German Potato Salad

A tangy potato salad with DIY pickled red onions–perfect with brats or as part of a plant-based feast!

If you’ve been following this blog for awhile (all three of you), you may recall that your family spent the summer of 2017 in Germany, mostly in Cologne. That summer was one of the most memorable times in my entire life. To this day, my husband and I talk and think about it all. the. time. and in many ways it feels like it was just yesterday.

One of our favorite parts of the whole experience–especially for my husband–was the frequency with which we visited Biergartens. (Who wouldn’t like eating brats and drinking great beer in an open-air green space? There’s truly nothing like it in the U.S.)

We both remember one particular meal with special fondness. My husband’s friend and his wife, who live in Munich, treated us to a *s p e c t a c u l a r* home-cooked, authentically German meal, which they brought in a series of large picnic baskets to the English Garden. We ate that meal over the course of probably 90 minutes, there was SO much food. Jessie, our hostess, created a flight of salads, veggies, meats, and breads I’ll never forget. Among them was, of course, a German potato salad.

Fast-forward to summer 2021. My husband’s and my 17th wedding anniversary was in July, and I’ll confess, I always struggle to land on the right gift for him. I mean, technically, the official gift for a 17th anniversary is furniture, but our house is pretty well-equipped and I wasn’t about to surprise him with a new end table or cabinet (unless maybe it’s this cow-shaped cabinet, because, come on, that’s just badass).

Somehow, though, I landed on the idea of recreating the Munich meal Jessie had made for us four years ago. I hauled out the photo album to look back at the pictures we took of that meal and, to the best of my ability, made the same brats, German beer (thanks, Total Wine!), and salads, including a zesty tomato-onion mixture and…this German potato salad!

I’m so glad this inspiration struck! This potato salad turned out tangy, savory, and the perfect accompaniment to bratwurst. (On the other hand, it’s totally vegan, so you could also make it as a part of a plant-based feast.) My husband was thrilled to have an edible reminder of the good times we enjoyed in the English Garden years ago–so I’d call it an anniversary win.

If you’re looking for a German potato salad that’s simple to make and doesn’t come with a dairy-based sauce, this is it. Despite being free of animal products, I thought this side had a smoky, almost meaty flavor. It lasted in our fridge for days on end, and we enjoyed it not only alongside bratwurst, but several other meals, both plant- and animal-based.

What will you make it with?

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3.67 from 3 votes

German Potato Salad

A tangy dressing and pickled red onions give this potato salad bite!
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. baby gold potatoes
  • 4 tsp. salt, divided
  • 2/3 c. vegetable oil
  • 6 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by about 1 inch. Add 2 tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, paprika, black pepper, and remaining 2 tsp. salt. Stir in the sliced red onions and parsley and let sit at least 10 minutes.
  • Slice the potatoes in half or into quarters, depending on their size. (You want bite-sized pieces.) Add the sliced potatoes to the bowl with your dressing and onions and stir gently to coat.
  • Refrigerate for several hours or overnight for best flavor.

Notes

Adapted from Once Upon a Chef.

Tahini Roasted Cauliflower

This tahini roasted cauliflower is my absolute favorite! It’s the perfect crispy, slightly spicy side dish.

You know you’re really a grown-up when you get excited that your whole family is leaving the house so you can stay behind and clean. I recall the first time I shooed my family out of the house to go do something legitimately fun–roller skating, maybe?–to let me scrub counters and mop floors in peace.

In a similar way, the other night when two of my kids were eating dinner at a friend’s and my husband took my other son out for dinner, I kinda couldn’t contain my excitement. It meant I got to stay home and make myself an entire freaking head of tahini roasted cauliflower.

And this is how I know I’m a grown-up…or how I know I’m a nutritionist…or maybe just how I know I love really good food. Because, friends, this cauliflower is ahhhh-mazing. Over the next two days, I proceeded to eat the entire head myself.


If you’ve ever thought cauliflower was bland, this is the recipe for you. It starts with an Amazing All-Purpose Tahini Sauce–a flavorful blend of tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and spices. For a vegan sauce, this recipe is delightfully, surprisingly creamy. (It gets its silky texture from ground sesame seeds.) Once you’ve whipped up a batch, simply slather it atop perfectly crisped roasted florets…and voila, uber-flavorful veggies!

Not only will you get healthy fats from tahini’s sesame seed base, you’ll add even more of them by roasting cauliflower in olive oil. Meanwhile, cauliflower’s status as a cruciferous veggie makes it a nutrient-dense choice that even may have cancer-fighting properties.

So there you have it–roasted tahini cauliflower, a deliciously creamy, healthy veggie to add to your repertoire. Try it as a side dish with meat, in a grain bowl, or, like me, eat it straight off the pan as a main dish in its own right.

Tahini Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted cauliflower gets a boost from a creamy, vegan tahini sauce!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Servings: 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

For the cauliflower:

  • 1 large head cauliflower, diced into florets
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the tahini sauce:

  • 1/3 c. tahini
  • 1/3 c. water
  • 1/4 c. lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

Roast the cauliflower:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, paprika, and salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake 25-28 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Make the tahini sauce:

  • While cauliflower roasts, prepare the sauce by combining all ingredients thoroughly in a measuring cup.

Dress the cauliflower:

  • When cauliflower comes out of the oven, dress with tahini sauce to taste. Save extra tahini sauce covered in the refrigerator.

Notes

A Love Letter to Food original recipe.

Popped Sorghum Protein Balls

Crunchy and sweet, these healthy Popped Sorghum Protein Balls make a super-easy vegan, gluten-free snack!


Whaddaya know about sorghum? You may have heard of this grain as the base for syrups or food flavorings, or maybe you have a vague association of it with endless Midwestern fields of grains–but have you ever tried it all by itself? If not, you’re in for a treat, both eating it all by its lonesome and using it in these tasty, nutty Popped Sorghum Protein Balls.

What is sorghum?

Like most Americans, I haven’t exactly thought of popped sorghum as a go-to snack throughout my 38 years of life. In fact, I had never given the stuff a second thought until I attended a nutrition conference last year and was introduced to it as not just a ho-hum grain that flavored cereals (maybe? or something?), but a snack in its own right.

Sorghum is an African ancient grain that has found a home on American soil. It’s not only gluten-free, vegan, high in fiber, and rich in antioxidants, its growing practices are pretty darn good for the environment, too. According to the presenter at my most recent nutrition conference, 90% of American sorghum farmers do not irrigate, saving valuable water. Plus, three-quarters of them use conservation tillage practices, which conserves soil by reducing erosion. A sorghum habitat even protects and increases wildlife! I don’t claim to be a soil expert (I’ll leave that to my uncle Scott in Quincy, Illinois) but it’s nice to know the majority of sorghum grown in the U.S. has a top-notch environmental profile.

Okay, but what is popped sorghum?

All well and good, I hear you say, but I’m here for the food.

Me too!

I recently had the chance to try out Nature Nate’s Popped Sorghum, which takes sorghum grains and pops them to create itty-bitty bites of salty deliciousness that are, essentially, like shrink-rayed popcorn. 

Look how cute! So tiny!

So far, I’ve tried the Avocado Oil and Sea Salt, Coconut Oil and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Rosemary Garlic, and Organic Ghee Butter flavors. In terms of taste, I’d say popped sorghum is like a slightly nuttier popcorn, with a somewhat softer texture. Bonus: There’s no giant, tooth-cracking kernel in the middle just waiting to throw you under the bus for dental work.

My 13-year-old son is our family’s biggest popped sorghum fan. After school, he sits on the couch with a large bowl. My only complaint is, being a teenage boy, he pretty much always leaves the bowl (and the crumbs) for me to clean up.

I digress.

With savory flavor, scoopable size, and crunchy (but not too crunchy) texture, popped sorghum makes for great snacking. But, as a recipe developer, my mind is always churning out thoughts of how else I can use a food. (You know, ’cause eating something all by itself just isn’t exciting enough.)

I’m a fan of energy bites, which always seem tastier with a hint of crunch. So I figured the Avocado Oil and Sea Salt Popped Sorghum from Nature Nate’s could be just the thing to add to a quick batch of peanut buttery protein balls. Sure enough, the little crunchies brought a unique, salty twist (and a boost of fiber and nutrients) to these snacks.

With just six ingredients and one bowl, these bites came out sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy. They also formed up nice and easily into portable, poppable balls. (I’m now trying to convince my 13-year-old to eat them instead of just popped sorghum to save on crumbs.) If your afternoon snacks have gotten a little boring lately, give them a try!

Other ways to use popped sorghum

Got some extra popped sorghum left after you make protein balls? Here are some creative ways to eat this unique grain:

  • Sprinkle some in a trail mix
  • Use it as a salty topping on ice cream
  • Scatter some throughout a chocolate bark
  • Add crunch (and extra fiber) to oatmeal

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Popped Sorghum Protein Balls

Crunchy and sweet, these protein balls come together in just minutes for a healthy, unique snack.
Prep Time10 mins
Servings: 12 balls

Ingredients

  • 1/2 c. Nature Nate's Avocado Oil and Sea Salt popped sorghum
  • 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1/4 c. flax seed
  • 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients until well combined.
  • Using your hands, form into golf ball-sized balls.
  • Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe.

Disclosure: This post sponsored by Nature Nate’s Popped Sorghum. All opinions my own.

Sweet Potato Kale Curry

This easy Sweet Potato and Kale Curry is packed with nutrients and just happens to be vegan!

Before I dive into telling you of the wonders of this Sweet Potato and Kale Curry, allow me to remind everyone that I am not a vegan—not even close. Though I do like to limit my meat consumption, especially red meat, it’s rare for me to eat a meal that’s totally vegan. Which is what always makes it surprising when a vegan dinner becomes one of my favorites…like this amazing recipe.

These days, in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, I’m always looking for meals that are healthy and easy to pull together. With my kids home very day doing online school, I swear all they’re doing is sitting on laptops eating Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles (except for the times when I force them to go outside or run around the house a few times). And then there’s me. I’ll confess, my pandemic eating habits haven’t been stellar. With reduced activity and a dip in diet quality, I’m especially motivated lately to feed us all a healthy dinner.

This Sweet Potato and Kale Curry has been a particular lifesaver. It’s full of nutrients like vitamin A from sweet potatoes, vitamin K from kale, and fiber off the charts from the veggies and chickpeas. Not to mention, with minimal prep and about 18 minutes total cooking time, it’s a genuine 30 minute meal.

Now, this may sound well and good for health nuts who don’t mind flavorless food, but hold your peace until you’ve tried the coconut milk broth in this curry. Mild but rich, it’s the kind that makes you wish you’d made an entire separate batch just for sipping.

If you’re like me, I think you’ll find a little sweet potatoes and kale over rice will do your average pandemic dinnertime a world of good, whether you’re a vegan, a meat eater, or somewhere in between.

Sweet Potato and Kale Curry

Ready in 30 minutes, this easy vegan curry is a great choice for a healthy weeknight. Its coconut milk broth is especially delish!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. curry powder
  • 3 small or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 15-oz. full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 5 c. torn kale leaves
  • 4 c. cooked jasmine rice

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add curry powder and cook an additional minute.
  • Add diced sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft.
  • Add kale to the skillet and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve over cooked jasmine rice.

Notes

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Peach Applesauce

Mix up your applesauce game with this sweet alternative! Peach applesauce is the perfect summery snack or dessert.

Quick: What’s your favorite summer fruit? While my thoughts immediately turn to blueberries and strawberries, peaches come in as a close second (or third, I guess?). These stone fruits are among the most versatile bases for sweets. I mean, is there any dessert you can’t make with peaches? Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach crisp, peach popsicles…I could go on, like:

Sorry, I’ve had a hankering to watch Forrest Gump lately.

Anyway, peaches aren’t just great on their own in snacks, smoothies, desserts, and breakfasts–they also make a great complement to other fruits, like…drumroll please…apples! I wouldn’t normally say homemade applesauce needs any tinkering (it’s pretty great on its own), but when sweet, juicy peaches are in season, might as well use the fruits of summer however you can. (Especially when you’ve brought home a giant pallet of them from Trader Joe’s, like I did recently.)

Anyway, this is one of those toss-everything-in-the-crock-pot-and-let-your-house-fill-with-aromas type recipes. You really can’t screw it up, and you could probably play with it to make it extra peachy, extra apple-y, extra sweet, or whatever you like. I also imagine you could use canned peaches in a pinch (like when they’re not in season).

Plus, since kids are STILL home for the longest summer ever that began in March, this makes a snack you can actually feel good about feeding them. (Anyone else going through snacks at record speed? Not gonna lie, we’ve been through a whole lot of chips and candy around here…)

Once the chunky goodness of this peach applesauce emerges from the slow cooker, it’s delicious hot or cold, on its own or atop vanilla ice cream. It’s a little smoother than traditional applesauce, which I think gives it an extra something special.

Enjoy!

Peach Applesauce

A summery variation on a fall favorite, this Peach Applesauce is lightly sweet with a hint of spice.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 4 large peaches, peeled and chopped
  • 8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 c. white sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 c. water

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on high 2 1/2 hours, then reduce heat to low and cook another hour or until the fruit has softened. Blend to your liking using a potato masher or immersion blender. Cool and refrigerate.