Instant Pot Kartoffelsalat - German Potato Salad (Low FODMAP, Paleo)

Celebrate Oktoberfest at home - any time you want to - with this low FODMAP Instant Pot Kartoffelsalat (German Potato Salad)! A perfect side dish for an Oktoberfest celebration, summer or early fall barbecue, or any lunch or dinner year-round, this warm and tangy Instant Pot Kartoffelsalat - German Potato Salad recipe is low FODMAP as well as Paleo compliant, dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free.

My German Connection

German was one of my college majors, and I studied and worked in Germany and completed a Fulbright teaching assistantship in Austria. Although I don't use my German language skills much at this point in my life, I still enjoy German and Austrian cuisine and have amazing memories from my German and Austrian adventures.

At one time I had certified German fluency (yes, that's a thing); that unfortunately didn't automatically make me an expert on German cuisine. German potato salad is one of those dishes that has stuck in my brain since my travels in Deutschland.

Kartoffelsalat: The Original Potato Salad

In general, potato salad or Kartoffelsalat is thought to have originated in Germany. This particular version of German potato salad, typically served warm and made with vinegar, bacon, celery, a little bit of mustard, and other ingredients, originated in Southern Germany. The mayo-mustard based potato salad popular in North America is believed to have originated in Northern Germany and was brought to the US by German immigrants.

Is this an authentic German Potato Salad Recipe?

No. Although I've eaten "authentic" German potato salad, it's difficult to be authentic in any recipe when you have to eat a diet low in FODMAPs unless the authentic recipe is naturally low FODMAP. With this German potato salad recipe, I've tried to stay true to the spirit of Kartoffelsalat while adding my own unique spin and, of course, making it low FODMAP. It's difficult to define what's authentic anymore anyway. If you Google "authentic German potato salad recipes," you will get a variety of results. As language evolves, cuisine also evolves. That's what makes food so interesting.

Necessary Equipment

• 6-quart Instant Pot, 8-quart Instant Pot, or a comparable electric pressure cooker
• Vegetable steamer basket - the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot will not work
• Scrub brush (for scrubbing potatoes)
• Chopping knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Large spoon
• Large bowl
• Small bowl
• Whisk
• Paper towels
• Scissors (or a knife to chop bacon)
• Spatula
• Plastic spoon for sautéing and scraping
• Slotted spoon
• Large plate
• Hot pad

Instant Pot Kartoffelsalat - German Potato Salad: Ingredients & Tips for Success

Potatoes

For this German potato salad recipe I chose mini red potatoes, but basically any waxy potato will do. If you do use something other than mini potatoes, you may have to adjust your cooking time a bit depending on how big they are.

I slice the potatoes into ¼ inch slices. Some German potato salad recipes will tell you to chop them into cubes, but I've never seen potato salad in Germany prepared this way. I'm sure it will still taste good, but if you're looking for something different and in the true spirit of Kartoffelsalat, I say slice them.

Once sliced, I add one cup of cold water and a vegetable steamer basket to the Instant Pot. I evenly disburse the sliced potatoes on top, cover the Instant Pot, set the pressure release valve to "Sealing," and set the timer for 2 minutes. Once cooked, I manually (a.k.a. quick release) the pressure and allow the steam to dissipate for a few seconds. Then, I scoop the potatoes into a large bowl and cover the bowl with a large plate. This is to keep the potatoes warm while I prepare the other ingredients.

Bacon

For the bacon element, I use a nitrate free, sugar-free, low sodium bacon. There's a lot of debate as to whether bacon is a "clean" ingredient; this is about as clean as bacon gets, and I've decided it's okay to have in my diet every once in awhile.

Once the potatoes are removed from the Instant Pot, I dump the water out of the inner pot and dry it with paper towels. The pot doesn't have to be fully cleaned, but you do want it very dry so there's no grease splatter.

I place the inner pot back in the Instant Pot, hit "Sauté," and use scissors to chop the bacon into ½ inch pieces over the pot. If using scissors to chop bacon seems weird, you can definitely just chop it with a knife on a cutting board; however, I find this way the most efficient.

I sauté the bacon until crisp, about 8-9 minutes, and remove it with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon grease in the pot. Then, if there is more than about 1 tablespoon of grease in the pot, I remove the excess grease so there is only about 1 tablespoon remaining.

Celery, Capers, & Scallions (Oh, my!)

While the potatoes and bacon are cooking, I chop the celery, capers, and scallions and keep them separate from each other. Monash University's Low FODMAP Diet App deems celery low FODMAP in single servings of ¼ stalk or 10 grams. This German potato salad recipe calls for 1 medium stalk among 8 servings. I add the celery to the pot and sauté it for 2 minutes.

Pickles are often added to German potato salad, but I find it a lot easier and low FODMAP-friendly just to coarsely chop some capers and add them instead.

Dressing

In a small bowl, I whisk together the following to make the German potato salad dressing:

• Chopped capers
• Apple cider vinegar - low FODMAP in quantities of up to 2 tablespoons or 42 grams per serving.
• Low FODMAP chicken bone broth - or any low FODMAP chicken broth.
• Pure maple syrup - which keeps this recipe refined sugar-free!
• Dijon mustard - low FODMAP in quantities of up to 1 tablespoon or 23 grams per serving.
• Salt
• Paprika

All of the potentially problematic ingredients in this recipe contain different types of FODMAPs and are called for at very low quantities per serving, so the potential for FODMAP stacking is low. However, as this is a side dish, you will want to be mindful of what you might eat with this German potato salad and potential FODMAP conflicts.

I set the bowl aside until after the celery is done sautéing. Then, I use a spatula to scrape every last bit of dressing from the bowl into the Instant Pot, and scrape the bottom of the pot clean with a plastic spoon.

Then, I wait a few seconds for the liquid in the pot to start boiling, allow it to reduce for a few more seconds, and then press "Cancel" on the Instant Pot. I remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot to a hot pad on the counter. Lastly, I add the potatoes, bacon, and chopped scallions to the pot and gently stir to coat everything in dressing.

I serve this German potato salad warm as a side dish. It goes extremely well with my Instant Pot Whole Chicken without the one-pot meal portion as there's no need to double up on potatoes. This is where having two Instant Pots comes in extra handy!

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