Sauerkraut and Weenies
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This is an old-fashioned Southern main dish. As the name suggests, all you need is sauerkraut and weenies to make this tangy yet delicious dish.
This sauerkraut and weenies recipe was one of my dear favorite meals as a girl and still is. It is a prime example of a budget meal (very common in the South back in the day) and so very good! Oh goodness, I’m getting hungry.
Now, I realize some folks are just not sauerkraut fans. Chances are, I lost about half of you in the title of this post. But I know some folks saw that photo and your stomach started growling, and chances are pretty darn good that you’ll be having this for supper tonight. Those who don’t fit into this category, feel free to think of the rest of us as weird. We won’t mind and there will be more sauerkraut for us! Everyone has their preferences and it’s all good either way.
This is one of those meals that is great with slices of polish sausage. But I still like to cook it how Mama did growing up; just by chopping up a few weenies and cooking until the sauerkraut and weenies brown a bit. That’s all there is to it. You can add as many weenies or sausage as you like and if you’re vegetarian, just get some vegan hot dogs and keep on keeping on. If you want to take it up a notch, you can make your own sauerkraut as I do in this post. Put it on your Classic Reuben Sandwich and you will crave it every day.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sauerkraut
- Weenies
- Salt and pepper
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Sauerkraut and Weenies
Slice your weenies and put them in a large skillet.
Add in about two cups of sauerkraut.
Cook this over medium to medium-high heat, stirring often.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You can start with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and then adjust to make it just right for you.
Cook this until your weenies and sauerkraut get a little brown or you can just cook it until everything is heated through.
Now here is a supper from the old days!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend reheating on the stovetop on low heat until heated through.
Recipe Notes
- How many weenies you use is up to you. We used to have to determine this based on how many we had, so to be able to use as many as you want is a big step up nowadays.
- I have a friend from Germany ~waves to Gudrun~ who swears by the bagged sauerkraut so I started buying it and now I’m a convert, too. You can get it in the refrigerated section near the weenies usually and sometimes near the deli if they have a refrigerated section there as well. Mama likes the kind you get in a glass jar and we’ve both used the kind that comes in a can (which you get on the vegetable aisle). Overall, they are all good and there isn’t a lot of price difference so it is up to you to pick your favorite.
- As mentioned, you can use a different type of sausage with the sauerkraut. For example, sauerkraut and brats (bratwurst) is a popular dish in Germany. Kielbasa or franks also work.
- For extra flavor, add 1 diced apple to the skillet as well.
Recipe FAQs
What goes well with sauerkraut and weenies?
Here are some serving suggestions for your sauerkraut and weenies:
- Dinner rolls (with mustard)
- German potato salad
- Mashed potatoes
- Fried potatoes
- Freshly fried corn (or creamed corn or baked corn on the cob).
- Baked beans
- Broccoli salad
- Fresh green beans
- Cornbread
Do you drain sauerkraut before cooking?
If you’re using jarred sauerkraut, you’ll want to drain it before using it.
What condiment goes well with sauerkraut?
Mustard, ketchup, green tomato relish, and hot sauce (like sriracha or tabasco sauce) all pair perfectly with sauerkraut.
How do you season sauerkraut?
Besides salt and black pepper, if you want a touch of sweetness add up to a tablespoon of brown sugar. If you want a more savory flavor, add a teaspoon of caraway seeds. Alternatively, for a kick, add a dash of red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of paprika.
What food goes well with sauerkraut?
Here are some other dishes that pair well with sauerkraut:
- Hot dogs or hot dog chili
- Pork chops
- Reuben sandwich
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Polish sausage or kielbasa sausage
You may also like these recipes:
Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
Ingredients
- 2-4 weenies or polish sausage
- 2 cups sauerkraut
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice weenies into small pieces and place them in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.2-4 weenies or polish sausage
- Add sauerkraut. Cook, stirring often until kraut and weenies brown slightly. Salt and pepper to taste.2 cups sauerkraut, salt and pepper to taste
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
This was originally published in 2010. I updated the post and photos in 2020.
Life is really simple,
but we insist on making it complicated.
It looks really good. Question: Do you drain the liquid from the sauerkraut before you use it or not? Does it matter?
i drain mine first – but i dont think it really matters. i like to get mine a little browned and seems to get there faster w/out the juice.
Everyone does it differently. My Dad was raised in Germany and I have had plenty of sauerkraut in my day. I personally hated the stuff. As an adult I learned I didn’t mind it so much if it has been rinsed. If you don’t drain it, it will be stronger. If you are fixing it for people who are weary, I would recommend rinsing it
On wash day, my momma always put on a pot of navy beans & ham hocks and slow cooked them most of the day. When we came home from school, we always knew it was wash day as the smell of the ham ‘n heans waffted through the house!
I love this. I haven’t thought of a “dirt necklace” for years.
I remember many a nights having this for supper growing up along with some type of beans and bread. Usually a mater or onion sliced up on the side as well. I make this dish off and on to this day and will never tire of It. You simply cannot go wrong with It at all!
Thanks for sharing and bringing back some memories Christy! 🙂
We lived in Deep west Texas and kraut and wienies were a staple. If we were really good Mom would splurge and buy cocktail oscar mayer wienies. I don’t think they make anymore. They weren’t lil smokies. I never saw a sausage link until the 70’s when we moved to Kansas. The Kansas lunch ladies at school made the best homemade kraut ever! Wow, thanks for the memories.
christy, this sure does bring back memories. our menue was a little different, we had sour kraut and weenies, fried potatoes with cream corn on top, and big sour dough biscuits, with homemade butter. sometimes we got to mix dark karo syrup with the butter, if we were good. and for dessert we could have rice pudding or egg custard which ever was made that day. very simple times and we were glad to have so much.
Christy..hey! I’ve been following your blog daily for quite some time. Some of your recipes have become family favorites at our house. Southern BBQ pork is genius and your vinegar slaw recipe is delicious. Plus, they’re both dead simple so I can remember them by heart.
Until today, I’ve not stopped to comment and thank you. However, when I read your post yesterday about meals on the cheap, my tongue had a flashback to my Mom’s Onion Goulash. An entire bag of onions sliced and sauteed, added to a scant pound of browned ground beef, kidney beans and whole canned tomatoes was gently stewed together while the bread was baking. I can still taste the warm buttered bread as it sopped up the ‘goulash’ from my bowl. We later laughed that it was our poor mans meal, but boy was it ever good.
Thanks for bringing on that memory, and for all the additions to my menu planning.