Authentic German Potato Salad
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This authentic German potato salad recipe known as Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat is what you will find served in restaurants throughout the country and is made with broth, vinegar, oil, and a dash of mustard of sugar. This remains my favorite potato salad and is made just the way my Mutti and Oma always made it!
I’m a huge potato salad fan and I enjoy it in all its varieties. But my all-time favorite is German potato salad like the kind I grew up with in the Swabia region of Southern Germany: Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat. I’m also the ultimate critic when it comes to potato salads. I’ve probably eaten Swabian potato salad a couple of hundred different times throughout my life in Germany and I will tell you, not all potato salads are created equal, that’s for sure. Hands down the best versions I’ve had were served in southern German restaurants. For any of you who have lived in or visited that area of Germany, you know exactly what I’m talking about: You just can’t beat that restaurant-style Swabian potato salad.
There is one exception to this: My mom’s Swabian potato salad comes closer to the restaurant versions than any others I’ve had. (She also makes the best mayonnaise-based potato salad and it’s her recipe that inspired my Classic Potato Salad.) And so I’ve taken my mom’s German potato salad recipe and have made just a few tweaks replicate that perfect German restaurant quality flavor and texture. And I’m confident you’re going to love the results as much as we do!
Key German Potato Salad Ingredients
The ingredients in a traditional Swabian potato salad recipe are few and simple, but there are a few tricks that are absolute musts for getting it right. Here are the key ingredients:
- The right potatoes: This is the biggest challenge here in the U.S. In Germany you can find potatoes that you simply cannot find here. Unlike Russet potatoes, for example, which are flaky, mealy, and generally flavorless, the kind used in potato salads in Germany are firm, deep yellow in color, buttery and flavorful. And they keep their shape well. The closest you can get to those here are Yukon Gold potatoes and those are the ones I recommend for this recipe. Also, be sure to boil the potatoes in their skins – don’t peel them first.
- Beef broth: There is no substitute, it must be beef broth. And it must be very strong beef broth. And it must be hot when you pour it over the potatoes so they soak it up. Make sure you let the potatoes sit for at least a full hour after you pour the broth over.
- German mustard: I know the recipe doesn’t call for much, but it must be German mustard (mild) if you want it to taste the way it’s supposed to. The kind I use in most of my German recipes is the Alstertor Düsseldorf Style Mustard (click link for convenient access on Amazon).
- Vinegar: No apple cider or balsamic vinegar. It needs to be the strong white vinegar. A vinegar very commonly used in Germany for this salad and salad dressings is called Essig Essenz (can also be found in some Asian grocery stores – Koreans like to use it for kimchi). It’s super concentrated vinegar and you only need a very little of it. If you have access to this vinegar, you would add just a teaspoon or two in addition to the white vinegar, and reduce the amount of white vinegar accordingly. Of course you’ll always want to do a “taste test” before pouring the final mixture over the potato salad.
- Onions: You want them crunchy but not overly so, and you want them saturated with flavor. So add them to the beef broth/vinegar mixture when you heat it up.
- Oil: Lots of it. In olden days homemade beef broth would be used which contained plenty of fat. Nowadays we mostly use store-bought broth in cans or beef bouillon cubes/granules which are all void of fat. So adding oil is absolutely essential to achieving the right texture. As my German mom says, Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat needs to be “schmalzig”. Use a neutral-tasting oil. Germans typically use either rape seed oil (Rapsöl) or sunflower oil.
Pro Tip: The longer the potato salad sits, the better it will taste. I recommend making it the day before and letting it sit in the fridge until the next day. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
German Potato Salad Recipe
Let’s get started!
Select small Yukon Gold potatoes that are uniform in size. Scrub the peels and boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until tender when pierced with a fork. Do not overcook – you don’t want them mushy. Let them cool down until you’re able to handle them and peel them while they’re still warm.
Slice the potatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices.
Put the potatoes in a large glass mixing bowl and set aside. (Don’t use metal or it will react with the vinegar.)
Add the beef broth, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and white pepper to a medium saucepan and stir to combine.
Add the chopped onions to the broth mixture and quickly bring it to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling remove it from the heat.
Pour the onion/broth mixture over the potatoes, cover with plastic wrap or a large plate and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour. Then pour the oil over the potatoes and carefully stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The flavor of this Swabian-Style German potato salad only gets better over time and this tastes best the next day.
It’s best served at room temperature.
Enjoy!
For more traditional German recipe be sure to try my:
- Rouladen
- Sauerbraten
- Schweinshaxe
- Spätzle
- Käsespätzle
- Semmelknödel
- German Potato Dumplings
- German Goulash
- Kartoffelpuffer
- Königsberger Klopse
- German Sauerkraut Soup
- Senfbraten
- Schnitzel
- Jägerschnitzel
- Maultaschen
- German Potato Soup
- Frikadellen
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Authentic German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds small firm, yellow-fleshed waxy potatoes (e.g. Yukon Gold) of similar size, skins scrubbed and peels left on
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water mixed with 4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules (Vegans: use vegetable bouillon)
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- a few splashes of Essig Ezzenz , (highly recommended for the best, authentic flavor)
- 3/4 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons mild German mustard (If you can't get it, use regular yellow mustard)
- 1/3 cup neutral-tasting oil
- Fresh chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in their skins in lightly salted water until tender. Allow the potatoes to cool until you can handle them. Peel the potatoes and slice them into 1/4 inch slices. Put the sliced potatoes in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add onions, beef broth, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and pour the mixture over the potatoes. Cover the bowl of potatoes and let sit for at least one hour.
- After at least one hour, gently stir in the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. If too much liquid remains, use a slotted spoon to serve. Serve garnished with fresh chopped chives. Serve at room temperature. Note: This potato salad is best the next day (remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before serving).
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet May 9, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Perhaps not authentic Schwäbischer, I made it mit Speck, using red onion, grated rather than chopped.
Based on “use what you have or can get,” I used:
White rose potatoes – readily available, cheap, and better texture & flavor than russet
Red onions -sweeter than yellow
Dijon mustard – no Dusseldorf mustard, so use French:)
Slab bacon – very smoky
Apple cider vinegar – not per recipe, but I prefer the flavor.
Add Wyler’s beef granules to the beef broth, to make it stronger.
Parsley for garnish
Peak flavor @ 2 days – taters have absorbed the maximum broth. Salat is good hot or cold at that point. To serve it Sunday, make it Friday..
Great with barbecued pork shoulder and sweet & sour Rotkohl, just like my Mom used to make.
Danke, Kimberly.
That sounds great, Herman! And agreed, this potato salad is better after it has sat for minimum one day. Thanks for the feedback!
No, its not yakitori. I think this particular one was down to the talent of the chef. A side street restaurant in Sydney full of Japanese, which was pretty unusual in the 80’s. They barbecued chicken maryland, in some kind of marinade – I guess soy sauce and mirin, etc. The usual suspects. It was cooked so perfectly and with a little of the sauce they made was just great. However, tracking your recipe down has given me a clue. Mein deutsch ist not too good, but I remembered the place I had the fantastic Kartoffelsalat – the Augustiner Klosterwirt in Munich, and in the process of dissecting the menu with the help of google translate, I landed on your site. So I think I’ll just ask some of my Japanese friends who were running restaurants in those days how they did it. Ah, the wonders of the internet.
This is brilliant. I spent some time eating everything all over southern Germany some years ago and of all the great food I tasted this is the one I have thought of and tried to recreate so many times. It’s one of only a few recipes I found too hard to replicate. Now you have given me the solution. Thanks so much. Don’t suppose you can help me solve the problem of that magical Japanese barbecued chicken I had in Sydney back in 1986?
Thanks, Mark, I hope you enjoy this potato salad, please let us know what you think when you try it. Do you mean a recipe for chicken yakitori? I don’t currently but that’s a good idea :)
Great recipe! One additional tip – my grandmother, from Stuttgart, said the onions have to chopped extremely fine, and that they should be soaked in the oil to soften (einweichen). That way they are still a bit crunchy, but not such a “raw” texture.
Thanks, Ginger! Yes, that’s the purpose of briefly boiling the onions in the broth, to partially soften them while retaining some crunch.
Thanks for your efforts to duplicate the “echter schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat”. It’s about as close as one can come over here in the USA. All that is missing is the atmosphere in the German restaurant!
Thank you, Hannelore! I agree, you can’t replicate the atmosphere – we’ll just have to close our eyes while we’re eating and imagine we’re there :)
When you say ,,mild” does mittlescharf mustard work?
Hi Jonah, mittelscharf is medium hot so it may give the potato salad a slight kick. Nothing wrong with that, it just comes down to personal preference.
Oh my goodness, what a find! I, too, am from Stuttgart. I’ve been in the US for 33+ years and lately, I’ve felt quite nostalgic for some of my childhood favorites. I’m not much of a cook, but this sounds simple enough that even I can make it – I can’t wait to try it.
Wonderful, Ingrid, I hope you enjoy this taste of home :) Please let us know what you think once you’ve tried it!
my mom makes a potato salad that makes everybody say yum.Shes also german but its very different in that she adds mustard and kosher dill pickles ,and parsely finely ground and not alot of mayo just enough for the texture .It also tastes better a day or two later at room tempurature
Hi Ruth, thanks for sharing. Yes, there are many variations of potato salad throughout Germany and each region makes it differently.
I’ve been searching how to make this and I think your recipe is the most authentic. It was soo good. The only thing I would change is using fresh beef broth if possible. I used Guldens brown mustard- hopefully it tasted close to the real thing in southern Germany. Thank you!
Fantastic, Tony, thanks so much!
I made this, and it was delicious! Thanks for providing the recipe. I was psyched to find the recommended mustard at a local store. One hint for all: if you haven’t yet tried “Better Than Bouillon,” do yourself a favor and pick up a jar. Far superior to bouillon cubes or granules or any box stock.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nick, thank you!
I lived in Schwaebisch Gmuend in 1969 as a military wife and learned to make the kartoffelsalet from a friend that made it in her fathers restaurant. I have made this for my family for many years and have used the essig found in a local speciality food store. I was told the vinegar that my friend used was made with grapes and not apples like in the U. S. I also use Knorr brand boullian cubes. I recently found a Greek brand vinegar that was made in Bavaria that was the same. I will try the Essig Essenz since the availability here for the German brand essig is hard to find lately. Thank you so much for the recipe that is just like the one I have used for so many years. And I agree everyone’s recipe is different just like here in the U. S. But yours is just what I remember.
Thanks for sharing, Deanie. Yes, Knorr and Maggi are the brands most typically used in Germany and Essig Essenz is also pretty standard there. Agreed, the latter tastes very different than the stuff you find here.
Love the recipe. Very similar to my mother in laws. Her mother was from the same region in Germany you are from. Thanks. My family loves it!
Thanks, Kathy! :)
I made this yesterday and enjoyed it very much today! Lived in Uhingen, Germany for several years and love the potato salad I enjoyed there. At the local butcher shop they added a dash of Maggi seasoning to the salad. Yum. I may add a bit of endive to some of this salad for a well remembered treat. (You have to wash it, soak in very warm water for a bit, drain completely and slice up very fine and add to the salad. Yum!) Thanks so much for sharing your lovely recipe. Brought back so many wonderful memories.
Thanks so much, Catherine, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Nice Recipe. I love this salad a lot which I knew in Stuttgart. I am eager to apply your recipe and see the results. Thank you so much for your detailed explanation and advises to get the real schwäbisch tase of Kartoffel Salat :)
Thanks so much, Yosra!
Nice recipe, but a bit heavy-handed on the white pepper. Added a bit more Essig Essenz, mustard, and salt than was called for… Nice and authentic, reminds me of my childhood. Danke!
Bitte, Ben!