312 Comments | Jill Winger | Last Updated: April 20, 2024

How to Make Sauerkraut

Name: How to Make Sauerkraut
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1 head green cabbage*; 1 tablespoon sea salt (I use this one); Clean glass jar (I usually use one average head of cabbage per quart-sized mason jar); For brine: 1 additional tablespoon of salt and 4 cups water

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There are some parts of homesteading that seem almost magical.

Like when watch the cream you skimmed from yesterday’s milk suddenly turn into golden butter…

Or when you are able to make vinegar appear from mere fruit peels.

Or when you pack shredded cabbage into a jar and it turns into perfectly tangy sauerkraut a week later.

That said, it took me a while to jump on the sauerkraut train.

I’ve never been a huge fan of storebought sauerkraut… I mean, I tolerated it in some recipes, but didn’t exactly crave it. I also had an irrational fear that my homemade fermented cabbage would turn into a mutated-cabbage science experiment, so I always pushed it to the bottom of my “to-try” list.

But I’m so glad I finally took the plunge.

The Health Benefits of Homemade Sauerkraut

Fermented foods, like sauerkraut, are superfoods.

First off, sauerkraut is a natural source of probiotics since it is packed full of good bacteria. (Traditionally, kraut was used in Germany for medicinal purposes.) Instead of popping a probiotic pill, try weaving more fermented foods into your diet instead. As the cabbage ferments, lactic acid bacteria produce a variety of lactobacillus bacteria species that’ll boost your digestion and gut health.

As Hippocrates famously said, all disease begins in the gut. So, as you support your digestive health with old-fashioned fermented foods like yogurt or homemade saukeraut, you’ll be boosting your immune system at the same time.

Keep in mind that in order to reap the probiotic health benefits of sauerkraut, it needs to be raw. Unfortunately, the pasteurized grocery store varies will not have the same benefits, since heat destroys most of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes. (This is why I never can my kraut.)

You may find that your body begins craving kraut after you start making it… This has happened to me with several ferments. Considering the probiotic prowess of sauerkraut, I have a hunch our bodies are trying to tell us something, so I try to listen.

What You Need to Make Your Own Sauerkraut

Homemade kraut only requires a handful of simple ingredients. But quality matters here.

Fresh Cabbage

You can use any kind of cabbage here, although green cabbage or white cabbage are the most common varieties. Organic cabbage is ideal, but homegrown is even better. Select cabbage that’s as fresh as possible. (I’ve noticed when I use heads that have been lingering in my fridge, they don’t produce as much juice. They are still usable, just not as easy to smash.)

Salt

Skip the regular table salt for this recipe, as it contains iodine which can hamper the probiotic bacteria and discolor your ferments over time. As far as texture goes, I prefer fine sea salt for my ferments, although coarse will work in a pinch (it just takes longer to dissolve into brines). I use Redmond Real Salt for ALL of my homestead cooking, including fermentation. (I buy 25-lb bags since I go through it quickly!)

Water

?Avoid using chlorinated water in your ferments, as it can hamper the action of the beneficial bacteria. I use our tap water (we have a well.)

Jars & Tools

There are a lot of fermenting gadgets floating around that will indeed make your life easier, but remember that none are a necessity. Our great-grandparents smashed their cabbage into giant crocks, stuck them in the root cellar, and called it good. If you’re operating on a tight budget, stick with a simple jar and regular lid. (I love the large mason jars (2 quart) for this!)

If you suspect fermentation will become a large piece of your old-fashioned skill repertoire, I suggest investing in the following:

Fermentation Weights: These come in a variety of styles and keep the fermenting foods safely under the brine. I like glass weights that fit inside the mouth of a mason jar. If you don’t have a fermentation weight, simple use the outer leaves or core of the cabbage to weigh the rest down.
A Crock: The recipe below is written for one head of cabbage. However, it takes nearly the same amount of effort to make a LOT of kraut as it does a little, so bigger batches make sense and a fermentation crock makes this much easier. (Learn how to use a fermenting crock in this post.)
Airlock Lids: These aren’t 100% necessary, but can come in handy. Air locks (aka a fermentation lid or pickle pipes) can reduce mold on a ferment and allow the gasses to escape without you having to “burp” the jar. The airlocks you see in the photos in this post are from Fermentools.com

How to make homemade sauerkraut — Using an air lock from Fermentools

Need Some Extra Coaching?

If you are new to making homemade fermented foods, especially sauerkraut, check out my Heritage Cooking Crash Course. In this course, you can watch me make homemade sauerkraut, and also learn more old-fashioned heritage cooking skills such as cheesemaking, sourdough bread, canning, and more.

Click here to learn about my Heritage Cooking Crash Course.

(this post contains affiliate links)

Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe

Yield: 1 quart jar

Ingredients:

1 small to medium head of green cabbage
1 tablespoon fine sea salt per head of cabbage (I use this salt)
Clean glass jar (I usually use one average head of cabbage per quart-sized mason jar)
If you need extra brine: 1 additional tablespoon of fine sea salt and 4 cups non-chlorinated water

Instructions:

Wash and remove the outer leaves of the cabbage.

Quarter the cabbage, remove the core, and slice or shred the cabbage into thin strips (I shoot for around 1/4″ wide). Try to make the strips as uniform as possible, but they don’t have to be perfect. (You can also use the slicing or shredding attachment of a food processor for this.)

Place the sliced cabbage in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the sea salt over the top.

Allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so, and then start mashing. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do this– just use your hands, a mallet, or whatever blunt object you can find to mash/knead/twist/press/crush the cabbage. The goal is to start the juices flowing. (It helps if you can think of something that makes you mad while you do this–it’s better than therapy, really…)

I mash/knead for about 8-10 minutes. Hopefully by the end of this process, you’ll have lots of liquid sitting in the bottom of your bowl. At this point, taste the juice in your bowl. If it doesn’t taste salty, like ocean water, add a little more salt.

Place several handfuls of cabbage into the jar, then thoroughly pack down with a wooden spoon. The goal is to eliminate as many air pockets as possible.

Repeat the packing and mashing until the jar is full and there are no more air bubbles. (Just make sure to leave 2″ of room at the top.)

If there is enough liquid flowing from your cabbage to cover it completely, congrats!

If you don’t have enough brine, make a 2% brine solution to fill up the rest of the jar. (If you don’t completely submerse the cabbage in liquid, it’s susceptible to mold and other gunk).

To Make a 2% Brine:

Dissolve 1 tablespoon fine sea salt in 4 cups non-chlorinated water. If you don’t use all of the brine for this recipe, it will keep indefinitely in the fridge.

The finer the salt, the less stirring you must to do to dissolve. I particularly like this sea salt from Redmonds (learn more about them in my Cooking with Salt article), as it dissolves almost immediately.

Cover the exposed cabbage with brine, leaving 1″ of headspace at the top. If you are having troubles with the cabbage floating to the top, you can weigh it down with a glass weight (this is my favorite glass weight), OR wedge a piece of the cabbage core on top to hold it down. Any cabbage that is exposed will need to be thrown away, but you were going to toss the core anyway, so it’s no big loss.

Affix a lid to the jar (fingertight only), and set aside in a room temperature location for at least one week. (Keep the jars out of direct sunlight.)

Place a small dish or tray under the jar, as they have the tendency to leak a bit and spill over. Also, removing the lid after a day or so to “burp” the jar and release any pent-up gasses is also a smart idea.

Taste and smell your kraut after one week. If it’s tangy enough, move to the refrigerator for storage. If you like a bit more tang, simply allow it to ferment for a bit longer.

A Note About Salt Amounts

I’ve had a few commenters say their sauerkraut either was too salty or not salty enough. This is a part of the learning curve of making homemade sauerkraut, and the more batches you make, the better you’ll get at adjusting the salt levels. However, here are a few tips:

If in doubt, start with slightly less salt than called for– you can always add more.
A good way to start training your taste buds to the proper salt levels is to make the brine listed above and taste it. That is what the proper salt levels should taste like.
Taste-testing is also important as not all salts contain the same level of saltiness.
After mashing the cabbage and salt for 15+ minutes, taste the brine in the bottom of the bowl. It should taste like ocean water (very salty). If not, add a bit more.
Getting the proper salt levels is crucial. Too little salt will result in spoiled cabbage, while too much salt will stunt the fermentation process. You’ll get better the more you practice– promise!

Kitchen Notes for Homemade Sauerkraut:

There are lots of ways to flavor your sauerkraut, such as caraway seeds, juniper berries, dill seeds, or celery seeds. However, I’ve been happy with just the plain version.
If there is exposed kraut at the top of the jar, it will turn brown, or develop “scum.” If this happens, scrape it off and you’ll be good to go. Even a little mold is OK, as long as it hasn’t contaminated the entire batch. Remember, lacto-fermented foods contain a host of friendly bacteria that keeps them safe. (This is why botulism isn’t a concern with ferments like it is with canning.) However, if at any point your sauerkraut smells rancid or nasty, and beyond the point of that pleasantly sour tang, toss it.
Although I used a swingtop jar in my photos (because it’s cute), I used a regular mason jar for the fermentation process.
If you’re wanting a good beginner’s kit of fermenting tools, I recommend Fermentools.com
Ready to try your hand at other fermented projects? Check out my old-fashioned fermented pickles.
Still hesitant about making fermented foods? Learn to make sauerkraut with me in my Heritage Cooking Crash Course.