This bratwurst soup is loaded with potatoes, veggies, and a flavorful broth. It's simple to make, and you can definitely clean out the fridge with this recipe!
You might also enjoy this Ultimate Beer Cheese Soup recipe for another cozy soup.
This bratwurst sausage soup is very forgiving. You could throw in other veggies that you need to use up. Kale or spinach would be delicious in this soup too. If you wanted to give it a bit of a German feel, throw in some sauerkraut!
I love brats, and I often buy them. These days I keep some in my freezer as well. I find sausages so comforting, and you can use them in everything from pasta to soups. If you're looking for an easy soup with bratwurst sausages, I'd give this a try. You could even use leftover brats that you've grilled. Just cut them up and throw them in the soup.
I like to brown the sausage pieces as much as I can (without burning them of course) to eke out as much flavor as possible.
Recipe notes & tips:
- I love the richness the beef broth gives to this soup, but you can replace with chicken broth if needed.
- Don't have brats? Try using Italian sausages or another kind of sausage instead.
- I suggest using Russet potatoes, but any potato you have will be fine.
- I love Johnsonville brand brats.
This soup is actually fairly healthy, but it's also nice and filling and cozy and warming.
Other delicious sausage recipes to try:
- Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup
- Easy Sausage Rigatoni
- Kielbasa Soup
- One Pan Tortellini with Sausage
- Sausage and Vegetable Soup
- Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta
Will you make this brat soup?
Questions? Let me know in the comments below! Made this recipe? Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Simple Bratwurst Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bratwurst sausages crumbled (see note)
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled & chopped
- 3 sticks celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a soup pot. Take the sausage meat out of the casings and crumble it into the pot. Cook it, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been released and the sausages start to brown/crisp up (took me about 8 minutes). You may need to turn the heat down a bit towards the end.
- If there's a lot of excess oil in the pan, spoon it out (you should have about a tablespoon or so of fat in there). Stir in the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes or so.
- Stir in the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds, then add the broth and water. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the potatoes and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, then cover the pan with the lid slightly ajar and reduce the heat so it's simmering. Cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes and veggies are tender.
- Season with salt & pepper if needed.
Notes
- Served 4-6 depending on how much people eat (and if you serve something like bread with it).
- Anything around a pound of sausages will work. Here in Canada Johnsonville brats come in 500g packages, so I will typically just use the whole pack.
- Use low-sodium broth if you're sensitive to salt.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Sophie says
Hi do you add the garlic with the onion and celery and carrot? Guessing so but don't see it mentioned, thanks!
Natasha says
Hi! Garlic is mentioned in step 3.
Linda Davis says
I made this on 01-27-2023. I had a 5 lb bag of sliced pre-cooked brats in my freezer and 2 qts of home canned beef broth. It was easy to put together. Next time I may add some sauerkraut and caraway seed. Thanks for the recipe.
Natasha says
You're very welcome!!
HomeCookDave says
I made this with a few modifications: keep a few chicken bouillon cubes on stand by in case you need some extra flavor
5 mins after putting in the potatoes I put in some southern style drop dumplings (easy recipe)
It’s amazing. Remember to build a fond with the meat and deglaze with the water before the beef stock so that you can see that you lifted all the fond up.
Natasha says
Love the dumplings idea, Dave!!
PG says
Great recipe. Very much like another soup recipe I use w/ sausage - but I’d never used brats & beef broth in mine - loved it! Also, I sprinkled in some caraway seeds as the meat was coming to the point it’s cooked through. Thank you for posting this.
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment!
Diane Huntley says
I use a morter and pestel on seeds like caraway or rosemary... you can add flavor without the seeds or hard pieces...
Cheryl says
This is absolutely delicious and so easy to make!
Natasha says
So glad you liked it, Cheryl!!
Emma says
So easy and so so adaptable. I used chorizo sausages and what a HIT !!!!
Natasha says
Yay!! That's great!
Carol says
Made this soup. Son ate it for supper and had it for lunch the next. Granddaughter tried it ,liked it and asked for some to take home. I doubled the recipe because I knew it would be eaten. Will be trying your other recipes as fast as I can. So glad I happened up on your site. It's like a book I know from the first paragraph if it is going to be interesting or not. I bookmarked your site and shared it also. Thank you
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Hi Carol! Natasha and I are thrilled to hear you and your family enjoyed the soup. Thank you so much for sharing our site, and please let us know what else you try! 🙂
Kristy Hoffschwelle says
I’m a little confused… are you supposed to use bratwurst, as is indicated in the title, or Italian Sausage, as listed in the ingredients? The two have very different flavor profiles.
Natasha says
Oh gosh... I can't believe I/no one else noticed that error before. *facepalm* Yes, it should be brats and I will update the recipe card. You could use Italian sausage as this is a pretty basic soup and would work with either, but yeah, it should be brats. My apologies!
Kathy says
This soup has great flavor. It was a big hit with everyone.
Natasha says
Fab!! Glad to hear it, Kathy.
Gemma says
A sensational soup! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
We live in Australia and it was unseasonably cold last weekend and this was the perfect dish for a cold/rainy evening by the fireplace.
It was so good in fact I am making it again as we speak! Our house smells incredible (-:
Natasha says
You're welcome!! I'm so happy that it was a hit! 🙂
Zue307 says
I am.cooking it right this very moment and in the final stage of simmering for 20 minutes. It already smelt good from the beginnimg, and I had a quick sip. This is so good, thank you very much!
Natasha says
Awesome!! You're very welcome!
Amanda says
Did you take the brat out of the casing
Natasha says
Yes
Katherine says
Hi! I’d like to make this in my InstantPot, but my brats are frozen - should I cook the brats first and then add to the soup, of just defrost them first?
thanks!
Natasha says
I think you could probably add them in frozen, just give it a bit of extra time. Otherwise I'd probably just defrost them.
Lisa C says
I made this soup last night because I'm SO ready for fall to get here.
It was so simple, but delicious!! I will make again.
Last week I made your creamy mushroom chicken. It was so amazing!!
The sauce was the BOMB!! I couldn't stop eating it.
I just recently found your blog and loving it.
Thank you.
Natasha says
Yay!! I'm so happy you found me and are enjoying the recipes, Lisa! XO
Althea says
This Soup went down very nicely during this wintery Sunday in May! It is very nutritious - I had a burst of energy after eating this. Easy, peasy. It's a keeper.
Thanks Natasha!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that!! Hope it warms up for you soon! Thanks for leaving me a comment, Althea. 🙂
mcclainra says
How long would you cook in an Instant Pot?
Natasha says
I do similar soups for 8 minutes.
Glenda Carrara says
I cook this in the instapot on the rice setting it came out perfect.
Natasha says
Excellent! The rice setting is simply a pre-set time. Do you recall how many minutes that is?
Ashlyn @ F5 Method says
I love a good soup, but have never thought of putting bratwurst in! Such a clever idea, looks delicious!
Natasha says
Thanks!!
Bob Reid says
A side question: Do you use store bought beef broth? If so,, which brand do you prefer? There are so many different ones and the few I have tried have not been very flavorful. Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi Bob! I do. I buy Campbell's brand (it's the most readily available here in Canada and I don't mind it at all). Homemade is certainly more flavorful, but also time-consuming.
Bob Reid says
Thanks!
Micheddy says
I love better than bouillon flavor, makes a lot from the little jar and less space wasted on big containers of broth.