Bratwurst is, in many ways, just like any sausage. It’s flavorful, meaty, juicy, and full of a balanced mix of spices and seasonings. On its own, it’s pretty plain, so you’d often have it with beer and side dishes like fries and coleslaw.
But don’t those usual sides get too dull? That’s what this article is here for! It has fifteen recipes of the most classic bratwurst sides. But each has been given a fancy twist to take your sausage meal to the next level.
1. Garlic Butter Boiled Potatoes
Boiled potatoes may not seem fancy, but when seasoned and served the right way, they make your meal seem like a thousand bucks. Also, potatoes are a quintessential tandem to bratwurst, yet boiled potatoes are an underrated option. That’s why you must try this garlic butter boiled potatoes recipe; it’s simple, creamy, and elegant – just what your sausage meal needs.
2. Italian Potato Salad
German potato salad is a well-recommended and great side for bratwurst; it makes sense since both are of German origin. But if you want a potato salad with more color, flavor, and texture, you’d have to go for this Italian rendition. It’s a medley of potatoes, greens, cheese, tomatoes, artichokes, onions, and other vegetables; all tossed in a fresh vinaigrette.
3. Blue Cheese Coleslaw
Coleslaw, made from shredded cabbage and salad dressing, is another traditional bratwurst pairing. It’s distinct for its fresh, tangy flavors and crisp, almost crunchy textures. This blue cheese coleslaw covers all those things that make coleslaw distinctive and adds to them. Thus, you get novel flavors, a creamier feel, and an elevated experience that improves your sausage meal.
4. Herb Spaetzle
Spaetzle is an egg dumpling popular across Europe, especially in Germany. Thus, it’s no surprise many serve bratwurst with it – the flavor is plain and subtle, highlighting the savoriness of the sausage. But just because it’s humble doesn’t mean it can’t be luxurious; with just a few herbs, you can give your spaetzle more flavor and freshness, allowing it to shine.
5. Killer Garlic Fries with Rosemary
French fries, sausages, and beer make a comfort food trio, but don’t you want to upgrade to the usual plain fries? You should, but not just by sprinkling BBQ powder. Instead, give this recipe a go – the fries are oven-baked, so it’s healthier. They are then flavored with raw garlic, fresh rosemary, minced parsley, salt, and pepper.
6. Oven Roasted Vegetables
If you’re looking for a healthy brats side, make this oven-roasted vegetable recipe! It’s loaded with flavor, color, and texture and is incredibly satisfying – it can turn your sausages into a complete meal. Plus, despite the classy look and feel, it calls for simple ingredients only: your choice of veggies, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon, and Italian seasoning.
7. Mixed Vegetables and Turmeric Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage dish regarded as one of Germany’s national foods. It’s deliciously sour, making it an excellent pairing to flavorful, meaty bratwurst. But this recipe features more than acidic or cabbage flavors; it has carrots, onions, red pepper, chili, turmeric, mustard, and cumin seed. Thus, the taste is more complex and spicy, perfect for bratwurst.
8. Oven Roasted Cauliflower Steak
This oven-roasted cauliflower steak is perfect if you want something classy but not overwhelming. The seasoning on the cauliflower is minimal – just salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, and coriander – thus allowing the freshness and flavor of the vegetable to come through. It’s also healthy and, in the right portions, makes your bratwurst more satisfying.
9. Roasted Applesauce
Applesauce, another favorite bratwurst side, is a distinctly sweet and rich puree. It also has hints of tartness that vary depending on the apples you use. This particular recipe stands out because it roasts the fruits instead of just simmering them, thus intensifying the flavors. There’s also better caramelization, and the other ingredients – lemon, butter, honey, and salt – bring out the best in the apples.
10. Spicy Beer Mustard
Mustard is the classic, if not default, condiment for sausages. But it’s high time you ditch that plain, commercial mustard and go for one that has more flavor, quality, and depth, like this spicy beer mustard. It has everything you need from a sausage condiment: the classic mustard flavor, the kick of dark beer, and the perfect spiciness.
11. Balsamic Caramelized Onions
With their sweet, rich flavors, perfectly caramelized onions can transform many dishes, including bratwurst sausages. But this recipe takes the flavors a notch higher by incorporating honey and balsamic vinegar. It also does so in a balanced way, so even if there’s an addition of incredible depth and flavor, it isn’t too overwhelming.
12. Bourbon and DP Baked Beans
Baked beans and sausages are a fantastic breakfast duo, but you can do better by checking out this bourbon baked beans recipe! Although it uses canned baked beans, you’d hardly notice because of the added soda (Dr. Pepper), bourbon, brown sugar, bacon, and many more spices and seasonings.
13. Grilled Mushrooms on Skewers
Brats go well with many mushroom dishes, but you’ll find these grilled mushrooms on skewers exceptional. Before grilling, they are marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Thus, the flavors go deep and burst with every bite. Moreover, grilling the mushrooms gives them a unique, smoky taste that rounds everything up.
14. Honey Mustard Broccoli Salad
This honey mustard broccoli salad is immaculate, especially with bratwurst. Firstly, the honey mustard dressing features flavors that are a classic pairing for brats. Also, broccoli and other vegetables are well-suited for sausages because of the nutrients, light flavors, and exciting textures. Lastly, all of them are perfectly delicious and make absolute sense.
15. Smoky Parmesan Corn on the Cob
Corn is a classic side – it’s juicy, and the subtle sweet flavors are perfect with nearly everything, especially meaty dishes. But this smoky parmesan corn cob recipe? It’s unbelievable! The overall profile is complex because there’s butter, parmesan, garlic, paprika, and salt. Also, you can grill the corn, giving it a smoky taste that adds to the complexity.
