as a side dish with Schnitzel, beef franks, or even Frikadellen.
Ingredient Notes
Please check the recipe card below for a detailed, printable ingredient list.
- POTATOES – Use your favorite potatoes. Yukon Gold or Kennebec are two good all-purpose white potatoes that work great in a potato salad.
- EGGS – Any eggs will work, but I try to look for cage-free organic eggs whenever possible.
- PICKLES – (organic) dill pickles are delicious, and they are perfect in this salad. You’ll need to reserve some of the pickle juice. It’s going to be part of the dressing.
- MUSTARD – For this recipe, look for good quality Dijon mustard like this one.
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How To Make German Potato Salad
Making this potato salad is easy and takes no time at all. While the eggs and potatoes are boiling, you finish prep. Putting it all together takes just a few minutes.
Eggs and Potatoes
BOILING THE POTATOES
- Fill a large pot with the peeled potatoes and add enough water so all of the potatoes are submerged.
- Bring the water to a boil and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. You can add about 1 tablespoon of salt to the water once it’s boiling, but it’s optional.
- The exact length of cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes. If you use medium-sized white potatoes, stick a fork into the potatoes’ center to ensure they are soft and tender.
- Transfer the potatoes into a colander and pour cold water over the hot potatoes. This will stop the cooking process.
BOILING THE EGGS
- Remove the eggs from the fridge and allow them to sit at room temperature. Meanwhile, use a large pot, fill it with cold water, and bring it to a boil. When the water is boiling, use a spoon to gently place the eggs into the boiling.
- For this recipe, you’ll want hard-boiled eggs. This means you’ll want to cook your eggs between 9-12 minutes. The exact length of time depends on the size of your eggs and your personal preference.
- Transfer the cooked eggs to a cold (preferably iced) water bowl. Chill for 1 minute.
- Remove the eggs. Peel and set aside
Finishing Prep and Making the dressing
While the eggs are cooking, take 4-5 medium-sized pickles and finely chop them. For this German Potato Salad, I recommend kosher dill pickles. Set the chopped pickles aside.
- Combine ¼ cup of pickle juice, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, and ½ cup of mayonnaise in a small bowl.
- Whisk until well combined and set aside.
- Optional. You can add salt and pepper to season the dressing. I always find that between the mustard and the pickle juice, there’s already plenty of flavor in this dressing.
- Chop the cooked potatoes and peeled eggs and transfer them into a large salad bowl. Add the chopped pickles and combine well.
- Pour the salad dressing over the potato salad and mix well.
- Optional – Drizzle some chopped parsley for presentation.
How Long Does This Salad Last
If you store this cold potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge, you can safely keep it for 3-5 days.
German Potato Salad is one of the salads that tastes even better on day 2. The flavors get a chance to unfold fully.
When you’re ready to serve potato salad that’s been stored in the fridge, be sure to remove it about 15 minutes before serving. This will take the chill out.
FOOD SAFETY: If you’re serving this salad during an event like a barbecue or a potluck, make sure that the salad isn’t exposed to room or higher temperatures for more than an hour.
Recipe Notes
This German Potato Salad is just one of many different types of potato salads you’ll find in Germany. This recipe is exactly the way my mom’s mom used to make it.
My dad’s mom uses a completely different recipe, which includes apples, yogurt, and red onions, among other things. And believe me, that recipe is just as delicious as this one.
Not all German Potato salads are served cold. There are some delicious warm potato salads. Some of them are made with bacon and served with a vinaigrette. And believe me, I’m partial to those, too.
Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more German potato salads.
German 101
There are many times when I’ll get asked how to pronounce those seemingly unpronounceable German words.
Disclaimer: I am bilingual but not a professional German teacher. 😉 But I am happy to try.
In German, we use a lot of composite words.
This means we’ll happily combine various nouns to create new nouns. The trick to deciphering these longer words is to recognize shorter individual words.
Kartoffelsalat is made up of two words: Kartoffel (potato) and Salat (salad). If you’re curious about how to say potato salad in German, here it is: Kartoffelsalat: Car-to-fell-sala-t.
More Simple Salads
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad – Bacon, cheese, pasta, and Ranch. What’s not to love?
Tuna Pasta Salad – This high-protein pasta salad is perfect for lunch.
Classic Pea Salad – Perfect for parties or potlucks.
Amish Macaroni Salad – Another favorite for barbecues
Grape Salad – This salad is actually dessert!
German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds white potatoes peeled, boiled, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 5 large eggs hard-boiled
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 5 medium pickles finely diced
- ¼ cup pickle juice
Instructions
Boiling Eggs & Potatoes
- Add the peeled potatoes into a large pot. Make sure all of the potatoes are covered with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Use another large pot and fill with water. Bring the water to a boil. Add the eggs and cook for 9 minutes. Once cooked briefly submerge the cooked eggs into a bowl of ice water. Remove from the bowl and once peel the eggs.
Dressing
- Combined mayonnaise, pickle juice, and mustard in a small bowl. Use a whisk and blend until well combined.
Putting The Salad Together
- Chop the boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs into small bite-sized pieces. Chop the pickles into small pieces. Combine everything in a large salad bowl.
- Add the dressing and combine well.
Video
Notes
Nutritional Information
Nutritional Disclaimer
Cheerful Cook team members are not trained nutritionists or medical professionals. Calorie information and nutritional values are estimates. If you have nutritional concerns, we recommend using a nutritional calculator.
Maike Corbett is the founder and food blogger of Cheerful Cook, a popular recipe website featuring comfort food recipes from the US and Germany. She has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the AP Wire and MSN.
I am ever such a big fan of potato salad so I am definitely going to have to try this traditional German recipe – it looks and sounds SO good.
OK I am now converted to German potato salad. I love potato salad anyway (it’s potatoes, what’s not to love?), but this looks even more incredible!
This is a fantastic potato salad. I really like that you use pickle juice in it!
I appreciate the tutorial on pronouncing this is German – I can usually manage French and a little Spanish, but I’m not as familiar with German! Sounds like a really tasty (and tangy) potato salad!
Love this recipe! This salad was so tasty and easy. I’ll definitely be making again and again!
My husband loves German food so thanks for this recipe. It will be fun to try German potato salad with him.
I thought authentic German potato salad had hot dressing with bacon. This potato salad is really good, but it’s how I always make it
You’re right, Suzanne. Hot potato salad is also a traditional German recipe. I think hot potato salad is more common in the south of Germany.
One of the exciting things about German cuisine is that you can have the same dish cooked completely differently.
I grew up in Dusseldorf (West Germany) and had two grandmothers who moved to Dusseldorf from different regions in Germany. And each of them used different potato salad recipes. Neither one of them made a hot one. 😉 Hope that makes sense. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Your recipe is almost the same as my mom’s from Ostfreisland. She put some white onion in hers and salt and pepper. She always would garnish with boiled eggs halved on top and some parsley. Your other Oma’s recipe sounds yummy!
Your Mom comes from a beautiful part of Germany! My family and I spent many happy days on vacation in this part of Germany. 🙂 I’ve always liked the cuisine up north and you’re absolutely right up there adding raw onion is common. It’s a great addition and anyone who reads this comment should give it a try. Thank you for sharing.