Our homemade sauerkraut soup recipe, made with kielbasa and bacon, is smoky, tangy, and incredibly comforting.

There’s almost always a batch of homemade sauerkraut in our fridge, which is how we stumbled into this soup recipe. And now, our family genuinely can’t stop making it.

It’s cozy, really delicious, and hard to resist going back for seconds. The sauerkraut adds just the right amount of sourness, perfectly balancing the richness of the bacon and sausage.

Key Ingredients

• Sauerkraut: The star of our soup. I love fermented sauerkraut, which you can buy or make yourself (here’s our sauerkraut recipe). Another option is to make our fresh sauerkraut, which tastes incredible, but skips the fermenting time, meaning you can make and enjoy it on the same day. When buying sauerkraut from the grocery store, look for more traditional options with classic spices like caraway.
• Bacon and Sausage: For the bacon, I use thick-cut slices and cut them into lardons (small strips). For the sausage, kielbasa is my favorite, but any smoked sausage will work.
• Onion, Carrot, and Garlic: Roughly chop the onion and carrot, then slice the garlic. No need for perfection here, this is a rustic soup after all.
• Thyme and Paprika: The fresh thyme adds a lot of flavor, but you can substitute it with dried thyme. For the paprika, use sweet paprika to avoid introducing extra smokiness or heat.
• Stock: I use chicken stock or chicken broth, but vegetable broth would work just fine here.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

My Tips for Making Sauerkraut Soup

Tip 1: Render the bacon and sausage. Flavor builds step by step in this soup. Start by cooking the bacon and sausage until browned and their fat has rendered. Transfer the meat to a plate, but leave the flavorful fat in the pot. This is what you’ll use to sauté the veggies.

Tip 2: Keep things hearty. This is a rustic, filling soup, so there’s no need to finely dice or mince the ingredients. Chop the onion and carrot into bite-sized pieces that can stand up to the sausage slices.

Tip 3: You only need a quick simmer. My favorite part of this sauerkraut soup is the carrots! They turn out so sweet against the sourness of the broth. When simmering, look for the carrots to become tender, and when they do, you can serve. It only simmers for about 15 minutes.

More Rustic Soup Recipes

Sauerkraut Soup

• PREP
  15 mins
  
• COOK
  20 mins
  
• TOTAL
  35 mins
  

This sauerkraut soup recipe turns out a little smoky, tangy, and sour thanks to the sauerkraut. I love using homemade sauerkraut, but store-bought works really well (just choose one that’s been made with classic flavors like caraway seeds). It’s lovely served by itself, with potatoes, or crusty bread.

5 Servings

You Will Need

4 ounces bacon, thinly sliced (113g)

12 ounces kielbasa, sliced ¼-inch thick (340g)

1 medium onion, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

5 fresh thyme sprigs

6 cups chicken stock (1.4L)

2 ½ cups drained sauerkraut (450g)

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, optional

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1Cook the bacon: Place a large pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders and the bacon is browned and almost crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.

2Brown the sausage: Add the kielbasa and cook until lightly browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside with the bacon.

3Cook the vegetables: Add the onion, carrot, garlic, paprika, and thyme to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens slightly, about 3 minutes.

4Simmer the soup: Pour in the chicken stock, then add the sauerkraut. Stir and taste for seasoning, then add salt and pepper as needed. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the carrots are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

5Finish and serve: Stir the bacon and kielbasa back into the soup, discard the thyme sprigs, and season to taste. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Adam and Joanne’s Tips

• Serving: I love this as-is, but it would be lovely with a spoonful of sour cream and fresh herbs (like fresh dill or parsley) sprinkled over the top.
• Storing: Keep leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat over medium-low heat on the stove or use the microwave.
• Measuring your sauerkraut: It doesn’t need to be completely dry; some brine is fine. I like to use a spoon and pull the cabbage out to measure it.
• Thyme: I like to tie my thyme with a little twine to make it easy to remove later on. For dried thyme, use ½ teaspoon.
• The nutrition facts provided are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 of 5 servings (about 1.5 cups)
/
Calories
330
/
Total Fat
22.8g
/
Saturated Fat
7.8g
/
Cholesterol
62.4mg
/
Sodium
1538.3mg
/
Carbohydrate
14.9g
/
Dietary Fiber
3.3g
/
Total Sugars
4g
/
Protein
18.8g

AUTHOR:

Joanne Gallagher

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When I’m in a pinch for time and crave the flavors of sauerkraut, this is the recipe I use. Our quick sauerkraut takes just over an hour, and it’s ready to eat!

This easy sauerkraut, inspired by traditional German sauerkraut (which can take weeks), has a slightly sour taste and crunchy texture. I love fermented sauerkraut, but our quicker recipe is the solution for when you want to enjoy homemade sauerkraut today.

We genuinely love it, and we hope you do, too. I love it with pork, especially my skillet pork chops, these apple-stuffed pork chops, or this pork tenderloin with apples.

Key Ingredients

• Green Cabbage: When choosing green cabbage, look for a head that feels heavy for its size and has a firm texture. Avoid any heads that look dried out or discolored. I love green cabbage for this recipe, but purple cabbage will work.
• Onion: I love the onion since it almost melts into the cabbage. I use a yellow or sweet onion.
• Salt and Spices: This is a German-inspired recipe, so we use salt, caraway seeds, a juniper berry, an allspice berry, and a bit of sugar (less than a teaspoon).
• Apple Cider Vinegar and Apple Cider: These create the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. It’s the combination of apple cider and vinegar that makes this sauerkraut so delicious with pork recipes!

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Quick Sauerkraut

Tip 1: Massage with salt and spices. To make this taste like traditional sauerkraut, massage shredded cabbage with salt and spices and set aside for 30 minutes. We use classic spices like caraway seeds, juniper berries, and allspice. I love the caraway seeds in this recipe!

After sitting with the salt and spices for 30 minutes, the cabbage releases some of its juices, wilts a bit, and looks floppy (see the second photo below).

Tip 2: Simmer the cabbage. Instead of fermenting, you will simmer the cabbage, all the juices from the bottom of the bowl, and spices with onions, apple cider vinegar, and apple cider for 30 minutes. This is why this recipe is so much quicker than fermenting (30 minutes vs. weeks).

Simmer the cabbage, covered with a lid for 30 minutes. If you have it, a piece of parchment paper set directly on top keeps the cooking environment nice and moist. It’s optional, but a great trick for the best texture.

Tip 3: Serve warm or chill. This is lovely served warm with sausages or pork dishes, like this pork tenderloin with apples. You can also let the sauerkraut cool and sit in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) so that the flavors bloom. It lasts in the fridge for 2 weeks!

Ways to Use It

Use our quick and easy sauerkraut as you would use fermented sauerkraut. It keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks and gets better over time. I love adding it to sandwiches, salads, and on the side to pretty much anything. It’s great with baked pork chops, beer brats, and I use it to make this sauerkraut soup!

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