Slow Cooker Beer and Garlic Brats
69 CommentsUpdated May 06, 2026
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Slow Cooker Beer and Garlic Brats are great for game day or for a fall dinner. The brats are slow cooked with plenty of flavors that all meld together.
Featured Comment
These are DELICIOUS! I have made these over 20 times and we still can’t get enough of them! They are in my regular rotation and have been for a couple of years now.
– Rhonda
Don’t settle for boring hot dogs and make my flavorful slow cooker brats! These are always a hit at parties and they smell AMAZING while cooking. The slow cooker keeps them warm during the gameday festivities, and great for potlucks. We love Summer Crockpot Recipes, and this one is definitely a hit.
Key Ingredients
- Bratwurst – These are raw sausages – Look for raw brats in the meat section of your grocery store.
- Beer – Use your favorite beer, we prefer a light beer.
- Garlic – I use 10 whole cloves, leaving them whole will keep the flavor mild.
- Onion – These will soften up and go great with the brats
- Butter – Butter isn’t a usual ingredient, but it pairs perfectly with the onions and garlic.
How to make Slow Cooker Beer Brats
- Add the brats, butter, onions and other ingredients to the crockpot.
- Add the beer to cover.
- Cook until the brats are melt in your mouth tender.
Tips & Variations
No Beer: You can leave out the beer – if you do so, use chicken broth for the liquid.
Peppers: Some of my readers like to add green bell pepper and/or jalapenos.
Other Sausages: You can use pre-cooked brats, hot dogs or even kielbasa in this crockpot brats recipe.
Try different beers: A light lager like Coors works great, but you can experiment with amber ales or even a stout for deeper flavor.
Do Brats get browned in the slow cooker?
Not really, though they do get a little toasty on the edges and that adds some flavor. You can put them under the broiler in the oven (on a sheet pan) if you want toasty brats.
How to Serve Brats
Pile the brats onto toasted buns and spoon some of the tender garlic and onions right on top.
Add classic toppings like mustard, sauerkraut, or pickles for a deli-style feel (and of course ketchup).
Pair with potato salad, coleslaw, or baked beans for a summer style meal.
Serve them on pretzel rolls and topped with beer cheese for a game day twist.
Try the leftover beer brats over mashed potatoes, tastes similar to bangers and mash!
Slow Cooker Beer and Garlic Brats Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 38 oz. brats, (two 19 oz. packages) I find these in the meat section, raw
- 1 large white onion, sliced and divided
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 cup butter
- 12 oz. bottle beer, (I used Coors banquet)
Instructions
- Add half of the onion in the slow cooker, add the brats in 2 layers.
- Add the rest of the onions, garlic, pepper and place the butter on top.
- Pour the beer into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Serve the brats, garlic and onions on buns topped with desired toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Other hot dog and brat recipes to try
Slow Cooker Hot Dogs and Hot Tub Beer Brats are easy crowd-pleasers that work great for cookouts or game day.
Bourbon Hot Dogs and my Lil Smokies Recipe make the perfect sweet-and-savory appetizers, and Hot Dog Chili is a must-have topping for a loaded dog. Or try my Brats & Sauerkraut for a ocktober-fest style dinner.
My wife bought brauts instead of Italian. I had all the stuff for Italian sausage. I used what I had. Guinness, minced garlic, minced onion flakes, banana peppers, and a couple dashes of lemon pepper. I blackend the brauts in half the butter, then added to the cooker for three hrs. I can’t wait to try your million dollar spaghetti. Thank you for your help.
Really disappointed in how these turned out. Soggy and flavorless. Couldn’t even eat one because the texture was disgusting.
Any idea what the timing would be if the brats were frozen when placed in the slow cooker?
My guess is about an hour more.
I cooked 1 pack since it was just me and my son . I put the onions on bottom I used minced garlic and pepper beer it’s was delicious I put it on a bun with Brown mustard the onions it was so good I’m going to do it again soon . Happy
Can I just use one pack? And what about minced garlic? And should I change the cooking time or leave it the same?
One pack and garlic will be fine. The cook time you may be able to get away with less, can’t say without testing it.
Can I cook this on high for 2-3 hours instead of on low for 6? Thanks for the recipe!
I would do three hours. The slow cooker is just getting hot at 2 hours.
What do you eat these with? Rice, pasta, in a bun???
I like them in a bun with mustard or over rice.
I made these for dinner but added jalapenos and green peppers. It was a hit!
Do you have to use beer?
No, you can use chicken or beef broth instead.
Hi i would very much like to try this, but i cannot find the johnsonville original brats anywhere. I live in the UK and we have lots of polish or italian deli’s.
Do you know if there’s an alternative to using these sausages please?
thank you
You can use either! It will be great with whichever you use.
If you live in the UK you could try traveling to Germany.