Baked Brats - How To Cook Bratwurst In The Oven

Perfectly baked brats on a sandwich bun, topped with stone ground mustard and some sautéed bell peppers, served with a side of potato salad or sauerkraut will make your inner lederhosen happy. 

Jump to:

• 🧾 Ingredients and options
• ⏲️ How to bake brats
• 📖 Substitutions
• 🇩🇪 What does bratwurst mean?
• 🤔 Are brats and bratwurst the same?
• ❓ What is the difference between bratwurst and sausage?
• 🌭 What is the difference between a bratwurst and a hot dog?
• ♨ What is the best way to make brats?
• 🌡️ How do you know when your brats are ready?
• 📝 Recipe

Learning how to bake a perfect bratwurst is quick, easy, and foolproof. And a good German bratwurst served with a cold lager beer is as good as it gets.

I grew up in the German speaking part of Switzerland and sausages in general and bratwurst in particular played a big part in my growing up. For me, it’s more than just a sausage on a bun. It’s memories of a carnival ride, a fall fair, Oktoberfest, a soft pretzel, a cold beer, and all the other good things in life wherever there are bratwursts.

So now it’s time to dig into the not so secret life of brats, what they are, and how to perfectly cook them plump and juicy every time. With a cooking time of under 20 minutes, there is never an excuse not to make these oven brats. 

🧾 Ingredients and options

• Brats of your choice
• Sandwich buns
• Onions
• Bell peppers
• Stone ground mustard
• Butter
• Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Caraway seeds (optional)

See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.

⏲️ How to bake brats

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (for easier clean up) and place the brats so they are not touching. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, and bake for another 7 minutes. Use a meat thermometer and make sure they reach an internal temperature of 160°F in the middle. I did say it was easy, right?

⭐ Tip: Regardless of whether you bake a couple brats in your toaster oven or in the big boy, if you want to create a nice crisp top that looks and tastes like it’s from the grill, turn on the oven broiler and broil the brats for a couple of minutes at the end. To really make them visually pop, make a couple of slits along the top (after they finish baking, so as not to lose any juices) before broiling.

In the meantime, heat butter in a skillet until it slightly bubbles but doesn’t brown (medium-low heat). Add sliced onions and cook for about 3 minutes until they become slightly caramelized, then add the sliced peppers and cook everything for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the veggies to be al dente, still slightly firm. Season with salt, pepper, and caraway seeds (if used), and taste.

Place brat on sandwich roll, smother with the onions and bell peppers, and finish off with a generous dollop of stone ground mustard.

Serve with a side of sauerkraut, potato salad, or cole slaw and  - if you like beer - an ice cold glass of German lager or pilsner.

⭐ Tip: Caraway seeds are not an everyday spice used in cooking. But for whatever reason, whenever I’ve had these seeds with a brat on a bun, it just made the whole experience even more memorable. Their licorice and citrus notes can be pretty strong, so use sparingly. 

Caraway seeds belong to the carrot family, like fennel, and are originally from Asia. A funny bit of trivia for me is that caraway seeds were used in medieval times in Europe. These seeds have even been found in debris of lakes in Switzerland to prove it.

📖 Substitutions

Substitutions are a funny thing. Are we looking to substitute something because of an allergy or certain food restrictions (diets)? Or because we don’t have a particular item or we simply don’t like the taste of an ingredient? I certainly don’t know so I’ll keep this list to a minimum.

• Brats - of course you can use hot dogs, but…
  
• Sandwich Bun - go bunless, if you must
  
• Stone Ground Mustard - any mustard you like is fine
  
• Caraway Seeds - Fennel seeds
  
• Peppers and Onions - add sauerkraut and/or cabbage. Or how about everything?

🇩🇪 What does bratwurst mean?

Brat is from the Old high German word brät - which is finely chopped meat - and wurst, which means sausage. Back in the day, we were able to buy bräts fresh and not in a casing. My mother would make us a delicious dish called Brätkügeli - Swiss German for brat meatballs. Nowadays, most German people associate the word brat with the verb braten, meaning to pan fry or roast. 

🤔 Are brats and bratwurst the same?

Therefore the answer is yes. But what is a brat or a bratwurst? There are so many types that I can't really answer this question. Maybe Google can. One thing is obvious though: Most brats sold in grocery stores are fully cooked nowadays. 

❓ What is the difference between bratwurst and sausage?

All bratwursts are sausages but not all sausages are bratwurst. A bratwurst is a sausage in the way that a chicken is a bird. It’s a species within a family.  A bratwurst is a combination of flavored meat emulsified with filler and fed into a casing.

Sausage, on the other hand, covers anything either shaped as a sausage or made from sausage meat - think of sausage patties, for example.

🌭 What is the difference between a bratwurst and a hot dog?

Generally speaking, they’re both types of sausages and are both delicious on a bun. Hot dogs are made into a finer ground, whereas brats are less finely ground and therefore a little coarser. And then, of course, there are the spices. Bratwurst should be quite a bit more flavorful than hot dogs. But then again, don’t overthink it. Hot dogs also have their roots in Germany so there are some overlaps. 

♨ What is the best way to make brats?

In the summer, a bratwurst must be grilled. That’s my law. But sometimes in winter, it’s just much easier to bake a couple brats inside the house and enjoy while watching a football game. I don’t have an air fryer or instant pot but I’m sure there are ways to get it done with these gadgets as well.

🌡️ How do you know when your brats are ready?

As mentioned before, most brats are already fully cooked. But if you are using fresh brats, make sure to bring the internal temperature to 160°F. The easiest way to check this is by using a meat thermometer.

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Did you make these Baked Brats? Let us know in the comments below!

📝 Recipe