Currywurst

Name: Currywurst
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 portions
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 4 piece German sausages, bratwurst, fine-textured if you can choose; 250 g Tomato ketchup; 100 g Passata; 1 small Onion, very finely chopped; 2 tbsp Curry powder, mild, plus more for dusting; 1 tsp Paprika, sweet; 1 tbsp Vinegar; 1 tbsp Sugar; 50 ml Water; 2 tbsp Neutral oil, one for the sauce, one for the pan; 0.5 tsp Chilli flakes

Berlin snack-stand sausage sliced into coins under a cooked curry-ketchup sauce and a dusting of curry powder.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Rest: None
Total: 35 min
Difficulty: Very easy
Spice: Mild
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Currywurst is a fried bratwurst cut into coins, covered in a warm ketchup-based sauce spiked with curry powder, dusted with more curry powder and handed over on a paper tray with a tiny fork. The sauce here is cooked rather than squeezed: ketchup, a little passata, onion, vinegar, sugar, paprika and curry powder simmered for 15 minutes until it tastes like something that happened in a pan. The sausages fry slowly so they brown without bursting. Fries or a bread roll on the side. Berlin serves it with the skin off; the Ruhr leaves it on.

What you'll need

11 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 11 ready

4 servings

Ingredients

Servings

German sausages, bratwurst, fine-textured if you can choose4
Tomato ketchup250 g
Passata100 g
Onion, very finely chopped1 small
Curry powder, mild, plus more for dusting30 ml
Paprika, sweet4.9 ml
Vinegar15 ml
Sugar15 ml
Water50 ml
Neutral oil, one for the sauce, one for the pan30 ml
Chilli flakes (optional)2½ ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Soften the onion in a tablespoon of oil over low heat for 5 minutes without colouring. Add the curry powder and paprika and stir for 30 seconds until they smell toasted.
6 min
Step 2
Add ketchup, passata, vinegar, sugar and water. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring so it does not catch, until it is glossy and a shade darker. Taste for sweet, sour and heat.
15 min
Tip: It should be thick enough to sit on a sausage coin, not run off it.
Step 3
Fry the sausages in the remaining oil over medium heat, turning often, for 10 to 12 minutes until browned all over and firm.
12 min
Watch: High heat splits the skins. Slow is better.
Step 4
Slice each sausage into 2 cm coins, pile on a plate or tray, spoon the sauce over and dust generously with curry powder. Eat at once with fries or a roll.
3 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 411 kcal
Protein: 29 g
Carbs: 24.4 g
Fat: 21.1 g
Saturated fat: 5.9 g
Fibre: 1.1 g
Sugar: 18.3 g
Sodium: 667 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.

Gluten-free
Dairy-free
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Bratwurst → Any good pork sausage, or bockwurst
Bockwurst only needs heating through in water, then a quick fry.

Tips

The sauce keeps a week in the fridge and is better on day two.
Berlin stands sell it 'ohne Darm' (skinless). If you have skinless bratwurst, poach them 5 minutes before frying so they hold together.

History & culture

Imbiss food: the stand outside the station, after the match, at two in the morning. Berlin and the Ruhr both claim it and neither will concede. It is eaten standing up, with a wooden fork, by people in suits and people in overalls. Germany has had a currywurst museum, a currywurst song and works canteens that measure morale in sausages sold.

Herta Heuwer, who ran a stand in Charlottenburg, is credited with the sauce in 1949, mixing ketchup and curry powder she got from British soldiers. Hamburg has a competing claim. Either way it is a postwar dish built from occupation-era goods and never pretended otherwise.

Traditional — Stand sauces are closely guarded and usually start from a commercial base. A home sauce built from ketchup and spice is how most Germans make it at home.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Currywurst take?

35 min all in — 10 min prep, 25 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 portions. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Very easy.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

8 more questions

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Saucepan, Chef's knife.

How much salt do I put in?

This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.

How much vinegar?

1 tbsp of Vinegar.

How much sugar?

1 tbsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Bratwurst → Any good pork sausage, or bockwurst. Bockwurst only needs heating through in water, then a quick fry.

What should I watch for?

High heat splits the skins. Slow is better.

Any tips from this recipe?

The sauce keeps a week in the fridge and is better on day two. Berlin stands sell it 'ohne Darm' (skinless). If you have skinless bratwurst, poach them 5 minutes before frying so they hold together.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.