Easy Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

This easy homemade sauerkraut recipe is so quick and easy. This quick homemade sauerkraut pairs perfectly with all our favorites like hot dogs, Polish sausage, and Reubens. Everything. It only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, requires only 3 ingredients and this recipe tastes AMAZING!

Sauerkraut is such a delicious recipe ingredient. It has a lovely, tangy flavor, and you can make it with or without sugar, so almost everyone loves it.

I’ve been making this fermented cabbage for years, and I’ve put it on everything from hot dogs to my Reuben sandwiches and various appetizers and other things. 

Over the years, I’ve seen and tried a lot of sauerkraut recipes. Most of them involve a lot of cooking and waiting, but I have a recipe here that is ready in a snap and just as good as the stuff that can take all day to make.

It’s a simple recipe that’s so quick and so good, you’ll always opt for homemade sauerkraut from now on. 

I can almost guaranty it.

History of Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage dish that has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor. Both of those traits are owed to the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage leaves. 

Although sauerkraut is a German word, the dish is not of Germanic origin as most people think. In fact, long before Germans were making this dish, cabbage was being fermented in China as far back as the construction of the Great Wall.

Food historians aren’t sure of exactly how this fermented cabbage made its way to Europe, but most believe that it was brought to the continent by the Tartars. 

From there, the dish took root, mostly in central and eastern European cuisines. Although it also became popular in the Netherlands and France.

Food historians believe that sauerkraut became so popular because the fermentation process allowed it to be stored for long periods of time and transported over long distances in a time when refrigeration wasn’t even a blip on the radar. 

It’s presumed that Germanic, French, and Dutch settlers brought sauerkraut recipes with them to North America as they settled in the New World.

Fast forward to today, and you can find both sweetened and unsweetened sauerkraut in every supermarket in North America, from mass-produced big company brands to smaller, imported varieties. 

Easy Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

This quick homemade sauerkraut has all the great flavor of the traditional recipe but with far, far less time and effort.

Its classic tangy flavor is perfect for all of your favorite sauerkraut dishes, and because it’s so quick and easy, it’s the ideal homemade sauerkraut to add a little bit of extra from-scratch love to your dishes. 

Ingredients

It only takes three ingredients to make this delicious, easy homemade sauerkraut recipe. That’s it. You can find all three of them at any grocery store, so it easy to pull together at a moment’s notice. 

• Cider vinegar
• Sugar
• Coleslaw mix

That’s a short list, right? Just vinegar, sugar, and coleslaw mix are all you need to make super tasty and super FAST homemade sauerkraut. 

Making Homemade Sauerkraut

Making this quick homemade sauerkraut is as simple as the ingredient list. Everything comes pre-packaged. You don’t even have to cut up your own cabbage!

It’s all a dream of semi-homemade ease and flavor that’s obscenely easy to make and still call it homemade. I love it! Here’s what you do. 

• Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Add coleslaw mix. 
• Cover and cook, tossing occasionally, until the coleslaw is tender – 8 to 10 minutes. 
• Remove lid and simmer until the liquid has evaporated – about 1 to 2 minutes. 
• Season with salt and pepper.

That’s all there is to it! Is that easy or what? A little boiling, a little simmering, and about 15 minutes is all it takes!

Serving Homemade Sauerkraut

This quick homemade sauerkraut recipe is a super easy and fast recipe, but it loses none of that delicious flavor in the simple translation.

That means you can use this sauerkraut wherever you’d normally use any other kraut. Serve it with hot dogs, Polish sausage, on your Reuben and other sandwiches, and in or on anything else that you love with sauerkraut!

Storing Homemade Sauerkraut

This sauerkraut can be stored for up to a couple months in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed mason jar or other air tight container. The great thing about sauerkraut is that all you have to do is give it the smell test.

If it smells good, it is good. For longer storage, you can freeze this sauerkraut for up to a year. It actually freezes incredibly well with no discernable difference in texture or flavor upon defrosting. 

Give This Easy Homemade Sauerkraut a Try

This homemade sauerkraut recipe is the easiest you’ll ever find. It only takes a few minutes, and there’s no effort involved at all outside of boiling and simmering. It couldn’t be simpler! It’s also absolutely delicious.

It’s so quick and easy, you owe it to yourself to give it a try if you’re a sauerkraut lover. You’ll never find an easier recipe, and you’ll never find a tastier one, either. Try it and find out for yourself!

More Reuben Goodness

You can put this sauerkraut on or in all kinds of dishes, but I especially love it with anything that has Reuben flavors. I’ve got some more great recipes that involve everything we love about Reuben sandwiches from sauerkraut to corned beef.

Reuben Dressing
Reuben Sliders
Reuben Crescent Ring
Best Reuben Sandwich
Instant Pot Corned Beef
Corned Beef Stew