Best Sauerkraut Recipe

The best sauerkraut recipe – no vinegar, easy, and only two ingredients. This is the easiest way to get probiotics into your diet.

As a homemaker (and wannabe homesteader), I have been enjoying diving right in to old fashioned skills that seem to have been lost. Sauerkraut was one of the first new skills I learned, and it’s one I recommend for anyone interested in cooking traditionally. After a couple rounds of making your own sauerkraut, you’ll never go back to store-bought!

The best sauerkraut recipe utilizes only two ingredients – and no vinegar. Let’s dive in!

What is sauerkraut?

Sauerkraut is cabbage that has been cut and fermented. It has a deliciously tangy taste and a long shelf life. It’s the perfect side for any meal and a super easy fermenting skill to add to your traditional foods kitchen.

What’s to love?

• Super simple – only two ingredients
• Quick and easy – minimal hands on time
• Gut health goodness – probiotics made right in your kitchen for a fraction of the cost
• Delicious – add as a side to any dish or on top of your favorite sandwich

How To Make the Best Sauerkraut

What you need:

• Cabbage – I usually only make one head at a time, but you can make as many as you’d like
• Salt – sea salt is a great option, just don’t use iodized salt

The process:

Remove the outer leaves of cabbage and rinse well allowing to drain and dry. Next, core your cabbage. After that, you can either cut your cabbage into fine pieces or use a food processor. I don’t have a food processor, so I always just use a knife and cutting board. Keep it simple! Place the finely cut cabbage into a large glass bowl. One head of cabbage usually fills my largest Pyrex bowl.

Next up is to add salt to your shredded cabbage. The typical ratio is 2%, but I enjoy keeping things super basic. I use about one tablespoon of salt per cabbage head – so, since I usually make one at a time, I use one tablespoon of salt.

More instructions:

After you’ve added the salt to your cabbage, it’s time to mix it up! I just use my hands to work the shredded cabbage. You want a brine to form, but, you don’t have to stand there mixing it until it does (ask me how I know).

The easiest way to make the best sauerkraut is to mix it once, cover with a tea towel, and let it sweat while you go about doing other things. I will come back and check it a few times throughout the day, mixing again to continue helping it along. Sometimes this takes an entire morning or afternoon, and sometimes the whole day. It really depends what my day looks like and when I can come back to it. I would recommend completing it in one day’s time, however.

Once you have enough brine formed, you can start adding the cabbage and salt to your glass jar! Do this bit by bit, making sure to press it down firmly every so often. You want all of the cabbage to be packed as tightly as possible.

Almost done…

After all of the cabbage is tightly packed into the jar (it should fill your jar), add a fermentation weight to keep the cabbage submerged under the brine. Add a fermentation lid and canning ring to the jar, or, if using a regular lid, make sure to “burp” the jar each day. I like using a fermentation lid so I don’t have to remember that step.

Lastly, allow your sauerkraut to ferment for 3 days up to 3 weeks. When I first began fermenting sauerkraut, I only did a few days. Now, I’m comfortable going a week or a bit longer. Start simple, and as you get comfortable you can go longer. Taste it a couple of times throughout the process to see if it’s to your liking. Once complete, enjoy it alongside all of your meals and the benefits it provides!

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If you try the best sauerkraut recipe, be sure to leave a comment and let me know! If you’re new, welcome! So happy to have you here. You can read more about me here.