Sauerkraut: 15 Great Recipes and Cooking Methods (Step by Step with Photos)

Delicious and crispy sauerkraut is prepared so simply that any beginner can handle it. You can safely do it at least every weekend, stock up for future use or even roll up for the winter. We have already collected for you 15 best recipes for all these cases - with and without different additives!

1. Sauerkraut in a jar - a classic recipe

The basic way to start further culinary experiments.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 servings.

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp Sahara
• 1 liter of water

1. Remove the top leaves from the cabbage and finely chop the remaining cabbage into a large bowl.

2. Prepare and grate the carrots, add them to the cabbage.

3. Thoroughly knead everything with your hands so that the vegetables give juice and decrease in volume.

4. Pack the cabbage tightly into the jar.

5. Dissolve salt and sugar in cool water, and pour the cabbage with this brine. It should completely cover the vegetables.

6. Leave the jar of cabbage for 3 days at room temperature, periodically pierce with something like a thin knife or roll stick to release air.

7. Rinse the prepared sauerkraut thoroughly in cold water, squeeze, add a little vegetable oil and you can serve. To store sauerkraut - close it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator.

2. Salting cabbage in a dry way

The beauty of this recipe is that no water is needed.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 700 g cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 2 tsp Sahara
• 3 tbsp salt

1. Finely chop the cabbage into a bowl, grate the carrots in the same place.
2. Add salt and sugar. Add more spices to taste if desired.
3. Thoroughly knead the cabbage with your hands and leave for 15-20 minutes so that it starts up the juice.
4. Place cabbage in a jar or glass container, pack tightly and leave at room temperature for 3 days. Periodically pierce it with a skewer.
5. Rinse the cabbage and serve or transfer to a clean storage jar.

3. Sauerkraut with Vinegar

Vinegar allows you to speed up the pickling process so as not to wait three days.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 10 servings.

• 2.5 kg cabbage
• 200 g carrots
• 1.2 liters of water
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 100 ml vinegar

1. Finely chop the cabbage, grate the carrots, mix the vegetables with your hands and knead a little.
2. Pack the cabbage tightly into the jars so that there are no voids.
3. Boil water with salt and sugar, boil for 1 minute, pour in vinegar, and boil for another minute.
4. Pour the cabbage with this marinade, cover with lids and leave at room temperature for 12 hours.
5. Close the jars tightly and send the sauerkraut to the refrigerator for storage.

4. Sauerkraut for the winter

You can adjust the amount of salt and sugar to your taste.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 1 kg cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp Sahara
• 1 tsp coriander
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 allspice peas

1. Arrange in sterile jars bay leaf, pepper and garlic.
2. Finely chop the cabbage and grate the carrots. Add salt and coriander, and knead it all gently with your hands, but not too vigorously.
3. Pack cabbage tightly into jars and top up with cold water.
4. Leave the workpiece for 3 days at room temperature, periodically piercing the cabbage with a skewer.
5. Drain the brinemix it with sugar, put it back in the jars and roll them up for the winter.

5. Sauerkraut with citric acid

Just a little citric acid gives sauerkraut a pleasant sourness.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 1 kg cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 3 tbsp salt
• 600 ml water
• 0.25 tsp citric acid

1. Finely chop the cabbage, grate the carrots and mix everything with salt and citric acid.
2. Pack the cabbage tightly into a jar and pour in the water.
3. Leave it for 3-4 days at room temperature.
4. Pierce the cabbage every day with a skewer to release the air.
5. At the end, add some sugar if you like.
6. When serving, squeeze sauerkraut from brine and drizzle with vegetable oil.

6. Sauerkraut with vegetable oil

Such an appetizer does not even need to be seasoned with anything - you can serve it immediately on the table!

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 1 head of cabbage
• 3 carrots
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 peppercorns
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 4 glasses of water

1. Finely chop the cabbage, grate the carrots, mix and put in a container.
2. Add all other ingredients to the water and bring the marinade to a boil.
3. Pour the vegetables with hot marinade and let it brew for a couple of hours. Sauerkraut is ready!

7. Salting cabbage in large pieces

For salting, you can use not only chopped, but also coarsely chopped cabbage.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 1 head of cabbage
• 5 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp grain mustard
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 allspice peas
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 4 glasses of water
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Cut the cabbage into random large pieces and put it in a container of a suitable size.
2. Boil water and add all other ingredients. Boil the marinade for 5 minutes and pour over the cabbage.
3. Leave the cabbage to brew under the lid until it cools completely.
4. Then leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

8. Sauerkraut in a barrel

A great sauerkraut recipe for anyone with their own cellar.

Cooking time: 2 hours.
Quantity: 20 servings.

• 10 kg cabbage
• 500 g carrots
• 8 black peppercorns
• 250 g salt
• 50 g rye flour

1. Rinse the barrel with boiling water in advance and dry it. You can treat it with a baking soda solution.
2. Separate the top leaves from the cabbage. Finely chop the remaining head of cabbage and cut the carrots into strips.
3. Mix everything and grind with your hands. Add salt and black pepper and stir again.
4. Sprinkle the bottom of the barrel with rye flour and lay out whole cabbage leaves. Pack chopped vegetables on top.
5. Again cover everything with whole upper leaves and sprinkle with flour.
6. Leave everything under pressure for 3-8 days in a warm room. Periodically pierce the cabbage with a long thin needle.
7. Send the barrel to the cellar for another 14 days until the cabbage is fully cooked.

9. Whole sauerkraut

Such cabbage can be used to prepare cabbage rolls, add it to cabbage soup or simply stew.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 8 portions.

• 8 small heads of cabbage
• 10 liters of water
• 250 g salt

1. Remove top leaves from cabbage heads, rinse and pat dry. Make incisions on the stalk.
2. Rinse the barrel or other suitable container with boiling water. Put a couple of whole leaves of cabbage on the bottom, and heads of cabbage on top.
3. Cover everything with the remaining whole leaves.
4. Mix water with salt until the salt is completely dissolved.
5. Pour the brine over the heads of cabbage so that it covers them by about 3 cm.
6. Cover everything with gauze and leave under heavy oppression for 3-5 days.
7. Then send sauerkraut for storage in a cold place.

10. Sauerkraut with cranberries

One of the best additives for salting cabbage!

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 2.5 kg cabbage
• 3 carrots
• 150 g cranberries
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 black peppercorns
• 80 g salt

1. Finely chop the cabbage, cut the carrots into strips or grate them, and mix everything.
2. Add the cranberries, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf, and stir again gently.
3. Put the cabbage in a saucepan and leave it under pressure at room temperature for 2-3 days.
4. Mix everything twice a day.
5. Transfer cooked sauerkrautin jars and send to a cold place for storage.

11. Sauerkraut with beets

Not only tasty, but also incredibly bright!

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 4 portions.

• 500 g cabbage
• 1 beetroot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 allspice peas
• 1 liter of water
• 50 g salt

1. Cut the cabbage into slices, the beets into strips, and the garlic into slices.
2. Boil water with sugar, salt, allspice and bay leaf. Boil for a couple of minutes and let cool to room temperature.
3. Put the vegetables in a saucepan, fill with brine and leave under pressure from a liter jar of water for 2-3 days at room temperature.
4. Arrange sauerkraut with beets in sterile jars, close and store in a cold, dark place.

12. Sauerkraut with onions and herbs

A recipe that has been tested not just for years, but for decades, if not centuries!

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 10 servings.

• 5 kg cabbage
• 1 kg of onion
• 100 g garlic
• 300 g greens
• 200 g vegetable oil
• 60 g salt

1. Chop the cabbage and completely cover it with boiling water.
2. Chop the onion, chop the greens, and fry it all in vegetable oil for just a couple of minutes.
3. Drain the water from the cabbage and mix with onions and herbs. Add minced garlic to it.
4. Add salt, mix again and tamp the cabbage into any convenient container.
5. Leave it under pressure for 3 days at room temperature, and stir once a day.
6. Transfer cabbage to sterile jars and refrigerate.

13. Sauerkraut with tomatoes for the winter

An excellent preparation and a ready-made full-fledged salad in the cold season.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 4 portions.

• 1 kg cabbage
• 1 kg small tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers
• 150 g garlic
• 100 g sugar
• 50 g salt
• 90 ml vinegar
• 15 currant sheets
• 1 chili pepper

1. Rinse the tomatoes, finely chop the cabbage and cut the sweet pepper into strips. Peel the garlic and cut the chili into rings.
2. Put some currant leaves, garlic, chili and bell pepper on the bottom of a sterile three-liter jar.
3. Then - a layer of cabbage, then leaves again with everything else, then - tomatoes, again cabbage, and so alternate the layers to the end of the jar.
4. Sprinkle sugar, salt and vinegar on top. Fill everything with boiling water and roll up the jar with a sterile lid.
5. Leave it to cool with the lid down at room temperature, and then put it away for storage.

14. Sauerkraut with bell pepper

A quick recipe for sauerkraut to immediately serve an appetizer to the table.

Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 1 kg cabbage
• 1 purple onion
• 1 carrot
• 4 bell peppers
• 4 garlic cloves
• 150 ml water
• 100 ml vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp Sahara
• 6 tbsp vinegar

1. Finely chop the cabbage, cut the carrots and bell peppers into strips, chop the onion and garlic.
2. Mix all the vegetables and put in a container.
3. Boil water, add salt and sugar, and stir until dissolved.
4. Add vegetable oil and vinegar to the brine, bring to a boil again, and pour over the vegetables.
5. Stir immediately and let the cabbage brew under pressure for 20 minutes.

15. Sauerkraut with honey

An original and another very tasty way to pickle cabbage.

Cooking time: 1 hour.
Quantity: 6 portions.

• 3 kg cabbage
• 500 g carrots
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey
• 800 ml water

1. Finely chop the cabbage, grate the carrots and mash the vegetables with your hands so that they release the juice.
2. Boil water, dissolve salt in it and let it cool. Then add honey and stir until dissolved.
3. Pour vegetables with this marinade and leave the cabbage under oppression for 2-3 days. Pierce the sauerkraut every day with a skewer to expel excess air.