Join me today and learn how to make homemade sauerkraut. This gut healthy, immune-boosting, side dish is brimming with probiotic benefits. We eat this with almost every single meal in our home.
I purchased store bought sauerkraut for many years before I ventured into making my own. It seemed like such a daunting task, but honestly, it couldn’t be easier. Cabbage and salt are literally the ONLY ingredients you need. You can actually ferment ANY vegetable at home, but sauerkraut is a family staple in our home. Oh and fermented jalapeños!
I actually was inspired to begin making my own sauerkraut to feed to my son, for its gut-healthy benefits. I had been giving him a very pricey, liquid probiotic that claimed to be the best. However, I was forgetting that the naturally occurring, good bacteria on our veggies is ALWAYS better for our bodies than any manufactured form. Hence, cabbage was my first veggie to begin fermenting.
PROBIOTICS FOUNDs IN HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT
When veggies come from the ground, they are coated with good and bad bacteria. When they are allowed to ferment, the salt in the brine keeps the bad bacteria from growing and allows the good bacteria to take over during the ferment. This is when the lactobacillus begins to populate on the veggies. Lactobacillus is that perfect probiotic strain that you can make for almost free at home versus buying probiotic liquid or pills. More information about lactobacillus benefits can be found here.
Watch the tutorial
WHY MAKE YOUR OWN HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT?
I purchased store bought “Bubbies” brand sauerkraut for many years at around $8 a jar. The jar only contained about 3 cups of sauerkraut. I can now buy 3 heads of cabbage for around $1 each and make a GALLON of sauerkraut. That’s approx. 16 cups of sauerkraut for only around $3! The savings speak for themselves!
If you are buying sauerkraut, make sure the only ingredients are cabbage, water, and salt. It should NOT have any added preservatives! Bubbies is a good brand that I ate for years before making my own sauerkraut.
WHAT SHOULD I EAT HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT ON?
Everything, literally everything! I put it on salads, my son’s sweet potatoes, in soups, on pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, or just eat it by itself. I think you get the idea. It is a go-to side dish for any meal in our home! It’s best to add it to your meals cold, to get the full probiotic benefit. When heated, the beneficial bacteria present on the sauerkraut will be destroyed.
HOW LONG DOES HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT LAST?
In the fridge, it should last around 6 months. As long as it is still crunchy and not mushy, it is edible.
TOOLS NEEDED TO MAKE HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT
Food Processor
Large Bowl
Wide mouth 1/2 gallon mason jars
INGREDIENTS
3 heads of cabbage
2.5 TBSP salt (any type of salt EXCEPT iodized salt)
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT
- Remove the outer leaves, core, and shred the cabbage. I like to use my food processer to get very small shreds of cabbage. Save outer leaves for later.
In a large bowl massage the cabbage with the salt until it begins to release a watery brine. It will take several minutes for it to get juicy.
- Press the cabbage and brine into a clean wide mouth mason jar so that all of the cabbage is below the brine.
- Add a few of the cabbage outer leaves reserved from the beginning. Then add a fermentation weight to keep the shredded cabbage below the brine. (i used rocks placed inside a zip-lock bag before I had weights) Loosely place the jar lid on top.
- Allow to ferment on the counter for 5 days up to 3 weeks, depending on your taste preference.
- Store in refrigerator up to 6 months.
CHECK OUT THESE POSTS FOR MORE FERMENTED FOODS from our homestead
Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt-Greek Style
How to Make Fermented Jalapeños
Probiotic-Rich Kefir Ranch Dressing
How to Make Lacto-Fermented Pickles
PRINT THE RECIPE
Homemade Sauerkraut
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Large Bowl
- 1/2 gallon mason jar
- Glass Fermenting Weights, Optional
Ingredients
- 3 heads cabbage
- 2.5 TBSP Sea Salt
Instructions
- Remove the outer leaves, core, and shred the cabbage. I like to use my food processer to get very small shreds of cabbage. Save outer leaves for later.
- In a large bowl massage the cabbage with the salt until it begins to release a watery brine. It will take several minutes for it to get juicy.
- Press the cabbage and brine into a clean wide mouth mason jar so that all of the cabbage is below the brine.
- Add a few of the cabbage outer leaves reserved from the beginning. Then add a fermentation weight to keep the shredded cabbage below the brine. (i used rocks placed inside a zip-lock bag before I had weights) Loosely place the jar lid on top.
- Allow to ferment on the counter for 5 days up to 3 weeks, depending on your taste preference.
- Store in refrigerator up to 6 months.
PIN FOR LATER
