Bratkartoffeln

Name: Bratkartoffeln
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 800 g potato, waxy, boiled in their skins the day before and chilled; 3 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 100 g bacon, diced; 1 onion, halved and sliced; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper; ½ tsp caraway seeds (optional); 2 tbsp chives, snipped (optional)

Non-vegetarian

Sliced boiled potatoes fried slowly until crisp and golden with onion and bacon. The classic side for schnitzel, fried eggs or herring.

Bratkartoffeln is a German side dish from Germany, ready in about 35 minutes and made with potato and bacon. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

Plate of golden Bratkartoffeln, fried potato slices with bacon and chives — Photo: Einfachkartoffel / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 35 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 354

Uses potatoes boiled and chilled in advance.

Ingredients

4 servings

800 g Potato (opens in a new tab), waxy, boiled in their skins the day before and chilled
3 tbsp (41 g) Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)Swap: Lard (Traditional for flavour.)
100 g Bacon (opens in a new tab), dicedSwap: Smoked pork collar
1 (110 g) Onion (opens in a new tab), halved and sliced
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (1 g) Black pepper (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (1 g) Caraway seeds (opens in a new tab) (optional)
2 tbsp (6 g) Chives (opens in a new tab), snipped (optional)

Equipment

Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)

Method

1
Step 1
Peel the cold boiled potatoes (opens in a new tab) and slice them about 5 mm thick.
- 8 min
2
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large heavy pan, add the potatoes (opens in a new tab) in one layer and leave them undisturbed until a golden crust forms, then turn and repeat.
- 15 min
- medium heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
3
Step 3
Push the potatoes (opens in a new tab) aside, add the bacon (opens in a new tab) and onion (opens in a new tab) and fry until the bacon is crisp and the onion golden. Toss everything together.
- 8 min
- medium heat
How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels
4
Step 4
Season with salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and caraway (opens in a new tab), scatter with chives (opens in a new tab) and serve hot.
- 1 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Germany · Well documentedAlso popular in AustriaMore food from Germany
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Breakfast · Side dishes
Cooking method: Pan-fried
Taste: savoury, salty, smoky
Diet: No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Everyday · Budget-friendly · One-pan · Uses leftovers
Cook more with: Potato · Bacon · Onion
Techniques: Pan-frying

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

354 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 265 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 9%
Carbohydrate 42%
Fat 49%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	354 kcal	134 kcal
Protein	7.8 g	3 g
Carbohydrate	37.7 g	14.3 g
Net carbohydrate	33 g	12.5 g
Sugars	2.9 g	1.1 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	4.7 g	1.8 g
Fat	19.7 g	7.4 g
Saturated fat	4 g	1.5 g
Trans fat	0.1 g	0 g
Cholesterol	17 mg	6 mg
Sodium	784 mg	296 mg
Salt equivalent	2 g	0.7 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 945 mg
Calcium: 34 mg
Iron: 1.8 mg
Magnesium: 53 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 3 µg
Vitamin C: 41 mg
Vitamin D: 0.1 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.1 µg
Folate (DFE): 35 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: caraway seeds, chives.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Day-old boiled potatoes hold their shape and crisp far better than raw or freshly boiled ones.

Common mistakes

Stirring too often breaks the slices and stops a crust forming.

Serve with

Top with fried eggs for a simple supper, or serve beside schnitzel or matjes herring.

Food safety

Cool boiled potatoes quickly and keep them in the fridge (up to 2 days) until frying.
Fry the bacon until crisp and cooked through.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Reheating

Re-crisp in a hot pan until piping hot.

Variations

Vegetarian Bratkartoffeln: Leave out the bacon and add sliced mushrooms or extra onion.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Potato, waxy, boiled in their skins the day before and chilled800 g
Bacon, diced100 g

Used in steps 1, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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