One of Germany’s most famous and delicious dishes, Rouladen are beef roulades filled with bacon, onions, mustard and pickles, then browned and simmered in the richest gravy imaginable. Mouthwateringly delicious, this authentic Rouladen recipe is the only one you’ll ever need!
Growing up in Stuttgart, we regularly enjoyed family dinners with my Oma and Opa. My Oma was famous for her Kasseler, Kartoffelpuffer, Sauerbraten and her Rouladen. When a meal included gravy she always knew to make extra when we came over because I would heap copious amounts of it over my meat, potatoes, Knödel, Rotkohl, Sauerkraut, you name it. (I still do.) For me the gravy was one of the primary highlights of the meal. Rouladen is one of my all-time favorite German dishes and its accompanying gravy is arguably the king of all gravies. Today I’m sharing my homemade Rouladen recipe with you and I’m confident you’re going to love it as much as we do!
WHAT ARE ROULADEN?
Rouladen is a traditional German dish featuring long, thin strips of meat slathered with mustard and filled with bacon, onions, and pickles. The filling is enclosed by rolling up the meat strips and the roulades are then browned and slow-simmered in a rich gravy.
Rouladen are enjoyed throughout the year in Germany but are often associated with Sunday dinners and special occasions like Christmas Eve.
CAN ROULADEN BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?
You can save time by assembling the rouladen in advance and chilling them until you’re ready to cook them. They are also good reheated.
HOW LARGE SHOULD THE BEEF SLICES BE?
They need to be large enough to stuff and roll up, at least 4×6 inches in size and about 1/4 inch thick. This recipe makes 2 rouladen per person. Alternatively you can make larger rouladen and serve one large rouladen per person.
SHOULD I USE FLOUR OR CORNSTARCH TO THICKEN THE GRAVY?
You can use either. Cornstarch will make a more translucent gravy and flour will make a slightly opaque gravy. It just comes down to personal preference and/or allergies.
WHAT DO I SERVE WITH ROULADEN?
Traditionally, Rouladen are served with Rotkohl and boiled potatoes or Knödel – either Semmelknödel (bread dumplings) or Kartoffelklöße (potato dumplings). Instead of potatoes or Knödel, they are also commonly served with Spätzle.
Get our recipe or Authentic German Rotkohl
Get our recipe for Authentic German Semmelknödel (Bread Dumplings)
Get our recipe for Authentic German Späetzle
For more authentic German dishes, be sure to also try our:
- Sauerbraten
- Käsespätzle (Cheese Spaetzle)
- Swabian Potato Salad
- Senfbraten (Roast Pork with Mustard Gravy)
- Pork Schnitzel
- Jägerschnitzel
- Maultaschen
- German Potato Soup
- Frikadellen
- and many more! (click link for complete list)
HOW DO I MAKE ROULADEN?
Rouladen aren’t hard to make, but they do take time. You can shave off some time on the day of your meal by assembling the rouladen ahead of time and chilling them until you’re ready to cook them.
Rouladen are made by spreading some German mustard on thinly cut slices of beef, adding bacon, sliced German pickles and chopped onions. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and roll them up, securing the rolls with toothpicks or cooking twine. Next you generously fry the rouladen in oil until they’re nicely browned on all sides. They’re then removed and set aside so you can saute the onions and vegetables for the gravy. Add the liquids and spices to the cooked veggies and nestle the rouladen in this mixture to simmer on low until the meat is fork tender. The rouladen are removed, the sauce is poured through a strainer, and the resulting gravy is returned to the pot and thickened. The rouladen are returned to the gravy, heated through and served with Rotkohl and boiled potatoes, Knödel, or Spätzle.
Below we’ve provided step-by-step pictured instructions to ensure your success!
Let’s get started!
Lay the beef slices out on a work surface. Spread each beef slices with about 2 teaspoons of German mustard and sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place a strip of bacon on each beef slice so it’s running the same length as the beef. Place the sliced German pickles and chopped onions on each beef slice. 
Roll up the beef slices, tucking in the sides as best you can and securing the beef rolls with toothpicks or cooking twine.
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy Dutch oven or pot (make sure it’s oven-safe if baking in the oven) and generously brown the rouladen on all sides. Browning them well will ensure a rich and flavorful gravy. Set the rouladen aside on a plate.
*Do not remove the browned bits in the bottom of the pan, it’s key to the most flavorful gravy!
Add the onions to the pot and a little more butter or oil if needed. Cook the onions until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the leek, carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine, bring to a rapid boil for one minute, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.
Add the beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
Nestle the rouladen in the pot.
Oven or Stovetop: You can cook the rouladen, covered, on the stovetop on low for about 90 minutes or until fork tender but for the most even cooking we recommend transferring the pot (make sure it’s oven-safe) to the oven preheated to 325 F and cook it there for about 90 minutes or until fork tender.
To Make the Rouladen Gravy:
When the beef is fork tender, remove the rouladen from the pot and set aside. Pour the liquid and vegetables through a strainer and reserve the liquid. (You can set the veggies aside for another purpose, they are yummy.) 
Return the strained liquid back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Thicken the gravy either with either a cornstarch slurry (for a clear/translucent gravy) or flour slurry (for an opaque gravy). For a creamy gravy you can also add a few tablespoons of heavy cream at this point. Simmer, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thickened.
Add the chilled butter, whisking constantly, until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add salt, pepper and mustard to taste. Note: If you’d like creamy gravy you can stir in some heavy cream at this point.
Carefully remove the toothpicks or cooking twine from the rouladen and return them to the gravy and heat through.
Serve the Rouladen with Rotkohl and either boiled potatoes, Semmelknödel (bread dumplings) or Kartoffelklöße (potato dumplings) or Spätzle.
PIN ME!
Authentic German Rouladen
Ingredients
- For the Rouladen:
- 8 slices top round beef, about 4x6 inches in size and 1/4 inch thick (*see note) (ask your butcher), gently pound the slices with a meat mallet until they're a little thinner than 1/4 inch (be careful not to pound holes into them)
- 1/3 cup German yellow mustard
- 8 slices bacon
- 8 medium German pickles , sliced lengthwise
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Gravy:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 small leek , chopped, rinsed and drained in colander
- 1 large carrot , chopped
- 1 large celery stalk , chopped
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups strong beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chilled butter
- cornstarch or flour dissolved in a little water for thickening (depending on how much gravy liquid there is you'll need about 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of water or 2-3 tablespoons flour dissolved in 1/4 - 1/3 cup water)
Instructions
- Lay the beef slices out on a work surface. Spread each beef slices with about 2 teaspoons of mustard and sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a strip of bacon on each beef slice so it's running the same length as the beef. Place the sliced German pickles and chopped onions on each beef slice. Roll up the beef slices, tucking in the sides as best you can and securing the beef rolls with toothpicks or cooking twine.
- Heat the butter and oil in a heavy Dutch oven or pot (make sure it's oven-safe if baking in the oven) and generously brown the rouladen on all sides. Browning them well will ensure a rich and flavorful gravy. Set the rouladen aside on a plate.
- *Do not remove the browned bits in the bottom of the pan (important for a flavorful gravy): Add the onions to the pot and a little more butter or oil if needed. Cook the onions until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the leek, carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine, bring to a rapid boil for one minute, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
- Nestle the beef rouladen in the pot. Oven or Stovetop: You can cook the rouladen, covered, on the stovetop on low for about 90 minutes or until fork tender, but for the most even cooking we recommend transferring the pot (make sure it's oven-safe) to the oven preheated to 325 F and cook it there for about 90 minutes or until fork tender.
- To Make the Rouladen Gravy:When the beef is fork tender, remove the rouladen from the pot and set aside. Pour the liquid and vegetables through a strainer and reserve the liquid. (You can set the veggies aside for another purpose, they are yummy.) Return the strained liquid back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Thicken the gravy either with either a cornstarch slurry (for a clear/translucent gravy) or flour slurry (for an opaque gravy). For a creamy gravy you can also add a few tablespoons of heavy cream at this point. Simmer, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thickened.Add the chilled butter, whisking constantly, until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add salt, pepper and mustard to taste. Note: If you prefer a creamy gravy you can stir in some heavy cream.Carefully remove the toothpicks or cooking twine from the rouladen and return them to the gravy and heat through.
- Serve the rouladen and gravy with Homemade Rotkohl and either Homemade Spätzle, Homemade SemmelKnödel (or Kartoffelknödel) or boiled potatoes.
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 rouladen per person. Alternatively you can make larger rouladen for one large rouladen per person.
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Uschi H. says
Walmart carries the perfect meat cut for this: Beef Milanese
Chrissie Baker says
Just delicious! So simple – such comfort food. We all loved it and I already have requests to make it again! Thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Chrissie, thank you!
Horst says
I do make roulades a lot. I sweat my onions before. It advances their taste a lot. For the Senf (Mustard) I use the sharp Thomy Senf. A winner every time. As far as the meat is concerned the bigger the better. It is desirable to be able to flip the sides over when rolling them so the ingredients stay in.
Treasure your butcher who actually knows what he is doing!
Lisa says
This will be on the menu for Xmas eve this year, although we have mid 30 deg in Australia! My 92yo father comes to stay and he’ll be so surprised that I will have made Rouladen. I can see his smile already. My Oma migrated to Australia when she was 81yo and have fond memories of being by her side in the kitchen. I was only 9 and don’t have recipes, as she passed after 3 yrs here. So each recipe you send keep those memories alive! I can’t thank you enough Kimberley😊
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Lisa, I would love to be there to see his reaction! That’s really neat that you’ll be preparing this for him. Keeping those traditions going is so important and such a wonderful way to stay connected with family, both those still with us and those who have gone on.
Beth says
We could not get enough! It was so tasty and delicious!
Erin says
This authentic Rouladen recipe needs to happen at my house very soon!
Arlene Slobecheski says
Oh, this rouladen brings back so many memories from our time living in Stuttgart. A dear German friend gave me his recipe back then and it is almost identical to yours. Thank you.
Rumplwestiltskin says
MY mum made these although her recipe was, of course, a little different which is probably the case in every German home where they are made. They really are delicious and I’m always amused when my guests think they’re gourmet cooking when, in fact, they’re just standard fare. One thing I’d like to share with anyone who has the time to make their own beef or chicken broth. There’s an Asian supermarket where I shop which sells bags of frozen beef and chicken bones for a pittance. I buy them, take them home and put them in a large pressure cooker with all the water it will hold and cook them for ~ four hours. Then I let the stuff cool, remove the bones with a slotted spoon and place the liquid in the fridge to allow the accumulated fat to congeal. I skim the fat off of the top of the “broth” (it resembles jello), and place one pound into plastic sandwich bags which I then freeze. When I need broth I use one of the bags. A pound of this broth (which is ~ a pint) is conservatively the equivalent of two quarts of store bought broth. In addition, it contains no additives and a lot of the nutrients and minerals from the bones. The bones, and that includes large beef bones are so soft that you can crush them with your fingers. There really is no comparison between this and the commercial broth available. Recently, I saw something called bone broth being sold at a market here for $7:00. I had to smile. I guess one pot of my stuff would be worth ~ $70…….quite a profit for a $5 bag of bones!
jade manning says
I cannot wait to try this, reckon it will be a hit!!
Taylor says
This is comfort food at it’s finest! So hearty and delicious!
Tisha says
This dish is beautifully put together! Looks so good!
Gary Davis says
Well Kim…Susan and I dove in head first on this recipe. What a great meal…..First time around for both of us on this. We did something different with the veggies that the Rouladen cooked in. I put all the veggies and the gravy into the blender and liquefied all of it. I didn’t want to loose the vegetables. I then put all that back on heat…added the butter. Then…we added Half&Half to give it that creamy flavor and BANG!!! Man is this a GREAT RECIPE!!!! We boiled some Yukon gold (sliced them into fingers) potatoes and made sweet and sour cabbage to go with it. Poured the gravy over the spuds and Rouladen( really miss the Brotchen here…but I can got to Hess German Deli in lakewood, Wa. for the re-heat of the left overs) and was in 14th Heaven( twice as good as 7th!! LOL). Thank you ANOTHER GREAT RECIPE….
Gary
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s SO awesome, Gary, I’m truly thrilled to hear that, thank you!
Hess German Deli…it turns out we both live in the same neck of the woods :) I’m in the South Puget Sound as well and I’ll occasionally make that trip over there to grab some Bretzeln, Brötchen, Weisswurst, Landjäger, colds cuts and cheese. It’s my German lifeline for things I’m either too lazy to make or can’t make myself. But I’ve been dabbling quite a bit into homemade charcuterie the last few years including making my own German Bratwursts, Fleischkäse, Kasseler, Salami, and I’ll be tackling the Landjäger before too long as well :) Thanks again, Gary, and wishing you and Susan a great weekend.
Gary Davis says
Kim…I kinda thought you lived near me. I live over in Parkland…right behind PLU. Going to Hess Deli is nothing but a TREAT for Susan and I. Kiki’s( the baker there and the son of the owner?) Brotchen is exactly what I had in Germany. Him and I have set down and shared some good thoughts on food. The recipe for his breads are brought over here from Germany when Him and his parents moved back. His Father was GI and Mum was German.. Now all the girls that work at the deli are from Deutschland and they sure give Kiki a run for his money!! LOL One of the girls is from the Butzbauch area. I was stationed at Ayers Kaserne which is between Giessen and Butzbauch. That’s where I ate some mighty fine food. And NOW…Susan and I get to share some GREAT food from Different parts of the world with you! MAN…ya just can’t beat that. We love it!! Thanks again for sharing…
Gary
Catalina says
Oh my goodness! I am drooling over this dish! So flavorful!
jade manning says
This looks so satisfying and tasty, something everyone will enjoy too!
Tisha says
This looks perfect for a dinner party! Something new to try Love it!
Nancy says
We really loved how this came out! The flavors were amazing! The perfect comfort food!
Sara Welch says
Such a delicious recipe! Made this for dinner last night and it was an instant hit!
Paul says
Very similar recipe to mine which I got from my cousin who’s lives in the same area of Germany as you’re from.
I go to my favorite butcher shop, Blue Max near Puyallup and have then slice a London Broil into 3/8″ to 1/4″ slabs which I pound out a bit before assembling. I also use their Alder smoked bacon which also adds a special NW flavor to the Rouladen.
I use imported German saure Gurke I pick up at Hess Bakery & Deli
I found that Inglehoffer whole grain stoned ground mustard (made in Oregon) is a very good American substitution.
I did have some Riesling stoned ground mustard I brought home from a shop in Etville am Rhine a few years back but its all gone now. It added a certain twang to my Rouladen.
Guess I need to make another trip back to Germany to get some more.
I’ve made this for potlucks, large gatherings and just for dinner for the two of us and they can’t be beat. I agree with the comment where people think this is a gourmet dish but in reality are just standard fare and in some places referred to a peasant food.
Your gravy recipe is a great twist and I’ll make next time I prepare some Rouladen for dinner. Can’t wait to have it along with some semmelknödel, or Spätzle and rotkohl.