German Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Best Potatoes for Potato Salad

For making potato salad, you want a waxy potato, not a starchy one. Waxy potatoes like small red potatoes and Yukon Golds hold their shape when boiled and tossed with the warm bacon dressing. Avoid starchy potatoes like russets. They’re better suited for something like roasted garlic mashed potatoes where that starchiness works in your favor. Here, they’ll fall apart the moment that warm vinaigrette hits them.

I prefer small red potatoes for this German potato salad recipe. And one more thing: leave the skins on. They add color, a little texture and save you a step. Win, win and WIN!

Here’s everything else you’ll need:

• Bacon: The star of the show and the base of the dressing. Eight slices get chopped and cooked until crispy, then set aside. Don’t wipe out the pan. Every drop of those drippings goes into the dressing.
• Yellow onion: They’re sweeter and milder than white onions, which means they soften beautifully in the bacon drippings without overpowering the dressing. Red onion is too sharp and will compete with the vinegar.
• Apple cider vinegar: Don’t substitute white vinegar here. Apple cider vinegar has a rounder, fruitier flavor that plays beautifully with the bacon fat and mustard. I wouldn’t recommend red or white wine vinegar either. Both are too sharp for this dressing.
• Whole grain mustard: My secret ingredient and what sets this recipe apart from most German potato salads, which call for Dijon. I love the added texture and slightly more complex flavor whole grain mustard brings. Those little mustard seeds make this salad look as good as it tastes. Dijon works as a substitute if that’s what you have, but you’ll lose that textural element.
• Sugar: I know it seems odd to add sugar to a savory dressing, but just like my turkey salad, it helps balance the acidity of the vinegar. Trust me on this one. One taste and I guarantee you’ll never leave it out.
• Fresh chives: Stirred in at the very end for a pop of color and a fresh, mild oniony finish.

How to Make German Potato Salad

Add the potatoes whole and unpeeled to a large pot of well-salted water. Don’t skip the salt. It seasons the potatoes from the inside out as they cook. Boil until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when a fork slides in with no resistance, not just at the skin but all the way through to the center.

Drain the potatoes and spread them out on a cutting board to cool completely before cutting into quarters. Warm potatoes are fragile and will fall apart when you cut them, so patience pays off here.

Success tip: You want to toss the potatoes with the warm dressing while they’re at room temperature, not ice cold from the fridge and not piping hot from the pot. Room temp potatoes absorb the dressing like a sponge. This is the step that separates a good German potato salad from a great one.

Warm Bacon Dressing

While the potatoes cool, it’s time to make the star of this side dish: the warm bacon dressing. Start by cooking the bacon until crispy and all the fat has rendered. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and whatever you do, don’t wipe out the pan. Those drippings left behind are the foundation of the dressing.

Add the onions and cook in the drippings until soft and translucent, then stir in the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and water. Simmer the dressing until it has reduced to about one cup. A properly reduced dressing is concentrated and glossy and will coat every piece of potato rather than pooling at the bottom of your serving bowl.

Pour the warm dressing over the potatoes, add the crispy bacon and toss to combine. Stir in the chives and serve immediately while the bacon dressing is still warm.

Hot, Warm or Cold: How Should You Serve It?

One of my favorite things about this recipe: it’s just as delicious warm, at room temperature or straight from the fridge. Traditionally German potato salad is served warm when the dressing is freshly made and the bacon is crispy, but if I’m bringing this to a potluck or barbecue I’ll serve it room temp.

Making it ahead and stashing it in the fridge overnight lets the flavors deepen and the dressing concentrate in the best possible way. Just note that the potatoes will absorb salt as they sit, so give it a quick taste right before serving and add a pinch more if needed.

If you’re serving this as part of a summer BBQ spread, this German potato salad goes with just about everything. Try it alongside chicken schnitzel, flank steak or oven baked ribs, with a basket of pretzel rolls on the side for soaking up every last drop of that warm bacon dressing. And for dessert? Fresh peach cupcakes or the easiest-ever ice cream cake would be a perfect finale. However you serve it, I guarantee it will be the first bowl emptied.