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This German-inspired Bratwurst sheet pan dinner combines bratwurst, potatoes, cabbage, and onions to deliver a simple all-in-one dinner with the flavors of Oktoberfest.
Looking for recipes starring cabbage? Don't miss Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, Instant Pot Cabbage Soup, Skillet Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage.
Kristen's Keys for Baked Bratwurst
While you can boil, grill, or pressure cook bratwurst, baking this German-flavored sausage keeps dinner easy and lets you turn a simple protein into a hearty all-in-one dinner recipe. Let me share tips to help you achieve perfect results.
- The type of bratwurst matters. You can use any variety of brats, but keep in mind that raw bratwurst will need a longer cooking time than smoked brats. I will walk you through the exact timing in the step-by-step.
- The veggies are optional. You can certainly opt to just bake the brats in the oven. But I like to work smarter by pairing the bratwurst with cabbage and potatoes for a complete meal.
- Don't skip the glaze. If you are adding veggies, don't miss the opportunity to toss them with the maple mustard glaze. It adds a satisfying sweet and savory flavor that helps the meal feel cohesive.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
How to Bake Bratwursts (With or Without Veggies)
Regardless if you are adding vegetables or not, starting with raw or smoked bratwurst, want to parboil your bratwursts before baking, this step-by-step section will break down all the details to help ensure you have success.
Step One: Boil Bratwurst (Optional)
If you are starting with raw sausage, you can opt to par-boil the brats in beer (or apple cider) before baking. My mom always did this to add flavor and turn regular bratwurst into beer brats, but it is completely NOT necessary. I typically skip this step, as it is saves time on a busy night.
- Place raw bratwurst in saucepan in single layer and add in beer.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat until just cooked through. This infuse them with a bit of hoppy flavor.
- Drain, pat dry with a paper towel and proceed with the recipe.
Step Two: Season Veggies
In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, mustard, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper then add to baby potatoes and cabbage on a large rimmed sheet pan, tossing to coat. The sweet and savory flavors will work to give the cabbage and potatoes depth and flavor that plays off well with the bratwurst.
Not Adding Veggies? Skip this step.
Step Three: Bake Brats
While the potatoes and cabbage will need to roast for a set amount of time, how long a bratwurst needs to bake in the oven will be dependant on a few things. Use the following to guide you.
- For Raw Bratwurst: Simply nestle the raw bratwurst on the sheet pan in between the cabbage, onions, and potatoes. The brats will bake in the time it take the veggies to roast.
- For Par-Boiled or Smoked Bratwurst: Slice the smoked sausage (or parboiled brats) into chunks and add to the sheet pan mid-way through the baking process. This will help ensure the bratwursts don't overcook, yet get crispy and caramelized in as the cabbage and potatoes finish cooking.
A Few Final Tips
- To Pierce or Not to Pierce? ONLY pierce the sausage if boiling in beer, which will help infuse the bratwurst with flavor. Otherwise, don't pierce to ensure the fat stays inside the sausage links, keeping them juicy and flavorful.
- Use a thermometer. Bratwurst sausage needs to reach an internal temperature of 160°F for pork and beef bratwurst, and 165°F for chicken or turkey bratwurst. It is best to use a digital thermometer to ensure a safe temperature is reached.
- Using Beer? Select a rich German lager, such as Sam Adams Octoberfest, which imparts a ton of flavor into the bratwurst. If you are opposed to using beer or need this dish to be gluten-free, you can skip par-boiling OR use apple cider or chicken stock.
- Leftovers? Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes or the airfryer to 3-4 minutes at 400°F to keep everything nice and crispy.
More Quick Family Meals
When it comes to easy family meals, I love sheet pan meals! They're quick to prep, use simple ingredients, and save you from a pile of dirty dishes. Check out a few favorites below:
- Honey Garlic Salmon with Vegetables
- Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Veggies
- Baked Italian Sausage with Peppers
- Sheet Pan Sausage with Potatoes
- Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Veggies
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Baked Bratwursts with Cabbage and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4-6 links bratwurst sausage, *raw or smoked
- 12 ounces beer, OPTIONAL
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard, or Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 pounds baby new potatoes, ~cut in half if larger than 2-inches in width
- 1 head green cabbage, cored and chopped into 2-inch chunks
- 1 large yellow or white onion, chopped into 2-inch chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉ (220℃).
- For Raw Bratwurst (Optional) While the oven is preheating, pierce the bratwursts sausage with a fork several times and place them in a saucepan. Add 12 ounces beer (or cider or stock.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until nearly cooked through. Drain the cooking liquid, pat the brats dry, and slice into 2-inch chunks. Discard liquid.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard, 1 teaspoon minced garlic. 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper together.
- On a large rimmed sheet pan, toss the prepared potatoes, cabbage, and onions with the maple glaze. Spread the vegetables out into an even layer. Roast for 25 minutes. Note: If adding raw bratwurst that has not been parboiled, nestle on the sheet pan (do not pierce) and begin to roast now
- After 25 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Flip and if needed, add sliced smoked bratwurst or sliced par-boiled bratwursts. Return to the oven and continue to roast for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the sausage is golden and slightly caramelized.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2025 with tips to simplify.
SO GOOD! This will be added to our rotation. I doubled the the mustard drizzle. Yummy!
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed, Barbara! Thank you for sharing.
If I use a fully cooked chicken and apple sausage, would I still incorporate it into the recipe as though it were raw, baking it at the same time and temp of the raw bratwurst you base the recipe around?
Hi Erica! Skip boiling your sausage in beer, but everything else will remain the same.
We’re making this now, and it smells great- you have a small typo in step three- I believe that olive oil should be included in the dressing.
Thanks
Fixing that now Susan! Thanks for letting me know. And I hope you enjoyed the meal 🙂
This recipe was a mixed bag for me.
Cons first: I used half the recommended potatoes and cabbage and still could barely fit everything on my full-sized baking sheet.
If I make this again I'll toss everything with the glaze in a big bowl instead of directly on the pan, because when I followed the instructions as written a lot of that glaze ended up just baking onto the pan instead of coating the food, even after I mixed it all together by hand because the pan was too full to risk tossing. Using a bowl means washing an extra dish, but you would get a lot more glaze on your veggies rather than the pan.
Either way, it is absolutely necessary to line the pan with foil or parchment. I try to avoid that when I can since it creates so much waste if you do it regularly, but after a full day of soaking/scrubbing/soaking some more there's still carbonized maple-mustard char stubbornly stuck on my baking sheet.
I'm also not sure whether the parboiling step was worthwhile. It definitely imparted some extra flavor to the sausages and made me feel confident they were fully cooked by the time the veggies were done. But on the other hand, it made the whole house smell strongly of beer, added prep time, cost around twice as much as broth or cider would have, and left me with an extra dish to wash vs just letting the brats cook in the oven and checking them with a thermometer before serving.
With all that said, the flavors all worked well together, especially where everything caramelized together, and I enjoyed the meal. The procedure just needs a bit of optimization.
Thanks for sharing your feedback Dawn! I love tossing on the sheet pan, but I can see it takes some patience and a bowl may have been better.
Absolutely delicious! We happened to get brats, potatoes and cabbage from our CSA this week. This recipe worked perfectly.
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed!