Easy Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

I’ve been making homemade sauerkraut for many years now. It’s easy and fun to make.

This fermented vegetable is packed full of probiotics and vitamins. I often use the liquid when my kids are getting sick for the vitamin C content.

You don’t need anything special but certain tools can be handy if you plan on making it regularly!

Why Make Your Own Sauerkraut?

There are so many reasons why you should start making your own! Here’s a few just in case you need some convincing.

1. Store bought sauerkraut is a lot more expensive than homemade sauerkraut.
2. You can mix up flavours when you make your own at home. Add in different vegetables and spices to create fun and unique flavour combinations.
3. You have control over how long it ferments. Let it ferments longer for a tangier taste or less for a milder taste.
4. Sauerkraut is filled with probiotics, vitamins and minerals.
5. Consuming sauerkraut has a lot of different benefits which you can look up online to find out more! Some benefits include improved digestion, stronger immune health, reduced inflammation in the body and improved mood.

What You Need

Supplies

I’ll list first what you really need but for those wanting to do this regularly I’ll list a few helpful tools to have on hand as well!

Knife and cutting board: For chopping up your cabbage and carrot.

Cheese grater: You can grate your cabbage, I prefer a knife for that, but use a cheese grater for carrots.

Bowl: For mixing your ingredients in and letting the sauerkraut sit.

1 large or several small glass jars with lids: You need something to place your sauerkraut into, to allow it to sit and ferment.

EXTRAS ITEMS NOT NEEDED BUT HELPFUL

Glass Fermentation Weights: This is helpful when fermenting any vegetables to keep them submerged underneath the brine. But you can use a cabbage leaf as well if doing ferments using cabbages.

Airlock Fermentation Lids: This allows the excess air to escape so you do not have to manually burp your jar every 12 or so hours.

Ingredients

Cabbage: 1 medium size cabbage is all you need for this recipe. You can use green or red cabbage whichever you prefer.

Carrots: 2 medium size carrots grated gives the sauerkraut an extra nice taste.

Sea salt: Use a good quality salt. You need salt to help extract the liquid from the sauerkraut and for it to ferment properly. Also enhances the flavour.

Filtered water: Use filtered water not tap water from the sink! Filtered water will not have all the chemicals that tap water contains.

How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut Step by Step

1. Chop up your cabbage into thin slices. Slice in half lengthwise, then each half again down the center and slice. Slice about 1/4 inch thick it’s okay if some slices are thicker or thinner.
2. Place the cabbage in a large bowl and add the salt.
3. Massage the salt into the cabbage and allow it to sit for 20 minutes so the cabbage releases its liquid.

4. Grate the carrots and then mix them in with the cabbage.

5. Place the cabbage mixture into a clean glass jar leaving a 1-inch gap from the top.

6. If there is not enough liquid in the jar top it up with a bit more salty water, see notes.

7. Add a glass weight or cabbage leaf on top and press down so everything is submerged in water.

8. Allow it to ferment away from direct sunlight for about a week. You can store in the fridge or in a cool cupboard until you are ready to eat.

Not Enough Liquid in My Container

If your sauerkraut didn’t make produce enough liquid to keep it completely submerged, you will need to make a brine. This is very easy to do.

Just add about 1 tsp sea salt to a cup of water and pour it into your jar. Add enough liquid so that you cabbage mixture will stay completely submerged.

How to Store Sauerkraut

You can store your sauerkraut in the fridge. It can last a very long time over a year! Just check it to make sure it still smells good, and no funky mould is forming. See below for more mould information.

You can store in a cellar or cool cupboard as well. Just remember it is still fermenting. The colder the storage is the slower the ferment.

Sauerkraut can also be stored in the freezer, but this will kill the probiotics. The taste and vitamins are still there but you won’t get all the gut healthy probiotics.

Why Is There Mould on My Sauerkraut?

This happens when the cabbage comes into contact with air. Most of the time it’s perfectly fine to just discard that top layer with mold and eat the rest.

If your sauerkraut is slimy, smells off, or has black, orange or pink mould, I would throw it out!

Homemade Sauerkraut Variations

There are so many different ways you can change up the flavour in sauerkraut.

1. Add different herbs or spices to your sauerkraut mixture. Try bay leaves, maybe peppercorns, you might like dill! Have fun with it.
2. Add citrus to your sauerkraut I do like lemon slices added to it, or add some orange slices!
3. Go ahead and add different vegetables, I like carrot, but you can add red onion, celery, capsicum (bell peppers) etc.

There are endless flavour combinations you can try!

How to Use Sauerkraut

You can use sauerkraut in many different ways.

1. You can eat it just as is straight from the jar!
2. Add it on top of your sausages (hotdogs) for an extra good taste!
3. Have it as a side with any many meal.
4. Put it into soups, now this will kill the good probiotics, but it can add an interesting and lovely taste to your potato bacon soup, or sausage soup. Lots of fun recipes you can look up adding sauerkraut to soups.

More Fermented Food Recipes

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How To Make Homemade Milk Kefir And Its Benefits

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