My Oma Sieghilde’s creamy mayo-base potato salad ('cremiger Kartoffelsalat' in German) with lots of dill pickles, eggs, Wiener sausages, and (you guessed it) plenty of potatoes, makes a great contribution to an outdoor or indoor outing with family and friends. Whether I'm in Germany or not, it's a must-have for grilling outside, served with bratwurst and freshly baked bread! 67 percent of Germans prefer potato salad as a side for grilling.
What Is German potato salad?
German Potato Salad comes in many different varieties. In America, the most known version is this Bavarian potato salad with oil and vinegar. This version is also super popular at Oktoberfests and in some regions, it's served warm. But the creamy potato salad that my grandma always made is my favorite! Anytime we would grill out, she would make a big batch of it. The only difference between hers and mine is that she did not like raw onions, so she left them out.
How to make German potato salad
German Potato Salad like this creamy version is super easy to make! The creaminess in this salad comes from the mayo and broth-based dressing. The preparation method is similar to the Bavarian version. The only is that it starts on the stove by warming up the broth with pickle juice, vinegar, mustard, and a little sugar, salt, and pepper. Then after marinating the salad ingredients like boiled potatoes, onions, pickles, eggs, and Wiener sausages (the best Wieners are from Schaller & Weber!), the creamy mayo gets mixed in. I like garnishing my potato salad with more egg slices and some parsley or microgreens.
It's ideal to boil your potatoes the day before making your salad, so they're easier to slice. That being said, I have also been in a hurry before and even peeled and sliced the potatoes while hot, and while the slices did not hold up as well, the salad tasted and turned out just fine. What's most important is to use 'waxy potatoes,' such as Yukon Gold potatoes in America.
Ingredients
The following are the ingredients I always use in my
- Waxy potatoes like Yukon gold potatoes in America. This kind of potatoes hold together better and taste creamier than 'mealy' or 'starchy' potatoes such as Russet potatoes.
- Onions. I use yellow onions and dice them finely. Sorry, Oma - she did not like raw onions.
- Vegetable or chicken broth works in this potato salad recipe. You will warm it up with some of the other dressing ingredients before folding in the mayo after cooling it down.
- Pickle juice from your pickle jar.
- White wine vinegar. You could use apple cider vinegar instead if you don't have white wine vinegar.
- Dijon mustard. I also like using mild to medium spicy German mustards. Schaller and Weber has a great Düsseldorf-style mustard that's not too spicy.
- Salt, pepper, sugar to taste. A pinch of sugar will be added to the broth and vinegar mixture to balance out the sour notes. As a natural sweetener, you could also use honey.
- Mayonnaise. The real and good stuff.
- Eggs. You'll need lots of them.
- Wiener sausages. Schaller and Weber makes the BEST Wiener sausages you can buy on this side of the Atlantic. They're made using an authentic Wiener sausage recipe and I haven't found any better. They're fully cooked and ready to use.
- Pickles. Schaller and Weber just started carrying iconic German pickles from Germany's Spreewald. Spreewaldgurken are the best quality pickles you can buy in Germany. They're perfectly crunchy and seasoned and I know you will love them too.
- Parsley. A little parsley on top is optional, but it's a garnish you see a lot in German cuisine. I also love using microgreens whenever I want to mix it up.
What to do with leftovers
This German potato salad is the king of leftovers. You can store leftovers in your fridge for up to 5 days and enjoy them every time you open the fridge door.
What to eat with German potato salad
This salad makes a great side to go with any kind of grilled meats like the famous Schwenkbraten from Germany's Saarland region, Currywurst, homemade Bratwurst, sandwiches or pair it with my beer-battered cod recipe. And don't forget to make some German pull-apart sliders to make your grill feast complete.
German potato salad video
My creamy German potato salad is so easy to make, but if you don't believe me, here is a short video. It will help to get your appetite going!
Creamy German Potato Salad (Cremiger Kartoffelsalat)
Ingredients
- 2 kilograms waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold potatoes, you can cut them up into smaller pieces before boiling if you're low on time.
- 150 grams onions I use yellow onions
- 400 milliliters vegetable broth you can use chicken broth instead
- 100 milliliters pickle juice
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard Düsseldorf mustard from Schaller and Weber is super tasty and not too spicy.
- salt, pepper, sugar to taste
- 250 grams mayonnaise
- 5 eggs
- 4 Wiener sausages Schaller & Weber's Wiener sausages taste the most authentic!
- 200 grams pickles Try Schaller & Weber's amazing pickles from Germany's Spreewald.
Garnish
- parsley Chopped, optional. I also like using micro greens to garnish.
- 2 eggs boiled
- sliced pickles optional
Instructions
- Add potatoes with the skin still on to a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes completely. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until a fork inserts into the potatoes with ease, about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.Drain the potatoes and do not run cold water over them. I have found that this makes the potatoes fall apart more easily. Do this ideally the day before preparing the salad. That being said, don't worry if you just now read the instructions and are in a time crunch. I have also peeled the potatoes hot and sliced them and the salad turned out just fine! The slices may crumble okay a little more, but that is okay!2 kilograms waxy potatoes
- Then peel, leaving the potatoes whole, and keep cool and covered until ready to put together the salad. When ready to use, slice the potatoes into about ¼ inch thick slices and combine them in a bowl with the small diced onion.150 grams onions
- Boil your eggs to either medium or hard (making sure to boil a few additional eggs for garnish). Heat a pot of water until boiling. Carefully drop in the cold eggs using a spoon and boil for either 7 ½ minutes for medium or 9 minutes for hard. Medium boiled eggs will have a waxy yolk and hard boiled eggs will have a hard yolk. Drain and pour over cold water to stop the boiling process. Peel immediately under cold, running water, so the shell comes off more easily. Let them cool and dice (I cut the eggs I use as garnish into wedges.)5 eggs, 2 eggs
- Medium dice the pickles and Wiener sausages. Combine everything in a medium sized bowl.4 Wiener sausages, 200 grams pickles
- In a medium sized pot, combine broth, pickle juice, vinegar and mustard and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste (it should not be too sour or else grandma gets mad!). Let cool slightly, then pour over potato-onion mixture and let marinate for 10 minutes. Then stir in the mayo.400 milliliters vegetable broth, 100 milliliters pickle juice, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, 250 grams mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Add in the diced pickles, eggs and Wieners. Serve right away or keep cool in the fridge, and garnish with more eggs, pickle slices (optional) and parsley before serving.5 eggs, 4 Wiener sausages, 200 grams pickles, parsley, 2 eggs, sliced pickles
Anja
Fantastisches Rezept, welches beim ersten Mal direkt sehr gut gelungen ist. Perfekt für unseren traditionellen Weihnachtsabend in Nord-Canada.
Vielen Dank und frohes Fest!
PS: Ihre Großmutter wäre nicht froh, da ich mir erlaubt habe etwas mehr Gurkensäure hinzu zu geben.😉
dirndlkitchen
Hallo Anja! Das freut mich aber sehr, dass dir mein Kartoffelsalat gut geschmeckt hat! Und meine Oma wird dir schon vergeben 😉 GLG aus Kansas City! Sophie