German Menu Ideas

Roasts are the perfect Sunday Supper. You have plenty of time while the pork roast cooks in the oven to finish the rest of the meal. Make a simple soup to start, then serve the roast with a mushroom cream sauce. For a feast, include a side of red cabbage. Make it a light pudding or mousse served with fruit if you'd like dessert.

• Flädlesuppe - Pancake Soup
• Roast Pork Rib Roast With Fingerling Potatoes
• Rotkohl - German Red Cabbage
• Rote Gruetze - Red Berry Pudding

Sometimes there is nothing better than good, old-fashioned comfort food, like the dishes that Grandma used to make. Try one of these comforting rolled up recipes (cabbage rolls or beef roulade) and serve with boiled potatoes, Brussel sprouts, or sauerkraut.

• Kohlrouladen - Cabbage Rolls
• Rinderrouladen - German Beef Roulade
• Dampfkartoffeln - Steamed Potatoes

Southern German comfort food consists of filling lentils, frankfurter, and spaetzle. The lentils are cooked with German bacon and soup greens and served with red wine vinegar. To this, add spaetzle, a type of noodle, and sausage to make a hearty stew. Germans usually buy the long hot dog-like Frankfurters called "Saitenwürstle" or "wiener".

• German Lentil Stew With Noodles and Frankfurters
• Black Forest Spaetzle (Sparrow Dumplings)
• Types of German sausage

What's more famous that the humble German Cottage Potato? Bratkartoffeln are served in many ways but one of the easiest, but the most satisfying way is with a green salad and fried eggs (Spiegeleier).

• Bratkartoffeln - German Cottage Potatoes with Bacon
• Salatsosse - German Sour Cream Dressing

If it's hot outside or you want to plan ahead, make these hamburger patties ahead of time and serve with a salad or two. Don't dress the lettuce salad until you are ready to eat, but everything else can be prepped beforehand.

• Frikadellen - German Fried Meat Patties
• Red Cabbage, Apple, and Mustard Salad
• German Salad Dressing

Multiple dishes and courses are not always necessary for a satisfying German meal. Try lentil soup or barley stew with a thick slice of homemade bauernbrot or other bread for a simple meal. Often served in the kantinen and mensas (cafeterias) in Germany, these hearty soups are a meal all on their own. If you make homemade bread, freeze part of the loaf, then you don't have to bake next time you make this menu.

• Linseneintopf - Classic Lentil Soup
• Graupensuppe Eintopf German Barley Soup With Bacon
• Bauernbrot - German Farmer's Bread
• German Bread Recipes

German main dishes can be sweet rather than savory. With lots of carbohydrates for plenty of energy on cold days and filling to boot, sweet main dishes are a real treat. Often served with a fruit or ​vanilla sauce, a plate or two of these dishes with a hot cup of tea are sure to warm you up. Sometimes these sweet dishes are served with a little savory soup to start.

• Milchreis - German Rice Pudding​
• Pfannekuchen - Sweet German Pancakes
• Germknodel - Steamed Sweet Austrian Dumpling
• Kaiserschmarrn - Austrian Pancakes With Raisins