This beef rouladen recipe comes from my Grandma Mary, and it’s a childhood favorite. Tender beef rolls filled with smoky bacon, onions, and dill pickles are slow-braised until melt-in-your-mouth tender, delivering big flavor from simple ingredients and the most incredible gravy.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- What is Rouladen? German beef rouladen is thin-sliced beef spread with mustard, rolled up with bacon, onions, and a dill pickle, then slow-braised until tender and served with brown gravy.
- Flavor: Savory and robust without feeling heavy. Slow braising softens the beef and mellows the onions, while mustard and pickles keep the flavor bright and lively.
- Why Make It: This classic German dish combines everyday, simple ingredients for layers of mouthwatering flavor. It’s one of the best comfort foods of all time (and it’s a dish my Polish grandmother and mom made often)!
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with mashed potatoes or cooked macaroni like my grandma always did. Or it can be paired with spätzle, egg noodles, potato dumplings, baby potatoes, or braised red cabbage (rotkohl).
Choosing the Right Ingredients
- Beef Round or Flank Steak: Choose thin slices of top round steak or flank steak, 8 to 10 inches long, 4.5 inches wide, and ¼-inch thick. In my area, I find beef labeled “Rouladen,” or you can ask the butcher to thinly slice steaks. If using round steaks, you may need to layer two to get a 10-inch length.
- Mustard: My grandma always spread prepared yellow mustard on the beef. For a sharper flavor use Dijon mustard instead.
- Bacon: Use uncooked bacon; it adds smoky flavor and keeps the beef moist.
- Pickle: Our family uses dill pickles (not sweet) in the center of the rouladen. Remember to keep some of the juice for the gravy. The acidity from the pickle tenderizes the meat and adds lots of flavor along with the bacon.
- Gravy: This recipe uses beef broth with a bit of dill pickle juice. My mom always added a can of mushrooms with the juices, so I add them in as well. The juices are later used to make the sauce or gravy for serving. While some recipes add a bit of red wine, my Grandma kept it simple. You can add extra onions to the gravy and a rib of celery and carrot if you’d like for flavor. Discard the carrot/celery before thickening the gravy.
How to Make Rouladen
- Gently pound the beef to tenderize (full recipe below).
- Top with mustard, bacon, and onions, and roll around a pickle, then secure.
- Brown the outside. Add broth and a splash of pickle juice. Simmer.
- Thicken the juices with flour or a cornstarch slurry to make gravy.
Got Leftovers?
Rouladen tastes great the next day! You can also chop up the leftovers and add them to a soup!
It can also be prepared and frozen either before or after cooking. Simply prepare as directed, place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag or air-tight container. To enjoy from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and cook as directed in the recipe.
Comfort Dinners with Incredible Gravy
Did you enjoy this Beef Rouladen? Leave us a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices beef round or thinly sliced flank steak*, ¼-inch
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 6 slices bacon uncooked
- 1 white onion or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 6 dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups reduced sodium beef broth
- ¼ cup dill pickle juice
- 1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms with juices, optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Gravy
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch more as needed
- prepared mashed potatoes or elbow macaroni for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Place the beef slices on a cutting board and gently pound with a meat tenderizer to ¼-inch thickness.
- Spread a thin layer of mustard over each slice and season with salt and pepper.
- Add a slice of bacon to each piece of beef and top with onions and a dill pickle.
- Roll each rouladen jelly-roll style and secure with toothpicks or kitchen twine.
- In a Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the beef rolls and brown on each side.
- Add the beef broth to the Dutch oven, scraping up any brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Add the canned mushrooms with juices if using and ¼ cup pickle juice (and extra onions if desired). Cover and roast 90-120 minutes or until fork-tender.
To Make Gravy
- Transfer the rouladen to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm, leaving the juices in the Dutch oven.
- Heat juices over medium-high heat until boiling, making sure to scrape up any brown bits. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling broth while whisking to reach the desired thickness. You may not need all of the cornstarch mixture.
- Serve rouladen over mashed potatoes or elbow macaroni with gravy.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine German© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Delicious and easy. No alterations to recipe needed.
oh my goodness. I love this recipe. Many years ago I got this recipe from a German restaurant. Was so excited when I found yours. I will be making this again. thankyou This is a recipe you will make to serve all your loved ones
I hope you love it, Frances!
First time trying this beef recipe and we both ‘Loved’ this. Will definitely try this again. I oued add a little more liquid to make more gravy. Delicious with mashed potatoes. Thanks,
Carmen
Made according to the recipe except braised in crockpot. My aunt used to make this – spot on recipe. I do have to say, I used an eye of round, which I pounded, but had smaller pieces than the pics, as I cut across the grain. So- used sandwich sliced dill pickle- cut in half, a half slice of bacon, and a sprinkle of onion. So yum!!! If you like Cubano sandwiches, you’ll love this.
There are many variations of this dish which have evolved due to the likes or dislikes of ones particular family. Dill pickles imbedded in meat would not go over well in my family so my mom substituted a half-slice, cut in half again, of toasted bread and sautéed onions into the middle; I’ve also dined in German restaurants who rolled cooked carrot and onions into the middle. Complimentary substitutions have led to some “better than the original” dishes so don’t be afraid to experiment a little.
Those all sounds like delicious options! Thank you for sharing them.
Can this be cooked in an instant pot ?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Donald, but If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
my omi used to make this. God rest her sweet soul. he added seasoned hamburger to hers with the mustard and the pickle. it’s do good.
So different fro my mom’s but interesting! Can’t wait to try. I LOVE your recipes!
My family loves this recipe. We grew up having this. My parents are German. We make it for special occasions like Christmas Eve. Thank you for sharing so others can enjoy it as well. ❤️
I love hearing your special family traditions, this was such a special recipe in my family too!
Being of German descent, I learnt from my Mother how to make these. Adding the mushrooms may appeal to some but we never added them or the pickles. Someone told me about adding dill pickles so I tried it but I didn’t feel it added any taste difference and omit this in my Rouladen.
The family memories and traditions that come with food and how each family makes it are so special!
Sounds really good but would it taste just as delicious if finished off in the slow cooker instead of oven or stove top?
Hi Joy, this can absolutely be cooked in the slow cooker. I cook it in a slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours. Enjoy!
My Austrian mother in law made this and now I do. The only thing different you do is add canned mushrooms. I will add this. Sounds nice. Cannot always get your finished size. This depends on size and cut of meat available at time. Thanks for sharing.
Mushrooms would be a delicious addition, Liz! Great suggestion.
Hi, I have a question about freezing.
Do you brown the rouladen then freeze?
Or freeze after the roll is made up but not browned yet? I’d like to slow cook the rouladen at my friends house but do all the preparations at mine.
Thank you!
Hi Ingrid, when freezing we do so once it’s prepared (but not browned) and then let fully defrost and brown and cook when ready to enjoy. Hope that helps!
A few breadcrumbs added before rolling to absorb bacon fat,then add a few crushed ginger snaps to gravy,my german friends recipe…Yum
Oh boy, that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing.
That’s how I make my Rouladen same way my mom did I’m going to try flanksteak next we have a German butcher and he has Rouladen already cut or stuffed anyway thank you for that great recipe
What else can I stuff it with,hate dill pickles
You can skip the pickles or use another type of pickled veggie (beans or carrots).
Use sticks of carrots or celery.
I’ve had some Roladen stuffed with carrot which I imagine would have to be precooked before rolling. Our family struggled our Roladen with a sautéed onion & mushroom mixture along with 2 or 3 toasted bread strips. Mom skipped the mustard as well. After browning, place in baking dish. Pour 2 cups of beef broth into browning pan to warm and capture all the bits. Pour enriched broth over Rouladen and bake for 45 minutes. Thicken enriched broth to make a luscious gravy.
Note: Toast bread and cut each slice into 4 or 5 strips.
Never heard of pickle mustard thing…my mom put stuffing in the middle…i just use stove top…its great…
For special occasions (since it is a bit of work) I like to serve them with Croquettes – breaded rolls (about thumb size) of mashed potatoes which are given a stir fry. Delicious.
Sounds delicious, I love that idea!
I haven’t made these since leaving Germany but now might be the right time to make them again. Your recipe served as a memory refresher for me. Can’t wait to make these again.
Can’t wait for you to make them again Carolyn!
Yum, this reminds me of my mom and grandma also! My mom adds celery leaves if she has on hand to her rouladen. Thanks for sharing, I have to make this now.
That sounds like a delicious addition Shauna! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve never heard of this……but it sounds wonderful!
Oh my gosh Deb! It is so wonderful! I can’t wait for you to try it.