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A Delicious Vegan German Potato Salad That Is Easy To Make!
Looking for a a great vegan German potato salad recipe? You are not alone – and we have got a really nice recipe for German potato salad without bacon!
Made from potatoes and onions and coated in simple flavors like mustard, vinegar, and oil, this warm potato salad recipe is super easy to make and it keeps well, too!
We’re big fans of potato salads and we know that many others are, too. Lisa grew up eating mainly creamy potato salad with some form of mayonnaise. Eric also grew up eating mainly creamy-based potato salads.
However, over the years, we’ve both developed a taste (and great appreciation) for vinegar-based potato salads.
Not only are vinegar-based potato salads lighter than those with mayo but vinegar-based potato salads are also better for barbecues (in the warmer weather).
Of course, that doesn’t stop us from enjoying creamy potato salad in the summer every once in a while!
Recipe Tips
Before you begin making this vegan German potato salad, you’ll need to think about the potatoes you use.
You need to use what we call “firm boiling potatoes” in German, i.e. potatoes that keep their shape and stay relatively firm when being boiled.
This is opposed to becoming completely mush out of the pot. So you’re looking more for a waxy type of potato such as yellow potatoes.
Recipe Substitutions
Originally, this Swabian potato salad is made with beef broth.
However, it’s also a super easy type of potato salad recipe to modify if you’re looking for an (almost) authentic version of a German potato salad without the animal products.
That’s why we made this recipe with vegetable broth instead of beef broth. The potato salad turned out really tasty so honestly no complaints here!
Speaking of Swabian Recipes: Delicious Spaetzle (German egg noodles) are from this region!
Storage Tips
As we mentioned above, this is a good salad for summer barbecues. This is because vinegar-based potato salads don’t turn bad (as fast) when out in the sun for a few hours.
This is also a warm German potato salad without bacon and the absence of meat means it’s a little more resilient to warm temperatures.
Of course, leftovers should still be refrigerated immediately after use. It’ll keep for up to three days but the potatoes may get more and more soggy as time passes so keep that in mind.
Related Recipes
Swabian potato salad is just one great German recipe that features potatoes or come in salad form. Check out these other great recipes:
- Creamy German Potato Salad – A creamy, German take on a classic summer cold salad
- German Tomato Salad – Our Tomatensalat recipe is fresh and simple to make!
- Dill Cucumber Salad – This slightly creamy German salad is loaded with fresh dill and sliced cucumbers
Vegan German Potato Salad (Swabian-Style)
This super easy German potato salad is both delicious and flavorful. Made from a base of oil and vinegar – and not mayo – this potato salad is vegan and makes a great side dish to a hearty main!
4.85 from 13 votes
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Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 – 6 Portions
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds potatoes, waxy (e.g. yellow potatoes)
- 1 medium to large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2/3 cup hot vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon mustard, medium-spicy
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- chives to garnish, optional
Instructions
Boil the potatoes with the skin on until they are just cooked. Make sure to use potatoes that are roughly the same size so that they’ll be done cooking at roughly the same time.
Remove the potatoes from the pot and let them cool for a few minutes until you can touch them without burning your hand.
Peel the warm potatoes and cut them into very thin slices. Don't worry if some of the slices break when you cut them – this is normal.
Place the potato slices into a bowl and mix them with the finely chopped onion.
In a small bowl, mix the hot vegetable broth, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper (do not add the oil yet!). If you use store-bought liquid vegetable broth, bring the broth to a boil in a small pot on the stove before using. Pour the hot mixture over the potatoes and onions, cover the bowl, and let it sit for around one hour.
After one hour, add the oil and more salt and/or pepper to taste. Gently stir the salad. Optional: garnish the potato salad with cut up chives before serving.
Notes
- It’s important that the broth is hot when poured over the potatoes as this allows the potatoes to better absorb the liquid. If you don’t make your own broth with hot water and vegetable cubes, it’s very important that you heat your store-bought liquid broth in a pot on the stove before using it.
- The broth you use should have a very strong flavor. If you use vegetable cubes, add more cubes than you usually would for 2/3 cup. If you use store-bought liquid vegetable broth, you might have to add slightly more salt and/or pepper.
- Swabian potato salad is usually served at room temperature or still slightly warm. There is no need to place the potato salad in the fridge for the hour that is is soaking up the broth. Just cover it and leave it out on the counter.
- A nice additional to this potato salad are some finely cut slices of an English cucumber.
- This recipe is very similar to the traditional recipe for Swabian potato salad. The only difference is the use of vegetable broth instead of beef broth. So, if you want to make a non-vegan version of this recipe, simply use beef broth instead of vegetable broth and follow all the other steps as shown above.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 254mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
