If you like paring rice with gherkins and tossing some extra jalapenos on your chicken sandwich, we bet you’ll enjoy the goodness of sauerkraut.
It is one of the easiest fermented foods to prepare and gives off perfect umami and briny flavor with a bit of extra crunch.
If you’re into fermented foods and weren’t introduced to kraut before, you’re in the right place. However, for those who aren’t new to kraut but are looking for new ways to enjoy this healthy fermented vegetable and are wondering, “What to eat with sauerkraut?” haven’t landed on the wrong article either.
We’re here to bring a twist to your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners by sharing what goes with sauerkraut to beat cravings while enjoying delectable meals.
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What to Eat with Sauerkraut? 33 Ways to Enjoy Distinctively Flavored Kraut
A popular saying goes like this, “When life gives you cabbage, prepare sauerkraut.”So, you do not need to visit your grocery store to buy some. Instead, try making it yourself.
If, however, you prefer ease and convenience, consider buying fermentation kits. A sauerkraut kit has all the essentials to make flavorful and delightfully sauerkraut. Just remember, in addition to the general health benefits of sauerkraut, raw sauerkraut has a whole bunch of beneficial bacteria. So when you’re looking for how best to eat your sauerkraut, remember that eating homemade sauerkraut without cooking it is the best way to get all the benefits sauerkraut offers.
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That said, eating kraut doesn’t have to be boring. Therefore, we curated a list of 33 delectable ways to eat sauerkraut.
1. Make a Sauerkraut Avocado Boat
Are you fond of earthy, creamy, and nutty flavored avocados? This is your chance to add richness to its buttery flavor by adding some sauerkraut.
Cut an avocado in half without peeling. This will make a bowl out of it. Now, take the seed out and top with a dollop of sauerkraut.
This is your go-to snack packed with fiber and probiotics.
2. Use It as a Topping for Cheese Spread
Here’s one for all the cheese lovers!
You can turn the mild, delicate, buttery cheese flavor of your favorite cheese into something more exciting by adding a bit of sauerkraut. Take a slice of bread and spread your favorite cheese on it.
We recommend a creamy cheese like goat or cream cheese - but the choice is yours at the end of the day.
Add a dollop of sauerkraut and devour the blend of rich flavors right away!
3. Add It to a Smoothie
If you’ve been wondering what to do with sauerkraut after preparing and storing it in the refrigerator, we bet this recipe will catch you by surprise.
Limiting sauerkraut to meals is a crime; so we’re introducing a rather interesting idea. Add 2 cups of leafy greens, bananas, water, sauerkraut, and some ice cubes to a mixer. Blend well and pour the smoothie into a mason jar. The sauerkraut adds just a little acid zing that goes surprisingly well.
Sip away and thank us later!
4. Layer Sauerkraut In a Sandwich
Are you tired of eating bland egg sandwiches every morning? Turn your boring sandwiches appetizing by layering them with sauerkraut.
However, make sure to drain the brine well before adding to the sandwich to keep it from getting soggy.
5. Toss It In Your Green Salad
Lettuce leaves, sliced cucumbers, and a pinch of lemon make up for a decent green salad. But how about complementing it with some sauerkraut?
Prepare your traditional green salad and spice it up by adding kraut to it. Don’t forget to splash in some brine and add a few drops of olive oil for added flavor.
6. Egg Salad
Classic egg salad has an unbeatable flavor, but we assume you’ve tried the same recipe since childhood. Now is the time to add a new dimension to your traditional boiled egg salad by tossing in some sauerkraut.
The creamy and savory egg salad goes perfect with the salty and sour crunch of sauerkraut.
7. Add Sauerkraut to Your Mashed Potatoes
Everyone loves a good mashed potato, but mashed potatoes and sauerkraut are a classic combination. The creamy potatoes really benefit from the added salt, flavor and crunch that sauerkraut brings to the party. Just mix a couple of spoonfuls of sauerkraut into your favorite mashed potatoes and enjoy!
8. Potato Salad
Potato salads are notorious for being bland. Potatoes just require a lot of seasoning. Adding salt and pepper helps, but it doesn’t elevate the taste of potatoes quite as much as a good sauerkraut. Sauerkraut can upgrade your not-so-flavorful potato salad into something sublime.
9. Tuna Salad
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t like eating tuna straight from the can. Making a tuna salad, however, balances its flavor by blending other veggies and spices.
This time, try adding sauerkraut in addition to thinly diced carrots, cucumbers, and onions. Add a dash of mayonnaise and mustard with a pinch of salt. Mix it and eat your fill!
10. Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake
A chocolate cake lover might need a little coaxing to try this recipe. But never trying means missing out on something distinctively delectable.
It starts with butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, baking powder, and baking soda; all the normal ingredients you may have on hand if you bake chocolate cakes very often.
The only twist this time will be a bit of sauerkraut. The key is to let the brine drain till the sauerkraut is completely dry. Chop it fine and add to the batter.
Place in the oven, and your sauerkraut chocolate cake will be ready within 20 minutes!
11. Roast It With Your Favorite Vegetables
Not sure what to eat with sauerkraut? Try vegetables!
You do not have to be a vegetarian to love veggies. Everybody has their favorite vegetables, which are yours?
Get a handful of your favorite vegetables alongside sauerkraut. Place them on a baking tray and top with fresh herbs, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
We do not recommend adding a lot of spices because sauerkraut will add a kick to the veggies with its sour flavor.
12. Sauerkraut Meatballs
If you’re wondering what to eat with sauerkraut and haven’t tried adding them to meatballs, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.
Let’s face it: Almost everyone is fond of meatballs. They are tender, juicy, and packed with flavor.
You could add tons of spices to boost the meaty goodness of meatballs, but nothing beats the sour taste of sauerkraut.
Add them to your go-to meatball recipe and enjoy savory meatballs like never before!
13. Stuffed Cabbage
We’ve all eaten cabbage rolls at least once in our lives. The blend of meat, onions, rice, paprika, salt, and crispy cabbage offers a nutritious and appetizing meal.
Stuffing cabbage with sauerkraut is one of the most exciting ways to eat sauerkraut. Why? Because you’re blending cabbage with cabbage but with a relishing twist. Just add sauerkraut to your cabbage roll stuffing and enjoy.
14. Sauerkraut Soup
Making soup doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, a few basic ingredients make for a fantastic bowl of soup. Your homemade sauerkraut is the project addition. It upgrades your typical soup recipe by adding more than just chicken and usual vegetables.
Boil some chicken pieces, take them out, and shred them. Add the vegetables, kraut, white beans, and shredded chicken to the mix.
Add some salt and pepper and slurp away while enjoying the crunchy sauerkraut.
15. German Meatballs
Did you know the term Sauerkraut originates from two German words, “saucer,” meaning sour, and kraut meaning “cabbage”?
Being the best-known national dish in Germany, it would be fair to introduce a German recipe for Sauerkraut. This would require you to combine ground beef, chopped onions, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, an egg, and a few drops of vegetable oil.
Shape a few meatballs, heat oil in a pan, and spoon some kraut. Add the meatballs and let them simmer for a few minutes until cooked.
A bowl of tender meatballs with a salty aftertaste of kraut makes up for a perfect dinner.
16. Baked Pastry Spirals
Are you tired of trying the same baked pastry spirals every time? Add a twist to these treats by mixing in some sauerkraut. Unfold the puff pastry, and add the mixture of cheese, corned beef, and kraut. Roll it up and bake until golden brown.
Try these delectable spirals with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy the crispy, savory goodness of flavors.
17. Mix Sauerkraut In Ramen
Do you have packs of flavored ramen in your kitchen cabinet and are still wondering what goes with sauerkraut? Well, that answers the question.
Prepare your saucy ramen pack and upgrade its flavor by tossing in some kraut.
18. Use as a Dip
There are countless ways to eat sauerkraut, and one not-so-popular (or maybe not yet popular!) method is to mix it in dip sauce. That’s right; throw some kraut into a cheesy, hot dip sauce and enjoy it with your favorite meal.
19. Add to a Rice Bowl
Do you have leftover boiled rice in your fridge? Sometimes we end up just tossing that left over rice, but there are some incredible leftover rice recipes.
This one is our favorite as it makes up for a spicy, salty, and savory rice bowl.
Heat some oil in a pan, add veggies, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and stir fry. Toss your leftover rice followed by kraut. Mix up and enjoy!
20. Toss It On Your Curry
Curry, a popular South Asian cuisine, is known for its rich flavor and tangy goodness. But spicing it up with kraut doesn’t hurt.
If you love extra seasoning on your food, we bet you’ll appreciate the finger-licking flavor of your curry after adding sauerkraut.
21. Make It a Salsa
While the onion and tomato blend of salsa is everyone’s favorite, try swapping it with kraut this time.
We bet you won’t be disappointed using kraut as an alternative to salsa. Whether for your baked potatoes, steak, or chicken, its consistency, similar to salsa, is worth a try!
22. Sauerkraut Grilled Cheese Sandwich
If you made too much kraut and are out of ideas, wondering, “What to do with sauerkraut?” here’s one for you!
Everyone appreciates a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. Toss some sauerkraut into your grilled cheese sandwiches and boost the flavor while you add a little extra nutrition.
23. Put Some On Top of Your Eggs
Start your mornings with nutrient-rich and protein-packed eggs. We recommend topping your hard-boiled eggs, omelet, or scrambled eggs with some sauerkraut.
A blend of dense flavors is a perfect way to start your day!
24. Sauerkraut Tacos
Brighten your traditional tacos by adding some spicy sauerkraut instead of bland-tasting cabbage. You can always experiment with ingredients to add more flavor to your tacos. We recommend tossing in some cilantro for a citrusy and fresh taste.
25. Pizza Topping
Different pizza toppings each complement a pizza distinctively. Mushroom, sausages, pepperoni, black olives, onions, green pepper, extra cheese, and fresh garlic - you name it!
But a lesser-known, unusual way to top pizza is to add kraut. The flavor compliments a lot of traditional pizza toppings and boosts the nutritional value of even the humble pizza.
26. Mix With Creamy Pasta
There’s no such thing as too much pasta, and that’s something every pasta lover can get behind. Try kraut pasta if you’re looking for a quick and easy dish that is both unique and flavorful.
There’s no secret sauce to its preparation. Simply add sauerkraut to your usual white sauce pasta and enjoy it just a bit differently.
27. Sauerkraut Cheese Burger
Say goodbye to flavorless lettuce in your cheeseburger and swap it with flavorsome sauerkraut. You’ll enjoy twice the flavor of your usual cheeseburger.
28. Sauerkraut Spring Rolls
Think of all your most popular kitchen ingredients, and you can try them all in spring rolls, from chicken to noodles, shrimp to vegetables, and fish to meat. Now is the time to enhance that versatile spring roll flavor by introducing a zesty, tangy ingredient: sauerkraut.
You can drain the brine and only add the kraut or mix it with other ingredients for enhanced flavor.
29. Use It as a Side Dish
Not sure what to eat with sauerkraut? Try making a side dish out of it!
Here’s a quick recipe.
Add butter to a large saucepan and saute onion until tender. Now toss apples, sugar, kraut, potato, and salt.
Mix all the ingredients and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the top, and serve!
30. Try Sauerkraut Salad
Your green salad with kraut is not a sauerkraut salad for obvious reasons. It contains a small amount of sauerkraut just for flavor and is designed to compliment the flavors in your salad. The sauerkraut salad, on the flip side, has kraut’s flavor as the main event.
Drain sauerkraut and add it to your salad bowl. Next, throw up chopped green pepper, onion, celery, and white vinegar.
Mix and enjoy the rich, spicy, and crunchy kraut salad.
31. Top Your Nachos
Spread your nachos on a plate and top with peppers, sauerkraut, and shredded swiss cheese. Bake in the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese, and dig in to hot and crispy nachos!
32. Chickpea Salad
Chickpea salad is packed with fiber and protein, not to mention that it doesn’t compromise the flavor. But you can enhance its flavor by tossing some kraut into the mix.
Not only will it upgrade the salad taste, but it’ll also boost its crunchiness and nutrition.
33. Eat It Right from the Jar!
Trying different recipes with a busy schedule can be overwhelming. So, if you have less time at hand, we recommend grabbing a fork and eating it straight out of the jar!
So, What Do You Eat With Sauerkraut? Almost Anything!
Recipes are only limited by your imagination. Once you step into your kitchen, you have the freedom to play around with ingredients and experiment with varying flavors.
As a food enthusiast, we bet you prepare and store kraut occasionally. As such, you naturally wonder what to eat with sauerkraut.
You can keep things simple by adding kraut to your meals or get creative and try new recipes.
No matter what you try, we bet you’ll be tempted to try it again!
