How to Cook Bratwurst in the Oven

This is how to cook bratwurst in the oven at 400 with onions and bell peppers! Sheet pan Johnsonville brats in oven are an easy meal that is cheap and everyone loves. Served inside rolls for a German meal with sauerkraut or as bangers and mash with mashed potatoes it’s packed with protein and a hearty meal.

Cooking Bratwurst in the Oven 400

I love how easy this is, and that all 5 of us love it for dinnertime. You see I grew up with a very German Grandfather, who took me to the Octoberfest in his city every year. I’m talking he wore his lederhosen, hat with pins from his hometown on it, and we always ate THIS!

To say this brings back lots of memories in an understatement. You don’t have to come from Germany to love this meal and now I have instructions for making it all sorts of ways.

We have shared all the things pork on our site. Of course these can be made with veal or or beef but most commonly pork. Cooking methods we’ve done in the past are: smoked brats, Ninja Foodi sausage, and how to steam Instant Pot beer brats (link above) in no time at all.

How to Cook Frozen Brats in Oven

Frozen doesn’t really change the cook time believe it or not. If you don’t want a sort of crispy texture on the outside of your baked brats I’d check at minute 25. You can toast buns on a griddle or in the oven as well to warm and get a bit crispy. Just as easy as how to cook frozen hot dogs for dinner.

If you haven’t cooked from frozen before it’s quite easy and this is a great one to start with. Either way you just lay them on the baking sheet with vegetables you might like around them. There is no reason to poke them so starting out rock hard is okay! Then you should read about how to cook a frozen roast in the oven. That is another surprising success story for dinner we have made time and time again right out of the freezer.

What to Add to Sheet Pan Brats

Now we are throwing these babies right on to a baking sheet and cooking them with all the things you’d want to include on your buns. That is the way to cook right??!! A dump and go meal of sorts. No need to make air fryer peppers on the side and combine the two when done. Just throw those right alongside each piece.

Of course if you just want to make them as is and serve with sauerkraut then you could use a smaller pan. Now here you see two slightly different colors. The difference is the redder version is spicy and the other is “regular”. It is nice to have both if it is your first go around so your family can see which they like better.

Let’s start with what was cooked here on the same tray. A mixture of sliced red onion, yellow and red bell peppers looked good at the store so that’s that. If you were making Boiled Brats you could just cook the veggies this way too.

The instructions are really quite easy. You always want to preheat your oven so everything bakes at the same temperature for the entire duration. Lay down the veggies with the meat on top and all of this should be tossed or brushed with a bit of olive oil. Seasonings are optional but salt and pepper are easy ones.

Knowing How Long to Cook Sausage in Oven is vital because you always want to ensure the middle is cooked all the way thru of course since these are starting out as raw. Remember, brats and sausage are not the same thing. Many of the latter can be found precooked and you’re just warming at home. These need to reach the proper internal temperature before consuming to be safe.

How to Cook Johnsonville Brats in Oven

• First you’re going to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Slice all of the bell peppers and onions into thick strips. Place these into a bowl.
• Toss all of the veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper. Leave a little oil on the side to drizzle on bratwurst.
• Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, aluminum foil, or spray with non stick spray. Pour veggies on top in a single layer. Lay meat on top of them. Drizzle remaining oil on meat.
• Bake bratwurst for 25-30 minutes turning meat half way thru cook time.
  • Use a meat thermometer in the middle of the meat to check if it has reached 160 degrees.

If you want to crisp outsides, broil for 2 minutes or so and then serve on buns with pepper mix and mustard. You could use your air fryer or grill brats outside too to get that crispy snap you want. Can take another 15 minutes or so including time to prep this additional step but worth it.

What to serve with brats

The brand really doesn’t matter, most all of them are the same size with 5 in the package so store brands or name brands will take the same cook time. There are a ton of options as far as what to make with them. If you ate this as a child you likely have a MUST in mind but if you need a few suggestions boy do we have them.

• Our Instant Pot fried cabbage is out of this world. We make this with corned beef and these.
• Some like potato or cucumber salad as cold options
• I have a whole other post all about simple cabbage recipes because we make it so often with all the things

To serve, transfer into a casserole dish with hoagie rolls in a basket on the side and all the fixings available. Mustard sauce and our quick sauerkraut recipe is a must.

How to store leftover brats

If you have leftovers you can store them in a freezer bag once they are cooled and into the fridge they go. Reheat within 1-2 days in a pan on your stovetop. You can pour a bit of beer in to steam with a lid. Looking for other tips and tricks to make meal time faster? Last week we shared how to cook frozen bacon in the oven, try that too.