German Herring Salad with Cream: Mutti's Heringssalat

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

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Wunderbar! Creamy sweet and sour herring salad. Such an easy dish to make for a perfect quick supper

My Mutti's Herring Salad is such an easy dish to make for a perfect quick supper. Our kids LOVE this! Really. It's creamy and sweet and sour!  

Wunderbar. Aka, Heringsalat, it's such a traditional German food that's so easy and fast to make. For our family, all that's needed are some boiled potatoes and dinner or lunch is ready. Yes, that quick!

This also makes a great German appetizer. Serve it with crackers or crusty bread. 

Herring trivia

• Rollmops (soused herring) are pickled herring fillets rolled around an onion or gherkin and a specialty of Berlin
• Bismarckhering which are marinated in vinegar, oil, onions, mustard seed and bay leaves 
• Matjesheringare pickled in a salt brine letting the enzymes ferment the fish
• Matjesbrötchen are German bread rolls filled with pickled herring and sliced raw onions
• Brathering are first floured and fried in butter before being marinaded in vinegar, onions, mustard seed, bay leaves and spices.
• Pickled herring is a great source of vitamin D, vitamin B12, and selenium 

Oma Says:

• Use pickled herring that you get in jars. Drain well, keeping the onions with the herring.
• Mix with the sour cream, add pickles if you wish, and that's it.
• Remember to always keep a jar of pickled herring in the fridge for those really busy days when you need a quick dinner idea or as part of your quick and easy appetizer recipes. 
• Fast, easy, delicious, and very traditional, why not try it for supper tonight!

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Leftover Herring Salad?

Go to Potato and Herring recipe >

Just mix the leftover salad, some leftover cooked potatoes, and some sliced or cubed pickled beets ...

and ...

you have Herring and Potato Salad.  A pretty pink-colored salad that was my Mutti's favorite salad to make for buffets.  For the actual recipe, check it out here.

Quick Dinner Idea ...

Wunderbar! Creamy sweet and sour herring salad. Such an easy dish to make for a perfect quick supper

Here, I've served the salad with boiled potatoes and tomatoes. Sprinkle some chives over the top. Super quick. Super delicious!.

Here, I'm serving this as an appetizer. I didn't add too much cream, just enough to smooth out the flavor. Parsley sprinkled over the top and ready to serve.

Ready to make a Herring Salad dinner?

Especially useful after a day at work and shopping and in need of something delicious and quick. First, put the potatoes on to boil.

Even faster, though, I'd do them in the microwave. Using new potatoes was best. While they were cooking, start the herring salad. Finished!

A super supper ready in almost no time at all. 

Ready to make this herring salad?

Print Recipe

German Herring Salad with Cream: Mutti's Heringssalat

My Mutti's Herring Salad is such an easy dish to make for a perfect quick supper. Our kids LOVE this! Really. It's creamy and sweet and sour! (And, you can turn it into a wonderful buffet dish.)

Wunderbar. Aka, Heringsalat, it's such a traditional German food that's so easy and fast to make. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time none

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings:

Makes 2 - 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 jar (about 500 milliliter) herring, drained (see hints below) 
• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 - 4 dill pickles, sliced (optional)
• fresh dill (optional)

Instructions:

1. Herring should be in bite-sized pieces.
2. Stir in the sour cream. Add more if needed.
3. Add the dill pickle slices and stir.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Notes/Hints:

• Add some sliced pickled beets for color
• I usually use "Herring Fillets in Wine Marinade"
• Use low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
• Sprinkle with fresh dill
• Add some chopped apples
• If you love herring, you'll also love my Mutti's Potato and Herring Salad. 

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

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.