Name: Simple Sauerkraut
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 medium head of cabbage, about 2 lbs; 4 teaspoons of salt

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Did you know 99% of probiotics sold in stores are actually useless to your gut? Unless they are coming from real food or are spore-based, the probiotics you take never make it to your intestines. In this post you will learn how to make your own probiotics with my super simple sauerkraut recipe!

WHAT IS COVERED IN THIS POST[ Hide ]

What Do I Need to Make My Own Sauerkraut?
What Kind of Cabbage Should I Buy To Make My Own Sauerkraut?
How Long Does It Take To Make Sauerkraut?
How Long Does Sauerkraut Last in a Fridge
How Do I Know If My Sauerkraut Has Gone Bad?
Signs Your Sauerkraut Has Gone Bad
Ingredients
Instructions
Simple Sauerkraut
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
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What Do I Need to Make My Own Sauerkraut?

If you have not read my post 5 Benefits of Sauerkraut then you should start there because the health benefits will blow you away! But why pay $30-$50 dollars a month on probiotics to improve your gut health when you can make it for less then $5! All you will need is

A head of cabbage (about 2 lb)
Salt
a Jar

What Kind of Cabbage Should I Buy To Make My Own Sauerkraut?

green cabbage
red cabbage
napa cabbage

Really anything you can get your hands on will work! I like using red the best because of the high amounts of vitamin c present.

How Long Does It Take To Make Sauerkraut?

I typically let my sauerkraut ferment about 4 days.

The process of making it takes about 10 initial minutes of chopping, kneading and covering.

Then after your brine forms and the juices seep out, it take another couple of minutes to push into the jar.

How Long Does Sauerkraut Last in a Fridge

Your sauerkraut can last up to a year if you take care of it! Common mistakes while keeping your sauerkraut include

using unclean utensils to scoop out your sauerkraut
leaving it out of the fridge
using a jar that hasn’t been cleaned properly

As I mentioned before, you want bacteria in your sauerkraut, but you don’t want too much or the wrong kind. So be careful when handling your kraut so you don’t throw off the balance of bacteria to salt.

How Do I Know If My Sauerkraut Has Gone Bad?

The fun thing about sauerkraut is that it is sort of supposed to “go bad” but lactic acid and salinity of the brine keeps the bad bacteria off and the good bacteria stable! But there are some signs to look out for when you are first starting.

Signs Your Sauerkraut Has Gone Bad

You see black, pink or grey mold growing on the top
- this is typically because the leaves were not submerged under the brine
If the smell is putrid
- The smell should be sour and cabbagey- but its shouldn’t smell horrible or rotten
If the color has changed dramatically
- the color will change slightly, but if your green cabbage has turned grey, that’s a bad sign.

Ingredients

1 medium head of cabbage, about 2 lbs
4 teaspoons of salt

Instructions

Peel and wash your cabbage head removing the old leaves
Cut cabbage in half, cut the core out & thinly chop until it looks shredded

Sprinkle salt over cabbage and mix it in with your hands, kneading and roughly squeezing the cabbage for a few minutes
Cover bowl of cabbage with a clean dish towl or cling wrap for at least 15 minutes
Tightly pack the cabbage into a large mason jar, squeezing the juice/brine out as you pack so your shredded cabbage leaves are completely submerged under the brine.
Weigh down your leaves so none float to the surface (read receipe notes for details)
Cover with clean cloth and rubber band, coffee filter or loose fitting lid and ferment for 3-7 days
After your sauerkraut’s fermentation is done, unwieght your cabbage and store it in the fridge for up to a year!

Simple Sauerkraut

Yield: 8, about 1 quart

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium head of cabbage, about 2 lbs
4 teaspoons of salt

Instructions

Peel and wash your cabbage head removing the old leaves
Cut cabbage in half, cut the core out & thinly chop until it looks shredded

Sprinkle salt over cabbage and mix it in with your hands, kneading and roughly squeezing the cabbage for a few minutes
Cover bowl of cabbage with a clean dish towl or cling wrap for at least 15 minutes
Tightly pack the cabbage into a large mason jar, squeezing the juice/brine out as you pack so your shredded cabbage leaves are completely submerged under the brine.
Weigh down your leaves so none float to the surface (read receipe notes for details)
Cover with clean cloth and rubber band, coffee filter or loose fitting lid and ferment for 3-7 days
After your sauerkraut's fermentation is done, unwieght your cabbage and store it in the fridge for up to a year!

Notes

There are many ways to weigh down your cabbage. I use metal french press filters and a little jar, or marbles. Another really simple hack is using a clean zip locked bag of water and placing that over the leaves and brine.