Frankfurter green sauce is a traditional German dish from Hessen, enjoyed on Green Thursday before Easter. Made with herbs, sour cream, and yogurt, itโs a light and refreshing spring favorite.
Frankfurter green sauce is a cold herb sauce made with seven fresh herbs: parsley, chives, chervil, sorrel, cress, salad burnet, and borage. The sauce is usually mixed with sour cream or yogurt and served with potatoes and boiled eggs.
Some variations also include finely chopped eggs mixed directly into the sauce - for example, this German Egg Salad with chives, which has been our familyโs traditional green sauce recipe for decades. German Eggs in Mustard Sauce is another saucy, egg-based dish that we often enjoy around Easter and throughout spring.
I first posted this green sauce recipe many years ago. I took new pictures and made slight adjustments to the recipe, but not too many.
Jump to recipe
The seven herbs for Frankfurter green sauce
In our region, specifically the Frankfurt-Kassel area, you can purchase all seven herbs together, ready to use. Thatโs not the case anywhere else, so if you donโt live there, youโll need to find the herbs one by one. The mix includes borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel, and chives.
If you canโt find all seven herbs, you can still make a tasty version of the sauce by using a few good substitutes. I often make green sauce using just chives, or a mix of chives, parsley, and dill - the herbs that grow most abundantly in my garden. The flavor is different each time, but we love it no matter which herbs I use.
If you have leftover herbs, you should definitely make this Garlic Bread Baguette or Garlic Herb Butter.
Recipe ingredients
Herbs: You'll need a lot - about 10 oz, which is roughly 2 large bunches. If you live in Hessen, you can buy the fresh herb mix. Otherwise, use your own combination as suggested above.
Dairy: You can make the sauce using only sour cream - the German Schmand with 24-28% fat (or Eastern European smetana), or you can use crรจme fraiche instead (30% fat).
- For a slightly lighter sauce, I always use half sour cream and half Greek yogurt or, more commonly, Quark (less than 10% fat). Quark is very common in Germany, but if you canโt find it outside of Germany, Greek yogurt makes a perfect substitute.
Onions: Two green onions or one small red or white onion.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make green sauce?
Step #1: Wash and dry the herbs well. If you make the sauce without a food processor, chop the herbs very finely.
Step #2: Mix them with the remaining ingredients and stir again to combine. Adjust the taste.
Step #3: If you use a food processor, roughly chop the herbs and process them with the remaining ingredients, except for the onion, if you're using a regular onion.
Step #4: Transfer the green sauce to a large bowl, add the finely chopped onion, stir, and adjust the taste.
Storage and leftovers
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Serve them with bread or leftover potatoes.
The sauce is not suitable for freezing.
You can use the leftovers to make salad dressings and serve with roasted vegetables, Air-Fried Baked Potatoes, Cast-Iron Chicken Breast, or Baked Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers.
What to serve with it?
I always serve it with boiled potatoes and boiled eggs. The eggs can be hard-boiled or still a bit soft inside (my favorite way). You can also add a piece of smoked trout to your plate - it goes really well with the green sauce.
You can also serve the green sauce with a delicious Cordon Bleu Schnitzel, or simply with a piece of crusty bread like Spelt Flour Bread.
Frankfurter Green Sauce
Equipment
- Food processor Note 1
Ingredients
Frankfurter green sauce (Note 2):
- 10 oz fresh herbs Note 3
- ยพ cup sour cream
- ยพ cup full-fat Greek yogurt Note 4
- 2 green onions OR 1 small onion, red or white, very finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar more to taste
- ยฝ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt more to taste
- ยฝ teaspoon ground black pepper
To serve:
- Boiled potatoes about 9 oz/ 200 g per serving
- Boiled eggs 1-2 per serving
- Smoked trout filets optional
Instructions
- Prepare the herbs: Wash and dry them well, and remove the stems.10 oz fresh herbs
- Make the sauce by hand: Chop the herbs very finely. Place them in the bowl, and add the chopped onions and the remaining ingredients. Adjust the taste, adding more salt, sugar, or lemon juice to taste.2 green onions OR 1 small onion + ยพ cup sour cream + ยพ cup full-fat Greek yogurt + 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard + 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar + ยฝ tablespoon apple cider vinegar + 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + ยฝ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Make the sauce in a food processor: Roughly chop the herbs, then add them to the processor with the other ingredients. If using green onions, you can blend them in. If using a regular onion, chop it finely by hand and stir it in at the end - blending it can make the sauce bitter. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and add the finely chopped onion. Adjust the taste.
- Serve Frankfurter sauce with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, and maybe a piece of smoked trout.
Notes
- Mixing the sauce: A food processor speeds things up, but, traditionally, you would chop the herbs finely by hand and mix them with the rest of the ingredients. You can also use an immersion blender instead of the food processor.
- The nutrition is calculated for the sauce only. Eggs, potatoes, or trout are not included.
- Herbs: In Hessen, you can buy all seven herbs packed together and ready to use. Elsewhere, youโll need to find them individually. The mix includes borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel, and chives. You can also make the sauce with just the herbs available to you; I often make it only with chives, parsley, and dill. The flavor will be slightly different, but we still love it.
- Dairy: You can make the sauce with just sour cream - like German Schmand or smetana - or use crรจme fraรฎche instead. For a lighter version, I mix half sour cream with Greek yogurt or Quark. If you canโt find Quark, Greek yogurt works just as well.
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I have never had Frankfurter sauce before, but looking at your delicious pictures I so want this in my life. Love the sound of seven herbs + sour cream + yogurt. Indeed this would make a light and refreshing spring dish.
Adina says
It is indeed a very refreshing dish, perfect for this weather!
Miriam - londonkitchendiaries.com says
Green is such a lovely spring colour - love all the goodness of the herbs in the sauce โก
Adina says
Thank you, Miriam! Nice of you to stop by!
Nammi says
first time hearing about a frankfurter sauce , I thought it was just the sausage LOL, well thats the fun in blogging world you get to learn new cuisines and new food every day . As for your question about seer fish, I think you can use any nice firm fish that will hold its shape.
Adina says
That's true, you can really learn a lot about new cuisines. Thank you for the info regarding the seer fish, I will try the recipe with some other firm fish.
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table says
This does look perfect for spring! So fresh and green, and you know I love that you added potatoes! I'm all about the smoked trout too - sounds like a great way to round it out!
Adina says
Smoked trout is not really traditional, but is a must for me, I just love it in this combo!