Image of a jar containing fermented cabbage or sauerkraut. An un-pictured individual is holding a fork above the jar with some sauerkraut on it.

Easy Homemade Sauerkraut

It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and that means cabbage will be going on sale at grocery stores! This is a great opportunity to purchase a couple of extra heads of cabbage and make sauerkraut! Homemade sauerkraut can be canned, but it can also store in your refrigerator for months. I prefer to store mine in the refrigerator if possible to avoid heating and potentially killing the naturally-occurring probiotics.

Why Make Homemade Sauerkraut?

Homemade sauerkraut differs from store-bought in three important ways:

  1. Pasteurization/canning – most store-bought krauts are treated with heat to eliminate bacteria culture before being canned and are heated during the canning process. Both of which compromise the naturally-formed probiotics that make sauerkraut so good for you to begin with!
  2. Preservatives – synthetic preservatives (i.e., chemicals) that are added into foods have been linked to heart issues and other health concerns.
  3. Pickled vs. fermented – another thing to watch out for in store-bought sauerkraut is sauerkraut that isn’t actually fermented but is pickled instead! The ingredients in a fermented sauerkraut should be cabbage, salt, and maybe water, but definitely no vinegar.

Because sauerkraut is so easy to make, you won’t go back to store-bought!

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What Do I Need to Make Sauerkraut?

You will need jars, lids, cabbage, salt, a tool to tamp the kraut down, and a weight that will fit into your jar(s).

  • Stainless Steel Sauerkraut Tamper – I love this tamper! It is stainless steel, so it won’t retain flavors or harmful bacteria and is dishwasher safe! You can also use a wooden spoon to tamp the kraut down, but I really recommend investing in a tamper.
  • Lids for wide-mouth jars – Standard, two-piece mason jar lids will work, but you will need to open your fermenting jars daily to “burp” the jar and allow the fermenting gases to escape. That’s why I like using lids designed for fermenting! I can truly set-and-forget because the lids will allow gases out without allowing contaminants in.
  • Weights for wide-mouth jars and weights for regular-mouth jars – If you’re packing your sauerkraut into a wide-mouth jar, you can use a clean, water-filled, quarter-pint jar to act as a weight. However, if you’re using a regular-mouth jar or if you’re going to be fermenting very often, I really recommend purchasing weights designed for fermenting. They’re so easy to use, easy to clean, and don’t require using a jar that you could be canning in!

Recipe Video

Instructions

  1. Remove outer cabbage leaves, reserving a couple. Wash the reserved leaves and the cabbages well.
  2. Chop 5 pounds of cabbage into chunks that will fit in your food processor chute.
  3. Attached your shredding plate to your food processor and shred all 5 pounds of cabbage.
  4. Add cabbage to large bowl.
  5. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of canning and pickling salt onto cabbage.
    NOTE: You can use any salt you have on hand–just make sure it isn’t iodized and doesn’t contain any anti-caking agents.
  6. Massage the salt into the cabbage until the cabbage begins producing a liquid.
  7. Let sit for 15 minutes.
  8. After 15 minutes, pack cabbage into glass mason jar(s).
  9. Using a pounder or tamper, tamp down the sauerkraut after a few handfuls to ensure it is well-packed and does not contain any air bubbles.
  10. Fold the reserved cabbage leaf to about the size of the largest part of your jar and pack it on top of the shredded cabbage.
  11. Place a weight on top of the cabbage leaf to keep it and the shredded cabbage under the brine. You may use a glass weight, like the one linked above, or fill a clean, quarter-pint jar with water to act as a weight.
  12. Screw on a lid of your choice and let sit on a countertop for 7-10 days.
  13. If you’re using a two-piece lid, unscrew the lid to “burp” your jar every day to ensure gases don’t build up. If you’re using a lid designed for fermenting, you can let your jar sit undisturbed.
  14. After 7 days, remove the lid, weight, and cabbage leaf and taste your sauerkraut.
  15. If the taste is to your liking, can according to the instructions in your canning book or on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website or store in your refrigerator.
  16. If you prefer a more sour kraut, put the cabbage leaf and weight back in, put the lid on, and let sit out on your countertop another 7-10 days, tasting every 3-7 days until desired taste is reached.

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