Simple Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
Making fresh, delicious, probiotic-packed sauerkraut at home is easy; it's one of the healthiest things you can do for your gut health. Made with only two ingredients, my simple homemade sauerkraut recipe will be your go-to for at-home fermentation!
Ingredients
- 1 large cabbage head
- 2 Tbsp salt
Instructions
- Give your cabbage a good wash, remove the top layer of the cabbage, and set it aside. Remove the core.
- Chop your cabbage into your desired pieces. Some people like to run it through a food processor on the grater setting; others like a chunkier sauerkraut.
- In a large bowl, preferably not plastic, add your chopped cabbage.
- Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of salt over the cabbage pieces. (If your cabbage isn't very big, start with 1 Tbsp, but if it's large like mine, add 2 Tbsp.)
- Using a wooden spoon or your hand, coat each piece of cabbage in the salt.
- Put a lid or towel over the bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, use your hands or a potato masher and squeeze the cabbage to release its natural juices.
- Place a lid or towel back over the bowl, and let it sit for 1 hour.
- Use your hands or a potato masher and squeeze the cabbage again to release its natural juices.
- Time to pack into jars: Use clean wide-mouth mason jars, choose the jar size you desire (I'm using 32oz jars).
- Hold the jar over the bowl, then use your hands to pack the cabbage into the jars. Use your knuckles to push the cabbage down into the jars, packing the cabbage down as you fill them. Your goal is to release more natural juices so that, once the cabbage is packed to the top of the jar, liquid comes up around the cabbage completely.
- Once your jars are packed, take that top layer of cabbage and tear off a piece. You're going to use it to hold down the cabbage pieces to stay under the brine.
- Even that top layer piece needs to be under the brine, or it will spoil. Then, top with a glass weight.
- Secure the jars with a fermenting lid and set them in a cool, dark place. The fermenting lid helps the gases escape without the jars potentially exploding, so I highly recommend the investment. If they're not in the budget, use a mason jar lid, but burp the jars daily to release the natural gases.
- Fermentation typically takes 3 days, but check on the jars daily. Fermentation happens based on the weather. If it's hot outside, fermentation will happen quickly; if it's cold outside, fermentation will take longer.
- Sauerkraut is generally ready when the cabbage has turned light green with a yellowish hue, but it'll be overfermented if too yellow. You can taste the cabbage daily, and once it reaches your desired sourness, remove the fermentation lids and the glass weight, replace them with a normal jar lid, and store in the refrigerator.
- Sauerkraut will last in the refrigerator for 1 year!
- *If that duration scares you, you can always freeze your sauerkraut in individual portions. This also slows the fermentation process. Make sure to freeze the sauerkraut in its own brine to preserve the freshness of the cabbage pieces.
Notes
You can add herbs like Caraway seed or dill, along with shredded carrots and garlic. Just always keep the ingredients below the saltwater line in the jars.