A creamy German cooked beetroot salad with potatoes, pickles, and apple that somehow just works. Comforting, a little tangy, and one of those salads you keep going back to, especially the next day.
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This beetroot salad surprised me.
It's a mix of hearty and mild, crunchy and soft, fresh and pickled. It sounds wild to bring together potatoes, apples, beetroot, and pickled cucumbers, but somehow mayonnaise pulls everything together, and all the flavors make sense.
We were invited to friends, the kind of evening where the table is full and you want to try a bit of everything. I did exactly that. And still, this was the salad I went back to for seconds. And thirds.
Which is saying something, because cooked beetroot is not usually my thing. It never quite decides whether it wants to be savory or sweet. Raw, juiced with apples, it's one of my favorites. But cooked beetroot is not something I normally crave.
Until this German beet salad crossed my path.
I asked my friend Christina for the recipe, and luckily she shared the rough measurements with me. From there, I recreated the dish. It's a classic German beet salad, and of course it includes Germany's most beloved vegetable: potatoes.
And that changes everything. The potatoes make the salad hearty and grounding. All in all, it's one of those salads that somehow tastes even better the next day.
Why This Cooked Beetroot Salad Works
There's no single standout ingredient here, it's the way everything comes together.
- Creamy but balanced (thanks to pickles and apple cider vinegar)
- Filling enough to be a light meal (thanks to potatoes, nuts, and mayonnaise)
- Balanced sweet and sour flavors (pickled cucumbers together with the sweetness of an apple and beetroot)
- Lots of textures (crispy apples, crunchy nuts, soft beets and potatoes, creamy mayo)
- Perfect for meal prep and gatherings
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free
Note on Ingredients
A gorgeous mix of cooked, fresh, pickled, and crunchy elements.
- Cooked: potatoes and beetroot
- Fresh: apple, onion, herbs
- Pickled: cucumbers
- Crunch: walnuts (and the apple)
Don't skip the apple.
It might sound unusual, especially paired with potatoes, but trust me on this one. You won't really taste "apple" as such; it stays quietly in the background and makes everything else taste better.
🍽 Recipe
Cooked Beetroot Salad Recipe: Creamy German-Style
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 kg waxy potatoes
- 1 kg cooked beetroot (store-bought)
- 1 large jar pickled cucumbers/gherkins, drained (about 375 g)
- 1 apple very finely diced
- 100-130 g walnuts or almonds or hazelnuts
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped (or ½ bunch spring onions)
For the Dressing
- 200-250 g vegan mayonnaise store-bought or homemade
- 3 tablespoons pickle juice from the pickle jar above
- 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons frozen parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh chopped
- 2 teaspoons frozen dill or 2 tablespoons fresh chopped
- Salt generously, to taste
- Black pepper generously, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes in their skins in salted water until just tender (knife test). They should be soft but not falling apart. Depending on their size, this can take 30-60 minutes.
- Let cool slightly, then peel while still warm, dice, and place in a large bowl.
- Prepare the remaining salad ingredients: dice the cooked beetroot, wash and finely dice the apple, finely chop the onion and the pickled cucumbers, and roughly chop the walnuts.
- Add everything to the bowl with the potatoes.
- Prepare the dressing: In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the pickle juice, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper.
- Add the dressing to the salad ingredients and gently fold everything together until well combined. Finish with a little extra parsley and dill on top.
- Serve immediately - or, even better, let the salad rest for a few hours. This cooked beetroot salad becomes more harmonious and deeply flavored over time.
How to Serve It
In Germany, this kind of salad often shows up on potluck-style tables, alongside bread, spreads, and other salads, like this German pasta salad.
For me, it works beautifully as a light meal on its own, especially on warmer days. If you want something more filling, turn it into a complete meal by serving it with vegan sausages or patties.
FAQs
You can use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead. Both add a nice crunch without changing the character of the salad.
Yes. You can buy fresh beetroot and cook it yourself. Make sure it's fully tender - depending on size, this can take 60 minutes or more.
Very much so. You can prepare the entire salad 1-2 days in advance. Alternatively, cook the potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to two days. This salad is also perfect for using up leftover cooked potatoes.
Yes. You can replace the mayonnaise with a thick plant-based yogurt or a mix of yogurt and a little olive oil. The salad will be lighter and more tangy, but still very good.
Stored in an airtight container, the salad keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days. The flavors actually improve after resting.
Other German Recipes I Love
If you enjoy simple, comforting German recipes like this one, you might also like these dishes.
- German Pasta Salad With Mayonnaise
- Easy Leeks in White Sauce With Potatoes
- Vegan Obatzda (German Cheese Spread)
- Apple Snow Dessert
Enjoy,
Ramona
PS: If you try it, tell me in the comments how it turned out. I'm always curious how recipes travel.
♥
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