Cooking Brats in the Oven

Cooking brats in the oven is a quick and easy way to cook bratwurst when you don't want to pull out your grill. Oven-baked brats are even faster than grilled sausages and they turn out amazing!

We show you how to bake them on their own or cook brats with peppers and onions. It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!

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Baked Brats

Serve the baked brats with fried cabbage, sauerkraut, a bun, German potato salad, cucumber salad, roasted vegetables, broccoli cheese soup, your favorite kind of mustard, and beer of course!

If you love cooking brats as much as we do then you'll want to check out our posts on instant pot beer brats and air fryer bratwurst too.

If you're used to grilling brats you might even be wondering can you bake brats indoors? And how exactly do they compare? My husband is of German heritage and eating brats is a common menu item in our home. Here's a little secret I'll let you in on early in the post...making uncooked fresh brats in the oven makes the BEST bratwurst! So similar to the look and taste you'd get from grilled brats without going out in potentially bad weather.

Ever since he bought a Big Green Egg a couple of years ago that I still don't know how to use (or maybe am not allowed to get near?) I've been perfecting all of the indoor ways to cook brats, especially when it's not summertime!

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

• Cooking brats in the oven only take less than 20 minutes
• Baked brats still get a nice char line you're used to from grilled brats
• This method means it's easy to enjoy brats year-round, regardless of the weather
• The brats turn out so plump and juicy in the oven
• It's an easy method to cook vegetables like roasted peppers and onions in the same pan

Ingredient Notes

• 1 pkg uncooked bratwurst (5 brats)
• Optional toppings- red or green bell peppers, onions, sauerkraut, pickles, or stone ground mustard
• Optional Beer - for soaking the brats before cooking

Cooking Johnsonville brats in the oven is one of our go-to brands (and no we were not paid to say that), there's just something about their seasoning that makes them our go-to brand just about every time we want to cook brats in the oven. We also love to buy the Costco pack to serve a crowd.

A standard-sized package of uncooked brats comes with 5 sausages, feel free to double the recipe and get two packages. They make great leftovers!

NOTE: If you buy the larger deli size brats, they will take longer to cook than our recipe states. We used standard size bratwurst.

Beer Brats in Oven

If you want to cook beer brats in oven, it’s super simple to do. One option is to buy beer brats that are already marinated in beer, there is usually numerous pre-flavored bratwurst on the market these days.

That being said, if you have a favorite beer you love you’d rather bake your bratwurst, here’s how to do that:

In a shallow smaller pan, add one can or bottle of beer.  Add the raw bratwurst to the beer and marinate for 30 minutes. Remove the bratwurst after 30 mins and continue cooking with the bratwurst in the oven instructions. You can also make beer boiled brats and then give them a quick broil to finish cooking them through.

How to Cook

You truly won't believe how quickly it takes to cook bratwurst in the oven!

Turn your oven to 400 F.

Lay the uncooked fresh bratwurst on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet, making sure to spread the sausages out and give them plenty of space.

How Long to Cook Brats in Oven?

Bake the bratwurst on one side for 10 minutes.

Flip the sausages over with a spatula or tongs, and continue cooking for 8-10 more minutes until the oven-baked brats are cooked through and have an internal temperature of at least 160 F.

If the bratwurst in oven isn't yet browned to your liking but are cooked on the inside, you can broil them for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.

How to Cook Brats With Peppers and Onions

Cooking bratwurst with peppers and onions is super easy!

Thinly slice 1-2 bell peppers and one onion. Lay on the large baking sheet that the bratwurst will also be cooked on.

Drizzle with 1+ tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt (or garlic salt) and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix the peppers and onions together on the pan.

Lay the bratwurst on the pan with the vegetables. After the brats get cooked in the oven for 10 minutes and get flipped, also stir the vegetables on the pan.

The vegetables should be done at the same time as the baked bratwurst. Sometimes we like to drizzle a little balsamic glaze over the peppers to add an extra punch of flavor.

What to Serve with?

If you're wondering what to serve with brats, there's a variety of classic recipes and German-inspired ideas you'll love. Many people serve bratwurst on a bun like a fancy hot dog, but it's also often served as the main dish without a bun and a variety of sides. Here are a few ideas!

• A bun
• cooked peppers and onions
• Fried cabbage
• Sauerkraut
• Roasted vegetables like broccoli or Brussel sprouts
• Cucumber salad
• German potato salad
• Potato pancakes
• Mustards
• Corn on the Cob
• And beer of course!

More Pork Recipes 

• Crockpot Italian sausage and peppers
• air fryer brats
• instant pot brats
• air fryer boneless pork chops
• instant pot country style ribs
• baby back ribs in the oven
• crock pot bratwurst with sauerkraut
• 21 best sausage casseroles

Continue to Content

Cooking Brats in the Oven (BEST Easy Method!)

Yield: 5 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Cooking brats in the oven is a quick and easy way to cook bratwurst when you don't want to pull out your grill. Oven-baked brats are even faster than grilled sausages and turn out amazing!

 Serve with fried cabbage, sauerkraut, a bun, German potato salad, cucumber salad, roasted vegetables, broccoli cheese soup, your favorite kind of mustard, and beer of course!

Print

Ingredients

• 5 uncooked bratwurst (1 pkg)- standard size

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lay the uncooked bratwurst on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet, making sure to spread the sausages out and give them plenty of space.
3. Bake the bratwurst on one side for 10 minutes. Flip the sausages over with a spatula or tongs, and continue cooking for 8-10 more minutes until the oven-baked brats have an internal temperature of 160 F+ when checked with a digital meat thermometer.
4. If you want the brats a little more brown, just pop them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, with the heating element 4" away from the sausages.

How to Cook Brats With Peppers and Onions

1. Cooking bratwurst with peppers and onions is super easy! Thinly slice 1-2 bell peppers and one onion. Lay on the large baking sheet that the bratwurst will also be cooked on. 
2. Drizzle with 1+ tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt (or garlic salt) and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix the peppers and onions together on the pan.
3. Lay the bratwurst on the pan with the vegetables. After the brats cook in the oven for 10 minutes and get flipped, also stir the vegetables.
4. Cook until the sausage is browned, which could take 20-25 minutes. The more veggies you're cooking on the pan with the bratwurst, the longer it will take for them to brown due to the increased moisture content.

Notes

To make beer-infused baked brats, marinate the uncooked bratwurst in one can or bottle of beer for 30 minutes before cooking. Don't marinate longer than that since they could turn mushy.

Brats are cooked through at 160 F when you test the internal temperature with a meat thermometer, but they might not be perfectly golden brown on the outside yet. Continue cooking until they're brown or broil them to finish if you're in a hurry. Brats stay juicy up until about 185-190 F so it's perfectly fine to cook them past 160 F.

If you add vegetables to the pan with the brats, they will take LONGER to brown. 15+ minutes if cooked alone, 20-25 if cooked with other veggies.

Don't overcrowd the sausage and/or veggies, it'll take them longer to cook and they won't brown.

Serve with sauerkraut, mustard, and beer for a classic German-style meal.

The recipe uses standard size brats, if you buy the jumbo meat counter brats they'll take longer to cook.

Nutrition Information

Yield 5 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 283Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 63mgSodium 719mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 12g

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