Mutti's Rote Grütze – German Fruit Pudding Recipe

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

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Rote Grütze, a German fruit pudding. Try making this as the perfect side to any pudding, dessert, or as a simple snack

This fruit pudding recipe, the original Rote Grütze, is one of Schleswig-Holstein's traditional desserts.  It could also be described as Germany's national dessert! 

Traditionally made with just fresh red currants or a combination of red currants and raspberries, there are many variations possible. You can always use a mix of fruits or just stay with one type.

Some of these possibilities are ripe berries, such as strawberries, red or black currants, raspberries, cherries, cranberries, and even rhubarb can be used.

What do you do with Rote Grütze?

• It's served over cream or custard. It's also great layered in a glass with cottage cheese, "Quark", or even yogurt.
• Put it over ice cream. Be creative.
• Traditionally, this fruit pudding recipe is served with vanilla sauce. Above, made with red currants and sour cherries, it's poured over vanilla custard.

Rote Grütze at the Hallig

My favorite memories of this dessert are very recent. Our friends took us on a "must do" excursion: taking a walk to a Hallig which is part of the Schleswig-Holstein's Wattenmeer National Park.

This was a 6 km. walk from the beach to the Hallig (island) following the tide that was going out.

Hiking barefoot through the wet sand and navigating around the little sea creatures such as stingrays and areas of sharp shells, was quite an adventure.

Once on the Hallig, we rested with a cup of coffee and Rote Grütze, all the while keeping our eyes on the clock. Rested and nicely filled, we quickly hiked back to the mainland before the tide came back in.

My Mutti had this as well in her cookbook and my Papa's Mutti as well. She used freshly picked sour cherries for hers and served them with Griessknödel. :)

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There are several ways to make rote Grütze and I usually made it a more time-consuming way. I have since reworked the recipe to make it really quick and easy. That's the recipe you'll now find below.

Here I've made it with frozen mixed berries and served it over Heavenly Hash ice cream, hubby's favorite.

Rote Grütze served with Ice Cream. Mega Lecker.

Ready to enjoy this dessert?

Print Recipe

Mutti's Rote Grütze – Fruit Pudding Recipe

This fruit pudding recipe, the original Rote Grütze, is one of Schleswig-Holstein's traditional desserts.  It could also be described as Germany's national dessert! 

Traditionally made with just fresh red currants or a combination of red currants and raspberries, there are many variations possible.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch 
• 1 cup (240 ml) red juice (see Notes/Hints below) 
•  ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar 
•  1½ lb (608 g) fresh or frozen berries

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, mix the cornstarch with the juice. Stir in the sugar.
2. Gently stir in the berries.
3. Bring to a simmer, gently stirring to keep from scorching. Simmer for one to three minutes, or until the fruit is softened, stirring constantly. Do not overcook.
4. Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken slightly as it cools. 5. Serve warm or cold.

Notes/Hints:

• Use one or a mixture of the following: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries, red or black currants, cherries, or cranberries.
• When using frozen berries, thaw them first. Drain and use the liquid as part of the juice.
• The amount of sugar can be varied and will be dependent upon the sweetness of the berries and the juice. The best juices are cherry, strawberry, or a mix of cranberry & raspberry.
• Optional additions: add 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract or some freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Serve with cream, yogurt, custard, vanilla sauce, pudding, ice cream, or a dollop of fresh whipped cream. 
• Refrigerate any leftovers.

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

09.09.2023 revision update

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.