22 German Specialties From Pretzels to Schnitzel (2024)

Traditional German fare is hearty, stick-to-your-ribs delicious, and beckons to be enjoyed with a pilsner, helles, or kölsch — and friends! These German recipes celebrate some of the dishes Germany is most known for: crispy fried schnitzel, robust sausages, chewy pretzels, and all manner of mustard-tinged delights. We've even included a handful of items on the sweeter side, too, like a tangy apricot kuchen and a berry-studded German pancake. Guten appetit!

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Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon

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This sweet-and-sour, traditional Bavarian red cabbage is always served with goose, duck, or pork. To make it, the cabbage is gently braised with tart apple, smoky bacon, orange zest, and spices.

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Bavarian Potato Salad

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Food & Wine editor Melanie Hansche's mother taught her how to make this Bavarian potato salad when she was a tween. The dressing is made with a base of hot chicken stock and vinegar, and it's punched up with tangy cornichons, onion, grainy mustard, dill, and crispy bacon bits.

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Schweinebraten (German Roast Pork Shoulder)

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This classic German recipe is all about the contrast between savory, fork-tender meat and a crispy, tender crust of pork crackling flavored with cumin, caraway, and mustard seeds. It's worth your time to seek out a boneless pork shoulder with a nice, even fat cap, which is key to the dish.

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Pretzel and Mustard Dumplings

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Dumplings made of day-old pretzels and bound with egg are a common German recipe and a delicious way to use up stale bread. Food & Wine editor Melanie Hansche's version, an homage to the flavors of her hometown of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, uses pretzel rolls, which she leaves out on the kitchen counter, uncovered, overnight.

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Pork Schnitzel with Warm Potato Salad

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Wolfgang Puck of Los Angeles' Spago makes his schnitzel by deep-frying cutlets of Kurobuta pork, a deeply marbled heritage meat imported from Japan. At home, opt for boneless pork chops from the supermarket, pounding them tender. Pan-fry the schnitzel in a shallow pool of oil instead of deep-frying it.

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German-Style Pretzels

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These chewy pretzels from chef Hans Röckenwagner develop a shiny, professional-looking crust as they bake.

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Sautéed German Sausages with Bacon and Apple Sauerkraut

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In Germany's Pfalz region, cooks braise sauerkraut with onions, apples, seasonings, a touch of sugar, and a little of the region's Riesling wine, creating a craveable accompaniment for juicy weisswurst or bratwurst.

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Pork Tenderloin Smothered in Onion and Mustard

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Former F&W editor Grace Parisi was thinking about the typical ingredients in a German beer hall kitchen — onions, mustard, dill — when she created this luscious dish of pounded pork tenderloins.

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Gluten-Free Vollkornbrot (German Bread)

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Hearty, chewy, and nutritious, groats are minimally processed whole grains; here, they're used to add heft and crunch to gluten-free, whole-grain German bread. Gently sweetened with molasses, this dense German bread gets a boost of flavor from a mix of toasted sunflower, flax, pumpkin, and sesame seeds.

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Panko-Coated Chicken Schnitzel

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Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in Yountville, California, uses panko breadcrumbs to give chicken a crunchy crust. "Pounding chicken breasts to a uniform thickness cuts down on cooking time," he says.

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Spaetzle with Gruyère and Caramelized Onions

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Cheese and caramelized onions perfectly complement the already-delicious noodles in this recipe. The spaetzle can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

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Grandma Zerr's Apricot Kuchen

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Kuchen is a traditional German fruit- or cheese-filled yeast cake that's common in North Dakota (pastry chef Nancy Olson says it's in countless church cookbooks) and served at any time of day. This is Olson's adaptation of her grandmother's version. "I love that this is a hearty, rustic, belly-filling pastry; nothing dainty about it," she says.

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Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket with Pretzel Dumplings

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Both Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo had early experiences with sauerbraten, the German braised brisket. Castronovo sampled it on trips to Germany; Falcinelli had it at the German deli where he worked as a teenager. The terrific recipe they ultimately perfected is very sweet and very sour, made with raisins, apples, red wine vinegar, and red wine.

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Spicy Beer Mustard

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Chef Jeremy Nolen updates German classics, including this intense mustard for sausages.

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Candy Cookies

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These truffle-like cookies have an unexpected piece of candy in the center. They're adapted from a traditional holiday cookie that bakery owner Renato Poliafito discovered during his travels in Germany.

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Bavarian Beer Hall Pork Shanks

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It turns out that the crispy, tender beer hall pork shanks enjoyed all over Austria, Germany, and Eastern Europe are shockingly easy to make at home. Learn how to prepare them with this recipe from chef Andrew Zimmern.

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Mixed Berry Dutch Baby

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A Dutch baby, also known as a German pancake, is a mixture of eggs, flour, and whole milk that gets baked in a heavy skillet until it becomes puffy and golden. Fresh berries are folded into the terrific version here to create a wonderful summer dessert that's also great for breakfast.

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German Lentil Soup

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A friend's mother brought this recipe to Santa Barbara, where Lydie Marshall and her family lived after emigrating from Germany. Lydie's friend, Inge Wilkinson, substituted olive oil and red bell peppers for the lard and for some of the potatoes.

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Bratwurst with Mustardy Fried Potatoes and Braised Cabbage

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Chef Suzanne Goin adores the way these fried potatoes soak up the mustardy vinaigrette, which is great with bratwurst as well as almost any sausage.

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Soft Pretzels

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"I've always been a fan of any food high in salt and starch," chef Grant Achatz says. "And soft pretzels right out of the oven are awesome." You can eat these slightly sweet, chewy, dark pretzel sticks plain or with mustard; Achatz goes for ranch dressing.

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Rouladen

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Rouladen, the German version of the French roulade, is the result of Eastern chefs using readily available ingredients — mustard, pickles, onion, and meat — to transform this dish into something distinctly German.

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Beer Braised Cabbage and Sausage

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This hearty one-pot meal brings together bratwurst and green cabbage simmered with Worcestershire, mustard, caraway, and a beer to round things out.

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