14 of the best bratwurst toppings -

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Next time you're looking to cook up some delicious Bratwurst, or even just some standard air fryer sausages, check out these 14 Bratwurst toppings. They are some of the best Bratwurst toppings and they all go really well on my air fryer brats.

Bratwurst, a German sausage, is packed full of flavour, typically made from pork, but sometimes beef or veal too. Brats are packed full of flavour, so you may not feel the need for lots of different toppings, but I'm going to share some of my favourite ones with you today!

What I love about the best Brat toppings is that most of them are super simple to prepare, taking just minutes, and you can have them all laid out for feeding a hungry crowd. Everyone can make up their own Brats, with their favourite toppings, and then chow down on their flavor packed brats.

Cooking up Brats, particularly in the air fryer, is really convenient, easy and can be a great way to feed a hungry crowd as well. I love that brats are well priced, and readily available in discounter supermarkets, like Lidl, to help me save a little money on groceries.

Cooked air fryer bratwurst in buns, with air fryer onion rings, grilled and crispy onions and stoneground mustard. The Bratwurst (3) are dressed with sauerkraut, dressed with mustard and onions and dressed with mustard and jalapeños

Best Bratwurst accompaniments:

Mustard

A classic of course! Stone ground mustard seems to be the preferred choice in my home, and when we have guests.

You'll probably want to buy shop bought, but if not to make this yourself you'll need to grind brown mustard seeds with a stone mill/pestle and mortar, and then it will be ready to go! The prep time is pretty minimal if you want to be authentic!

I always add some salt and pepper to my stone ground mustard, as I feel that it brings a little hit of flavour.

I have also used dijon mustard and standard English mustard too. Both taste nice, but the stone ground stuff is the best! If you're on a budget just buy whatever is cheapest, as a little goes a long way, and mustard and ketchup together are a real classic.

Air fryer frozen onion rings in a metal bowl

Ketchup

Another classic. Typical for topping Brats, hotdogs, sausages etc. We just use whatever we have to hand, no need for anything special.

Ketchup and mustard go great together and I love this flavour combination.

A white and mushroom coloured plate with cooked air fryer carrot fries with a blue circle bowl with sriracha mayonnaise.

Sauerkraut

This is a topping that I was a little apprehensive about trying but actually it was SO good. This has to be once of the best topping ideas for brats to be honest! We bought ours ready made, and it was tasty.

You can find sauerkraut in the world food aisle of most supermarkets, I have also seen it near the gherkins and similar pickled vegetables in most UK supermarkets.

Sauerkraut has quite a few health benefits, helping to boost your immune system and even help you to improve your digestion too. Fermented foods are full of good bacteria, called probiotics, which are great for your gut health.

Beef chilli cooked in the Ninja foodi in a metal serving dish with green peppers, mixed beans and tomatoes visible

Chilli

I love to make a nice big pot of slow cooker beef chilli or Ninja Foodi beef chilli from time to time. This is great for topping air fryer jacket potatoes (or slow cooker jacket potatoes) and I love to freeze it in smaller portions for times like this. A squeeze of lime juice brings some extra flavour to it too and helps freshen it up.

Chilli is easy to make on a budget, as you can bulk it out with lentils, beans and other vegetables too. It's really easy to make and can happily simmer away from the afternoon to really boost the flavour profile.

Cooked chicken fajitas with red, yellow and orange peppers and red onion wedges on baking paper in an enamel baking dish

Pickled jalapeños / pickle relish

One for the spice lovers! Personally I think these work particularly well with beer brats, or grilled brats. I love to slice the air fryer Brats in half and then cook them for a couple more minutes. Then I layer it with pickled jalapeños, sauerkraut and cheese sauce. Yum!

All things pickled work well with brats really, as they bring a nice sharp flavour to the brat and it really works well together.

Tomato and chilli salsa in a serving dish with a side of air fryer tortilla chips on a wooden board

Salsa / pineapple salsa

I love to make my own tomato and chilli salsa, but pineapple salsa is actually another traditional recipe to serve with Brats. These recipes are both quite straight forward, and pretty frugal too.

I've had both types of salsa, and while I'm not a big fan of pineapple it actually works really well, bringing a lovely sweetness and bit of zing at the same time that is nice and fresh.

Nacho cheese sauce in a mushroom coloured bowl with tortilla chips

Nacho cheese sauce

For this one I make my own nacho cheese sauce. It's really simple to prepare, taking just a few minutes, and is ideal for drizzling all over the top of your dressed Brats.

You can find this in the fresh section of your local supermarket or you can even buy a squeezy cheese sauce.

Air fryer onions - one bowl of grilled style onions and one bowl of crispy onions. In the background is a bratwurst in a bun decorated with sauerkraut

Grilled onions

My air fryer comes in handy here as I use it to make air fryer onions, both grilled style AND crispy style. Something for everyone! We do love onion rings too!

Grilled onions are nice and cheap, easy to prepare in batches and they bring a lovely flavour to the Brats too.

Coleslaw

My simple Vegan coleslaw recipe works well here. You can just change the mayonnaise from Vegan to dairy based if you want to make it a little cheaper, or just don't fancy the Vegan mayo.

This adds a lovely crunch to the top, and is a great way to bring a little sauce in without having it pour all over your hands.

A green chopping board with sliced and grated cheddar cheese, crusty bread and a microplane grater

Cheese

Whether you want to use sliced cheese, grated cheddar cheese or parmesan, they will all work really well on the top of a grilled or air fried Brat.

I love to use cheddar cheese, a nice strong mature one, as it brings some extra salty flavour for me!

two pieces of air fryer hunters chicken on parchment paper in a white enamel baking dish. In the background there are air fryer green beans and air fryer hasselback potatoes

Mac and cheese

If I want to make something a little different I'll go for this bacon, mac and cheese pasta bake. It feeds a hungry crowd, is really hearty and filling, and a little sprinkled over the top of a Brat is a real treat too!

Three air fryer hasselback potatoes that have been cooked in the air fryer in a red stoneware baking dish from Le Creuset

Pulled pork

My slow cooker pulled pork is always a hit. When cooking it up I will freeze some little portions of leftovers, more the right size for stuffing into an air fryer grilled cheese or topping a Ninja Foodi baked potato, and these portions work great for serving with Brats too.

2 ingredient bbq sauce made with tomato ketchup and brown sugar in a red Le Creuset ramekin.

BBQ sauce

My brown sugar BBQ sauce is a welcome addition to any Brats, particularly if they're being served family style for everyone to dig in, accompanied by a load of sides.

Smoked bacon rashers cooked in an air fryer

Bacon

You can keep it nice and simple. I like to air fry bacon beforehand, and then everyone can just take as much as they want when dressing their own Brats.