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 Slices of Beef 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.
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 Spätzle
Authentic Rouladen Recipe
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!
© Arkadiusz Fajer | Dreamstime
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. Or, as some of our readers have mentioned, you can puree the veggies in the blender and then return them to the gravy.)
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:Â 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.
For more authentic German dishes, be sure to also try our:
- Sauerbraten
- Käsespätzle (Cheese Spaetzle)
- Swabian Potato Salad
- Senfbraten (Roast Pork with Mustard Gravy)
- Schnitzel
- JägerschnitzelÂ
- Maultaschen
- German Potato Soup
- Frikadellen
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, sugar, 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 eat the veggies on the side or puree them in the blender and then return them to the gravy.) 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. Â
Nutrition
Taylor says
This is comfort food at it’s finest! So hearty and delicious!
jade manning says
I cannot wait to try this, reckon it will be a hit!!
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!
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.
Erin says
This authentic Rouladen recipe needs to happen at my house very soon!
Beth says
We could not get enough! It was so tasty and delicious!
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.
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!
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!
Uschi H. says
Walmart carries the perfect meat cut for this: Beef Milanese
Gerlinde@Sunnycovechef says
What a coincident my girlfriend is bringing me Rouladen today because I have a broken ankle. In the northern part of Germany we cook the Rouladen with red cabbage and boiled potatoes. I personally like dumplings. Your recipe looks wonderful.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Gerlinde, and what an incredible friend you have to bring you Rouladen! :) Wishing you a speedy recovery for you ankle…
Gudrun says
My German mom was not really into cooking except for basic meat, veggi, and potato. BUT…on Christmas there was the big production of Sauerbraten and New Years day was Rouladen! She always made plenty and then we stuffed ourselves on them for a couple of days. Yes, red cabbage and noodles. Had not thought about them for ages…yes, your recipe is exactly how we made them. Mouth watering right now. Thanks so much.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you for sharing those memories, Gudrun. Nothing sounds better to me for Christmas and New Years dinner than Sauerbraten and Rouladen :)
Gudrun says
On New Years Eve our friend always brought Herring Salad, it was pink from beets, I think. Do you have such a recipe? It was supposed to bring luck in the new year. Then the Rouladen the next day.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Gudrun, I do :) I’ll be posting it soon, stay tuned!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Well this is a record for the quickest turnaround time for a recipe request! :) I already had the post mostly finished and since you requested it I bumped it up in the line and when ahead and finished it. Here it is, Gudrun: https://www.daringgourmet.com/german-red-herring-salad-roter-heringssalat/ Guten Appetit! :)
Jacque Hooper says
What a unique recipe; looks hands-down mouthwatering delicious! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week!
Peter says
They are delish. I substitute pickles with a slice of pepper and add a dash of shredded cheese, sharp cheddar or any cheese with a decisive taste.
Roswitha Taylor says
Wow, that’s a lot pickles and bacon! I grew up with only using a quarter of a pickle and half the bacon, and rolling the meat around it. Everything else is the same,