German Potato Salad with Cucumber

Do you love German potato salad and German Cucumber Salad - then this recipe is for you! This classic cucumber potato salad is made with a broth-and-vinegar dressing and fresh dill. The ultimate combination for your BBQ this summer, a salad that is filling and refreshing at the same time.

German Potato Cucumber Salad 

There are hundreds of different German potato salad recipes in Germany. Every family has their own. Potato salad has been part of Germany’s food culture since the 17^th century. When people abroad hear the term "German potato salad" - they think of a boiled potato salad made with a broth vinegarette. However, potato salads have regional variations.

In the south of Germany, Bohemia, and Austria, the recipes tend to use a dressing made from broth, oil, and vinegar. (See the Swabian Potato Salad for example) In the North, potato salads using a dressing with mayonnaise (affiliate link) is more common. (See the Northern German Potato Salad for example)

Not only do the dressings in the recipes differ, but also the ingredients. So for example in the East of Germany a potato salad made with Fleischsalat, is very popular, whereas this is a cucumber dill potato salad. This salad with naturally vegan and vegetarian.

How to make potato salad with cucumber and dill 

Ingredients:

• waxy potatoes (Russet, red potatoes, Charlotte, Royal jersey or Yukon gold are good varieties to use)
• onion
• cucumber (use an English Cucumber. If you want you can peel it, but I prefer to wash it, and it it with the peel on.)
• vegetable broth /stock
• sugar - just a little bit to create the traditional sweet and sour flavour.
• mustard (affiliate link) ( if you can use German mustard (affiliate link), otherwise dijon mustard (affiliate link) will do)
• neutral oil (I used sunflower oil, but rapeseed oil or avocado oil is also good)
• white vine vinegar (can be substituted with cider vinegar)
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 2 tablespoon fresh finely chopped dill / use more if you are using dried dill as the flavor is weaker 

Recipe Steps

1. Bring a large pot of water with the salt to boil. Wash the potatoes with the skin on and boil them until soft.
2. In the meantime, peel and finely dice the onion. Heat the sunflower oil in a pan and fry the onions until translucent. 
3. Pour the vegetable stock (affiliate link)/broth into the pan and boil with the onions on medium heat for about 5 minutes. 
4. Remove from the heat and season with salt, pepper, sugar and white wine vinegar and mustard (affiliate link)
5. Once the potatoes are boiled you can peel them while still warm.  Slice the potatoes into 1 cm wide slices and place into a large salad bowl. 
6. Pour the warm dressing over the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Leave to cool for about an hour and the warm potatoes soak up the vinegarette. Before serving, add in the cucumber and dill. Guten Appetit!

Variations

This is an updated post. In my original posts, I had added in ½ lb / 200 g of sliced radishes which also worked well. See below the old images.

How to serve German Potato Cucumber Salad?

Serve this cucumber dill potato salad cold and chilled. There are recipes for warm potato salads, but this is meant to be a refreshing light salad. 

This salad pairs well with grilled meats and sausages. It also made a good side to Schnitzel. Here are some popular German dishes to serve with your potato cucumber salad.

More German Salad Recipes

This post was first published in May 2014 and updated in May 2021, July 2024