The Salty Ingredient That Makes German Pasta Salad Unique

Pasta salad has been a staple dish at backyard barbecues, potlucks, and delis since its creation in the early 1900s. Pasta is an Italian ingredient, but a cold, creamy salad full of canned and pickled veggies was an American invention. Nevertheless, pasta salad made its way back over the Atlantic to Germany in the 1970s as a part of the convenient prepared-food fad, and it remains as much of a national treasure as classic American macaroni salad today. However, bologna is the salty ingredient that makes German pasta salad unique.

German pasta salad, known as Nudelsalat in Germany, has many parallels to American macaroni salad like a mayo-based dressing, crunchy pickles, and often canned peas and carrots. German bologna, or fleischwurst, adds a distinctly salty-umami flavor and heartiness that makes the dish feel like it could be eaten as a main course. Similar to American baloney, fleischwurst is a common packaged lunch meat in Germany seasoned with garlic and spices. However, instead of placing large thin slices onto bread, Germans make fleischsalat, a mayo-based salad with strips of fleischwurst and pickles.

Nudelsalat is almost an extension of fleischsalat, elaborating the mayonnaise-based sauce with spicy mustard and tangy pickle juice and pairing bologna and pickles with other canned and fresh produce.

Just as pasta salad recipes have changed and expanded, there are also numerous variations of Nudelsalat. Many recipes add sour cream or greek yogurt to the mayonnaise-dressing for a boost of sour and dairy richness. Others upgrade the dressing with fresh or dried herbs like dill and parsley. Gherkins are the favored sweet and sour crunchy element, but many supplement their texture with fresh aromatics like diced bell peppers and green onions.

Fleischwurst is a defining characteristic of German potato salad, but newer recipes substitute it for Italian mortadella, frankfurter sausages, bacon, or sliced deli ham. Cubes of smokey gouda or mozzarella and chopped hard boiled eggs are also popular additions to complement the saltiness of the fleischwurst with a creamy, rich flavor and chewy texture.

German pasta salad is an easy, dump-it recipe that's amenable to whatever canned, frozen, and fresh ingredients you have on hand. Similar to pasta salad traditions around the world, German pasta salad is a common side dish at deli lunch counters and an accompaniment to popular German meat dishes made at home like bratwurst and schnitzel.