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bowl of creamy potato salad
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5 from 8 votes

Creamy German Potato Salad (Cremiger Kartoffelsalat)

My Oma Sieghilde’s creamy mayo-base potato salad 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. When I spend time in Germany in the summers, it's a must have for grilling outside, served with grilled German bratwurst, Schwenkbraten and baguette!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Potato Resting Time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 50 minutes
Course: BBQ, Dinner, Entertaining, Grilling, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: German
Keyword: Creamy German potato salad, Creamy potato salad recipe, german potato salad recipe, How to make German potato salad, What is german potato salad
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 413kcal

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
  • salt, pepper, sugar to taste
  • 250 grams mayonnaise
  • 5 eggs
  • 4 Wiener sausages I usually order mine from this German sausage company. I have also used these jarred Wiener sausages before.
  • 200 grams pickles I love using the German barrel pickles by the Hengstenberg brand (you can find it at World Market), but when I don't have them, I use Grillo's pickle chips and chop them up.

Garnish

  • parsley chopped
  • 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. To bring down the cooking time, you can cut up the potatoes before boiling, leaving the skin on. 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 medium consistency (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 7 minutes and 22 seconds (yes, I tested this). 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 before folding 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
  • Combine with 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
  • This salad keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge and is perfect when served as leftovers with sandwiches or on its own.

Notes

This German potato salad feeds a crowd! This makes it perfect to bring to a cookout, potluck or family dinner. When cooking for our family (2 adults and 2 kids), I cut the recipe in half and still end up with plenty of leftovers.
I love using this recipe as a side for outdoor Raclette (yes, you read that right) served with bite-sized Schwenkbraten grilled on the raclette grill! It's such a perfect combination!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 839mg | Potassium: 1031mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 318IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg