This vegan German potato salad is a classic summer side dish. Cooked potatoes tossed with sautéed onions, vegan bacon, and fresh herbs in a vinegary dressing, this salad is packed with flavor. Served warm or cold, it's sure to be a hit!
Unlike classic creamy vegan potato salad, this German-style potato salad does not have a mayonnaise base but instead uses an oniony vinegar-based dressing to flavor the potatoes.
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❤️ This potato salad is
- authentic tasting.
- easy to make.
- gluten-free and dairy-free.
- great for picnics, potlucks, or meal prep!
- absolutely delicious!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Potatoes - You can use any type of potato that you want for this potato salad, but I like to use red or yellow potatoes so that I don't have to peel them.
- Onions - You can use any type of onion that you have.
- Oil - you can use any neutral flavored oil that you want like canola oil or light olive oil.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Smoked Paprika - for a smoky bacon-like flavor. Traditional recipes call for cooking the onion in bacon grease, so I use oil, salt, and smoked paprika to simulate that flavor.
- Vinegar - you can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Vegetable Broth - to flavor the dressing. You can use any type of vegan broth or simply use water instead.
- Sweetener - vegan sugar or any vegan sweetener that you like will work. You can use organic sugar, agave nectar, or maple syrup. This cuts the acidity of the vinegar a little. Feel free to omit the sweetener completely.
- Brown Mustard - to flavor the dressing. You can use any type of mustard that you want, but the spicy brown or seasoned give it more flavor.
- Vegan Bacon - I like to use my homemade vegan bacon bits since they are already in small pieces, but you can also cut up vegan bacon, tempeh bacon, or even mushroom bacon.
- Fresh Herbs - I like parsley and green onions, but you can also use fresh dill.
🥄 How to make vegan German potato salad
Step 1 - Dice potatoes into small chunks and boil them in salted water until they are soft.
Step 2 - While the potatoes are boiling, peel and dice a medium-sized onion and toss it in a frying pan with 3 tablespoons of oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
Step 3 - Saute the onion over low heat for about 7-10 minutes until it turns translucent. (Cooking the onions over low heat will bring out the sweetness and help to flavor the dressing.)
Step 4 - Add vinegar, broth, sugar, and mustard to the onions and simmer for 7 more minutes.
Step 5 - Toss in the cooked and drained potatoes and carefully mix them with the dressing.
Step 6 - Sprinkle with fresh herbs and vegan bacon bits. Serve either warm or cold.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Cook the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them, but don't overcook them or they will crumble when you mix them with the dressing.
- Add the vegan bacon at the end so it doesn't get soggy. You may want to serve it with bacon bits on the side so that they stay super crispy.
🧈 How to make it oil-free
You can sauté the onion in 3 tablespoons of additional broth instead of the oil for an oil-free German potato salad.
🥡 Storage
Refrigerate: This vegan German potato salad will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container. I don't recommend freezing it, so you may want to cut the recipe in half if you don't think you can eat it all in a few days.
🌟 More summer salads
- Vegan Chickpea Salad
- Vegan Pasta Salad
- Citrus Salad with Chickpeas
- Southwest Bean Salad
- Easy Creamy Vegan Coleslaw
- Vegan Bean Salad Recipes
- Vegan Pesto Orzo Salad
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan German potato salad recipe
Vegan German Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups potatoes cubed (about 3 lbs.)
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil or any other neutral-flavored oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup vinegar
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown mustard
- 1/2 cup vegan bacon bits
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/3 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- Dice potatoes into small chunks and boil them in salted water until they are soft.
- While the potatoes are boiling, peel and dice a medium-sized onion and toss it in a frying pan with 3 tablespoons of oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Saute the onion over low heat for about 7-10 minutes until it turns translucent. (Cooking the onions over low heat will bring out the sweetness and help to flavor the dressing.)
- Add vinegar, broth, sugar, and mustard to the onions and simmer for 7 more minutes.
- Toss in the cooked and drained potatoes and carefully mix them with the dressing.
- Sprinkle with fresh herbs and vegan bacon bits.
- Serve either warm or cold.
Notes
- Cook the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them, but don't overcook them or they will crumble when you mix them with the dressing.
- Add the vegan bacon at the end so it doesn't get soggy. You may want to serve it with bacon bits on the side so that they stay super crispy.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
My mom used to make this when I was a kid. The taste brought me back to summer picnics. Thanks for the recipe, it was delicious!
My mom used to make it too! Glad that you liked it, Joellen. 🙂
This look delicious, and thanks for the measurement for sautéing in vegetable broth!!
Also, several years ago I came across the best news I’d had in forever! A tip to use frozen diced breakfast potatoes for potato salad. Microwave the potatoes in the bag six minutes a side, dump them into a bowl and add your fav ingredients! What a time saver! I never mess with boiling and dicing potatoes. It allows you to add potato salad last minute to any meal!!
Great idea for using the frozen potatoes! Cutting and peeling is always the hardest part of any potato dish! 🙂