Slow Cooker Sauerbraten
2 Comments Jul 17, 2024
Updated Mar 09, 2025
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Introduce a classic German dish to your family and friends with this Slow Cooker Sauerbraten recipe. It features a hearty beef roast, vinegar, gingersnaps and more. This is a dish everyone is sure to enjoy!
Pair this dish with my slow cooker mashed potatoes or slow cooker cranberry sauce for a complete meal.
Table of Contents
What is sauerbraten?
In short, sauerbraten is a traditional German pot roast. It consists of marinated meat that can be soaked for a few days in a mixture of wine or vinegar, water, herbs, spices, and seasonings. Crockpot Sauerbraten is served sliced with the gingersnap gravy. This is perfect for Octoberfest or Crocktober!
This recipe makes it easy to cook this German delight and have it for dinner tonight. Just a quick tip: the recipe suggests marinating for a few hours overnight; however, you can marinate longer if you want a richer flavor. Another flavorful pot roast we love is dill pickle pot roast.
Key Ingredients
- Beef Roast: For this recipe, I recommend using a bottom round roast, rump roast, or boneless beef chuck roast. We use bottom round roast in our Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches recipe.
- Marinade: Red wine vinegar, beef broth, sliced onion, minced garlic, brown sugar, whole cloves, bay leaf, salt, and black peppercorns (we make our own pickling spice here).
- Gingersnaps: The crunchy variety adds a touch of ginger flavor and sweetener to the crockpot sauerbraten. You will want to crush the gingersnaps.
- Vegetable Oil: Used for searing before adding the beef to the crock pot.
- Gravy Slurry: Water and all-purpose flour are combined and added to the cooked juices once the beef is done cooking.
- {The Full Recipe is in the recipe card below the photos}.
Variations
Apple cider vinegar can be used in place of red wine vinegar.
Not browning the meat is okay, but browning does add depth of flavor to the roast and gravy.
Carrots and potatoes can be added to slow cooker at the beggining of the cooking time, remove them while you make the gravy.
Don’t have gingersnap cookies? Add a teaspoon of ground ginger (or one tablespoon of chopped fresh) and add an additional tablespoon of brown sugar.
How to make Sauerbraten in a Crockpot
Step One – Prepare the marinade. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, beef broth, sliced onion, minced garlic, brown sugar, whole cloves, bay leaf, salt, and black peppercorns until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Step Two – Place roast in a suitable resealable plastic bag or a container. Pour the marinade mixture over it, making sure the beef is well coated. Seal or cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, flipping the meat occasionally to ensure even marination.
Step Three – Sear the beef. After marination, remove the beef from the marinade, reserving the liquid and patting the beef dry. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.
Step Four – Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker. Pour the reserved marinade over it, including the onions, garlic, and spices. Add the crushed gingersnaps on top.
Step Five – Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the beef is tender and easily pulls apart.
Step Six – Carefully remove the beef from the slow cooker and cover it with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Step Seven – Strain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan, discarding the solids. Skim off any fat from the surface.
Step Eight – Mix the flour and water in a small bowl until smooth, then gradually whisk this slurry into the strained liquids.
Step Nine – Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a gravy, roughly 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the beef and gravy with your favorite sides. Enjoy!
How to Serve
- Slice or shred the beef and serve it draped in the homemade gravy.
- Pair it with your favorite sides, such as red cabbage (try my slow cooker red cabbage), mashed potatoes, potato dumplings, egg noodles, or spaetzle, for a complete meal. We also love slow cooker hot German potato salad.
- Don’t forget to serve the roast with french bread or dinner rolls to soak up all that extra gravy.
Recipe FAQs
What’s the best length of time to marinade the beef?
For best results, allow the beef to marinate overnight. This not only tenderizes the beef but also infuses it with the traditional flavors of sauerbraten.
Leftover sauerbraten can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a little broth or water if necessary to keep the meat moist.
You can freeze the cooked sauerbraten for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as above.
More Slow Cooker Beef Recipes:
Slow Cooker Sauerbraten
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. beef roast, such as bottom round or chuck
- ⅔ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅔ cup beef broth
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 6-8 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
- ¾ cup gingersnaps, crushed
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Instructions
- NOTE BEFORE STARTING – Marination Time: For best results, allow the beef to marinate overnight. This not only tenderizes the beef but also infuses it with the traditional flavors of sauerbraten.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, beef broth, sliced onion, minced garlic, brown sugar, whole cloves, bay leaf, salt, and black peppercorns until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Place the beef roast in a suitable resealable plastic bag or a container. Pour the marinade mixture over it, making sure the beef is well coated. Seal or cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, flipping the meat occasionally to ensure even marination.
- After marinating, remove the beef from the marinade, reserving the liquid and patting the beef dry. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.
- Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker. Pour the reserved marinade over it, including the onions, garlic, and spices. Add the crushed gingersnaps over the roast. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until the beef is tender and easily pulls apart.
- To make the gravy, about 30 minutes before serving, carefully remove the beef from the slow cooker and cover it with foil to keep warm. Strain the liquids from the slow cooker into a saucepan, discarding the solids. Skim off any fat from the surface. Mix the flour and water in a small bowl until smooth, then gradually whisk this slurry into the strained liquids. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a gravy, roughly 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
- Slice or shred the beef and serve it draped in the homemade gravy. Pair it with your favorite sides like, red cabbage, mashed potatoes, or spaetzle, for a complete meal. Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- Marination Time: For best results, allow the beef to marinate overnight. This not only tenderizes the beef but also infuses it with the traditional flavors of sauerbraten.
- Storage: Leftover sauerbraten can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a little broth or water if necessary to keep the meat moist.
- Freezing: You can freeze the cooked sauerbraten for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as above.
- Apple cider vinegar can be used in place of red wine vinegar.
- Not browning the meat is okay, but browning does add depth of flavor to the roast and gravy.
- Carrots and potatoes can be added to slow cooker at the beggining of the cooking time, remove them while you make the gravy.
- Don’t have gingersnap cookies? Add a teaspoon of ground ginger (or one tablespoon of chopped fresh) and add an additional tablespoon of brown sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Easy to prepare. I let the roast marinate for about a day. My roast was large, 4 lbs., so it took a bit longer to cook. I did cook it on low. It took about 10 hours to cook to tenderness. I made the gravy by straining the vegetables and spices out of the juice. I poured the juice into a pot and added my flour and water mixture. The gravy was a little too rich, so I added 1 cup of water to make it more palatable. Served it with potato dumplings, bacon fried green cabbage and onions and a side salad. This meal was FANTASTIC!!
I made this for an octoberfest party with slider rolls it was delicious.