Salads Archives | The Good Hearted Woman

Hot German Potato Salad {Kartoffelsalat}

Sweet, sour and deliciously savory, this traditional Hot German Potato Salad will make your tastebuds go Oom-pa-pa!

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My high school German teacher, Frau Müller, loved food, and often brought in German foods into class for us to try. She introduced us to exotic new-to-us delicacies like Butterkase (pronounced “booter-keh-zuh,” which literally means butter cheese), Kartoffelpuffer (German potato pancakes), and a profusion of buttery Bavarian pastries. But the one thing that stood out most for me was her traditional Kartoffelsalat – or Hot German Potato Salad.

In America, the earliest written recipes for potato salad appeared the mid-19th century. Culinary historians speculate that the combination of cooked potatoes, oil, vinegar, and herbs was introduced by German immigrants, who had a penchant for rich, sour-sweet combinations.

Hot potato salad, usually made with bacon, onion and vinegar dressing, soon became so closely associated with German immigrants that it was dubbed “German Potato Salad.”

Equally scrumptious hot or cold, German Potato Salad is a deeply satisfying blend of sweet, tangy, bacony goodness. Unlike traditional American potato salad, the German version is completely devoid of anything remotely mayonnaisey.

Over the years, this recipe has become a family favorite, and is now a time-honored Oktoberfest tradition at our house. It’s very easy to put together, and should be made ahead of time. I usually make it at least a day ahead to allow all the flavors to meld together, and then rewarm it to serve for our big Oktoberfest meal.

PRO TIP: We usually eat the leftovers cold… with our fingers… from the fridge. Because it’s soooo delicious. This makes a great picnic salad, too!

5 from 15 votes

German Potato Salad {Kartoffelsalat}

Sweet, sour and deliciously savory, this traditional Hot German Potato Salad will make your tastebuds go Oom-pa-pa!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Fridge Time (optional)1 d

Total Time1 d 1 hr

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Bavarian, German

Keyword: bacon, potato salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 195kcal

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

2 lbs red potatoes any waxy potato will work
6 slices bacon cut into small pieces (Get good, high quality bacon for this!)
1 medium red onion sliced thin
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar*
1/3 cup water
1 tsp celery seed optional
salt
pepper

Instructions

Cut potatoes into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes and put them into a medium saucepan. (Leave skins on.) Add enough water to cover the tops of the potato cubes. Cover and boil about 15 minutes, or until tender but still firm.

While potatoes are cooking:

Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and set aside, reserving bacon drippings.
Saute the onion in the reserved bacon drippings.
Turn the heat on the sauteed red onions down to medium low, and add vinegar, sugar, water and celery seed. Heat to a simmer and pour over hot potatoes. Make sure liquid and potatoes and both very hot when mixed together. Add cooked bacon pieces. Stir to combine.
Salt and pepper to taste, and then put into 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 325°.

Notes

German Potato Salad is always better the second day! Prepare it ahead of time and simply reheat (or serve cold) when you're ready to serve it.

Ingredient Notes:

VINEGAR: Plain vinegar works just fine too.

Vegetarian adaptation: Omit bacon. (Duh.) Saute onions in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and then proceed as directed. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup vegetarian bacon bits at the end. Honestly though, some things just aren't meant to be adapted for vegetarians, and Hot German Potato Salad may just very well be one of them.

Nutrition

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What's on Your Oktoberfest Menu?

Hot German Potato Salad

Sweet, sour and deliciously savory, this traditional Hot German Potato Salad will make your tastebuds go Oom-pa-pa!

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Rotkohl {German Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage}

Each mouthful of this traditional Prussian Rotkohl {German Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage} is a symphony of smokey, sweetly spiced notes with just a hint of sour for balance.

Rye Sourdough Spaetzle with Caramelized Cipollini & Sautéed Mushrooms

Perfect for Oktoberfest (or Any-fest!), the recipe for this amazing Rye Sourdough Spaetzle – with Caramelized Cipollini, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Tabasco Shallots – comes to us courtesy of Chef Ryan Mead.

Easy Apple Strudel {Apfelstrudel}

Fresh, crisp, and sweetly spiced, this Easy Apple Strudel {Apfelstrudel} is fancy enough for the most elaborate Oktoberfest menu, yet simple enough for any night of the year.

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UPDATE NOTICE: Originally Posted October 2, 2014.]

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Favorite Layered Taco Salad {Vintage Recipe Redux}

April 1 By Renée ♥ 14 Comments

Easy and economical, this beautiful layered taco salad is deliciously satisfying and always a crowd-pleaser!

“You don’t have to have anything in common with people you’ve known since you were five. With old friends, you’ve got your whole life in common.”

– Lyle Lovett

Standing: Julie, Jodi, Marilee, Linda, Kathy & Tracy | Sitting: Kay, Lurissa, Terry & Me

Julie and I first met in kindergarten, and although she lives on the opposite side of the country now and we haven’t seen one another face-to-face for probably two decades, I still (and always will) count her among my dearest friends.

My mother was a working mom in an era when most moms weren’t, and I often went over to Julie’s house after school. In those early, tender years, we spent countless hours together – most often playing house, or school, or our favorite, “Little Princess.”

I loved going over to Julie’s house. She had two brothers, a sister, a black lab named Licorice, and a little cat named Twinkles. Twinkles was almost always pregnant or taking care of a litter, so there were often kittens to play with. Julie’s mother was young and beautiful, and in my memory, she always had warm cookies waiting for us when we came home from school. She was patient in a way no other mother I knew was, and her melodic voice with its soft Polish accent only added to her enchantment. Julie’s father had a quick smile and looked like a business suit model in the Sears Roebuck catalog, and he spoke with a quiet assurance that always made me feel safe.

In second grade, Jules and I were in Blue Birds together, and our moms were our group leaders. (Blue Birds was the junior organization to the Camp Fire Girls, now Camp Fire.) That year, Julie’s dad, who worked at the Frito-Lay plant in Portland, took us all on a tour of the Doritos factory.

Now you may not know it, but it was Frito-Lay who introduced America to the first mass-produced flavored tortilla chips – specifically, Taco-flavored Doritos – in 1967. So let’s just say this all happened sometime after that… in an era before mandatory hairnets and plexiglass partitions and booties in food production rooms were the norm.

It was also a time when a major food company would be totally cool with it if you were to lead a dozen or so eight-year-olds out onto their production floor, with its whirring, clanking machinery and endless conveyor belts, to show them first-hand how the chips get made.

Which is exactly what Julie’s dad did.

I still remember feeling dwarfed by all those monstrous machines; the orange-gold chips tumbling down onto the conveyor, and the thick, heady scent of freshly toasted corn and exotic taco seasonings melding together.

As we gathered around and listened to him explain the chip-making process, Julie’s dad invited us to sample some chips, and he pointed to the conveyor belt. We all reached out and caught up handful as they ferried by, and as I bit the corner of one orange-colored triangle and crunched its warm, spicy deliciousness, I wished I had been brave enough to grab more.

At the end of our tour, Julie’s dad gave us each a little bag full of Frito-Lay products: Doritos, Fritos, and the like, and a little advertising cook booklet to give to our mom. When we got home from the field trip, my mom filed the little cook booklet in our kitchen cupboard alongside a collection of other similar handouts. At some point, I took it from the cupboard and kept it as my own, and it has held a special place in my recipe collection ever since.

Every time I see that worn little booklet, I think of Julie and that field trip, and those warm, delicious chips.

Which brings me to today’s recipe.

Favorite Layered Taco Salad {Vintage Recipe Redux} 🌮 🥗 Easy and economical, this beautiful layered taco salad is deliciously satisfying and always a crowd-pleaser! #tacosalad Click To Tweet

NOTE: This post is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Frito-Lay. (But if anyone there reads it and is interested in seeing more, feel free to reach out! 😉)

By definition, most of the recipes in this vintage advertising booklet are simply branded twists on late-20th-century favorites: casseroles, Salisbury steak, fried chicken, and so forth. A few are combinations that lunchroom kids figured out long before Frito-Lay thought to write them down, like cheesy Frito hot dogs (“Glamour Dogs”) and crunchy chip-filled sandwiches. And at least one – “Chili Pie Casserole” – has transcended the plate and become the stuff of childhood memories, known more commonly among the junior camping crowd as “Walking Tacos” or “Frito Pie.”

Walking Tacos aside, the “Southwest Salad Bowl” recipe is the only one I’ve ever made from this cook booklet, and the one upon which my Favorite Layered Taco Salad is based.

Your Favorite Taco Salad {Vintage Recipe Redux} | The Good Hearted Woman

Here’s a shot of the original recipe, complete with dog-ear and random splatters of taco salads past.

This layered taco salad seems to have amazing crowd appeal: it is always a hit when I take it to parties and potlucks! You can dress it up pretty or just throw it together – it’s great either way.

Vintage Taco Salad Redux

Over the years, I’ve made many changes and adaptations to the original “Southwest Salad Bowl.” Be sure to scroll down and read the ingredient suggestions listed below the recipe.

5 from 1 vote