My One-Pan Sausage and Potatoes Is German Comfort Food Made Easy

I turned my family’s German potato salad into a full meal.

By
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning
Ivy Manning is the author of 10 cookbooks including the best seller Instant Pot Miracle 6 Ingredients or Less. She has 2 decades of experience teaching cooking classes and writing articles for magazines and online outlets including Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Simply Recipes, and many others. 
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Published September 22, 2025
Ivy Manning
Skillet with sliced sausage potatoes and kale arranged neatly

Simply Recipes/ Shilpa Iyer

As fall approaches, I can't help but pine for the cozy German flavors that I grew up on in Wisconsin. One of my family’s favorites has always been what Midwesterners call German potato salad. This delicious combo of warm Yukon golds tossed in a sweet-sour warm apple cider vinegar and brown sugar dressing is the epitome of comfort food. 

The flavors of caraway and grainy mustard (and sometimes bacon) add to the Bavarian-inspired charm of the dish. Where I’m from, it’s nearly always served with grilled bratwurst. It’s a dish so nostalgic, I want summer to hurry up and be over every time I think of it. 

Skillet meal with sliced sausage potatoes and kale on a countertop

Simply Recipes/ Shilpa Iyer

Taking German Potato Salad Beyond Side Dish Territory

Over the years, I’ve taken my family’s German potato salad recipe and morphed it into a full one-pan meal. Rather than grill bratwurst separately, I fry fully cooked smoked bratwurst in the same pan as the potatoes, all the better to soak up the sausage flavor. I usually opt for Johnsonville smoked bratwurst because they taste like home, but any fully cooked smoked sausage will work with this recipe.

Once the potatoes are sautéed until half-done, I add chicken broth and caraway seeds to the pan, cover it, and let them steam until creamy and tender. In the interest of getting some more veggies into the meal, I also add a few fistfuls of torn kale to the pan. They steam to tender perfection in the time it takes to finish cooking the spuds.

I like lacinato, but red Russian kale and curly kale cook up beautifully in this dish as well. If kale isn’t your thing, stir in some baby spinach right before serving. The leaves will wilt from the heat of the potatoes.

To finish the dish, I make a dressing of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and generous dollops of grainy Bavarian-style mustard. I gently fold the dressing and the sausage (now sliced) into the potatoes, making sure not to break them up too much. A quick simmer thickens the liquid in the pan and coats everything in deliciousness.

The result is a skillet full of dreamy warm potatoes and kale with German sausage that’s done in 30 minutes and is just begging to be paired with a couple of bottles of Oktoberfest craft brew to wash it down.

A plated dish of sausage slices potatoes and kale on a yellow plate with a fork

Simply Recipes/ Shilpa Iyer

More German Dishes

German Sausage and Potatoes

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 23 mins
Total Time 33 mins
Servings 4 servings
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Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

  • 1 (14-ounce) package smoked bratwurst or other fully cooked sausages

  • 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

  • 3 cups shredded or torn kale leaves (about 1/2 bunch kale), tough center ribs removed

  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

  • 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons grainy mustard

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar, packed

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Brown the sausages:

    Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning with tongs occasionally, until browned and heated through, 5 minutes. Cut the sausages into 1/3-inch thick slices, transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with foil.

  2. Cook the potatoes and kale:

    Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until half-cooked when pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes.

    Add the kale, broth, and caraway seeds. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.

  3. Make the dressing:

    While the potatoes cook, combine the vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar in a small bowl.

  4. Combine:

    When the potatoes are done, pour the vinegar mixture over them and stir gently with a rubber spatula. Increase heat to medium high and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the potatoes, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

    Top the potato mixture with the sliced sausages and serve immediately.

    Refrigerate cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Serve cold or gently reheated in the microwave or a skillet.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
584 Calories
36g Fat
48g Carbs
19g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 584
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 36g 46%
Saturated Fat 10g 51%
Cholesterol 63mg 21%
Sodium 863mg 38%
Total Carbohydrate 48g 17%
Dietary Fiber 6g 22%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 19g
Vitamin C 56mg 282%
Calcium 132mg 10%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 1506mg 32%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.