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Skillet German Potato Salad is a scrumptious easy skillet recipe with a cider vinegar dressing, crisp bacon, sweet onion and fresh parsley. We love to serve this with Oven Baked Barbecue Beef Brisket or Dry Rub Sweet Barbecue Pork Tenderloin

You certainly don’t have to be German to enjoy this potato salad. It is darn near the best potato recipe I have ever made. So savory and full of so much flavor. You can boil the potatoes and mix the dressing ahead of time. That leaves more time to concentrate on the rest of the meal or your cocktail. Believe me I have tweens here so cocktails are a necessity not an option!!

The first time I made this my husband said “Oh my goodness what are you doing to the potato salad.” I told him “I am putting it in the skillet to crisp the edges and to make the flavors more intense.” He loved it. He said “Who would have thought that would work out so well.” I said “You don’t know unless you try something new.” So this traditional style German Potato Salad gets a bit of a twist by way of a hot skillet with a little bacon grease. This recipe is best served warm right out of the skillet.

How do you make Skillet German Potato Salad?

First parboil the potatoes, drain well and cut into bite size chunks. Cook the bacon in the oven until it is crispy and then chop coarsely. Reserve the bacon fat from the baking sheet. Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, water, olive oil and Dijon mustard.

Add 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat to a large skillet. Add the chopped onions and cook a couple of minutes. Spoon in the potatoes and cook until crispy on the edges. Drizzle in the vinegar dressing in three parts cooking one to two minutes between each part. Stir in the chopped bacon and parsley. Serve immediately.

What makes German Potato Salad different from American Potato Salad?

German potato salad dressing is usually vinegar based with bacon and served warm. While most American based potato salad dressings are mayonnaise, mustard or sour cream based and served cold. Both are delicious albeit quite different.

Recipe notes and helpful tips

Red potatoes are best in this potato salad. They are a little waxy and they keep their shape well.
To parboil the potatoes place in large pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a light boil. Boil for 7-10 minutes for small potatoes and 12-15 for large potatoes. Plunge the potatoes into cold water to stop the cooking process. This process can be done up to several days in advance
The dressing can be mixed up to several days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To get your potatoes nice and crispy do not stir too often. Just let them cook undisturbed for several minutes. If necessary set yourself a timer so you don’t stir too much.
Don’t add the bacon and parsley until after the dressing has been added and you are ready to serve.

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This post was originally published August 19, 2016 and was republished March 30, 2019 with new content.