This Classic German Dish Will Be the Star of Your Holiday Dinner Table

A hearty plate of these tender, bacon and pickle stuffed rouladen is nothing less than comforting.

By
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud is a Berlin-based freelance writer, editor, and recipe developer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working in television production with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern, she relocated to Berlin and became the managing editor at Kitchen Stories, an international digital cooking platform with millions of active users. 
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Published December 13, 2023
Devan Grimsrud
German rouladen with cabbage and mashed potatoes and gravy on a plate at a table setting with another serving on a plate, a glass with beer, and utensils

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

The first time I had rouladen (known as Rinderrouladen in German) was when I made them with a group of strangers at the Germanic-American Institute in Minneapolis. I knew I would be moving to Berlin a few months later, and thought getting a head start with some cultural activities (read: food) wouldn’t be a bad thing. Flash forward some years in Germany and I’ve been exposed to so many other delicious, traditional German dishes, but rouladen is still something that I’ll seek out in the winter months.

As is typical with beloved dishes from any cuisine, many households have their version and opinions of what makes a great rouladen. One thing that’s agreed upon is that it’s most definitely a winter dish, eaten around Christmas, whether at home or a restaurant. 

Here’s what you need to know before you tackle this traditional German recipe at home.

What Is Rouladen?

Rouladen is a simple dish that takes thin pieces of beef, smears them with mustard, and then rolls them around bacon, sliced pickles, and onion. Once secured with toothpicks or butcher’s twine, the beef rolls are then seared and braised with onions and carrots in a red wine sauce. Depending on the region, rouladen can be filled with different ingredients like sausage or hard-boiled eggs or even use other meats such as veal or pork.

Eating a hearty plate of these tender, bacon and pickle-stuffed beef rolls is nothing less than comforting, and the best part is that you certainly don’t need to be in Germany to eat or make great rouladen.

German rouladen on a plate with cabbage and potatoes and gravy

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

How To Make Rouladen

Rouladen is a simple dish when you look at what goes into it, but it does take some time and effort to prepare. Here’s a quick rundown on how to make them and what to watch out for: 

  1. Slice up the fillings for the beef and the vegetables for the gravy.
  2. Fill the beef and secure.
  3. Sear the rouladen in a skillet and remove to a plate.
  4. Add vegetables and red wine to create the pan sauce.
  5. Add the rouladen back to the sauce in the skillet and braise until very tender.
  6. Remove the tender rouladen and reduce the sauce.
  7. Serve.

Buying Beef for Rouladen

In Germany, beef round, a very lean area from the back leg of the cow, is sliced very thinly at the butcher counter for rouladen. In the U.S., however, you will not find this exact cut, so you will need to ask your butcher for a thin cut from the round (eye round, top round, or bottom round).

The ideal measurements are about 7 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick. You will need six pieces for this recipe. The alternative would be thin cuts of flank steak that you can gently pound out to about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick.

German rouladen with cabbage and mashed potatoes and gravy on a plate and in the background, a table setting with another serving on a plate and a few glasses of beer

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

How I Simplify the Pan Sauce

In Germany, most pan sauces are strained so they’re smooth. I chose not to do that for this recipe, as it’s an extra step that I simply don’t find necessary for the home cook. The sauce can reduce and thicken all the same without being strained, and since only soft carrots and onions are used here, they don’t disrupt the texture too much. If you want to keep it classic, strain the sauce before reducing it, or opt to purée it with the solids.

Can You Make Rouladen Ahead of Time?

This is a dish that is reserved for winter weekends or special occasions, so it’s not typically prepared ahead. However, if you want to trim down the preparation time on the day of cooking, you can prep and roll the beef rolls ahead of time and keep them well wrapped in the fridge for up to two days. 

What To Serve With Rouladen

In Germany, meat dishes, especially in the winter, are served with boiled potatoes (called Salzkartoffeln in German) and braised red cabbage. Rouladen is no exception. However, you can enjoy rouladen with spaetzle or simply boiled egg noodles, mashed potatoes for soaking up all that gravy, German bread or potato dumplings if you’re feeling a bit adventurous in the kitchen, or even sauerkraut. 

Rouladen in a Dutch oven next to some spoons on a table napkin

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Reheating Leftover Rouladen

If you have leftover rouladen, the best way to heat them up is by adding them back to a Dutch oven with the remaining gravy. Add a splash of water, cover, and heat over medium, checking every 10 minutes or so and adding more water or broth as needed, until the rouladen are hot all the way through and the gravy is thick but pourable. This may take up to 30 minutes.

If you want to eat them more quickly, you can also microwave them, covered, on medium-high in one-minute increments until hot all the way through.

More Traditional German Recipes To Try

German Beef Rouladen

Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 25 mins
Servings 4 to 6

In Germany, you can buy slices of beef especially for rouladen at the butcher counter. In the U.S., you will not find this exact cut, so you’ll need to check if your butcher can slice a cut from the round  thinly for you (eye round, top round, or bottom round). The ideal measurements are about 7 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick. If you don’t have a butcher who can do this for you, the alternative would be to thin cuts of flank steak that you can gently pound out to about 1/2-1/4 inch.

Ingredients

For the rouladen

  • 6 thin slices beef round or thin flank steak (about 1 1/2 pounds)

  • 3 medium dill pickle spears

  • 6 slices bacon

  • 1 small white onion, thinly sliced

  • 3 tablespoons German mustard, such as Löwensenf (a good substitute is Dijon mustard) 

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the gravy

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or clarified butter

  • 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 1 tablespoon flour

  • 1 1/2 cups red wine

  • 1 1/2 cups beef stock

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon pickle brine (optional)

Method

  1. Assemble the rouladen: 

    Slice the dill pickles in half lengthwise, then slice each half again lengthwise so you have 12 small spears.

    Lay a slice of beef on a cutting board. Season all over with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add about half a tablespoon of the mustard and smear it all over the beef. Lay a piece of bacon lengthwise onto the beef, then add 2 pickle spears and a few slices of onion. Tuck the long sides of the rouladen into the center about 1/2 inch, then roll up from short side to short side. This ensures the fillings will stay inside the rouladen. Secure with toothpicks or butcher’s twine.

    Repeat for all of the rouaden, then season the outsides with more salt and pepper.

    Making rouladen: bacon, pickles, and onion on a thin piece of beef (on a wooden cutting board next to already rolled rouladen)

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Making rouladen: edges of beef folded over the filling (on a wooden cutting board next to already rolled rouladen)

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Making rouladen: starting from one end, beef is rolled over the filling (on a wooden cutting board next to already rolled rouladen)

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    German rouladen wrapped in kitchen twine on a cutting board

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  2. Sear the rouladen:

    Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Once hot, add the rouladen (depending on the size of your Dutch oven, you may have to work in batches so you don’t crowd the pot) and sear on all sides until the beef is dark brown all over, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer them to a separate plate and turn the heat down to medium.

    Rouladen seared in a Dutch oven until deep brown

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  3. Prepare the pan sauce:

    Add the onion and carrots and let cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the tomato paste, stirring well to combine, and let cook until the tomato paste turns dark and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, letting it cook a little bit too. Once the flour is incorporated, add the red wine and use your spoon to scrape up all the stuck-on bits. Add the beef stock and bring everything up to a simmer.

    Onions and carrots cooked with tomato paste in the Dutch oven until tomato paste is dark brown for German rouladen recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Red wine added to Dutch oven for holiday rouladen recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  4. Braise:

    Once the sauce in the pot is simmering, add the rouladen back to the pot, tucking them into the sauce. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Let braise for at least 1 hour. Then, check them by sticking a sharp paring knife into the center of one and lifting it gently up. It should be so tender that it falls straight off the knife right away, barely making it out of the pot. If it’s not that tender, keep braising, covered, until it is.

    Rouladen added to the braising sauce in the Dutch oven

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Overhead view: rouladen brased in the sauce in the Dutch oven

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    A rouladen lifted from Dutch oven and pierced with a knife to check if tender

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  5. Reduce the sauce:

    Once the rouladen are tender, remove them with tongs to a serving platter and remove the toothpicks or butcher’s twine. Let the pan sauce reduce over medium-high heat until thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add butter and a splash of pickle brine, if you'd like. Then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

    Butter added to braising sauce for rouladen recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  6. Serve:

    Pour the gravy all over the rouladen and serve immediately with your choice of sides. Guten appetit!

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    Rouladen on a platter with some of the braising sauce

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    German rouladen with cabbage and mashed potatoes and gravy on a plate and in the background, a table setting with another serving on a plate and a glass of beer

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
420 Calories
20g Fat
10g Carbs
38g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 420
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 26%
Saturated Fat 7g 34%
Cholesterol 106mg 35%
Sodium 673mg 29%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 38g
Vitamin C 3mg 16%
Calcium 64mg 5%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 791mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.