Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Rinderrouladen
Thin beef rolled around mustard, bacon, onion, and pickle, braised into a deep gravy, Sunday dinner across Germany.
German (Rhineland) · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 120 min
~968 cal · 69g protein · 13g carbs · 66g fat · 1g fiber · 3g sugars · 22g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Rinderrouladen are the German Sunday roast in miniature: thin slices of beef smeared with mustard, laid with bacon, onion, and a whole pickled cucumber, rolled up, pinned, and slowly until they are fork-tender and the braising liquid to a dark, glossy gravy that could almost be a meal on its own.
It is classic special-occasion home cooking, the dish a German family makes for a Sunday or a holiday, and it rewards the unhurried. The rolls are browned hard first, then left to low and long, which is what turns a cheap cut tender and builds the depth of the sauce.
In the Rhineland it is all but inseparable from its companions: red cabbage, Rotkohl, and either potato dumplings or Spatzle to soak up that gravy. The tang of the pickle and mustard inside, cutting the rich beef, is the detail that makes it unmistakably German.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
8 (about 2 lbs) thin beef round slices
4 tbsp German mustard
8 slices smoked bacon
4 dill pickles, quartered lengthwise
2 onions
3 tbsp flour (to dust and thicken)
2.5 cups beef or vegetable
1/2 cup red wine
2 bay
3 tbsp
Instructions
1
Spread each beef slice (or mushroom steak) with mustard, then lay on bacon, a strip of onion, and a pickle spear.
2
Roll each up tightly around the filling and secure with toothpicks or kitchen string.
✎ Chef’s note
Roll them snug and tie well. A tight, well-secured roll holds its shape and keeps the filling in through the long braise.
3
Dust the rolls with flour and brown them all over in oil, then remove.
4
Soften the remaining onion in the pot, deglaze with the wine, and add the stock and bay.
5
Return the rolls, cover, and braise low for 90 minutes (30 for the plant version), turning once.
6
Lift out the rolls, thicken the gravy and season it, then pour it back over. Serve with red cabbage and potato dumplings.
Rhineland Sunday tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Rhineland. The Rhenish sauerbraten is the version thickened with crumbled Lebkuchen and sweetened with raisins and sugar-beet syrup, which is what marks it off from the Swabian one bound with flour, the Franconian with soured cream and the Saxon with beer. The marinade runs four days or longer.
🗺️
Germany. Beyond beer halls, Germany is a land of serious regional home cooking, Swabian spätzle, Bavarian roasts, northern fish, and an unmatched bread and sausage culture. Hearty, seasonal, and built for cold winters, it prizes pork, potatoes, cabbage, and cured meats.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Germany
KäsespätzleFresh egg noodles scraped into boiling water, layered with alpine cheese and buried in crispy onions.
Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)The German pork schnitzel: a thin cutlet pounded flat, breaded in a loose golden crust, and fried until crisp, served with a wedge of lemon.
German Breakfast (Brötchen)Fresh crusty rolls with butter, jam, cold cuts, cheese, and a soft-boiled egg, the German spread.
Browse all Germany recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Germany meal
Schwarzwälder KirschtorteDessert
CurrywurstLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
BobotieSouth Africa
LocroArgentina
Sogan-dolmaBosnia & Herzegovina
Bœuf BourguignonFrance
Ropa ViejaCuba
Svíčková na smetaněCzechia
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Rinderrouladen?
Thin beef rolled around mustard, bacon, onion, and pickle, braised into a deep gravy, Sunday dinner across Germany.
Where does Rinderrouladen come from?
Rinderrouladen is a German (Rhineland) dish from Rhineland, Germany.
Can Rinderrouladen be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Rinderrouladen recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Rinderrouladen safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Rinderrouladen take to make?
About 150 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 120 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.