Austrian Potato Salad

This authentic Austrian potato salad is made Viennese-style with vinegar, oil, mustard, and warm vegetable broth – no mayo needed. The potatoes are dressed while still warm, allowing them to soak up the flavorful dressing and become wonderfully tender and creamy as they rest. This traditional vegan potato salad tastes delicious both lukewarm and cold, and it’s easy to prepare a day ahead.

What Makes Viennese Potato Salad Special?

There are several regional variations of potato salad in Austria. In Styria, for example, pumpkin seed oil is a popular addition, while classic Viennese potato salad is known for its dressing made with vinegar, oil, and warm broth.

This is exactly how I know and love Erdäpfelsalat, as we call potato salad here in Vienna: savory, slightly tangy, wonderfully moist, and completely without mayonnaise. It’s the kind of potato salad you would find at your grandmother’s house or in a traditional Viennese restaurant such as Figlmüller, served alongside Wiener Schnitzel – except my version is vegan.

Wait, how could a potato salad without meat, sausage, or eggs possibly not be vegan? Well, traditional Viennese potato salad is often prepared with beef broth. Sigh! Austrian cuisine is full of surprises like that.

For my recipe, I use homemade vegetable stock instead. It provides just as much savory flavor without any animal products.

Which Potatoes Are Best for Austrian Potato Salad?

Waxy potatoes are particularly important for a good potato salad. They hold their shape much better than floury, starchy varieties when sliced and mixed with the dressing.

Three Tips for Perfect Viennese Potato Salad

• Don’t overcook the potatoes: They should be fully cooked but not falling apart. Otherwise, they’ll break up when mixed, and you’ll end up with something closer to mashed potato salad.
• Don’t slice them too thinly: The potato slices should absorb the dressing while staying mostly intact when gently stirred.
• Dress the potatoes while they’re still warm: Warm potatoes absorb the flavorful liquid particularly well. For me, this is one of the things that makes a classic Viennese potato salad so special.

Why Use Warm Vegetable Broth and Onions in the Dressing?

The vegetable broth serves two purposes: It adds flavor to the dressing and keeps the potato salad wonderfully moist.

250 ml of vegetable broth for 1 kg of potatoes might seem like quite a lot at first. But don’t worry: The potatoes absorb much of the liquid, and the dressing gradually comes together.

That’s why I wouldn’t add extra seasoning immediately after mixing everything. Let the salad rest first, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

The hot broth has another purpose, too: It’s poured over the finely chopped red onion. This takes away some of the onion’s raw sharpness and gives it a milder flavor.

All you need to complete the dressing is apple cider vinegar, neutral-flavored oil, mustard, salt, and black pepper. That’s really all it takes to make this classic Viennese-style dressing.

Should Austrian Potato Salad Be Served Warm or Cold?

Both are delicious!

If you prefer your potato salad lukewarm, let it rest at room temperature for about an hour after preparing it. This gives the potatoes time to absorb the dressing.

You can also make the salad ahead and refrigerate it overnight. By the next day, the flavors will have developed even more. Just give it a gentle stir before serving.