Quickly grilled then cooked low and slow these deliciously easy Slow Cooker Beer Brats are an amazing recipe that is fix it and forget it with amazing results when you’re done!
Beer Brats, if you’ve ever tried them then I highly say that it is a must! I am known for my beer brats around my neighborhood, we do a lot of block parties and I always make them.
People get really excited when they know that I’m making them because let’s just say that they are absolutely amazing and you will not want to stop at just one.
Well today I have finally adapted my Beer Brats for the slow cooker! I love having them in the slow cooker, they produce the same great taste but you can just forget about them.
I love being able to not have to keep an eye on my food and focus on other things if I’m cooking or have a busy day ahead so that makes these Slow Cooker Beer Brats one of my all-time favorite recipes.
It’s pretty much everyones favorite recipe I this house. I would live off of these if I could, but I know I have to incorporate some other things into my diet unfortunately.
Some of my other favorite cookout recipes we have on our site include Lemon Pepper Chicken Kabobs, Fall of the Bone Ribs and Grape Salad!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With minimal ingredients, this comes together quickly.
- Grilling the brats quickly before slow cooking them makes sure that you get a nice good char on the outside.
- The onions break down and become caramelized and absolutely delicious.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Brats
Onions
Light brown sugar
Unsalted butter
Beer
Buns
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER BEER BRATS, STEP BY STEP:
- Grill the brats over medium-high heat, just until you get a char on the outside. You are not cooking these all the way through, 10 minutes tops on the grill.
- Place half of the sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with half of the brown sugar.
- Add the brats into the slow cooker.
- Top with the remaining onions, brown sugar then place the sliced butter on top.
- Pour in the beer.
- Slow cook for 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Serve the brats in the hot dog buns and top with the onions and your favorite condiments.
WHAT KIND OF BRATS SHOULD I USE?
For this recipe you will want to use any uncooked brat. We like Johnsonville but any brand will work and any flavor as well such as beer brats, stadium brats or regular.
Just make sure that they are uncooked and not already fully cooked as you want the inside to absorb the flavor when you are cooking these.
You can also cut small slits in them before grilling if you’d like so the beer flavor will soak into the brat, this is a personal preference.
WHAT KIND OF BEER SHOULD I USE?
You can use any of your favorite beers that you’d like but we prefer an amber or a dark beer for this recipe. One of our favorite that we have tried has been Fireman’s Brew Brunette which is a German Doublebock.
But any beer that you have on hand will work even a non-alcohol beer works for these, you are more looking for the flavor of the beer.
DO I HAVE TO GRILL THE BRATS AHEAD OF TIME?
I highly recommend that yes you do grill these ahead of time. You will want that char on the outside of the brat and have them just slightly cooked before you throw them in the slow cooker.
We have tried it just placing them in there uncooked but there is nothing like giving them a little head start on the grill before you continue cooking this Beer Brat Recipe.
WHAT DO I TOP BEER BRATS WITH?
You can top your Slow Cooker Beer Brats with any of your favorite condiments, or nothing at all. Trust me a plain Beer Brat is amazingly flavored especially if you load it up with the onions.
My personal favorite topping is a slightly spicy mustard which really complements the recipe itself. But if you want too really dress these you can go all out with ketchup, mustard, relish and more.
HOW TO STORE BEER BRATS:
If you have any leftovers I would place them and the onions in an airtight container where they need to be refrigerated. They will keep for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, place in the microwave until everything is just heated through then serve on bun with your favorite toppings.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- If you are serving larger crowds you can double this recipe, I would use 2 slow cookers.
- Use uncooked brats for this, pre cooked ones won’t soak up the flavor.
- Grilling before slow cooking is highly recommended to get the nice char and flavor on the outside of the brats themselves.
- You can use hot dog buns or brat buns, whatever you have on hand.
- We like to use an amber or dark beer for these, to see more info check out my tips above.
- You can cook these on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours depending on what time frame you are working in.
If you want a delicious recipe that is great for cookouts and crowds, you are going to want to make a batch of these Slow Cooker Beer Brats!
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If you’ve tried these SLOW COOKER BEER BRATS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Slow Cooker Beer Brats
Ingredients
- 10 Brats
- 2 medium onions medium sliced
- 4 Tbs light brown sugar packed
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter cut into 8 slices
- 12 oz amber or dark beer or your favorite kind
- 10 hot dog buns
Instructions
- Grill the brats over medium-high heat, just until you get a char on the outside. You are not cooking these all the way through, 10 minutes tops on the grill.
- Place half of the sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with half of the brown sugar.
- Add the brats into the slow cooker.
- Top with the remaining onions then brown sugar then place the sliced butter on top.
- Pour in the beer.
- Slow cook for 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Serve the brats in the hot dog buns and top with the onions and your favorite condiments.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Sandy
Can you make this beer brat recipe in an instant pot??
Tornadough Alli
I honestly haven’t tried, so unfortunately I don’t know the outcome.
Bricofemme
Easy and really good. Got raves about this from the guys. A keeper.
Brenda camerino
What kind of onions are best for this recipe? Yellow, white or sweet?
Tornadough Alli
We usually use white for this recipe but sweet would work wonderfully as well.