Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad)
Warm sliced waxy potatoes dressed while hot with mustardy broth, vinegar, oil and onion (no mayonnaise), the light southern German potato salad served all through Oktoberfest.
German (Bavarian) · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 20 min
~210 cal · 4g protein · 31g carbs · 7g fat · 4g fiber · 2g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In the south of Germany, potato salad has no mayonnaise. The Bavarian version dresses warm sliced waxy potatoes with hot broth, vinegar, mustard, oil and onion, then lets them rest so they drink up the dressing into something silky, tangy and light. It is a fixture of the Oktoberfest table and of everyday Bavarian meals, from a side for Wiener sausages to the classic partner for Wiesn chicken and schnitzel.
The trick is to pour the seasoned hot broth over the potatoes while they are still warm, so they absorb it rather than sitting in a puddle, and then to give them a proper rest. The longer you gently fold them, the creamier the salad becomes, without a spoon of mayonnaise in sight.
Because it is entirely plant-based, it is one of the easiest dishes to set out for a big, mixed table.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 kg waxy potatoes
250 ml vegetable broth, hot
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp medium German (or Dijon) mustard
3 tbsp (such as sunflower)
1 medium onion, finely diced
a small bunch chives, chopped
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Boil the unpeeled potatoes in salted water until just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, cool briefly, then peel and slice about 4 mm thick while still warm.
2
Warm the broth and whisk in the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.
3
Pour the hot dressing over the warm potato slices and fold gently. Cover and rest about 1 hour so the potatoes soak it up.
✎ Chef’s note
Dressing the potatoes while warm is what lets them absorb the broth into a silky salad rather than sitting in liquid.
4
Fold in the oil, onion and most of the chives, and season again to taste.
5
Serve at room temperature, scattered with the remaining chives, alongside chicken, sausages or schnitzel.
Bavarian Oktoberfest tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bavaria (Munich). Bavaria, in Germany's southeast with Munich at its heart, is the source of the food the wider world pictures as German: soft lye pretzels, roast pork knuckle with crackling, white sausages, and litre steins of beer in vast timber halls and shady beer gardens.
🗺️
Germany. Beyond beer halls, Germany is a land of serious regional home cooking, Swabian spätzle, Bavarian roasts, northern fish, and an unmatched bread and sausage culture. Hearty, seasonal, and built for cold winters, it prizes pork, potatoes, cabbage, and cured meats.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Germany
KäsespätzleFresh egg noodles scraped into boiling water, layered with alpine cheese and buried in crispy onions.
Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)The German pork schnitzel: a thin cutlet pounded flat, breaded in a loose golden crust, and fried until crisp, served with a wedge of lemon.
RinderrouladenThin beef rolled around mustard, bacon, onion, and pickle, braised into a deep gravy, Sunday dinner across Germany.
Browse all Germany recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Germany meal
Schwarzwälder KirschtorteDessert
Schweinshaxe (Roast Pork Knuckle)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad)?
Warm sliced waxy potatoes dressed while hot with mustardy broth, vinegar, oil and onion (no mayonnaise), the light southern German potato salad served all through Oktoberfest.
Where does Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) come from?
Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) is a German (Bavarian) dish from Bavaria (Munich), Germany.
Can Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad) take to make?
About 40 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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