How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut

Homemade sauerkraut is a wonderful nutrient-rich food that is slightly tangy and a touch effervescent.  It makes the perfect accompaniment to any meal because sauerkraut is high in good bacteria called probiotics, as well as enzymes.  Both aid the digestive tract by improving gut health and assisting with digestion, allowing our bodies to better absorb nutrients from the food we eat.

What is Sauerkraut?

Homemade sauerkraut is fresh cabbage that is naturally fermented with salt. Once the fermentation process is complete, the sauerkraut is rich in Vitamin C and gut-loving good bacteria known as probiotics. Sauerkraut was a staple of pioneer kitchens, providing much-needed nutrients during the winter months when fresh fruits and vegetables were unavailable.

Sauerkraut is generally considered a condiment or side dish and is served in small amounts alongside fatty meats to aid in digestion.

Vegetables are often fermented in the fall during the harvest season. As spring approaches and fermented foods are coming close to their prime and need to be used up, traditional cultures often added their remaining sauerkraut to a pot of soup.

If you want to explore another method for making sauerkraut, I highly recommend making Sauerkraut with Oranges for a Vitamin C Boost.

Why Make Your Own Sauerkraut?

Here are just a few reasons to consider if you’re just getting started with making homemade sauerkraut.

• Sauerkraut is a delicious probiotic-rich side dish, and even more important, it is an easy recipe for beginning ferments.
• It’s the perfect accompaniment to any meal for its probiotic qualities and for adding flavor to dishes!
• It’s cheap and easy to do!

If you find making your own sauerkraut easy, you’ll want to try making your own fermented pickles, fermented carrots, and fermented tomatoes and basil.

In addition to food, you can also make fermented drinks. First, start out with a ginger bug and then make a fermented ginger ale. This probiotic-rich homemade soda is excellent for good gut health.

Sauerkraut Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.

For this homemade sauerkraut recipe, I recommend the following ingredients:

• Cabbage: This recipe works great with green cabbage. If you want to make red cabbage sauerkraut it works too.
• Salt: I am using coarse ground Celtic sea. 
• Apple: I like to call the process of adding an apple the “insurance policy.” Apples contain nutrients that good bacteria love to gobble up, so it helps get your fermentation off to a good start. Green apples work best since the color blends in well with the cabbage, but you can use a red apple if you don’t mind the red color specks that may appear in the final product. However, you can leave out the apple and still achieve a batch of fermented cabbage.

How to Make Sauerkraut

Step 1 – Remove a few outer leaves of the head of cabbage and set them aside for later. Cut the head of the cabbage in half, cut out the core, and keep it for later.

Step 2 – Slice each half of the head of cabbage into thin strips.

Step 3 – Place the shredded cabbage and the salt in a bowl. Pound it with a kraut pounder or similar utensil, such as a potato masher, for approximately 5 minutes until the cabbage begins to release some of its juices.

Step 4 – Place the shredded cabbage and salt mixture in a half-gallon jar that has a lid.

Step 5 – Cut the apple and remove the core and seeds. Add the cut pieces to a blender.

Step 6 – Coarsely chop the core of the cabbage and add it to the blender with the apple. Add enough water to the blender to cover the chopped apple and cabbage core. Blend to make a slurry.

Step 7 – Add the apple and cabbage mixture to the shredded cabbage and salt in your jar and mix it to combine.

Step 8 – Press the cabbage down in the jar to compact it. 

Step 9 – Take the reserved cabbage leaves, fold them, and put them into the half-gallon jar on top of the shredded cabbage mixture.

Step 10 – Place a small jar on top of the folded cabbage leaves to weigh it down and keep the entire mixture underwater.

Step 11 – Place the jar in an undisturbed place such as the corner of a kitchen counter, on top of a refrigerator, or in a cabinet or pantry that has a room temperature range somewhere between 68°F and 72°F (20°C and 22°C). 

PRO TIP: The jar should be placed somewhere out of direct sunlight as ferments do not like temperature fluctuations.

Step 12 – As the cabbage begins to ferment, you should see bubbles in the jar. Release the cap of the jar to release some of the carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation process. You will want to do this each day until your sauerkraut is ready. 

Step 13 – After 7 days your sauerkraut is ready to taste. If you like the taste then you can store it in the fridge. If you are not satisfied with the level of fermentation, allow it to continue to ferment for up to 14 days at room temperature before refrigerating. 

Storing Tips

Vegetable ferments need to be stored at 40°F (4°C). This can be on the top shelf of your refrigerator or in the door of your refrigerator. They cannot be stored at room temperature.

Once refrigerated, sauerkraut is at its best when consumed within the first 2-3 months, but you can enjoy it for up to 6 months. After 6 months, the texture may become less palatable.

Recipe Tips

Here are some of my top tips for how to make homemade sauerkraut so your batch comes out great from the start!

• The best temperature for making sauerkraut is between 68°F and 72°F (20°C and 22°C).  However, they can tolerate slightly warmer temperatures up to about 75°F (24°C).  
• If your kitchen is warmer, limit the number of days you allow your vegetable to ferment to approximately three days, and then finish it under refrigeration. Fermentation will take at least two weeks longer when using refrigeration but you will be more successful since it decreases the chance of mold or bad bacteria developing.
• For an added gut health benefit you can drink some of the “Kraut Juice,” the liquid that accumulates in the jar where you made the sauerkraut. The juice is filled with good bacteria! If you can’t fathom drinking kraut juice, use some of it in place of the vinegar in your favorite homemade salad dressing or save it to use with your next ferment.
• Vegetable ferments can taste a bit salty at the beginning. However, over time, the ferment will become less salty as the vegetable—in this case, cabbage—absorbs the brine, creating a more flavorful vegetable, and the brine clinging to the fermented cabbage will taste less salty.

Sauerkraut FAQs

Fermented Condiment Recipes

Simple Fermented Ketchup Recipe That Tastes Like Store Bought

This healthy recipe is a delicious way to introduce fermented foods to your family.

How to Make Easy Homemade Fermented Mustard

Enjoy these three tasty probiotic-rich mustards.

How to Make Fermented Salsa – Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners

Create this probiotic-rich condiment that’s delicious and good for your gut health too!

How to Make the Best Fermented Hot Sauce

With this special ingredient, you can use any peppers you want to make this tasty hot sauce!

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Favorite Fermentation Supplies

• Half Gallon Canning Jars
• 4-Ounce Jelly Jars
• pH Strips
• Ball Mason Jar Leak-Proof Lids, Wide Mouth
• Wooden Kraut Pounder

Favorite Masontops Supplies

• Masontops Complete Fermentation Kit
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• Wooden Pickle Packer

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Favorite Kitchen Supplies

• Favorite Aprons
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• Whisk
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• Cast Iron Dutch Oven
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Recommended Reading

• The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
• Nourishing Traditions
• The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from around the World
• Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods (2nd edition)
• Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes & Pastes
• The Farmhouse Culture Guide to Fermenting: Crafting Live-Cultured Foods and Drinks with 100 Recipes from Kimchi to Kombucha
• Traditionally Fermented Foods: Innovative Recipes and Old-Fashioned Techniques for Sustainable Eating