In this post you’ll learn:
- How to make sauerkraut with no special equipment and only two ingredients
- The health benefits of sauerkraut
- The best equipment to get if you want to make larger quantities.
Printable recipe at the bottom of the post.
I love sauerkraut. It is one of my favorite things in the world and the better the sauerkraut, the more I love it. I’ll eat canned kraut from a store (Aldi brand is the absolute best as far as canned goes) but the cold bagged kind in the deli (such as Boar’s Head brand) is much better than canned. Better still is homemade. Homemade absolutely wins out over any and all sauerkraut that you could ever find on a grocery store shelf. Truly. It is night and day in terms of quality and flavor. So if you love sauerkraut like I do, today I am going to show you one of the most simplified ways of making it, with some tips and tricks at the end in case you want to go pro.
But first, why should I eat sauerkraut?
There are a LOT of health benefits to eating sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. Specifically, sauerkraut is high in fiber, vitamins C, A, K, and B. It’s also a good source of iron, copper, magnesium, calcium, and manganese.
Sauerkraut also contains a lot of great living and highly concentrated probiotics which serve countless purposes in your digestive system.
Now the way I usually make this is to buy a head or two of cabbage, get some good salt (I prefer kosher or sea salt), and prepare it all in what I call my “Kimchi pot”, which is actually just a big fermenting pot. But this makes a lot of sauerkraut and that pot ain’t cheap, so today I’m going to show you how to start out using equipment you probably have and just a small amount of cabbage. Only I’m going to go one step easier to take away any excuses you may have keeping you from trying this and we are even gonna use pre shredded cabbage.
Once you try it and the fermenting bug hits, you can check out my tips and tricks at the bottom of the post for making larger quantities, or just keep using this method, which is perfectly fine.
Sauerkraut is an ancient food and therefore is simple to make. All you really need today is cabbage, salt, your hands, and a jar to put it in. I like to use kosher or sea salt but you can also use Himalayan salt, just don’t use iodized salt because the iodine has been known to inhibit fermenting. If you want to get fancy, you can add in a fermentation or pickling crock and a set of weights. I’ll show you the one I have at the end of this post.
Dump your cabbage and salt into a bowl. How much salt? Well that varies depending on how much cabbage you have. Generally, you want a heaping tablespoon of salt per 2 pounds of cabbage. Note: If you avoid sodium for whatever reason, sauerkraut isn’t for you, plain and simple. However, if you are thinking it will taste salty, it really doesn’t. It will the first few days but it isn’t sauerkraut yet at that point. The more it ages the less salty it becomes and a whole other flavor of wonderful develops in it’s place.
Now you want to take your hands and squeeze and mix all of this together, bruising the cabbage as much as you can to help draw out the juices.
The salt will help a lot with this as well. I am using gloves on my hands but you don’t have to, just make sure your hands are really clean. Make a note of how much cabbage is in this bowl because it is about to decrease drastically in volume, which I always find interesting.
And this is how I can finally get photos like this. I finally took the time to figure out how to hook my big fancy schmancy camera up to my phone so I can sit it on a tripod and operate it from the phone screen. 🙂 
This is what it looks like after I’ve squeezed and mixed it up a few minutes with my hands.
Now cover that and let it sit for about ten minutes. During that time the salt will draw a lot more liquid out of the cabbage. This is creating our brine in which the cabbage is going to ferment. 
After ten minutes you can see that it has lost even more volume. It is always amazing how you can start with what you think is a large quantity of cabbage and be doing good to end up with a mason jar of sauerkraut.
Using a jar funnel, pack the cabbage down into a mason jar. I am using a large mouth quart jar. Pack it as tight as you can, trying to get the cabbage submerged in the liquid it has weeped.
Let that sit for the rest of the day.
You should end up with enough liquid to cover your cabbage, as you can see in this photo. If, by the next day, you still don’t have enough, you can add a little bit of water to make up the difference.
Try to keep your cabbage pushed down beneath the water level. They even sell weights on Amazon for this (click here to see them) but I have never used them. You can also use a regular mouth 4 ounce jelly jar to help weight the cabbage down or even a zipper seal bag sealed shut with water inside, but again, I’ve never had a need myself. I just push it down once a day, with a clean spoon, while it is fermenting. I’m perhaps overly cautious not to touch it with my bare hands as I don’t want to disturb all of the happy bacteria that are being born.
Leave this sitting out on your countertop (or in a cool place, in between 65-72 degrees is best if possible, for one to three weeks.
**Important note about venting: Now you need to know that a LOT of gas is going to build up in this. During the first week I open the lid each morning and each evening and then put it back on to allow the gas to escape. After that week I do it about once a day.
If you forget to vent for a day or two: the best thing to do is place your jar in a plastic grocery bag, close the bag up around it a bit, then open the lid. There will likely be some spewing as the gases escape but the bag will catch it all. Once the jar is open, close it again and rinse it off. No big. I should let you know that they sell these little airlock things which fit on mason jars to help vent the gases but I’ve never had the need because I only do small batches in mason jars and it is no trouble to vent the jar once or twice a day. I’d rather you save your money and invest in a fermenting pot because if you are going to do this often, you’ll love it (see bottom of post).
Over time your sauerkraut will begin to develop it’s taste, which only gets better the more time goes on. I generally put mine in the fridge and start eating it after two weeks but you can leave it out another week if you like or put it in the fridge in as little as 3-4 days if you want a very mild taste – which is absolutely not my preference. I like a deeper, richer, more fermented kraut that tends to show up around the two week mark.
Too salty? Not enough salt? Just make sure you use a heaping tablespoon of salt per 2 lbs of veggies and you’ll be fine. If you end up with it too salty for your taste once it is done, the preferable method of dealing with that is to add a little additional water to the brine rather than pouring the brine out because so much goodness is in that. I have found, through food blogging, that some people will always say a dish is too salty either because they are very sensitive to salt or just don’t care for it. Me? I’m happy. Give me a salty dish and I’ll just drink more water with it.
Ingredients
- Approximately 1.5 - 2 pounds of shredded cabbage
- 1 tablespoon kosher sea, or himalayan salt (NOT iodized salt)
- Wide mouth quart jar with lid
Instructions
- Place shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over. With very clean hands (or using gloves) squeeze and mix cabbage and salt for several minutes, until it is decreased in volume and starts producing juices.
- Cover and let sit ten minutes.
- Pack cabbage into mason jar, pressing down as much as possible. Cover and let sit for a day.
- Check to see if there is enough liquid to cover cabbage. If so, open lid and press down until cabbage is submerged. If not, add a little more water so that there is enough to cover. Press cabbage down to submerge. Cover with lid once more.
- For the next week, open the lid in the morning and evening to release pressure and then immediately close again. After the first week once per day should be enough.
- You can begin testing flavor of sauerkraut after one week. Once it reaches desired depth of flavor it is ready to place in the refrigerator and start eating. Store in the refrigerator to store for several months. I prefer to leave mine out for two weeks before refrigerating.
If you want to get into fermenting larger quantities of sauerkraut and other veggies (I’ll show you how to make Kimchi soon), you might want to invest in a fermenting pot.
I have one like the Humble House Sauercrock below. There are also some other examples of fermenting pots that can be purchased on Amazon, although I fear the Polish pottery one is too small for my needs. I do suggest getting a set of weights, which may be purchased separately in case your fermenting pot doesn’t come with them. My fermenting pot has a special well around the top that you can pour water in to seal the pot, but still allow gases to escape as they are formed so there is no need to vent the pot each day as we do with mason jars. This helps protect against spoilage as well and allows you to leave your fermenting alone for the most part until it is ready, as long as you check the water level on your seal from time to time.
Yum 
Looks good to me Christy, never thought about making it this way. My Mom used to make jars of it with cabbage from her garden. My husband doesn’t like it but I do (not too often). Thank you so much!
My husband doesn’t like it, either. More for us! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it! Have a great week 🙂
I can remember my mom would make Sauerkraut every year in a big container every year then can it for winter. She added brown sugar to hers. It gave a slight different, milder
flavor. I loved her Sauerkraut but I prefer the stronger, sourer Sauerkraut. I am the only one in the family that like it but I am going to try this recipe and eat it all myself.
I love it. Do you ever put caraway seeds in it? I use sauerkraut with caraway seeds to make cabbage rolls. My husband calls them pigs in a blanket. Yummy
I don’t but a lot of recipes call for them. It’s really easy to add herbs and spices to customize it. My kimchi is basically this with a lot of added spices and another veggie or two. 🙂
I’m looking forward to seeing your kimchi recipe! My middle daughter is married to a Korean/American boy, his momma can put it on the top shelf when it comes to Korean food. She calls it “Seoul” food.
I can not wait to try this. I have everything I need to do so!!! Will do so tomorrow! Thanks
Awesome! let us know how you like it!
Thank you so much for this recipe and instructions! I loved my Mom’s homemade sauerkraut but was afraid to try to make it, lol. This sounds like something I could do and not start out on a grand scale : )
And you get a taste of your childhood and your mother’s love in one swoop! 🙂 You got this, Brenda! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I have always wanted to make kraut and didn’t know where to start. My mom had a giant crock and she made kraut every year. It was the best! My family has a treat to look forward to. Bless you.
Thank YOU and what a wonderful upbringing you must have had!
Thanks so much for this information. I did not know that you could make kraut in small batches like this. Can’t wait to try it! I have not had good homemade kraut in years.
I hope you get to have it soon. Have a great day, Sandie!
Thank you for this! I am definitely going to try it. I love sauerkraut. It is really good on pizza, by the way…
Oooh I have not tried that but I will now!
Yes it is, and with ham added…..yum!
Try that pizza with sliced brats. A friend of mine had a pizza sports bar here in AZ, he called that pizza a Lambo. He was from Wisconsin
I’ve had the sauerkraut on pepperoni pizza and loved it, but my nursing infant did not agree when it flavored her milk a few hours later, whoops! 😛
Thank you thank you! This post comes at s great time for me as I just discovered by accident that sauerkraut helps me with some digestive issues. I’ve been trying out different ones from the store, but now I actually feel like I can make it! I happen to love it. Can’t wait to try this kind!
And what you make at home is going to be so much better for you because all that good stuff is far more potent and actually living. I’m excited for you to try it!
I have stomach issues also and am trying to not take omeprazole. Does sauerkraut have the same effect that dill pickle juice does?
I’m really not sure. I’ve heard of people drinking pickle juice for electrolytes but not for stomach issues. If it is somehow providing a probiotic then this would offer a better version of that but I’m not sure there is a lot of probiotics left by the time cucumbers are pickled.
I am by no means a doctor or nurse, however if I have an upset stomach, sauerkraut always makes mine feel better.
I read that homemade is much better for you because it doesn’t have any additives like bought is likely to have.
My grandmother made it in a big white milk churn. The whole back room off the kitchen would be full of smelly fermenting cabbage. But oh it was so good once she decided it was ready. She canned everything! Unfortunately my city cousin thought the empty churn was a toilet and that big churn wound up in the garbage pile while my grandfather was dispatched to town for another one.
Well now there is a memory for sure! lol!!
Looks good. I too like the Aldi Kraut but the purple German one in a Jar slow cooked over a pork roast. When I was young my mom made Green Tomato Kraut which was green tomatoes, cabbage, and hot peppers to taste. She made it in a crock. it sure was good having a big spoon full with a bowl of pinto beans.
Green tomato relish like your Mom’s is relish. My Gram made it when I was little. My hubby & I like it with collards, turnip greens, black eyed peas, crowder and purple hull peas. It is available in small country stores in our area. BTW, have you ever tried whole okra on top of your peas or butter beans while they are cooking. It gives the peas or beans a rich taste. You can eat the okra as a side dish with your meal. By taking the okra off others in your household will still eat the peas ( this is for those than won’t eat boiled okra).
Linda, The one my mom made was not sweet but like kraut. So I do not know if we are talking about the same thing. I have ate pickled okra but don’t like the slime of unfried okra.
We plan to make kraut with our fresh cabbage we grow in our garden this year! I cannot wait!!
Jena Woodson
I cant wait to hear how it turns out Jena!!!
That sounds delicious! Both of y’all are making my stomach growl 🙂
I love it makes my mouth watery but have to keep away due to high blood pressure and 5 by-pass surgery but sounds very tempting.
I’m so sorry but I hope you find another recipe from the old days to treat yourself with!
Love this! Thank you. Question can our add other spices to the mix?
Yup! Customize away!
Could you make this in an old churn like my Mama used to churn milk in to make buttermilk? I would also like to tell you what a blessing your scripture writing plan is. I t has helped me get back to more bible reading, Thanks and God bless
You sure can! Just clean it really well and use a plate to weight it down. The main thing is to make sure you don’t use a container that’s ever been used to water glass eggs but I would imagine those are rare things these days. Thank you so much for being here and for your encouragement!
“water glass eggs”? I’m lost.
Waterglassing is an old way folks used to preserve eggs. They would mix up a sodium silicate water mixture and put the eggs in a crock, then cover them with it. This sealed the pores of the eggs and helped them to keep longer at room temp. It was especially helpful with heritage breeds of chickens who didn’t lay year round and when refrigeration wasn’t available. It ruins a crock for other things, though. If you see a white film inside your crock when it is dry, it was most likely used for water glassing. The film will disappear when wet but appear again once it dries. This will ruin anything you try to ferment, unfortunately.
Oh I adore it when I find another kraut lover!!! I grew up eating my Mammy’s kraut. Mom would always have it available whenever she made soup beans and corn bread. (Pinto beans every where else). I got sick of never having it so I started making my own about 5 years ago. I have the e-jen container and it does great! Do you like pickled corn? That’s another one of my favorites!! A few years ago my aunt showed me how to make it.
I learned how to make some great corn relish from the very website! Thanks, Christy! My husband loves it. Or is picked corn something else?
My aunt makes it the same way as sauerkraut. Cut the corn on the Cobb, add salt to it and let it ferment away! We always called it pickled corn. I was born and raised in Eastern KY, so it may be called something different elsewhere . It’s one of my favorite things to eat!!
I usually make a big batch of corn relish each year – and then proceed to eat every last bite of it all by myself. Often I will just pop open a jar and eat it for breakfast! lol
I’m gonna have to try your corn relish, it sounds delicious!!
I remember my mom made kraut in a five gallon stone jar and she would set a big plate directly on thecabbage and set it in the back porch to ferment.
I remember my grandmother doing the same. Precious days!
Hi Christy,
You mentioned several times that you would show your Fermenting Pot, I am thinking you use it for Kimchi? Never had that before. I have been looking for fermented foods to up my good gut bacteria.
I went over to the favorite gift tools, but didn’t see the pot there either.
Ellen, if you click on Christy’s post for Sauer Kraut for her recipe, she says to click on to see her fermenting pot. It will show you 3-4 pots including hers.
Thank you, Linda! I was going to say the same thing 🙂 Ellen, is the box of four fermenting crocks not showing up for you at the end of the post? Mine is the one on the far right.
Oooh, looks great! You’ve totally de-mystified the process! Thanks, Christy! I’m totally going to try this now. 🙂
Thank you so much, Margaret! Let me know how you like it!
I like kraut but I Love kimchi! Sooo excited for a tutorial on that. Thank you.
I have your 3 cookbooks and have such fun perusing your site when I get a chance.
Love your positive attitude:)
Thank you so much Crystal! I am WAAAAY TOO EXCITED About showing y’all how to make kimchi! I’ll try to get it up in the next week or two but it is so simple, as simple as this! And so good 🙂
Thank you for being here and for being such an encouragement to me!
Looking forward to see how you make kimchi. Can’t wait to try this kraut!!
Christy, you are my hero!! I have been wanting to make homemade sauerkraut for years! I have had one of the fermenting pots on my wish list on amazon for so long, that it is no longer available. I want to make it your way first and see if I want to invest in the larger crock . Do you make it the same way in the crock? Some things I’ve read call for layering the salt and cabbage. The crock I liked was 4 gallons. I thought if I was going to make it, I wanted to make it worth my while. Also I want to know, when you make it in large batches , do you can it? Or just use is straight from the crock? I would love to see you make it in the crock sometime. Thanks so much for this post. Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Jayson! Yes, I make it the same way in a crock but I buy heads of cabbage and just slice it myself, then add about a heaping tablespoon of salt for every two pounds, bruise it up as best I can with my hands, and then place it in the crock and put weights on top.
I don’t can it in terms of using a water bath and such because I want it to stay all lively :). Once it is done, I put it in jars and just put those in my fridge. It is good for a very long time in the fridge and only gets better with time so I’m able to eat it all. 🙂 However, you can certainly can it in a water bath canner.
HI Christy, thanks for the info. I finally was able to make your sauerkraut this past Sunday. I got sick with the flu a few weeks ago and it wrestled me to the ground and stomped the stuffing out of me. I was afraid to make any when I was sick for fear I would ferment something else! So I got it started in my jar. I used the same amount you recommended. On Wednesday it already started smelling like sauerkraut! I was so excited! And there is nothing else growing in there that shouldn’t be! I can’t wait to try it. I’ve already saved your kimchi recipe to make after this. I definitely think I will look into the crocks you recommended. Thanks again!
I am so glad to hear you are feeling better Jayson!!! Enjoy the Sauerkraut!!
I have stomach issues and have been told to eat fermented foods, which is incredibly hard to find any to buy. Yogurt has way too many carbs so I started making kefir. It is so much easier and less time consuming to make than yogurt was, plus it’s has way less carbs than yogurt. Is it ok to use the cole slaw mix? That’s the only shredded cabbage available here. I think I will try this and use my beanpot.
Cole slaw mix proabably has carrots. If carrots can ferment, you’re probably OK. But its very, very easy to use a knife and cut up a head of cabbage. Or buy yourself a box shredder. Cabbage is REALLY cheap!
I use carrots in my ferments a lot, they are great! You can also just buy a head of cabbage. That’s what I normally do because I usually make large quantities, but in this post I wanted to make the process as simple as possible for everyone with each step I could.
Christy….I just love you. With your pictures and comments, it makes understanding the recipe SO MUCH better. I am going to try this recipe tomorrow. I sell produce, etc. at our local farmers market here in Dalton Georgia in the summer and have had so many requests in the past for kraut. I was convinced that I did not know how or where to start…you make it sound so very simple. With our 1st market starting in May, I have plenty of time to get this recipe “down pat”. Thanks again…
Oh my goodness, I’m gonna have to stop by that Farmer’s Market one of these days and I look forward to your delicious sauerkraut! Thank you so much for the encouragement and for taking time to leave a comment, you have no idea how much I appreciate both!
I love sauerkraut too and I use kitchen rock salt and add grated carrots, 1 part of carrots to 3 or 4 parts of cabagge and poke the mix once a day while it sits with wooden chopsticks to let gases out.
Sounds delicious! I have Kimchi (also with carrots) that is almost ready now and it is all I can do to wait 🙂
Oh,Sauerkraut is the best. Thanks for sharing. I’ve been know to just got straight to the fridge and eat it out of the container( I’m such a kid). Love to know that camera trick, I got a new fancy camera too and really wish I new how to conquer over head shots. See you around.
I was supposedly able to do it with my last camera but just never took the time to figure it out. I have too much technology in my life so I tend to push back ;). I’m like you, I eat it straight from the jar, too! lol
I have made this about 30 years ago I had purchased a book it was called freezing and canning cookbook. made it in pint mason jars filled with the cabbage and kosher salt packing it down and placing the jars in a square metal baking pan to catch the brine when it bubbled over top of jars the pan would catch the liquid lay the lids on top of the jars when the brine got a little low would mix the salt and water to make a brine and add to the jars that needed it and lay the lids back on top it would bubble for about 2 to 3 weeks when it stopple bubbling I would place the jars with the lids and rings on top and place in a boiling water to seal the worked out well.
Sounds like a solid method, thank you for sharing this!
Why do you need screwtop lids? Could you just keep the jar covered with layers of cheesecloth? Would eliminate need for daily venting.
You can but this will also allow fruit flies to get in. Those little suckers are smaller than we realize 🙂 It also helps keep mold at bay.
Here’s a hint: PICKLE PIPES. The company is MasonTops. A pickle pipe is a (I think) silicone top that looks like a baby bottle nipple got together with a mason jar lid. They make them for both wide mouth and narrow mouth jars. You put them on top & screw them down like a regular lid, and the “nipple” will let the gas escape without letting air in. Oh, and caraway is a great seasoning for the cabbage….
Hey Cara! I mentioned things like that in the post for those who might be interested. I’ve just never found them to be necessary but if you were going to be out of town or just wanted to put them away and not check on them that would certainly be a needed tool. Instead, I just put the money into a fermenting jar that vents itself and can do larger quantities, but I see those things all the time at homesteading events and they seem to have a big following! Others have mentioned caraway seeds as well. There are so many great things you can do to customize kraut – which makes it even more wonderful 🙂
I grew up eating homemade sauerkraut and I cannot stand any canned brands from the store. I’ll definitely be trying this!!! Yummy! And so easy!
(Also – I didn’t see a the picture or a link to your Sauercrock. Did I miss it somewhere?)
One other question – my grandmother used to make “salt pickles” (they weren’t dill or bread & butter, etc.) No one in my family has the recipe. Have you ever heard of them and do you have a recipe? 🙂
Hey Freda! At the end of the post, after the recipe, I talk about my crock in that paragraph and the one like I have is pictured on the left beneath it. Let me look into that salt pickle recipe for ya!
Is it possible to just make this in my regular crock pot and leave the lid on? I have several sizes to try with , or is the jar method better? Ready to make this today!!!
I’ve never heard of anyone using a crock pot for fermenting but it is a glazed stoneware vessel with a lid so it will work. However, the lid will likely allow fruit flies in if it doesn’t clamp. I would also make sure it is not in your base while doing this and then you have to get past having your crock pot otherwise occupied for a few weeks :). I don’t see why it would have any residual smell but it would probably require a few washings after the fact just in case.
It’s funny that we are talking about making sauerkraut as we just returned from a store that caters to the Amish here in Ohio called Lehmanns. We purchased a wooden masher and some wooden lids for our crocks that we ordered online and picked up from Ace Hardware. We also have the weights. I made a very small batch of sauerkraut last year and it turned out great. My husband thinks you have to have all the “extras” to make sauerkraut as his attempts with a crock, plate and a brick didn’t turn out well.
My husband loves Kimchi and the little Korean lady who owns a Carryout store down the street will occasionally give him some in exchange for veggies from our garden.
Christy, you are a God send for so many reasons. Spiritually you herd us like lost sheep in a crazy world to get back to finding comfort in the bible. I love your tutorials on how to cook and bake and encouragement to try those recipes that our grandmothers used to make.
Please show us how to bake on an open fire outside with cast iron pans. I am getting into dehydrating and vacuum packing. Can you share any ideas regarding this? I love the dehydration of hamburg that you did. Looking for a way to vacuum pack without electricity. Was hoping to find something at the Amish store that was a hand cranking device.
Love you Kristy and your good, Godly heart.
I picked up my Mason jars and cabbage today. Giving this a try 🙂