An Oktoberfest dinner needs more than one main dish when a full table is coming over. These 21 recipes mix sausages, slow-cooked roasts, potato salads, cabbage sides, and soups with a few lighter salads to balance the plate. German staples sit alongside dishes from neighboring European cuisines, offering plenty of choices to serve with bread and mustard. Pick a roast or bratwurst for the center, then fill out the meal with sides that suit your crowd.
Slow Cooker German Pot Roast
The centerpiece of a long fall supper, Slow Cooker German Pot Roast brings tender beef and tangy gravy to the table. Chuck roast cooks with German beer, dill pickles, mustard, and bacon before potatoes, carrots, and red cabbage join the pot. The recipe serves six, making it a substantial choice when one main dish needs to anchor the meal. Slice the beef, add the vegetables, and spoon the sour cream gravy over everything just before serving.
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Oma’s Knackwurst & Sauerkraut Skillet
With its crisp breadcrumb topping, Oma’s Knackwurst & Sauerkraut Skillet brings sausages and potatoes together in a filling main. Knackwurst cooks with sliced potatoes, Granny Smith apple, sauerkraut, and onion, then gets a buttery breadcrumb topping. Four servings come from the pan, with mustard sauce to pass around separately. This is a useful main dish when you want sausage and potatoes together instead of preparing several sides. Bring the skillet to the table while the topping is still crisp.
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Chef Jenn’s Warm German Potato Salad
Beside a platter of bratwurst, Chef Jenn’s Warm German Potato Salad adds tangy potatoes with bacon and mustard. Yukon Gold potatoes are tossed with crisp bacon, red onion, broth, grainy mustard, and vinegar instead of a heavy mayonnaise dressing. The recipe takes 35 minutes and makes six servings. Put this side on the table while the potatoes are still warm, so the dressing coats every slice. It also adds a familiar German-style side without requiring another oven dish.
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Creamy Radish Salad
Cool crunch is a welcome break between sausage and roast, and Creamy Radish Salad brings that contrast to the plate. Thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, green onions, and dill are coated in a Greek yogurt and honey dressing. It takes 10 minutes to prepare and makes four servings. Set the bowl beside the richer dishes so guests can add a crisp, cool side whenever they want one. Its light dressing also keeps this salad distinct from the warm potato choices.
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German Pork Loin
When the oven is busy with side dishes, German Pork Loin provides a slow-cooked centerpiece to serve in thick slices. The pork is rubbed with German mustard, browned, and cooked in a slow cooker with onions, garlic, chicken broth, and thyme. The recipe makes eight servings and takes 4 hours 10 minutes in total. Serve thick slices with the gravy from the cooking liquid, then offer red cabbage or spaetzle alongside. That leaves the oven free to handle another side while the pork cooks.
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Sauerkraut Balls
Crisp breaded bites make Sauerkraut Balls an appetizer guests can pick up before the main dishes are served. The filling combines bratwurst sausage, sauerkraut, cream cheese, and Swiss cheese, while an egg-and-breadcrumb coating turns golden when fried. The recipe includes a 30-minute chill before cooking, so allow for that when planning the spread. Serve these with the accompanying mustard sauce as a small, savory starter. They bring the flavor of sausage and sauerkraut in a different form from the larger entrees.
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White Bean Salad
Between the sausage plates and roasts, White Bean Salad brings a cool, lemon-dressed side with plenty of substance. White beans are mixed with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, parsley, and a lemon-Dijon dressing, then served over arugula. The recipe makes six servings with 10 minutes of listed prep time. Put it alongside a roast or sausage platter when you want a cool side with some substance. Scatter optional feta or capers over the bowl for a salty finish.
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Chef Jenn’s Sheet Pan Bratwurst & Potatoes
The sausage course needs only one baking pan with Chef Jenn’s Sheet Pan Bratwurst & Potatoes and its roasted vegetables. Baby potatoes, red onion, bell peppers, and uncooked bratwurst roast with a mustard mixture and smoked paprika. The recipe takes 55 minutes and makes four servings. Offer extra mustard at the table, with a cabbage side if you are serving a larger Oktoberfest meal. This is a useful choice when you want the sausage course and its vegetables to finish cooking together instead of juggling separate pans.
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Authentic Hungarian Goulash
Among the roasts and sausages, Authentic Hungarian Goulash adds a richly seasoned beef stew from a neighboring Central European cuisine. Stewing beef simmers with onion, garlic, beef broth, tomato paste, paprika, and thyme in the slow cooker until tender. The card lists six servings and a total time of 6 hours 15 minutes. Ladle it into bowls beside spaetzle or crusty bread to make use of the rich sauce. It is especially handy when the table needs a second substantial main.
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Spaetzle
When a roast brings plenty of gravy, Spaetzle makes a practical side with its soft, freshly cooked egg noodles. Milk, eggs, and flour form a thick batter that rests before being pushed through a spaetzle maker into simmering water. The recipe makes four servings and lists a total time of 1 hour 20 minutes, including an hour of resting. Toss the cooked noodles with butter, then spoon a little roast gravy over each serving at the table.
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Chef Jenn’s Braised Red Cabbage
Alongside browned sausages, Chef Jenn’s Braised Red Cabbage provides a sweet-and-tangy vegetable side with bacon. Shredded red cabbage softens with bacon, onions, garlic, broth, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar until tender. The recipe makes five servings, and the card lists 45 minutes of cooking time. Spoon the cabbage next to bratwurst, pork loin, or goulash to add a vegetable side with plenty of flavor. It can also be made ahead and gently reheated before the long-table meal.
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Frikadellen – German Meat Patties
Golden skillet patties make Frikadellen – German Meat Patties a hearty choice when guests want something besides sausage. Ground beef and pork are mixed with milk-soaked bread, grated onion, egg, parsley, German mustard, and marjoram before being shaped and fried. The recipe makes six patties in 25 minutes. Serve them hot with potatoes and mustard, or place them in crusty rolls for a more casual meal. Their compact size also makes them easy to add to a shared serving platter.
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Chef Jenn’s Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa
On a cool fall evening, Chef Jenn’s Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa works as a substantial first course or a meal on its own. Sliced kielbasa simmers with sauerkraut, potatoes, carrots, onion, and chicken broth, with optional caraway for extra flavor. The recipe takes 55 minutes and makes six servings. Bring it out in bowls with bread before the roast is sliced, or serve it as the main dish for guests who prefer soup on a cool evening.
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Roasted Kohlrabi with Parmesan
Golden roasted vegetable pieces offer a change from the usual potato side, and Roasted Kohlrabi with Parmesan takes 35 minutes from start to finish. Cubed kohlrabi roasts with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then gets a coating of grated Parmesan and parsley before serving. The recipe makes four servings. Set it next to pork roast or bratwurst for guests who want another warm vegetable on their plate. The browned edges and cheese finish give this less familiar vegetable a straightforward place on the menu.
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Yellow Bean & Potato Salad
When plain potatoes need some company, Yellow Bean & Potato Salad makes a substantial side with a colorful mix of vegetables. Baby potatoes and yellow beans are combined with celery, red bell pepper, green onion, and a creamy mustard-and-cider-vinegar dressing. It takes 20 minutes and makes six servings. Serve it chilled beside roast pork or bratwurst when the menu already includes several hot dishes. The extra beans and fresh vegetables make this a distinct salad rather than another bacon-and-vinegar potato bowl.
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Roast Pork with Apples
On a fall day with a full table to feed, Roast Pork with Apples brings sliced pork and roasted fruit to the meal. A bone-in pork roast cooks with potatoes, carrots, shallots, garlic, thyme, chicken broth, apple juice, and apple wedges. The recipe makes eight servings and lists two hours of cooking time. Bring the roast to the table with the vegetables and apples around it, then carve portions as guests are served. It can stand alone as the main dish with a simple salad alongside.
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Hearty Cabbage and Bean Soup
A thick, vegetable-filled bowl makes Hearty Cabbage and Bean Soup a useful choice when not everyone wants sausage or roast meat. Cabbage and cannellini beans simmer with fennel, onion, garlic, herbs, and chicken stock, then part of the soup is blended before cream and lemon juice are added. The recipe takes 50 minutes and makes six servings. Offer it with thick bread as a separate soup course or as a substantial choice beside the meat dishes on the Oktoberfest table.
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Potatoes with Sour Cream & Bacon
Beside a platter of sliced pork, Potatoes with Sour Cream & Bacon offers a rich, creamy side with fresh herbs. Boiled potatoes are tossed with crisp bacon, sour cream, green onions, and chopped dill, so each serving includes soft potatoes and smoky bites. The recipe takes 30 minutes and makes four servings. Spoon them beside sliced pork loin or the German pot roast when you want a rich potato side without another baking dish. Add them just before serving so the sour cream coating stays smooth.
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Chef Jenn’s Borscht (Beet Soup)
Before the main platter arrives, Chef Jenn’s Borscht (Beet Soup) brings a bright-colored first course with beets and vegetables. Beets, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onion, and garlic simmer in beef broth with tomato paste, then finish with a little vinegar. The recipe takes 50 minutes and makes six servings. Top each hot bowl with sour cream and dill, and pass rye bread alongside. Pass extra sour cream if anyone wants a creamier spoonful beside the bread.
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Cabbage Roll Casserole
When individual cabbage rolls would take too long, Cabbage Roll Casserole turns the same flavors into a generous baked dish. Cooked ground beef and tomato sauce are layered with blanched cabbage leaves and seasoned rice, then finished with sour cream and mozzarella. The recipe makes eight servings and lists a total time of 1 hour 10 minutes. Cut the casserole into portions and serve with bread or a crisp salad. It offers cabbage-roll flavors in a shared baking dish rather than individual rolls.
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Oma’s Beer Braised Bratwurst
When bratwurst needs a little more than mustard, Oma’s Beer Braised Bratwurst provides sausages with rich onion sauce. Bratwurst cooks with caramelized onions, garlic, beer, chicken broth, and German mustard until the liquid can be reduced into a sauce for spooning over the links. The recipe takes 50 minutes and makes six servings. Serve the sausages with the onions and plenty of mustard, with spaetzle or potatoes on the side. The onion sauce is especially good spooned over potatoes on a long fall evening.
Get the Recipe: Oma’s Beer Braised Bratwurst