Bacon-Filled Hot German Potato Salad Recipe - Unsophisticook (2024)

This hot German potato salad recipe is totally the BEST summer side dish. Guests will flip for the tangy apple cider vinegar & grainy mustard dressing, along with the crispy fried bacon bits. Serve it hot, warm, or even cold at your next cookout!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield®. The opinions and text are all mine.

Hot German Potato Salad

School’s out, soccer tryouts are in the books (successfully, yay!), and we’ve got one more day to go in our community garage sale — and then I am D-O-N-E, DONE.

It’s been a hectic few weeks, but I’m looking forward to hauling everything that doesn’t sell to the donate drop-off, followed by a cookout with friends to celebrate the start of summer!

LOW KEY is the theme for this gathering, because frankly, I have zero bandwidth for anything else at this point. We’re talking grilled brats, my family favorite German potato salad recipe, and maybe I’ll ask my girls to make some of these simple individual veggie cups that are always a BIG hit.

Beyond that, I’ll pick up some beer and, perhaps, a pound cake and fresh berries for dessert and call it a day.

Grilled Smithfield Brats + Yuengling Lager

The key to keeping a simple menu fresh and exciting is always in the details. Along with the German potato salad ingredients, we opted to pick up several packages of Smithfield Yuengling Traditional Lager Bratwurst sausages and buns. And of course, we also grabbed several 6-packs of Yuengling Traditional Lager to pair with them…

I mean, they go hand-in-hand, right? Each Smithfield brat is made with premium cuts of pork and a special blend of sweet and savory spices, then infused with real Yuengling Traditional Lager. A cold bottle of Yuengling lager to wash them down is practically a requirement.

I especially love these brats because you can forget about boiling them in beer before grilling them. Toss these babies right on the grill, and they come out juicy and flavorful every time!

Wanna try them for yourself? Smithfield Yuengling bratwurst sausages are available at your local Kroger. I always find them in the freezer case, but be sure to check the meat case as well. And if all else fails, the butcher counter always knows where they’re at.

Authentic German Potato Salad Recipe With Bacon

Now let’s switch gears to the recipe for German potato salad I mentioned. You’re definitely going to want to try this amazing side dish!

What is German potato salad? Oh, boy, if you’ve never had an authentic German potato salad, you are in for a TREAT… It’s very different kind of potato salad compared to the creamy potato salads you’re probably used to.

Known as Kartoffelsalat in German (or as my Hungarian great-grandmother would have called it, Krumplisaláta), it’s basically a fried potato salad. Hot red potatoes are tossed with a warm vinegar-based dressing that’s both sweet and tangy, thanks to a combination of apple cider vinegar, a little bit of sugar, and some coarse Dijon mustard.

Oh, and did I mention it’s filled with BACON?! Because it IS — lots and lots of crispy fried bacon pieces. PLUS the bacon fat is incorporated into the tangy dressing, as well. How can you go wrong with a bacon-filled warm potato salad recipe?

And if the smoky bacon wasn’t enough to get your attention, maybe learning just how easy my recipe for German potato salad is to make will…

How To Make German Potato Salad

Let’s start with the fact that you don’t even need to peel the potatoes! For best results, I like to use small red potatoes in this recipe. These thin-skinned waxy potatoes can be cooked whole or quartered in the case of larger ones.

Simply boil the potatoes until tender in just enough water to cover them (or steam them in your Instant Pot!). Then drain them in a colander. Allow the boiled potatoes sit until they’ve cooled just enough that you can handle slicing them into bite size chunks without burning your fingers off.

The luscious warm bacon dressing can be prepared in a large skillet while the potatoes are cooking. It’s simply a mixture of fried diced bacon, diced yellow onions cooked in the remaining bacon grease, some apple cider vinegar, sugar, coarse Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper.

Finally, the cooked still warm potatoes get tossed with the hot bacon dressing. This helps the tender red potatoes soak up all of the zingy flavor from the tangy vinegar dressing. Add in a healthy handful of chopped fresh parsley for subtle bright flavor and a pop of color, and it’s ready to serve!

Hot Cold Or Warm German Potato Salad?

There’s a bit of debate over whether the best German potato salad should be served hot, warm, or cold… Traditionally, German potato salad recipes are served hot or warm. But I say go with whatever works for YOU!

Freshly prepared German hot potato salad is totally amazing. But it’s often not practical to keep it hot at a gathering. If you have access to an outlet, a crock pot set on warm does the trick well. Though if not, no worries!

This potato salad is still super tasty warm, room temperature, or even cold. And since German-style potato salad is a vinegar-based potato salad without mayo in it, you don’t need to worry about spoilage in the summer heat! You know, like you do with a traditional American potato salad.

What To Serve With Bratwurst Sausages

If you’ve never been sure what to serve with bratwurst sausages at your cookouts, I can wholeheartedly recommend this easy German potato salad recipe. And I highly suggest doubling it, because it definitely WILL NOT LAST.

The combination of warm German potato salad and Smithfield Yuengling bratwursts, paired with the subtle sweet caramel flavor of an icy cold Yuengling lager, will knock your next cookout out of the park. Prost!

P.S. Don’t for one second think that this recipe for German potato salad is only good as a summer side. It’s a perfect side dish to make year round! We serve it with this pork and sauerkraut recipe every year on New Year’s Day and AND pretty much all year long…

Bacon-Filled Hot German Potato Salad

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

This hot German potato salad recipe is totally the BEST summer side dish. Guests will flip for the tangy apple cider vinegar & coarse Dijon mustard dressing, along with the crispy fried bacon bits. Serve it hot, warm, or even cold at your next cookout!

Ingredients

• 2.5-lbs. medium red potatoes, quartered
• 1 tablespoon salt, divided
• 1/2-lb. bacon, diced
• 1 heaping cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon coarse Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Place the quartered potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough cold water to just cover them.* Add 2 teaspoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until easily pierced by a fork, about 12-15 minutes. Drain the hot potatoes and set aside to cool slightly. When they are still warm but can be easily handled, cut into small pieces.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the bacon vinaigrette. Place the diced bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until browned and crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Leave the bacon drippings in the frying pan.
3. Add the diced onions to the pan, and cook over medium heat until they turn translucent and start to brown. Add the vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper to the sautéed onions. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the bite size potato chunks and bacon to the pan, and toss to coat. Turn off the heat and and fold in the chopped parsley.
5. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot (but warm and cold are fine, too).

Notes

*Instant Pot German Potato Salad

This recipe for German potato salad can also be made in your Instant Pot. Place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert and dump in the quartered red potatoes. Pour in 1.5 cups of water, and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Do a 5-minute NPR, and then vent any remaining steam.

After the potatoes are done cooking, you can make the warm dressing on the stovetop. Or set the Instant Pot to sauté and pick up with Step 2 to prepare the warm bacon dressing in the insert.

Storage: leftover German potato salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 231Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 1073mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 11g

Have you tried this recipe?

Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag it @unsophisticook and hashtag it #unsophisticook!

Find Smithfield Yuengling Bratwurst Sausages

You can purchase Smithfield Yuengling Bratwurst at your local Kroger. Be sure to follow @SmithfieldBrand and @YuenglingBeer for more ideas to #grilloutchillout this summer!