Warm Potato Salad Recipe with Bacon

This warm potato salad recipe with bacon features tender potatoes and crispy bacon with the most flavorful hot bacon salad dressing ever. German potato salad is a family favorite for cookouts, parties, barbecues, Oktoberfest, picnics and holidays.

This hot potato salad recipe features a full pound of tasty bacon because we love its amazing flavor so much. Oh, yeahhhhhh! It’s the perfect accompaniment to bratwurst, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, grilled meats and so much more.

It’s inspired by an old recipe and mouth-watering memories of the delicious German potato salad served at Don’s Cheese and Sausage Mart decades ago in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado.

If you love the way crispy bacon pairs with veggies to create incredible flavors, be sure to check out some of our other fave side dish recipes including Best Green Bean Casserole, Smoked Bacon Baked Beans, and Maple Bacon Carrots.

Ingredients and Substitutions

From top, these are the ingredients you’ll need to make this salad:

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 pounds potatoes of your choice – starchy potatoes like Russets, or waxy potatoes like red potatoes, baby potatoes and Yukon gold are all tasty choices!
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar. You can substitute white vinegar if that’s what you have on hand, but we especially like cider vinegar’s depth of flavor.
• Fresh chives (optional), for garnish. You can substitute chopped green onions if you like.
• 1 large yellow sweet onion, such as Vidalia. Feel free to use a white or red onion if you prefer.
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar – light or dark is fine
• 1 pound smoked bacon – regular or thick sliced, your choice!
• Not shown: 3/4 cup water

Equipment Needed

You probably have everything you need on hand to prepare this classic potato salad:

• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large skillet
• Cooking spoon
• Slotted spoon
• Whisk
• Paper towels
• Large bowl or serving dish

Step by Step Directions

First, chop the bacon and put it in a large skillet over medium heat.

Cook the bacon until it is golden brown, and use a slotted spoon to transfer to paper towels to drain. Remove skillet from heat. Drain excess grease if needed (here’s what to do with bacon grease), retaining about 3 tablespoons bacon drippings. Reserve.

Peel the potatoes and cut in bite-sized 1/4-inch slices. Try to keep the slices similar-ish in size.

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.

Cook over medium-high heat until water simmers and potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, heat the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet over medium heat.

Add the chopped raw onions in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring to blend, for 1 minutes. Add the water, regular and brown sugar, and vinegar, and whisk to blend. Continue cooking until mixture thickens.

Meanwhile, when the potatoes are tender, pour out the cooking water and drain potatoes in a colander.

Add the warm potatoes to the dressing along with the cooked bacon (reserve about 2 tablespoons crumbled bacon for garnish), and stir to combine.

Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped chives and remaining cooked bacon.

Pro Recipe Tips

Some recipes call for cooking the potatoes whole or quartered in boiling water, but in our experience this results in the outer edges of the potatoes being cooked more. This in turn leads to the potatoes breaking down when they are stirred with the dressing. Peeling and slicing them before boiling leads to the most perfectly cooked potatoes.

Try to slice the peeled potatoes in similarly-sized pieces for the most even cooking.

Start cooking the potatoes in cold water. This results in the most uniformly cooked potatoes.

After cooking, shake the potatoes in the colander and let them sit for a few minutes to dry a bit. This will allow them to absorb more of the delicious dressing.

Recipe Variations

This hot potato salad can easily be modified by adding different ingredients. These are some of our favorite add-ins:

Dill – Instead of garnishing the salad with chopped chives, use chopped sprigs of fresh dill to your taste. You can also add a little dill relish or finely chopped dill pickles if you wish.

Dijon mustard – Add 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard to the dressing at the same time you add the vinegar.

Celery Seed – Many traditional potato salads include a pinch of celery seed, which adds a touch of slightly bitter celery flavor which pairs well with the richness of the dressing. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds to the dressing when you add the vinegar and stir to blend.

Hard Boiled Eggs – Add three peeled, chopped hard-boiled eggs to the salad after tossing with the dressing.

For more ideas, check out our roundup of “15 Redskin Potato Salad Recipes with Bacon.”

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

To store leftovers, cool the salad to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container with a tightly sealing lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days. 

Leftover salad can be reheated in a covered, oven-safe dish at 325 degrees F until hot and bubbling, about 20-30 minutes depending on quantity. I prefer to reheat in the oven vs. the stovetop, because heating and stirring the salad in a saucepan tends to break up the potatoes.

How Long Can You Keep German Potato Salad in the Fridge?

While many recipes suggest that hot German potato salad can be safely refrigerated for up to 5 days, in our experience the salad tastes best when used within 3 days.

More Popular Bacon Side Dishes

If you love the flavor of tasty bacon, be sure to try these crowd-pleasing sides:

Best Bacon Deviled Eggs

Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese

Here’s the full, printable recipe:

Got questions? Just ask! I’m happy to help. Thank you for your support. – Eliza

Nutrition Disclaimer: All nutritional information shared on this site is an approximation. I am not a certified nutritionist, and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline.

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