Slow cooker beer brats are great for an easy family dinner or your next game day party. You can also make this brats recipe in the Instant Pot.
PIN FOR LATER
Updated 2020 with Instant Pot instructions
Ingredients For Beer Brats
There are less than 5 ingredients in this easy slow cooker beer brats recipe:
- Beer: Grab 24 ounces of your preferred beer. Of course certain types of beer work better.
- Brats: This recipe uses 5 brats which is the standard grocery store packaging. Feel free to double the recipe if you have a larger slow cooker.
- Onion: I like to use 1 medium-size onion. If you think you’ll want more onions, use more. Or omit them all together.
- Seasonings: The seasonings are simple – salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
How To Make Beer Brats In The Slow Cooker
Making beer brats in the slow cooker is very easy. Add all the ingredients and let it cook on low for 6-8 hours. After it’s done cooking, I almost always take the extra step to grill or broil my brats afterwards. This is listed as optional but recommended.
- Add onion to the slow cooker. Add bratwursts on top.
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour beer on top.
- Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.
before (slow cooker)
What Are Brats
The term ‘brats’ is short for bratwurst. Bratwurst is a type of sausage that originated in Germany but is made around the world. In the United States, Wisconsin in particular is known for not just bratwursts but for creating beer brats. Beer brats are bratwursts that have been simmered in beer with onions and then grilled before serving. Bratwursts are sold in nationwide grocery stores, they should not be hard to find or too expensive.
after (slow cooker)
What Type Of Beer To Use
Your preferred beer! I used Rolling Rock because I don’t drink beer so I went with the beer my late Grandfather used to drink. In general lagers are good beers to use with beer brats because their flavor don’t take away from the brat. They’re also affordable & you can pretty much find them anywhere.
Grill or Broil
When they’re done cooking in their beer bath, beer brats are then removed and then either grilled or broiled until they’re nice & crisp. Since pressure cookers have a saute function, you pre-cook the sausage directly in the appliance so there’s no need to grill or broil the sausage afterwards. Unless you want to. Sometimes I still find that after the beer bath in the Instant Pot my sausage still need to go under my broiler for a few minutes.
How To Serve Beer Brats
How you serve the beer brats is up to you. The obvious answer is with the onions that are cooked with them. Aside from that, the sky is the limit. My preferred toppings are sauerkraut and mustard.
Other Sausage Recipes
Sausage, Potatoes & Green Beans
I cooked 5 brats in a 3.5-quart slow cooker for this recipe. If you’re going to double the recipe, you will need a large 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Print Slow Cooker Beer Brats
- Total Time: 10 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 5 bratwursts, uncooked
- 1 medium-size onion, sliced
- 24 ounces beer
- 1 /2 teaspoons garlic powder
- Pinch salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp oil or butter (for pressure cooker)
Instructions
- Add onion to the slow cooker. Add bratwursts on top.
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour beer on top.
- Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.
- Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add butter/oil and the brats. Cook 2-4 minutes on each side or until browned to your liking.
- Remove brats. Add onions and cook 3-5 minutes or until soft. Turn off pressure cooker.
- Pour in beer and deglaze the bottom of the pressure cooker by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Stir in garlic powder, salt & pepper. Add bratwursts.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure for 6 minutes. When done, quick release the pressure.
AFTER COOKING
- Remove brats from the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Place on a baking sheet & heat under the broiler for 3-5 minutes OR grill over medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
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Lorenzo
Saturday 3rd of February 2018
This is perfect for Super Bowl! Cant wait to try it- I really like the idea to sear the outside for a grilled look