Pan-fried potatoes are a classic, versatile German dish that is easily adapted with additional ingredients and comes in different flavor combinations. The potatoes are traditionally diced or sliced, buttered and salted, and can be then combined with bacon, ham, onions, vegetables, and a variety of fresh herbs and spices.
The key is to achieve crispy, golden potatoes that stay soft and tender on the inside. Simple and affordable, bratkartoffeln is a common restaurant dish as well as a popular home-cooked meal that is usually served as an accompaniment to roasted or grilled meat, sausages, fish, or fried eggs.
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German potato pancakes are a restaurant staple, a homemade classic, and a popular street food snack. They are prepared with a thick batter that employs grated raw potatoes, flour, and eggs, and are usually shaped into flat, round discs that are shortly pan-fried until golden and crispy.
Even though they are often served as a complement to stews, grilled meat, and sausages, potato pancakes make an excellent snack or main course. Kartoffelpuffers are traditionally accompanied by creamy apple sauce, fruit preserves, or sour cream.
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View moreTraditionally associated with Christmastime, brunede kartofler (lit. caramelized potatoes) is a simple, yet immensely flavorful Danish dish, also eaten in the Northern Germany. The dish is usually made with a combination of new potatoes, butter, nutmeg, salt, and sugar.
The butter, salt, sugar, and nutmeg are mixed together, and the mixture is poured over boiled new potatoes that have been lined in a greased gratin dish. The ingredients are gently tossed so that all of the potatoes are coated with the mixture. The dish is baked until lightly browned and crisp.
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Kartoffelsalat is a traditional potato salad hailing from the region of Swabia in Southern Germany. It typically consists of boiled and sliced potatoes, chopped onions, beef broth, white vinegar, oil, mild German mustard, sugar, and pepper. Although the ingredients of this salad are quite simple, they need to be chosen carefully to achieve the best results.
Strong beef broth is the most traditional, but chicken or even vegetable stock may also be used instead. As the salad’s flavor is said to improve with time, it is often prepared a day ahead of consumption. Swabian potato salad is traditionally garnished with fresh chives on top, and it typically accompanies German sausages.
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Bauernfrühstück is a traditional dish that can be translated as a farmer’s breakfast. Although there are many variations throughout the country, it’s usually made with a combination of potatoes, butter or vegetable oil, onions, cured ham, eggs, milk, chives, salt, and pepper.
The potatoes are boiled in their skins, peeled, cut into slices, and browned in butter with the onions and diced ham. The eggs are beaten, mixed with milk, seasoned with salt and pepper, and the mixture is then cooked in the pan with the rest of the ingredients.
Pellkartoffeln refers to boiled or steamed potatoes with their skins intact. This traditional German dish can be enjoyed on its own or served as an accompaniment to a variety of different dishes. The potatoes are usually scrubbed to remove any impurities and then cooked whole in water seasoned with salt and (sometimes) caraway seeds or bay leaves.
Leaving the skin intact allows the potatoes to cook better and retain more of their natural flavor and nutrients. Once done, the potatoes can either be peeled or eaten with their skins intact. The simplest way to enjoy pellkartoffeln is with salt and butter, although another popular way is to accompany them with kräuterquark (quark mixed with fresh herbs).
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Potthucke is a traditional potato cake originating from the Sauerland region in Westphalia. It's made with a combination of potatoes, eggs, milk, sour cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Half of the potatoes are boiled and grated, and the remaining half is boiled and mashed.
The two are mixed together with sour cream, milk, eggs, seasonings, and the white starch from the cooking liquid. The batter is poured into a greased loaf pan, dotted with butter, and baked until browned and crisp. Once cooled, the loaf is typically cut into thin slices and sautéed in butter on both sides before it's served hot.
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Meerrettich kartoffeln is a traditional dish consisting of potatoes in horseradish cream sauce. The dish is usually made with a combination of potatoes, root horseradish, milk, butter, onions, flour, sugar, salt, and parsley. The horseradish is grated and soaked in milk.
The potatoes are boiled, peeled, and sliced. The onions are minced, sautéed in butter, sprinkled with flour, and stirred until the flour is absorbed. Water, milk, and grated horseradish are added to the pan in order to create a creamy sauce that's stirred until smooth and thick.
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Niedernauer kartoffeln is a traditional potato dish that's especially popular in Bavaria. The dish is usually made with a combination of potatoes, butter, eggs, cream or sour cream, onions, parsley, salt, and pepper. The potatoes are boiled and peeled while still hot.
Once cooled, they're cut into cubes, seasoned with salt and pepper, and fried in butter until golden brown with minced onions and parsley. A mixture of eggs and cream is poured over the potatoes and the dish is slowly cooked until the sauce is smooth and thick.
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Hailing from Saarland, verheiratete is a combination of boiled potatoes, flour-based dumplings, and a creamy bacon sauce. This simple German dish is known by the names of verheiratete and geheirate (also geheiratete or geheirade), both with the same meaning of married, the married ones, or a married couple.
The name refers to the act of joining or marrying separate ingredients together into one meal, just like when two people are united together in marriage. In Saarland, this dish used to be a part of the poor people’s diet due to the simple, everyday ingredients of which it consists.
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