Chicken Apple Sausage Rolls with Apple Slaw

Chicken apple sausage rolls with apple slaw. Going all in with a German Oktoberfest style dinner plate with grilled sausages on pretzel rolls and a super tasty apple slaw similar to Krautsalat. Make it a full meal with crunchy potatoes, pickles and German beer. Prost!

This page contains affiliate links. Affiliate links support Pineapple and Coconut at no additional cost to you. If you choose to make a purchase via these links, I earn a small commission to help keep this blog running and it is much appreciated. I am an Amazon and Adorama affiliate.

I love German food. It's something I grew up on and learned to appreciate even more one I started going to Oktoberfest festivals in the different cities I lived in one I was old enough for the beer gardens.

I still have yet to make the official one in Munich, Germany, but am still hoping to go one day. Until then, Oktoberfest happens at home. 

Oktoberfest foods:

Oktoberfests are so fun with all the different foods from the different sausages like Bratwurst, currywurst, Weisswurst and more. The big, soft chewy, salty Bavarian pretzels with mustard or Obatzda cheese sauce to dip in.  Flammkuchen -  A German flatbread like pizza either served savory or sweet.

There are so many different kinds of of proteins to choose from besides all the sausages such as Schewinebraten - a super delicious roast pork shank, schnitzel - either pork, chicken or veal, and roast chicken, a half roast chicken and more. 

Sides often include a fried potato dumpling called Knödel or KartoffelKnödel ( they are so good), Kartoffelpuffer - a potato pancake similar to a latke,  Käsespätzle - a cheesy dumpling like noodle, and of course the most famous dessert - strudel. I l0vestrudel - both classic apple strudel and cherry strudel. YUM.  Lots of delicious German cookies as well.

Sausage roll Ingredients:

• Chicken apple sausages -I love these chicken apple sausages from Aidell's and decided to go with them since they are so tasty and go really well with the apple slaw. 
• German whole grain mustard
• Pretzel rolls
• Apple slaw
• Pickles
• Crunchy potatoes or potato chips

Apple Slaw ingredients:

This apple slaw is very similar to a traditional German Krautsalat. Which is a crispy, green cabbage slaw which often has bacon in it and always caraway seeds. I traded the bacon for apples this time. 

• Green cabbage - I use a 2-3 pound cabbage and thinly slice it. 
• Apples - I love using a combination of tart granny smith and a sweeter variety such as Pink Lady, Gala or Honeycrisp
• Red Onion - balances out the flavor between the cabbage and apples as well as texture
• Cider Vinaigrette - made with both apple cider and apple cider vinegar
• Caraway Seeds - a must in German recipes. These have a distinct flavor and texture and as soon as you taste it you think "This is a German recipe". Caraway seeds are often found on good, German rye breads. 

Best apples for slaw:

I like to use a variety of sweet and tart to balance out the flavors. I used both Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. I also love using Pink Lady apples for recipes that are either savory or baked since their sweet-tart flavor and firmer texture holds up really well in all kinds of applications - baking, cooking or left raw.

Top tip:

A trick to helping mellow the cabbage flavor is to soak for an hour in salt water. Not too much salt, about a teaspoon for four cups or a liter of water, and let it sit for an our before draining and rinsing. The cabbage stays fresh while the bitterness has mellowed out a bit. 

Make the apple slaw:

While the cabbage is soaking I will slice the apples. I cut them in quarters and then thinly slice before julienning or cutting in to thin strips. You could run these through a food processor but I like the texture and shape of the julienned pieces better than thinner shreds for an apple slaw. 

Apple cider vinaigrette ingredients:

I make a simple apple cider vinaigrette for the apple slaw. Whisk together quickly and marinade the slaw. My recipe makes a lot so you might not use it all at once. 

• Apple cider
• Apple cider vinegar
• Dijon mustard ( can also use German mustard here)
• lemon juice
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Caraway seeds - I use the seeds in both the vinaigrette and sprinkling over the top of the slaw. 

Recipe notes:

• Use whatever sausages you like. We love the Aidell's chicken apple sausages but they might not be available in all areas. My first suggestion is to find a sausage with apples in it - be it chicken, pork or a combination. Second would be to find Bratwurst, if you don't eat beef like me, an all pork Bratwurst would be great if you can find it. 
• The apple slaw is made first to have time for the cabbage to soak then for it to marinate in the vinaigrette. 
• If you can't find pretzel buns or rolls, any sausage or hotdog roll works but the pretzel flavor really gives these that "Oktoberfest" taste. 
• German mustard - I love German mustard with the mustard seeds in it, you can find this in spicy and non-spicy. Feel free to use whatever kind of mustard you like. I wouldn't suggest a yellow mustard, go for something more like Dijon if you can't find German. 

More German recipes to enjoy:

Chicken Apple Sausages with Apple Slaw on Pretzel Rolls

Shanna

Oktoberfest on a plate with crisp and juicy chicken apple sausages with a tangy apple slaw served on pretzel rolls with German mustard. Serve with chips, roast potatoes and pickles.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Additional Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Servings 6 -8 sausages and a large bowl of slaw

Ingredients

  

• For the apple slaw:
• 4 cups green cabbage shredded
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups apple julienned ( Granny Smith, pink lady, honeycrisp etc.)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small red onion thinly sliced ( about ⅔ cup/65 grams)
• ⅓ cup apple cider 78 ml (not spiced, preferably unfiltered)
• ¼ cup olive oil high quality - I love Luigi Tega
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2-3 teaspoons Caraway seeds

For the sausages:

• 6-8 chicken apple sausages or bratwurst I use Aidell's chicken apple sausages
• 6-8 pretzel hot dog rolls/buns
• German whole grain mustard regular or spicy

To serve:

• Pickles
• Roasted potatoes or potato chips
• Cold German beer

Instructions

 

Make the slaw first:

• Peel the tougher outer layers of the cabbage and discard, cut the cabbage into quarters and cut out the inner tougher stem and middle Thinly slice to shred the green cabbage and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with two teaspoons kosher salt and cover with cool water. Let sit for an hour. Strain of the salt water then rinse with cool water a few times then strain again until mostly dried off. Using a salad spinner works great for this step. 
• Add the prepared shredded cabbage to a large bowl then add in the apple and red onion and stir to combine. 
• In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining vinaigrette ingredients and one teaspoon of the caraway seeds. Add half of the dressing to the slaw and keep the slaw chilled until ready to use. 

Grill the sausages and prepare the pretzel rolls:

• While the slaw is chilling, heat grill to medium high. Prepare sausages to grill. Cook for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally to get nice grill marks.  Once grilled, set on a plate to rest for a minute. Cut the pretzel rolls down the middle, if not already cut, and gently open and place cut side down on grill to heat up slightly. 

To assemble:

• Take the warm pretzel rolls and spread with a good amount of German mustard. Taste the apple slaw and add the rest of the vinaigrette if desired (or save the rest for another day) then add a few spoonfuls to the prepared pretzel roll, top with a sausage then add more slaw to the the top. 
• Serve with pickles, chips or roasted potatoes, and cold German beer. 
• The slaw is even better the next day. 

Notes

If you can't find Aidell's chicken apple sausages, feel free to use whatever brand you like.

The slaw keeps well over a few days, it will stay nice and crisp. The vinaigrette makes extra so save for another salad or slaw recipe.

I made crispy potatoes to go with this dinner. Just small yellow potatoes roasted at 400 Deg F with olive oil, salt and pepper for about 40 minutes or until crispy. Feel free to add any kind of side you like whether its crispy potatoes, potato chips or even potato salad.