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: 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
- Jägerschnitzel
- 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.
Nutrition
Sara says
I was lucky to live in Germany for 12 years (Heidelberg, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern) and I consider Germany my home. Every recipe I’ve tried of yours is simply wonderful. It’s so nice to have the taste of home every now and then. Thank you for sharing all of these delicious recipes.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Sara, I’m thrilled that you’ve made several of my recipes and, most importantly, that you’ve enjoyed them! <3
Lee Anne says
Absolutely delicious. I’m not a red wine fan so I just used more beef broth. I used an immersion blender on the gravy with all the veggies left in. Gravy was delicious. Thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Lee Anne, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Joanna F says
I made this for dinner tonight. My family LOVED it along with the Spatzel. I will definitely make it again. I used the veggies in the gravy by blending them in the blender.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Joanna, I’m so glad your family enjoyed it, thank you!
Wynette says
Ok… I’m German, and this is the best recipe ever! So rich and flavourful! Rouladen is always a little time consuming, but this recipe is easy to follow.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Wynette! :)
Susan says
Tried this recipe and it was the best, all my company loved it. thank you I am making it for different company tonight
Keith Henderson says
I had almost forgotten about this recipe, it was one of the first ones we learned in culinary arts school back in the early 70’s, our instructor was a chef for the German army during ww2 ,leaned much during those times
john hallman says
just an excellent tasting rouladen from this recipe, and for a first time try, too.
A lot of fussing with that gravy prep for sure, but my wife raved about that, mostly, as ‘flavorful!”.
Lastly, I am really glad I caught that comment toward the end re re-constituting all those goodies in the gravy prep and being able to tip them back in, all pulverized, to add flavor!
well done!
john hallman
oro CDA
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, John, I’m thrilled that you and your wife both enjoyed it!
Kyle R says
I made this the other night and had to come back here to post a word of thanks to the author/creator. When I was much younger, my Oma and Opa made a delicious Rouladen that to this day I can still remember as one of the best things I had ever eaten. Over the years I have tried many permutations of that basic recipe my Oma passed down to us. I have to credit you as creating probably the best version I have ever tasted of the German Rouladen. First and foremost – the gravy! I dont know why it wasn’t apparent to me, but the flavor that comes from the leeks, carrots, celery and onion is simply unbelievable. I had a local butcher shop prepare some beef bracciole because I was having a special family dinner (to announce a new grandchild on the way) and I spent the time to prep all the onions, pickles, carrots and celery to make the day-of that much easier. I used a cast iron dutch oven and managed to fit 18 Rouladen into my 10 qt pot. Just as you mention in the recipe, the browning of the meat in the dutch oven, the scrapings on the bottom and the gravy soaking up all that goodness…..mercy. I effectively doubled this recipe and initially I wasn’t sure if that was too much red wine but guess what? NOPE it was fabulously delicious and I served it with spaetzle and red cabbage. I cant thank you enough for this and I have shamelessly written it all down and will use it for years to come because it takes the Rouladen from my childhood up so many notches! I had leftover bacon pieces and threw them into the pot while browning the veggies – I did puree’ the veggies and blended that back into the gravy. That was not a bad decision LOL. THANK YOU this was amazing
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much for feedback, Kyle! It really makes me happy to know that this recipe finally did the trick. I’m thrilled you enjoyed it and what a wonderful cause for a special family dinner – congratulations on your new grandchild!! Kind regards, Kimberly
Julie says
Omg. That was sooooo good. My husband said it was the best meal he’s had in a long time…heee heee thank you!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad, Julie, thank you! :)
Ulfi says
Today is the first time I make this recipe, and my husband say WOW” is better than Restaurants. Really yummy.
Thank you so much 😘
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad, Ulfi, thank you!
Debra says
I would like to make this the day before . Steps please to store and refrigerate and reheat for special birthday dinner the next day.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Debra, that’s right, just refrigerate it and then gently reheat it on the stove the next day.
Art Bartonic says
Great recipe. Do not puree and add vegetables back to broth. It makes a great sauce heavy and rather gritty.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So glad you enjoyed it, Art, thank you!
Joanne says
Hi Art, I did purée the veggies to thicken the sauce and loved it. I’m on a low carb diet so thickening with puréed veggies hit just the right note. However, I agree, the sauce is a bit more substantial.
Cathy Finken says
Sooooo delicious! I knew there had to be a better recipe then the one I have used for years. I wanted the flavour to match all of the effort it takes to make rouladen. Thank you for sharing this flavourful dish. My taste buds did a happy dance. I made a few slight changes, as for religious reasons we don’t use alcohol. I substituted apple juice and it turned out eye shutting/mouth moaning delicious. I thickened the gravy using corn starch with apple juice and it took it upon a notch. I strained the veggies out during this step and just just softened them up with a fork and added them back in. SIde note: in the past I’ve purchased the rouladen meat at the local market . This time I bought it at my local German meat market, as well as used specifically German pickles ($$$ and worth it.). I didn’t my usual prep work the night before to stay sane. Too bad my German husband now has caught a stomach bug this evening and cannot eat. It will be more wonderful tomorrow .
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Cathy, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that! :)
Lee Anne Embry says
What brand pickles did you use? Also, was the apple juice sweet or unsweetened?
Thanks
Barbara O'Brien says
Just the same way my Oma and Mutti made these. My grown children, now in their 30’s request this dish almost every time they visit.
Michael De Michele Jr says
Absolutely love your recipes. I am making Rouladen with a few twists, my mom used to make this unfortunately my sister snatched my mother’s recipes after my mom passed so I lost all of my great grandmothers recipes along with my grandmother’s. So I search key words from what I remember and find things again, as I love to cook I enjoy making recipes my own. Italian and German in my blood so I love to combine different ethnic backgrounds. Thank you for posting this recipe you are bringing back wonderful memories of my mom.. 😊
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Michael, I really appreciate the compliment! <3 Happy cooking!