Currywurst is a classic German street food where bratwurst or “Brühwurst” (scalded sausage) are smothered in a curry-tomato sauce and usually served with French fries or a crusty bun.
It’s often said to have been created by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949, but there is a bit of uncertainty with some people claiming that it was eaten in other parts of Germany (namely Hamburg and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia) before then.
Either way, nowadays it’s a popular German fast food that you can find in “Imbisse” (small food stalls) across the country in many different variations. Some are made with bratwurst and some with scalded sausage (Brühwurst), some sauces are sweeter and others are more spicy or smoky.
We’ve eaten it many times all over Germany, and it’s one of my sister’s favorite things to order when we’re eating out. Since it’s not readily available in North America, we decided to make our own version at home.
Eric and I are really happy with our currywurst sauce, but I know that personal preferences can vary widely. So please use our recipe as a guideline and adjust it according to your own taste… because there really is no one correct currywurst recipe!
Ingredient Notes
- Yellow onion – Adds extra flavor to the sauce; you can skip it if you don’t like onion, but I recommend adding it.
- Oil – Use a neutral-tasting oil. I usually use sunflower, canola, or avocado oil. You’ll need some for the sauce and some for frying the sausages.
- Tomato paste – Enhances the tomato taste.
- Curry powder – Use a good-quality, relatively mild curry powder since you’ll be adding a lot of it.
- Paprika – Use a good-quality, sweet paprika.
- Tomato passata – The base of the sauce; sometimes it’s also labelled as strained tomatoes.
- Honey – I like to use honey to sweeten the sauce, but some people also use applesauce.
- Dark brown sugar – If you don’t have any dark brown sugar, light brown sugar also works.
- Worcestershire sauce – It adds more depth and complexity to the sauce, so please don’t skip it.
- White wine vinegar – If you don’t have white vinegar, you can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Salt – Enhances the overall flavor; adjust to taste.
- Black pepper – For extra flavor; adjust to taste.
- Cayenne pepper – Optional for a hint of spice.
- Sausages – Either Bratwurst or Brühwurst (look for Bockwurst or Knackwurst, sometimes also called Knockwurst, in the US and Canada; there is a raw sausage also called Knackwurst in Thuringia, don’t get that. You could also use Weißwurst). If using Bratwurst, look for an authentic German-style bratwurst from a European deli or at least a regular Bratwurst without any extra flavors.
Recipe Tips
- There are lots of different ways to make currywurst sauce and your preferences might differ from ours. Use this recipe as a guideline and adjust it as needed.
- Pre-measure all your sauce ingredients before starting. This will make it less stressful during cooking.
- Be sure to finely chop the onion; you don’t want large onion chunks in the sauce. If you want to use onion but dont want even small pieces in your sauce, you can blend it using an immersion blender after simmering (careful so it doesn’t splatter).
- Use a good-quality, mild curry powder, because some curry powders can be quite spicy when added in larger quantities. If you’re a bit sensitive to spice, start with 2 or 3 teaspoons of curry powder and add more, as needed.
- Go easy on the cayenne pepper; you can always add more, but it’s hard to take the spice away.
- We don’t usually cut slits into the Bratwurst before frying so that they stay as juicy as possible. If you’re worried about them bursting open, you can add diagonal slits before cooking.
- You can also grill or air fry the sausages, if you prefer.
- Brown the sausages well; it adds extra flavor to the finished dish.
- You can make the sauce a day ahead and store it in the fridge. Just gently reheat it the next day and add a splash of water, if needed.
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How to Make Currywurst – Step by Step Instructions
First, peel and finely chop the onion.
Next, heat some oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the onions over medium heat until translucent and lightly golden.
Add the tomato paste and cook for a few seconds.
Now turn down the heat to medium-low. Add the curry powder and paprika and cook for just a few seconds.
Then add the tomato passata as well as the rest of the sauce ingredients.
Stir well and simmer without a lid for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
If you don’t like small, soft pieces of onion in your sauce, you can optionally blend it using an immersion blender (careful so it doesn’t splatter).
While the sauce is simmering, heat the rest of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the sausages until fully cooked and browned on all sides.
Slice the sausages (or leave them whole if you prefer), place them on a plate and top with sauce.
Then sprinkle with curry powder and serve it right away with a crusty bun or French fries on the side. Enjoy!
Storage Tips
If you have leftovers, you can store them in sealed containers in the fridge. If possible, store the cooked sausage and sauce separately.
The sausage will keep for about 2-3 days, and the sauce will keep for about 4-7 days in the fridge. In our opinion, the sauce tastes even better the next day.
You can reheat leftovers in a small pan on the stove or in the microwave.
If you know you want to make extra sauce, you can freeze portions for up to 2-3 months or can it in small mason jars (all your equipment should be sterilized).
Related Recipes
If you liked this classic German street food, you may also enjoy these recipes:
- Flammkuchen
- Flädlesuppe (German Pancake Soup)
- Frikadellen (German Meatballs)
- Pork Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, or ½ large
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided (one for the sauce, one for frying the sausages)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 teaspoons curry powder, mild; more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons paprika, sweet
- 1 ½ cups tomato passata, sometimes labeled as strained tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, optional
- 4 sausages, either Bratwurst or Brühwurst (e.g. Bockwurst or Knackwurst/Knockwurst)
Instructions
- Peel and finely chop the onion.1 small yellow onion
- Heat half of the oil in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent and lightly golden (about 3 minutes). Add the tomato paste and cook for a few seconds.1 tablespoons neutral oil, 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add the curry powder and paprika and cook for a few seconds. Now add the tomato passata, honey, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using). Stir well, then simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes while stirring occasionally.4 teaspoons curry powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 ½ cups tomato passata, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- Optional: Blend the sauce with an immersion blender (be careful, it may splatter).
- Taste and adjust the sauce if needed (if it's too tomatoey, add more curry powder or vinegar; if it's too acidic, add more honey or sugar; if it's too thick, add a splash of water; if it's too thin, simmer with the lid off for a few more minutes).
- While the sauce is simmering, heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat and fry the sausage until fully cooked and browned on all sides. Use a splash guard if you have one.1 tablespoons neutral oil, 4 sausages
- Slice the sausages (or leave them whole if you prefer), place them on a plate, and top with sauce. Then sprinkle with more curry powder. Serve right away with a crusty bun or French fries on the side.
Notes
- Use either Bratwurst or a type of “Brühwurst” (look for Bockwurst or Knackwurst, sometimes also called Knockwurst, in the US and Canada; you could also use Weißwurst). If using Bratwurst, look for an authentic German-style bratwurst from a European deli or at least a regular Bratwurst without any extra flavors.
- There are lots of different ways to make currywurst sauce, and your personal preferences might be different from ours. Use this recipe as a guideline and adjust it as needed.
- Pre-measure all your sauce ingredients before starting. This will make it less stressful during cooking.
- Be sure to finely chop the onion; you don’t want large onion chunks in the sauce. If you want to use onion but don’t want even small pieces in your sauce, you can blend it using an immersion blender after simmering (careful so it doesn’t splatter).
- Use a good-quality, mild curry powder, because some curry powders can be quite spicy when added in larger quantities.
- Go easy on the cayenne pepper; you can always add more, but it’s hard to take the spice away.
- We don’t usually cut slits into the Bratwurst before frying so that they stay as juicy as possible. If you’re worried about them bursting open, you can add diagonal slits before cooking.
- You can also grill or air fry the sausages if you prefer.
- You can make the sauce a day ahead and store it in the fridge. Just gently reheat the next day and add a splash of water if needed.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
