Print Recipe ♥ Save Recipe

Oma's Easy Potato Salad
(Northern German Style) 

My quick and easy potato salad recipe, aka kartoffelsalat, can be made from scratch within 30 minutes! It's a northern German variation because it uses mayonnaise. My fav!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds (908 grams) potatoes
• 1 (6 grams) teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (230 grams) mayonnaise
• ½ cup (120 milliliters) liquid from a jar of dill pickles
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2-3 dill pickles, diced (or to taste) 
• salt, freshly ground black pepper, dill weed, to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Place them in a pot with hot water, add 1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt, and bring to a boil. Watch that it doesn’t boil over (IT FOAMS!).
2. Boil potatoes for about 10 minutes, until just tender. The potatoes are done when they can be pierced easily with a knife, but do not overcook them.
3. Meanwhile, in a serving bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and pickle juice. Whisk until smooth.
4. Add diced onion and pickles to the dressing.
5. Drain the potatoes when tender. Add to the dressing in the serving bowl. Mix gently.
6. Season with extra salt, pepper, and dill weed.
7. Serve hot, warm, or cold. The longer you let it stand, the more flavorful it becomes, but it does taste great eaten immediately.

Notes/Hints:

• The secret in making this Kartoffelsalat is in cutting the washed, unpeeled, raw "new" potatoes into cubes - the size you want them in the salad.
• Use waxy potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes.
• If you don't like to eat the peel, then peel the potatoes ... and if the potatoes aren't "new" potatoes, you will need to peel.
• Add chopped hard boiled eggs if you have them.
• If you don't have hard boiled eggs ready, you can always add a couple of eggs into the water that's cooking the potatoes. The eggs will be done when the potatoes are done! Rinse them under cold water, peel, chop, and add.
• Chopped celery, radishes, and apple (unpeeled) are nice additions to add.
• Make sure you use an actual mayonnaise, not a salad dressing.

*  *  *  *  *

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Updated: April 13, 2026