Oven baked brats and sauerkraut become irresistible when caramelized with brown sugar. And served over fluffy mashed potatoes for the ultimate comfort food meal. You’ll learn how to caramelize onions for for brats, step by step methods for crispy brats and perfect caramelized kraut.
Another very popular recipe with a very “Fall” feel is this one for Rode Kool. Red cabbage braised with apples and pears is a perfect side dish for the season.
Fall wouldn’t be “Fall” without brats and sauerkraut. It’s the ultimate Autumn Oktoberfest comfort food coup. This recipe is inspired from my grandmother, who passed along her obsession with for mashed potatoes topped with about anything. And her love for sauerkraut.
Why This Oven Baked, Brown Sugar Method Works
- Oven Roasted Brats: The bratwurst sausage is oven roasted on a sheet pan before assembling the rest of the recipe. A much easier and less messy option than pan frying.
- A Leaner Option: Roasting an already fatty piece of meat, rather than pan frying, eliminates some of the fat calories. You’ll also like the crispy outer texture of the sausage that oven roasting creates.
- There’s Beer Involved: Onions are pan fried until sweet and golden and then simmered in beer. Making this somewhat of a beer-brat experience, in an onion-y way.
- Casserole Style: The dish is then assembled in a casserole by layering the onion mix, oven baked brats and topped with sauerkraut.
- Secret Ingredient: Brown Sugar: The true deliciousness gets even better by sprinkling the sauerkraut with brown sugar before baking. The sauerkraut becomes irresistibly caramelized once baked. The brown sugar also helps to balance the sharp acidity of the kraut. You simply haven’t lived until you’ve tasted brown sugar sauerkraut.
Simply stated, oven-baked brats and sauerkraut are delicious partners with traditional flavors.
The simplicity of oven-baking brings an end-flavor result that is amazing. Whether you’re a seasoned chef, or a beginning cook, this easy to follow classic German inspired dish promises a delicious outcome.
Let’s take a look:
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 6 uncooked bratwurst sausage
- Onion
- Olive Oil
- Beer, preferably German ale
- Brown Sugar
- Canned Sauerkraut
Variations and Substitutions
- Chicken Bratwurst Sausage: For a lighter and leaner option, substitute Chicken Bratwurst for the pork brats. Whole Foods offers a good chicken brat in their meat department. Chicken brats work great cooked in the oven.
- Sauerkraut: I always grab canned sauerkraut. Use your favorite brand of jarred or canned.
- Grilled Brats: If your grill isn’t in hibernation, you can most certainly grill bratwurst outdoors and then proceed with the recipe.
- Pre-Cooked Brats: There are come commercially packaged brats and are already cooked or smoked. Check the package carefully and make sure it indicates “fully cooked”. To use fully cooked brats in this recipe, just skip the oven roasting instructions, and start with step of cooking the onions.
- Beer Substitutions: If you’re opposed to cooking with beer, substitute Apple Cider. It’s readily available this time of year and will add a sweet acidity to this recipe.
Step by Step, How To Cook Sauerkraut and Brats In the Oven
- Step 1: How To Cook Brats In The Oven: For the oven baked brats: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place bratwurst sausages on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Spray the sausages with avocado oil or cooking spray. Roast for 30 minutes turning the sausages once after 15 minutes. The cooking spray will help keep them nice and crispy on the outside, yet tender inside.
- Step 2: Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large fry pan. Add onion and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring often until onions are starting to turn golden. About 15 – 20 minutes.
- Step 3: Add beer or chicken broth and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will reduce the liquid a bit and intensify the flavor.
- Step 4: Place contents of the of the fry pan into an oven safe casserole dish.
- Step 5: Place the oven baked brats on top of the onions and liquid.
- Step 6: Place the canned sauerkraut over the brats and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar.
- Step 7: Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until sauerkraut is starting to caramelize and turning golden in color. Use a large spoon and scoop out a brat and p lenty of sauerkraut. Serve immediately over mashed potatoes.
How To Serve It
- Mashed Potatoes: Please serve this over a big scoop of mashed potatoes. It’s simply divine with flavor and textures.
- Sandwich Style: Serve oven baked brats and kraut in a hoagie bun or hot dog bun. Just place one of the cooked brats in a bun and top with some sauerkraut.
Questions You May Have
Please don’t. You’ll be rinsing away that famous Sauerkraut flavor tang. Adding brown sugar on top of the sauerkraut before baking will sweeten the sour experience by flavoring and caramelizing the kraut.
All oven differ in temperature reliability. My 375 degree oven will caramelize sauerkraut in about 30 – 40 minutes. The brats are snuggly nestled between the onion/beer mix and the undrained sauerkraut. This oven method keeps the brats nice and moist.
Use a instant digital read meat thermometer. Press the probe into the middle of one of the bratwurst. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees. And when cut, the meat should be white and firm with little or not pink.
Texture, texture, texture. Oven baked brats are a crispier product. Crispy on the inside and tender on the inside. I find boiling brats to be a bit of a flabby experience. But you most certainly can boil them if you want.
If you simply don’t like sauerkraut, simply bake the brats in the oven and then proceed with the beer and onion steps of this recipe. Place the onion and beer mixture in an oven safe casserole and nestle the cooked brats on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake. Serve over mashed potatoes.
Absolutely yes. The grill is a great environment for crispy bratwurst sausage. Just cook, turning every five minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use a digital read meat thermometer.
No. During the cooking time, the brats will naturally release some of the fat. If you pierce brats for oven cooking, it will release too much grease at too fast of a rate and you’ll end up with a smoky mess in your oven.
Leftovers and Storage
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in a sealed container for 4 days.
- Reheat: To reheat, just place on a microwave safe plate and reheat using 50% power. The lower power setting will heat leftovers at a slower more gentler speed. Which means no exploding brats. Length of time depends on the amount on the plate. I like to use 30 second increments.
- Freezer: Store any leftover brats and sauerkraut in a freezer safe container. They will keep for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat individual serving leftovers in the microwave.
Recipe for Oven Baked Brats and Sauerkraut
If you’ve been wondering how to bake brats in the oven, I hope you give this baked bratwurst and sauerkraut method a try. I think you’ll be very pleased with the process, the texture and the end flavor result.
Serve this over my Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes for a memorable brats and kraut meal.
More Fall Comfort Food Sausage Recipes
And don’t miss my Pork category, you’ll find lots of great recipe ideas. Including the most popular on my site for Campfire Ribs.
And if you love sauerkraut, I would like to convince you to try my Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Sausage and Potatoes. It’s a combination of flavors that you must try.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Brown Sugar Caramelized Brats and Sauerkraut
Ingredients
- 6 Bratwurst sausage uncooked. Use either regular brats or chicken bratwurst.
- Avocado oil cooking spray or olive oil cooking spray, or PAM
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion or two medium onions, peeled and sliced
- 6 Tablespoons brown sugar divided
- 1 ½ cups beer or chicken broth
- 29 ounces sauerkraut canned, 2-14 ½ ounce cans, undrained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place bratwurst sausages on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Spray the sausages with avocado oil or cooking spray. Roast for 30 minutes turning the sausages once after 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large fry pan. Add onion and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring often until onions are starting to turn golden. About 15 – 20 minutes.
- Add beer or chicken broth and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will reduce the liquid a bit and intensify the flavor.
- Place contents of the of the fry pan into an oven safe casserole dish. Place the roasted brats on top of the onions and liquid.
- Place the canned sauerkraut over the brats and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until sauerkraut is starting to caramelize and turning golden in color. This will take about 30 – 40 minutes.
- Serve the bratwursts and sauerkraut over bed of mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Use an instant digital read meat thermometer to make sure brats are fully cooked. Press the probe into the middle of one of the bratwurst. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees. And when cut, the meat should be white and firm with little or not pink.
- Want some extra crunch. Right before removing from the oven, turn the broiler on for a minute or two. The kraut will take on an even crispier texture.
Nutrition
Oven Baked Brats and Sauerkraut …It’s what’s for Dinner.
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
This was so GOOD! Simple and so easy! The brats were sooooo Juicy. GOSH… I can’t see making brats any other way!!! I used Chicken broth because I had no beer but the brats were Johnsonville Octoberfest. I also air fried the brats in my oven at 450 6 minutes flipped them and did another 6 minutes.
German restaurant quality. The family loved it!
Hi Vickie and thanks so much for taking the time to write a review for this recipe. So glad you liked it and that’s quite a compliment. Thank you.
great recipe
Hi Mary Lou. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you liked the recipe.
Thanks so much Mary Lou. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Set a place for me, Lea Ann!
Done! 🙂
Love me some brats, I’ll have to give these a shot.
Thanks Chris.
I love this simple German dish, especially the way you made it.
Thanks Larry.