The Originators of Quick & Easy Cooking!
Sauerbraten with Ginger Gravy

- SERVES
- 4
- COOK TIME
- 45 Min
Our take on this traditional German pot roast uses tender cubed steak that's covered in a flavorful ginger gravy. It's a tasty comfort food you'll wanna eat over and over again.
What You'll Need
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 (1 to 1 pounds total) beef cubed steaks
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (12-ounce) jar brown gravy
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
What to Do
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the cubed steaks, onion, salt, and pepper and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the steaks are browned on both sides.
- Stir in the gravy, vinegar, water, cookie crumbs, and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the steak is tender.
- Stir in the sour cream and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until well blended and heated through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutritional InformationShow More
Servings Per Recipe: 4
- Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
- Calories 401
- Calories from Fat 225
- Total Fat 25g 38 %
- Saturated Fat 13g 64 %
- Trans Fat 0.4g 0 %
- Protein 27g 54 %
- Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
- Cholesterol 121mg 40 %
- Sodium 520mg 22 %
- Total Carbohydrates 16g 5 %
- Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3 %
- Sugars 7.7g 0 %
lae3 3736683
Oct 15, 2018
What does this mean (4 (1 to 1 pounds total) beef cubed steaks) sorry I'm not up to chef lingo.
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rac7431 2877525
Jul 21, 2018
I made sauerbraten years ago with a roast and you marinate it for two days then roast. Gingersnap gravy with soue cream mixed in is really good and the snaps really aren't that sweet. (I guess that depends on your taste.) I wouldn't use the meat the recipe called for. It should be marinated with vinegar and water for at least two days to lessen the toughness. The acid in vinegar does the trick.
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toniretman 5006408
Jan 05, 2018
I also left out the ginger snaps. Didn't like the sweetness to the sauce. Also didn't care for the meat. It was chewy. But my husband liked it.
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fredhomer 9960735
Sep 28, 2017
Made this last week,but with no ginger snaps.(don't like the taste).5 stars no snaps. Otherwise great recipe
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bhelena 7934718
Jan 11, 2017
I read all the recipes through before I make a decision to make it or not, regardless of the list of ingredients which you know can be altered to your own taste and adjusted. I did not use gingersnaps because I did not have any. I just added some dry ginger and used vanilla wafers. I also did not use bottled brown gravy I made my own I had made a vegetable stock a week ago and use that as my base to make the brown gravy. Now I also added twice the amount of vinegar and some other spices being, all spice and cinnamon because they are called for when making ginger snaps. At this point the taste is pretty neutral even after adding some more salt and pepper. So I am going to take it and put it a low oven and add some carrots and potatoes to it and make it a stew. I don't want to toss the dish out the gravy is actually very nice but unless the beef adds something to flavor after I let it go two hours in the oven. Lessons or good results happen when you try things out. Again the effort you put into something is always going to effect the end result. As long as it is edible and the meat is soft then it is a good starter for a stew or an oven braised dish.
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Nskeith
Feb 24, 2017
So, you did not follow the recipe and it didn't turn out right? You lost me at ginger and vanilla wafers as an acceptable substitute for ginger snaps! Maybe you should follow the recipe before commenting on it.
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Grilling Guy
Jul 05, 2018
I agree with you 100%. I don't understand why they rate it when it is changed from the way it is written.
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judymark 2407792
Sep 30, 2017
How can you completely change a recipe and even think about rating it?
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dly49 5347209
Sep 29, 2016
Looks easy and I am all about that. Also a new twist on a standby meat.
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elephantlover 7381704
Sep 28, 2016
I've not tried this yet, and I'll probably make some changes--NO jarred gravy, for instance. And maybe alter to use the crock pot. We'll see. The site would not let me post w/o rating. So Know when you see this, I just picked a middle of the road rating.
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theresaann1941 7322927
Sep 28, 2016
I am going to make this for Christmas dinner
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jdcondors 0381019
Jan 19, 2016
I made my own gravy which was pretty good, but I could only give 3 stars
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elephantlover 7381704
Sep 28, 2016
I'm sure your homemade gravy would be better. Every jarred gravy I've ever used has too much salt. I won't use any more!
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dorish1927 5993139
Jan 13, 2016
To save time, I will use this recipe any day of the week! I am thankful that Mr. Food and his staff must have very thick skins to take all of this negative response from people who don't understand that this site is to make it easier and quicker for people to enjoy food that is similar to the real thing even though it may no way near to the original. Keep up the great work and don't worry about the nay-sayers! God bless all of you staffers.
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annmbrown17 5095928
Oct 22, 2015
I do not recommend this recipe. It tasted just like the bottled gravy --- and much too salty!
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jsmbear1999 9015449
Jan 13, 2016
The minute I saw the recipe called for jarred gravy, I knew right away I would not make this. Jar gravy is soooo salty! Everything now days has so much sodium in it, which is not good for you.
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normamugford 0023928
Sep 28, 2016
Don't be so lazy make your own gravy if you want to. I always change up a recipe if I need to.
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Bellerophon
Sep 28, 2015
My family are old-country German, and sauerbraten has been on the table for decades now...some of it really good, some of it really lousy. 3-day marinating alone does not produce good sauerbraten. Mr. Food's quick easy take on the traditional German pot roast will allow me to put a reasonable facsimile on my dinner table after I get home from work some weeknight, at far less cost. Rock on, Mr. Food!
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Zoumonkie
Sep 28, 2015
It's not sauerbraten, it's not Swiss steak and it's not traditional. Expectations have to be limited using gravy in a jar, but it's a tasty quick meal. You don't have to call it sauerbraten.
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bren7368 1421001
Sep 23, 2015
Do not make this Sauerbraten recipe... I was raised on this and this is no where close.... Beef cubed steaks really? Need to respect Sauerbraten....
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fredhomer 9960735
Jun 23, 2015
If it took three days to make this recipe,One of you people would complain about that!!
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Chef MotherMutt
Nov 16, 2014
Okay, it is not sauerbraten but it hints at the flavors. I thought it was a quick, easy, and enjoyable dinner. I did make a few tweaks to suit my taste. In Step 1, I added two sliced carrots to brown with the the beef and onions. I completely omitted Step 3 and the sour cream....this makes the meal more of a stroganoff to me. I served with Potato Pancakes and Red Cabbage.
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Moppel
Jun 23, 2015
I'm German, and my very first thought was "That is not Sauerbraten", and then I immediately thought "Well, it would be nice to have a faster, simplified version, let's try it!". I'll probably skip the sour cream too though. )
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nanhar 4637215
Feb 16, 2014
Made this and the family LOVED it. Quick and easy is what this is and thanks Mr. Food.
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cdc20310 2858379
Jan 27, 2014
I love saurbraten, worth a try
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marionlavigne83 5068329
Jan 23, 2014
WHAT?!? Cubed steak? Good grief. No thank you. When i get hungry for saurbraten I'll make the real thing, even though it takes several days, it is so worth it. Cubed steak might be a quicky substitute but you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear, and that's what this sounds like.
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Steve
Sep 28, 2016
THEN WHY DID YOU GIVE IT 5 STARS??!!!!
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enilnomomwow1 3469282
Jan 30, 2013
I'm a really good cook. I've often made real Sauerbraten with a good beef roast marinated for 3 days, lots of ingredients & a long, complicated prep. It is excellent. This recipe does NOT compare to the real thing but it is good...really good. About 45 minutes after going into the kitchen (to start cooking) dinner is ready. I will make this again & again. Thanks Mr. Food!
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schroe22 9495215
Jan 23, 2014
I agree that this is not sauerbraten. You have to marinade the roast fro 3 days.
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cindlady2
Jan 30, 2013
This may work in a pinch if you have the taste for sauerbraten but not the time. It's more of a "substitute" sauerbraten. If you want the real thing, with the real flavor, learn from a German cook.
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chanelchere
Jan 24, 2013
i agree. how you call this sauerbraten-i can't imagine!!! didn't know the south was known for german cooking.
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scharri
Mar 03, 2013
where a person is located does not a recipe make! I've lived all over the country but still make crabcakes from MD (where I grew up, not where I was born!)
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curl3 2221556
Jun 13, 2019
Loved this comment. Yay for MD crabcakes
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judygarwood 4448027
Jan 24, 2013
Sauerbraten, the real German version, you marinate the meat for a few days!! What happened to that step in the recipe?? I have made it many times and always had to marinate it in the refrigerator for days. And you don't use cube steak! :)
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Peter B Reisen
Jan 24, 2013
I agree. I make sauerbraten every year for Christmas and I marinate a bottom round for at least 3 days. There are a lot of traditional ingredients missing in this recipe.
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jonidi 7035891
Jan 24, 2013
Have you never checked the recipes on this site before? Mr. Food is about quick and easy versions, not three day multi step authentic versions.
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sassetwoyou
Jan 26, 2013
Absolutely agree that Mr. Food had always been about Quick & Easy and that is why it is called that! What is so fun about his recipes is that he captured a very similar flavor in much less time and more inexpensively. I can't wait to try this one as I had grown up in a very German neighborhood in Milwaukee. For a little more thickness, I am going to get a cubed round steak to try it on, but cube steak would work as well.
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scharri
Mar 03, 2013
a cousin whose spouse grew up in Germany marinates her beef for about 10 days. Why is only 3 days "real" German? Jocquin was a REAL German. His spouse learned from him and his Mom. in essence, I am, all my relatives are from there. Why is yours any more German?
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Steve
Sep 28, 2016
Good comment, scharri! I'm German, also (Oklahoma) and I don't know what makes people such GREAT experts on what is German, what's Italian, which paprika to use before you can call a dish (Hungarian) goulash! Too many haters with too much time on their hands
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elephantlover 7381704
Sep 28, 2016
Ten days, holy cow. I don't even have space in my tiny kitchen and my smal refrigerator for marinating something for 10 days!
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