Tasty bratwurst, potatoes and veg roasted together in beer, this Bratwurst and Beer Bake is super simple, yet exceptionally tasty. Who doesn’t love a big sausage?!
**The Bratwurst, Sauerkraut and Beer used in this recipe were gifted from The Sausage Man. All the links to these, and other ingredients in this post (marked with a *) and recipe card are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase having followed one of my links, I receive a small commission. It in no way affects the price that you pay**
I absolutely love German Sausages. We eat Bratwurst, and other German food fairly regularly, so you can imagine how excited I was to get to work with The Sausage Man.
I basically want to try absolutely everything on their website.
But I decided to first try some traditional German Bratwurst* (also ordered some Currywurst*, because who wouldn’t??) to keep things simple.
I wanted to create an easy family recipe, using quality ingredients, that would be easy for people to recreate at home, but also that my kids would love.
And what’s easier than a classic traybake, or sheet bake?
For me, there’s little better than throwing meat, veg and potatoes on a tray and baking it all together in the oven.
Sometimes, I add some spices. Often Smoked Paprika or Cajun Seasoning. But to be honest I think Bratwurst and Dark German Craft Beer has enough flavour to be getting on with, so I’ve just added a little salt and pepper to my Beer Soaked Brats.
This is a super easy dinner, with very little prep or washing up and tons of flavour.
Brats are also, thanks to a very high meat content, incredibly filling and fantastic value for money.
About the Sausage Man
The Sausage Man offers a premium range of German food, including a large range of sausages. But that’s not all they sell.
Browsing the website I was amazed at the huge range on offer, from Gourmet burgers and steaks right down to ketchup and desserts.
My Sausages arrived the next day, in a frozen container, ready to go straight into the freezer when they got home. I was really impressed with the packaging and quality.
To quote the website,
The Sausage Man specialises in supplying sausages and other specialty foods from Germany. The Sausage Man started importing fresh sausages in 2005 and has since become extremely popular. We supply establishments and end consumers all across the UK.
https://sausageman.co.uk/caterer-licensee
The Sausage Man sell to businesses, but also homes and families. You can find out more about them here, and see the FAQs here.
What are Bratwurst?
Bratwurst is a kind of German Sausage, usually made from pork, but sometimes beef or veal. They have a high meat content and are served in a variety of different ways.
In England, most of us are familiar with Bratwurst served hotdog style, or sliced up with sauce at a German Christmas Market.
One thing that my kids really loved about The Sausage Man’s Bratwurst was that they were really easy to cut.
Often sausages casings can be quite hard to cut and even chew through. But because of their natural casings, and just how full the sausages are, without any filler or chewy bits, they found them really easy to cut through and eat.
Ingredients for a Bratwurst and Beer Bake
For my Bratwurst Traybake, I’ve kept things really simple. I was just going to Baked bratwurst and potatoes, but I have this need to put some veg with everything. So I’ve added a little colour!
I use:
XXL Bratwurst – The Sausage Man XXL Brats are around 25cm, and there are 5 in a pack. We served one brat each, but the kids only managed about half, and I was stuffed after one.
Potatoes – I use Baby or jersey potatoes and chop the big ones in half. You can use any kind though, I’d try to leave the skin on and just chop into 2-3cm chunks so that they bake well.
Beer – The Sausage Man sent me a case of German beer* to use in this recipe. Of the 5 bottles, I decided to use the Engel Dunkel (Dark) German Craft Beer. It’s dark and a bit smoky – perfect for cooking brats in beer.
Red Onion
Mixed Peppers – I chop these and my onion into large chunks.
Mixed Baby Tomatoes – I love the different colours, but any kind of tomato is fine.
Salt and Pepper
What Kind of Beer Should You Cook with?
As I say, I made this Beer Bratwurst bake with a dark German craft beer. Which I really recommend.
However, you could make a Sausage and Beer Traybake with any dark beer. I find dark beers bake well, and reduce a little so that your potatoes and brats hold on to some of the flavours, instead of it just running off.
A stout would be great.
Substituting Beer in Recipes
Brats in the oven in beer are gorgeous, and the alcohol cooks off, so it’s still great for kids.
But if you prefer to make a Sausage and Beer Bake without the beer there are two fantastic options.
First, you could just coat the sausages, potatoes and veg in oil and salt and pepper, and bake, tossing occasionally to get an even roast and avoid sticking.
Alternatively, you could swap the beer for some stock.
What Veg Can You Add to a Bratwurst and Beer Bake?
I love roasted peppers and tomatoes. So sweet, tasty and colourful. They look and taste great.
But other vegetables like courgettes, carrots and parsnips which roast really well would also be lovely with these Baked beer brats.
How to Cook Brats in Beer
How to cook bratwurst in the oven will depend on the kind of Bratwurst Sausage that you are using.
Bratwurst from The Sausage Man are precooked, so they bake in the oven in 10-15 minutes (from frozen, quicker if defrosted).
I did gently brown mine in a pan first, because I wasn’t sure how much they’d colour in 15 minutes in the oven, and I wasn’t sure the kids would eat a white sausage.
But to be honest, I don’t think this was necessary, they browned really well, and really evenly in this short time.
Because you don’t need long to Cook Bratwurst like these, I give my potatoes, onions and peppers a head start, and bake them for around 30 minutes in the oven soaked in beer, before tossing, and nestling on the sausages and tomatoes for the last 15 minutes.
What to Serve with Bratwurst Traybake?
You can serve this Bratwurst and Beer Traybake as it is. It’s got meat, potatoes and veg.
I like to add some Sauerkraut which is fantastic and adds another awesome German flavour. You could also serve with a potato salad if you wanted to.
Is this Bratwurst and Potato Bake Alcoholic?
Well, there’s beer in it. But the alcohol cooks off as it bakes, so no, it’s not alcoholic.
The general rule with cooking with alcohol is the higher the alcohol content, or %, the longer you’ll need to cook it to burn off the alcohol. Beer is typically fairly low, and cooking it for an hour like this means it should be fine.
Can You Use Different Sausages?
Absolutely. Bratwursts are perfect because they are tasty and filling, but you could make this beer and sausage traybake recipe with any sausages. Just make sure you bake them for longer if they aren’t pre-cooked like the Bratwurst I’ve used.
Bratwurst and Beer Bake
Ingredients
- 5 XXL Bratwurst
- 1 kg Baby Potatoes (Big ones cut in half)
- 1 Red Onion (Peeled and cut into 8 chunks)
- 3 Peppers (Any colour, deseed and cut into large chunks)
- 200 g Mixed Baby Tomatoes
- 500 ml Dark German Beer
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (fan-assisted) and prepare a deep baking tray.
- Place the potatoes, onion and peppers on the tray and pour over the beer.
- Sprinkle over a pinch of salt and pepper and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and toss, so that everything gets covered in beer.
- Nestle on the sausages and tomatoes and return to the oven.
- Bake for a further 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft in the centre and the sausages are brown and piping hot all the way through.
Notes
- The Sausage Man Bratwursts are pre-cooked, so just need browning and warming up. If you are using uncooked sausages, make sure you bake them for longer, or precook them, so that they are cooked all of the way through before serving. I would put them on the tray with the potatoes at the start of the bake and just add the tomatoes later.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
