Austrian and German Recipes/ Dinner/ Salad/ Side dish/ Summer Recipes

Austrian Potato Salad

26 April 2022 | Last Updated: 11 July 2024 By Aleksandra

This Austrian potato salad makes a delicious side dish. It’s made with potatoes and onions smothered in a tangy delicious sauce. Serve it with Wiener Schnitzel and cucumber salad for a perfect meal.

Austruan potato salad in a white bowl.

Ingredients

This is what you need to make this delicious potato salad:

Labeled ingredients for Austrian potato salad.
  • Potatoes – Best potatoes for a potato salad are waxy potatoes or all-purpose potatoes (white, red, fingerling, Yukon Gold). Do not use starchy/mealy potatoes, such as Russets, for this salad.
  • Red onion – you can also use yellow onion. Red adds a pop of color to the salad.
  • Beef broth – If you don’t have a good-quality beef broth, it’s better to use chicken broth.
  • For the dressing:
    • neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola oil or sunflower oil (not olive oil)
    • white wine vinegar – adds a sharp flavor to the dressing
    • sugar – it’s necessary – it balances the sourness from the vinegar
    • tarragon mustard – is traditionally used in this recipe and can be found in every grocery store in Austria. It tastes more mild and herby than Dijon mustard. You can use Dijon mustard instead but the salad will taste a little bit different.
  • to garnish: chives
  • you can add some caraway seed to the potatoes while they’re cooking.

How to make it step by step

Potatoes are being cooked in a pot. Beef broth in a small pot.

STEP 1: Wash the potatoes and add them to a pot (don’t peel them). Cover with water, salt the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Make sure to not overcook them (or they will fall apart).

STEP 2: While the potatoes are cooking, cook the broth in a small pot until reduced in half so you should end up with 2/3 cup of broth. Set aside.

Vinegar is being added to a beef broth in a pot. Salad dressing with onions in a pot.

STEP 3: If the broth got cold, heat it again until very hot, take off the heat. Add the vinegar, mustard, and sugar.

STEP 4: Whisk until combined. Add finely chopped red onion. Add the sauce to a large bowl.

Peeled and sliced potatoes on a chopping board. Oil is being added to a potato salad in a blue bowl.

STEP 5: When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and leave to cool down slightly – they should be cold enough to handle but still very warm.

Now you need to combine the sauce and the potatoes – both should be warm!

Peel one potato, cut it into slices and add to the sauce, stir with a wooden spoon. Repeat for the remaining potatoes, adding them to the sauce and stirring after every added potato. The salad will look soupy at first, but it will thicken.

Now leave the salad for 30 minutes to rest and stir it every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon. After this time the potatoes should absorb some of the sauce and the remaining sauce should thicken.

STEP 6: Add the vegetable oil, season the salad with salt and pepper, and stir everything together.

Garnish with finely chopped chives and enjoy!

Austrian potato salad in a white bowl.

Storage

This salad keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. The onions will become a little bit discolored but the flavor stays the same.

This salad tastes good warm and cold but I prefer it slightly warm.

What to serve it with

This salad tastes great with any kind of meat. You can serve it with:

A close up photo of Austrian potato salad served with schnitzel and cucumber salad on a beige plate.

Austrian Potato Salad

This Austrian potato salad makes a delicious side dish. It’s made with potatoes and onions smothered in tangy delicious sauce. Serve it with Wiener Schnitzel and cucumber salad for a perfect meal.
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Austrian potato salad in a beige bowl.
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5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 210kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs (900g) salad potatoes, preferably uniformly sized
  • 1 1/3 cups good quality beef broth or chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tarragon mustard or Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • chives to garnish

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Instructions

  • Wash the potatoes and add them to a pot (don't peel them). Cover with water, salt the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. Make sure to not overcook them (or they will fall apart).
  • While the potatoes are cooking, cook the broth in a small pot until reduced in half so you should end up with 2/3 cup of broth. Set aside.
  • When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and leave to cool down slightly – they should be cold enough to handle but still very warm.
  • If the broth got cold, heat it again until very hot, take off the heat. Add the vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Whisk until combined. Add finely chopped red onion. Add the sauce to a large bowl.
  • Now you need to combine the sauce and the potatoes – both should be warm!
  • Peel one potato, cut it into slices and add to the sauce, stir with a wooden spoon. Repeat for the remaining potatoes, adding them to the sauce and stirring after every added potato. The salad will look soupy at first, but it will thicken.
  • Now leave the salad for 30 minutes to rest and stir it every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon. After this time the potatoes should absorb some of the sauce and the remaining sauce should thicken.
  • Add the vegetable oil, season the salad with salt and pepper, stir everything together.
  • Garnish with finely chopped chives and enjoy! It tastes good warm and cold.

Notes

  • The best potatoes for a potato salad are waxy potatoes or all-purpose potatoes (white, red, fingerling, Yukon Gold). Do not use starchy/mealy potatoes, such as Russets, for this salad.
  • The potatoes should be uniformly sized – they will cook evenly.
  • Use neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola oil or sunflower oil, not olive oil.
  • If you don’t have a good-quality beef broth, it’s better to use chicken broth.
  • Tarragon mustard is traditionally used in this recipe and can be found in every grocery store in Austria. It tastes more mild and herby than Dijon mustard. You can use Dijon mustard instead but the salad will taste a little bit different.
  • Sugar is necessary to balance the sourness from the vinegar and mustard.
  • You can add some caraway seed to the potatoes while they’re cooking.
  • Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine austrian, German
Tried this Recipe? Rate the Recipe and tell us what you think in the Comments!

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11 Comments

  • Reply
    Joseph Feiertag
    15 March 2023 at 20:18

    5 stars
    This page has been very comforting to me. All of my old Austrian family elders are now gone, the last Austrian descendant, (besides my mother) has passed November 2021. My Dante and I were very close and were the only family members who would share old family favorite recipes. And recently I have decided to put together old family favorite recipes and share with the younger generations of the Austrian family. I was amazed how many recipes I have found that our family have made over there years that are shared on your page. Obviously there are some minor differences, but that’s not a deal breaker.
    Because Dante Barbara did not write most of her recipes down, and apparently after her passing there was no cookbook either. So everything we shared together I wrote down.
    Its been my obsession to maker her potato salat and find as many lost recipes as possible. In her potato salat recipe she never used chicken stock or mustard. Is this an authentic thing? Maybe my Uncle didn’t like that version and he was born and raised in Austria. He came to Canada when he was 20 and later settled in Pennsylvania and married my Dante Barbara and passed several years ago.
    So, as the story goes, both sets of my great grand parents, on both maternal and paternal sides were originally from Austria.
    After Dante’s passing, its been kind of a mission to hold onto those Austrian roots. Being a foodie and an executive chef, it’s been a passion, to find and to hold onto to those old family favorites that I find dear to me.

    • Reply
      Martin Bohun Hoermann
      24 December 2023 at 08:04

      Tante (aunt).

  • Reply
    Miki Martin
    24 December 2022 at 18:55

    Just made it! Taste test passed. Hope everyone enjoys it tonite!

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      24 December 2022 at 19:08

      I bet the eggs are a great addition! Thank you for the photo, I´m glad you enjoyed it!

  • Reply
    Doug Stern (wie im Himmel!)
    11 December 2022 at 04:49

    5 stars
    Just made 20 pounds of this stuff! It is yummy. Darn yummy. Just like I remember from when I was living in Austria and Germany! It has a sweet, yet sour, yet “soupy” (kind of savory) taste to it. And I didn’t even add the salt or pepper. Love it!

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      11 December 2022 at 07:43

      Yes, you are completely right, every recipe needs to be done to taste! I´m glad you could adjust this recipe to your taste buds and were happy with it! Thank you for leaving the comment!

  • Reply
    Barbara
    26 November 2022 at 20:17

    5 stars
    I had to fudge things a bit as I didn’t have exact ingredients but it was still amazing, loved it, passed the recipe to my friend who’s a much better cook than I am cause I think she’ll love it. I will certainly be making it again. We had it with chicken schnitzel absolutely delicious

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      26 November 2022 at 21:34

      I’m glad to hear that, thank you for leaving the comment!

  • Reply
    Johann
    13 September 2022 at 18:51

    Beef broth ruined it. Too much onion, also.

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      13 September 2022 at 19:47

      Beef broth could not ruin it because this is a traditional ingredient used in EVERY Austrian potato salad. You must have used a beef broth that has not tasted good, most store-bought beef broth are not very good. You can add less onion if you don’t like it, we like that much.
      Please taste beef broth before using it in this salad, if it tastes good enough you would eat it on its own, then you can use it. If you don’t have it, use chicken broth.

      • Reply
        Doug Stern (wie im Himmel!)
        11 December 2022 at 04:55

        I did use a quite a bit less onion in mine. I agree that you have to have the broth; otherwise it’s just not German. But I would say every recipe (especially Austrian) potato salad should be done to taste. I used on only 70% of the mustard. Probably only a quarter of the onion. Shoot…just realized I completely forgot the oil, and purposely didn’t add salt or pepper because (it’s to taste) and I didn’t think it needed it. Again…loved it! Alexandra, I hope you’re ok with my modifications… 🙂

    5 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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