German cuisine is scrumptious, hearty, and diversified. It’s comfort food made with the highest, often local ingredients.
Germany’s cuisine has been affected not just by agricultural traditions but also by the many immigrants who have settled in the nation throughout the years.
It is unquestionably more than a simple concoction of beer, sauerkraut, and sausage.
Today’s Germans value both well-prepared, well-served dinners and fast bites on the move. Culinary marketplaces, beer halls, wine festivals, food museums, and high-end restaurants abound in this nation.
Thus, do you suffer from hunger? Are you hungry at the moment? Take a look at our selection of 20 typical German foods that you must taste during your visit.
1. Königsberger Klopse
This delectable meal of meatball dipped in creamy white sauce with capers, named after the old East Prussian city of Königsberg. This dish is a favorite of grandmothers and chefs alike.
Traditionally, meatballs are cooked with chopped veal, onions, egg, anchovies, pepper, and other spices. Pickles and lemon juice in the sauce provide an unexpected elegance to this hearty comfort dish.
When the German Democratic Republic, authorities renamed the meal kochklopse (boiled meatballs) to prevent any allusion to the dish’s namesake, which the Soviet Union had conquered. Today, königsberger klopse may be found in most German restaurants with their original name, although they are particularly popular in both Berlin and Brandenburg.
2. Maultaschen
Maultaschen is similar to ravioli but larger. They are generally hand, rectangular pockets of dough filled with a variety of savory, sweet, meaty, and vegetarian contents.
Traditionally, minced beef, bread crumbs, onions, and spinach are combined and seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley. They are often boiled in broth rather than sauce for a softer, creamier delight, but are occasionally fried in a hot skillet and buttered for added richness.
Today, Maultaschen are available across Germany (even refrigerated in supermarkets), although they are most prevalent in the south.
The delectable dumplings have grown so popular in this area that the European Union designated Maultaschen as a local specialty and designated the meal as vital to Baden-cultural Württemberg’s heritage in 2009.
3. Labskaus
Labskaus may not be the most physically beautiful meal, but it is a wonderful mess that best embodies northern Germany’s maritime roots. Ship rations in the 18th and 19th centuries were primarily preserved cuisine, and the pinkish slop of Labskaus was a delectable method to prepare them.
Salted beef, onions, potatoes, and pickled beetroot are mashed together in a porridge-like consistency and served with dill pickles and rollmops (see below). It has traditionally been a favorite of sailors in the Baltic and North Seas.
Today, the dish is popular across northern Germany, particularly in Bremen, Kiel, and Hamburg. And although refrigerators have been installed on newer ships, it continues to be popular as a headache treatment.
4. Sausages
Germany would not exist without sausages.
Although there are other cured, smoked, and other variations available across wurst-loving Germany, this list will concentrate on some of the greatest German local cuisine: bratwurst or fried sausages.
There are around 40 variants of bratwurst in Germany. Fried on the grill or in the pan and then eaten in a white slice of bread with mustard on the go or with mashed potatoes or sauerkraut as the ideal companion to German beer.
Among the most popular bratwurst are the following:
- Fraconian fränkische bratwurst with marjoram as a distinguishing element.
- Nürnberger rost bratwurst, which is modest in size and mostly grilled.
- Thüringer rostbratwurst, a spicy sausage from Thuringia. Thuringia is also home to Germany’s first bratwurst monument, which opened its doors in 2006.
However, the most popular version of bratwurst is the following item on our list.
5. Currywurst
Since 1945, Currywurst has been almost associated with German cuisine. Herta Heuwer, a Berlin lady, obtained ketchup and powder to make curries from British soldiers, blended them together, and served the resulting concoction over grilled sausage, quickly establishing a German street food staple.
Today, boiled and fried sausages are utilized, and Currywurst remains one of Germany’s most popular sausage-based street snacks, particularly in Berlin, Cologne, and the Rhine-Ruhr, where it is often eaten with fries and ketchup or mayonnaise or a piece of bread.
Not the most complex of cuisines, but a satisfying street snack born of a need that has enraged the whole country: over 800 million are devoured annually.
6. Kebab Doner
Döner kebab was brought to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s by Turkish immigrant laborers. One of the early street vendors was Kadir Nurman, who began selling Döner kebab sandwiches in 1972 at Western Berlin’s Zoo Station, from whence the cuisine quickly spread across West and East Berlin, and eventually throughout Germany.
From its modest Berlin origins, when a Döner kebab consisted of of meat, onions, and a little salad, it has evolved into a meal that includes an abundance of salad, vegetables (sometimes cooked), and a variety of sauces.
Veal and poultry spits are popular, as is lamb, but vegetarian and vegan options are becoming more prevalent.
7. Schnitzel
While some may claim that schnitzel is an Austrian dish rather than a German one, its roots are really in Italy.
This debate, however, has not prevented breaded and fried pork cutlets from gaining popularity across Germany. While the Viennese or Austrian schnitzel is required to be made entirely of veal, the German counterpart is produced entirely of tenderized pig or poultry and has become a mainstay of most traditional eateries.
Unlike in Vienna, where schnitzel is eaten plain, Germans like ladling a variety of sauces over theirs. The jägerschnitzel is served with a mushroom sauce, the zigeunerschnitzel is served with a bell pepper sauce, and the rahmschnitzel is served with a thick milky sauce.
All of these dishes go nicely with potato wedges and a cool beer or a glass of Franconian apple wine.
8. Saumagen
Saumagen was popularized by Prime Minister Helmut Kohl, who, like the meal, was a Palatinate native. Kohl adored Saumagen and offered it to distinguished guests such as Margaret Thatcher, Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
Although the precise translation of this meal is “sow’s stomach,” Saumagen is much less unusual than its name suggests.
Similar to Scottish haggis, it is created by inserting pork, potato, carrot, onions, marjoram, nutmeg, and white pepper into the belly of a pig (or a fake one).
It is then cut and fried on a hot skillet or oven-roasted, and as Kohl was well aware, pairs excellently with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and a glass of dry white wine from the Palatinate.
9. Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Germany is home to an abundance of cakes, but one of the most famous is the Schwarzwälder kirsch torte, or Black Forest gateau.
The cake is not called after the Black Forest mountainous region in southern Germany but from a regional specialty liquor made from sour cherries, Schwarzwälder kirsch.
It is said to have been invented by Josef Keller in 1915 at Bonn’s Café Agner. It normally comprises of multiple tiers of cocoa-filled sponge cake sandwiched with cream and sour cherries and drizzled with kirschwasser. More whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings are used to embellish.
After World War II, its popularity expanded rapidly and persistently in Germany, and it was at this time frame that the kirschtorte began to emerge in other countries, most notably the British Isles.
Whichever the reason for its popularity, it is as at home with coffee and cake in a German café on a Sunday afternoon as it is with dessert.
10. Spaghettieis
Spaghettieis is a frozen yogurt treat shaped like a plate of pasta. Vanilla ice cream is squeezed into the shape of spaghetti using a modified noodle pressing machine or potato ricer. It is then topped with whipped cream and strawberry sauce in lieu of red sauce and milk chocolate shavings in place of parmesan.
Apart from the traditional strawberry sauce, versions with dark chocolate ice cream and almonds are also offered, resembling spaghetti carbonara rather than spaghetti Bolognese.
Dario Fontanella, the son of an Italian immigrant who made ice cream in Mannheim, Germany, introduced spaghetti ice cream in 1969. Fortunately for us, and maybe sadly for Dario, he did not patent his spaghetti ice cream, which is now accessible in almost every ice cream shop in Germany.
Dario did, however, get the “Bloomaulorden,” a city of Mannheim award, in 2014 for his culinary skills.
11. Rollmops
Rollmops are pickled herring fillets that have been boiled or fried and then wrapped around a savory filling like a fermented gherkin or greenish olives with pimento. They have been eaten on the coastlines since medieval times.
Rollmops became popular in the early nineteenth century, when the long-distance railroad network enabled the transportation of pickled food, and have been a traditional snack on German menus ever since.
Rollmops are often purchased prepared in jars and are consumed directly from the jar, without unrolling, or on toast, occasionally with labskaus (see above). Furthermore, they, like labskaus, are often offered as part of the German katerfrühstück, or hangover breakfast.
12. Reibekuchen
In Germany, the fried potato pancake is so ubiquitous that they have over 40 different names. They are variously referred to as Reibekuchen, kartoffelpuffer, reibeplätzchen, reiberdatschi, and grumbeerpannekuche.
Reibekuchen are another iconic German comfort food and street food. They are often eaten with sauce made from apples, on blackened pumpernickel rye bread, or with treacle (a sweet syrup)
They are popular throughout the year: they are particularly popular in Cologne and the Rhineland during the spring Karneval celebrations, and all German Holiday markets have Reibekuchen merchants who produce loads of potato dough daily during the holiday season.
13. Spargel
The Germans are obsessed with white asparagus. As soon as the harvest season begins in mid-April, asparagus dishes begin to appear on restaurant menus across Germany, from cities like Frankfurt, Munich, Aachen and Flensburg.
This is spargelzeit, asparagus season, and it is much recognized. The typical German consumes asparagus at least thrice a day during spargelzeit. This equates to a national consumption of more than 70,000 tons of asparagus each year.
Nobody knows for certain where this obsession with white asparagus originated, although the oldest record mentioning its production in the Stuttgart area is from 1686. There are Spargel events, a Spargel route through Baden-Württemberg, and innumerable kiosks selling the “white gold” along Germany’s highways.
Asparagus is typically boiled or steamed in restaurants with hollandaise, melted butter, or olive oil. It is available wrapped in bacon or piled into schnitzel; asparagus broth, fried asparagus, herb-infused pancakes, asparagus with scrambled eggs, or asparagus with baby potatoes. When spargelzeit concludes on June 24, St. John the Baptist Day, there is an audible sigh across Germany.
14. Zwiebelkuchen and Federweisser
October is the month to sample the first wines of the year in Germany, while federweisser und Zwiebelkuchen is a popular culinary delight in the south (slightly fermented white wine and onion-based tart).
Federweisser, which literally translates as “feather white,” is prepared by fermenting grapes with yeast. Federweisser is sold after the alcohol content exceeds 4%. It is mostly consumed in the region where it is made. Due to the rapid fermentation, it must be eaten within a few days after bottling. Additionally, because of the high amount of carbonation, it cannot be bottled or carried in an airtight container.
In early October, people come to markets and wine gardens along the Mosel River to drink federweisser and feast on crispy, freshly cooked onion pastries called Zwiebelkuchen. It combines beautifully with the savory, warm onion cake due to its mild and sweet flavor.
15. Pinkel mit grünkohl
Pinkel mit grünkohl, or cooked kale with sausage, is a delectable winter comfort dish popular in northern Germany, particularly in the area around Oldenburg, Bremen, and Osnabrück, as well as East Frisia and France.
The cooked kale is combined with mustard and bacon, while the “Pinkel” sausage is created with bacon, oat or barley groats, cow suet, pig fat, onion, and salt and pepper.
Germans occasionally commemorate winter with a classic “Grünkohlfahrt,” a brisk trek followed by schnapps and concluded with a warm kale meal at a rural inn.
16. Pizza
Pizza is popular in Germany when it comes to fast food, and if you’ve been to the proper locations, it can be superb. The finest pizza joint we discovered was a little Italian eatery near Munich’s central station that had some of the most delectable pizzas I’ve ever had.
17. Frikadeller
Personally, I am enamored with Frikadellers, which can be found around Berlin. They may be produced with nearly any type of meat such as beef, pig, veal, or even horse meat sausage.
18.Rouladen
Rouladen are chunks of slow-cooked beef wrapped in bacon strips and pickles and eaten with boiled potatoes and gravy sauce. When stewed for hours in a crockpot, they become delightfully soft and juicy.
18. Fries made with duck fat
The greatest fries are made with duck fat and can be found across Berlin in cafés, restaurants, and even take-away stores. They’re crispy on the exterior and have a pleasing crunch that conventional fries typically lack due to its lower cooking temperature – which is really low! The potatoes are fried in duck or goose oil until golden brown and then served hot to satiate your salty desires and any hunger you may have after hours of walking.
19. Hamburgers
Burger buns in the manner of Hamburg exist independently of what an American refers to as “hamburgers.” A real German hamburger is made with grilled sausage, a bun, and condiments such as tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, sliced onions, or pickle.
20. Fish
Fish is available on German menus as fillets or battered fillets, which may be purchased at any grocery shop counter. It might not get much greater than that when it comes to choosing the best fast food in the United States.
21. Die Pommes
What list of the finest fast-food restaurants in Germany would be complete without adding Die Pommes? What Americans often refer to as ‘French Fries’ have been ingrained in their society as if they were always there. This is a deep-fried potato that goes well with almost everything and is a frequent side dish for a variety of meals.
22. Pretzel
Pretzels have existed for generations but have only lately gained popularity in the United States. In Germany, it’s difficult to find a baker’s shop that does not sell pretzels. They are often served with mustard, but may be stuffed with cheese or coated in chocolate and dusted with salt.
23. Kebab
Kebabs are available at Turkish stalls around Germany. They are often cooked with veal that has been simmered over a charcoal fire and then stuffed on a baguette with cabbage, tomato, cucumber, and onions. Kebabs are ideal for individuals who are unable to consume pig or who want to avoid fried dishes.
24. Beer
Beer is available at all establishments and may be bought at any pub, restaurant, or fast-food restaurant. It’s a refreshing beverage that may be had cold or warm depending on the season. Germany’s enthusiasm for well-crafted, delectable beer is well-known around the globe. Numerous German brewers continue to create beer according to the 1516 Reinheitsgebot, which specifies that beer may only be prepared using water, barley, and hops. (Yeast was unheard of at the time.)
Brewers were not even legally permitted to introduce yeast and malts to beer until 1993.
Why not sample a few of these beers while traveling around Germany to obtain a real experience of the country’s greatest fast food?