Here's an old recipe I have used for years. Sauerkraut and pork sausage cooked slowly in a slow cooker. Yummm!
I make this recipe every New Year's Day for my family. I couldn't stand this stuff as a kid, but I love it today (and so does the hubby)! One change I make is using thinly sliced apples instead of the onions. I also RINSE my sauerkraut lightly in strainer. Other variations we also love is using kielbasa or beef smoked sausage. I cut pieces into 1/2", layer a small amount of sauerkraut on bottom of crockpot, then some sliced sausage, then thinly sliced apples, then small amount of brown sugar. I repeat this until everything is inside. I always end with sauerkraut on top so the sausage doesn't become hard and overcooked. Before eating salt and pepper to taste. It's even better the NEXT day!
Read More I make this recipe every New Year's Day for my family. I couldn't stand this stuff as a kid, but I love it today (and so does the hubby)! One change I make is using thinly sliced apples instead of the onions. I also RINSE my sauerkraut lightly in strainer. Other variations we also love is using kielbasa or beef smoked sausage. I cut pieces into 1/2", layer a small amount of sauerkraut on bottom of crockpot, then some sliced sausage, then thinly sliced apples, then small amount of brown sugar. I repeat this until everything is inside. I always end with sauerkraut on top so the sausage doesn't become hard and overcooked. Before eating salt and pepper to taste. It's even better the NEXT day!
A great starter recipe. I used beer brats,3 cans of sourkrout,1 green apple (sliced), 1/4 cup brown sugar and half a can of beer. Cook on low in the slow cooker for 6 six hours. It turned out so yummy. I offered hoogie rolls if people wanted them. I made a huge salad and some baked beans to go with! Will make again and again. Thank You
Mrs. Morrison (3/17/08) totally changed the recipe, didn't she?! I wonder what she thinks of the original recipe. I'll take grannycancook's version. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut to get rid of the salt. Try turkey kielbasa for the sausage, it will have much less fat.
Good flavor. For those of us who really like sauerkraut it's a winner !!! Better with Keilbasa.
Delicious! The onion and brown sugar give it just the right flavors. I used polish sausage and chopped the onion. Will be making this again!
Excellent recipe, one we have used for several years..just never with the turkey sausage till now. We always layer the top with canned biscuits for the last 20 minutes. Delicous.
All I had at home was a 32 oz. jar of sauerkraut, and I didn't feel like trying to figure the 12 oz. to take out, so I just used the whole jar and 2 pounds of sausage. I used keilbasa, since so many reviewers suggested the change. I kept the sugar at 1/4 cup, used one whole onion, and cooked according to recipe directions. It was FANTASTIC! My husband is not normally keen on sauerkraut, so I was a little worried he would just pick out and eat the sausage. He didn't, though! He said it was "surprisingly" good. He attributed the cut in acidity to the onions, but the secret ingredient that makes the sauerkraut really palatable is the brown sugar. You can't taste it per say, but it really makes a delicious difference. I served the concoction on hoagie rolls with brown mustard. So good! This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks!
Awesome... So EASY to make! I used jarred sauerkraut and boiled in water for about 15 minutes to get out the "sour" taste ... works like a charm ... this is the closest recipe to my Polish mom's Sauerkraut dish. Added some salt and pepper too!
This is a quick, easy, tasty recipe as is. Very good! For me, it wasn't enough sauerkraut so I put in an extra can, plus 1/2 of a beer...served it on a hoagie with spicy brown mustard and THAT was my idea of perfection!
This turned out great!I did add a few things (per other reviews) 1-2 tbs of dijon mustard, an apple chopped and I served this with a side of hot mustard. All else I followed to the letter and it was perfect! Thanks!!
A wonderful dish. My husband is German and I am learning to not only cook German food, but also to enjoy it. This was a great place to start.
This is a great start but I added some of my own flair! I added 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled, one medium apple, peeled and cut into small chunks but not chopped. I also used a bag of Sabrett's onion sauce found near the keilbasa at grocery store instead of the chopped onion. I love this recipe!!
I cannot express to y'all enough, that this recipe is SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!! So much so that my husband wolfed down two helpings before coming up for air (even took leftovers to the office the next day--SAUERKRAUT at the office!), and my 2 YEAR OLD mow'd his face off on it!!! A fussy toddler loved it!! The brown sugar makes the sauerkraut sweet, and the italian sausage that is basically steamed on top comes out almost candied.. its SO GOOD.. definitely on our regular rotation now :)
The simplicity can't be beat. I cooked it on the stove top in a third of the time because I hadn't prepared correctly and it was still good. Tangy.
Wonderful! I added 1 can of beer after the first 2 hours on high then turned it down to low and let it simmer for 4-5 more hours and then served over mashed potatos...the BEST dish or its kind and oh so simple...loved it!
Delish! I added one granny smith apple and used only half an onion. This is a wonderful New Year's Day dish but it will be on our regular rotation too!
This was a HUGE hit in our house! Everyone went CRAZY for it! I used Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage and just cut it into slices- it was wonderful- totally perfect for the fall!
Cooked this last night. I only had smoked beef (not pork) sausage. It was great. The skin around the sausage was tender, not tough like baked, and the sauerkraut was just perfect. I didn't have enough time to cook as long as directed so I cooked it on high for 2 and a half hours and it was so good. I will cook this again and often.
SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! My husband didn't even swallow his first bite without saying ummm. I was a little short on time so I cooked it on high for just over 2 1/2 hours and everything was done. It never got dry either.
Great tasting and easy but I think the cook time is a little too long if your sausage is store bought and not home made. I cook on low 3 hours and it's great. My crock pot is brand new and seems very powerful so keep that in mind, not sure if it makes a difference but it might. Thanks for sharing.
I have a very large slow cooker that cooks things faster than usual; so, I doubled this recipe and cooked on low for 4 hours. It came out perfectly. I use bavarian sauerkraut, turkey kielbasa, and 2 apples. I left in most of the sauerkraut juice to avoid over-drying. Delicious!!! Thanks for sharing.
My husband & I really liked this. Great meal to make to save a little bit of money.
Super easy and great tasting recipe. Will use again. The only change I made was add an extra can of sauerkraut. I served with mashed potatoes.
This is simplest version of Polish dish called "bigos". To bigos we Polish, add also chunks of beef, pork, mushrooms (wild are better), plums, red wine, bay leaves and black pepper. We cook it slow and eat it for a day or two, for the next day bigos is better. Enjoy!
Very tasty. My husband said it was the best sauerkraut he ever had! I used turkey kielbasa instead of sausage though.
I never use to like sauerkraut but I really enjoyed this recipe. It's very filling!
Your recipe was very easy to fix and it tasted good. I used kielbasa, most likely I will make it again and use pork chops, parts of pork roast or just follow the recipe and use ground pork. I thank you a lot for letting me copy your recipe and use it.
This recipe was fantastic! I used Eckrich smoked sausage instead and it was still great!!! Thanks for posting
Didn't change a thing,everyone loved it. There aren't any leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Next time I will double the batch. Thanks for the recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Easy to make & quick preparation and the family loved it, I have passed the recipe on...Im sure everyone will enjoy! Great work! Thank You!
I followed the recipe exactly and found it to be OK, but nothing special. It would have been better with Kielbasa and I think rinsing the sauerkraut and using more sugar would have helped too.
This is an easy delicious recipe. I use turkey Keilbasa instead of the pork sausage and it works really well too!
A bunch of us at work get together and do an occasional slow cooker meal in 4 hours. We chose this one for Oktoberfest. We used Kruegerman All Natural Sauerkraut in the glass jar from the local German Deli and emptied the contents directly into the slow cooker without rinsing or adding additional water. Krugerman's sauerkraut tends not to be as salty in taste as the popular national brands. Based on a prior review we decided to chop the onions rather than slice them. This worked out well. 4 out of the 5 of us who participated would make this recipe again.
Very good, My husband even liked it and was leary at first. I think that i want to try it with bratwurst next time :) I took the advice of kiebasa this last time.
This is excellent! The only thing we did differently was we chopped the onions. Thanks.
My fiance' and I love this recipe! We make this at least a few times every month!
I've taken this to potlucks at work several times and it is always a hit. The brown sugar mellows the "krauty" flavor enough to please pickier coworkers. Instead of ground sausage, I've sliced up either smoked sausage or kielbasa. It's very good.
This was a wonderful recipe! I asked my husband to rate it 1-5 stars and he gave it a 10! Super easy to make and easy on the budget! Delicious! Will definitely make again!
This was really good and easy to fix!! Just put in the slow cooker and let it cook. The brown sugar gives it a good flavor! We enjoyed it!
Delicious! The brown sugar makes the dish. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out yummy.
Great recipe. I used turkey sausage links and added a potato cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Very good flavor. Easy. Will make again.
Delicious. Used beef smoked sausages sliced on the bias. Only change I made was to rinse off the sauerkraut first. So easy. Served as a side for Labor Day BBQ with grilled ribs, mashed potatoes, succotash and a salad. Will make again!
This and the Sauerkraut Casserole recipe also on this site are both terrific.
Sausage was overcooked, and the juices were very bland. This was a huge dissappointment. No one in the family would eat more than one bite, and I had to toss out the whole pot of food. Unfortunately this goes down in the family history as one of my cooking disasters.
This was a very good stew. The flavors blended nicely. I recommend using a not very sour brand of sauerkraut - a sweet and sour would be a good blend, but I couldn't find it when I was shopping.
Just made this yesterday and my husband and I really liked it. I made no adjustments to it or anything. I will definetly be using this recipe again.
I love this recipe. I put a twist on it by adding a can of pineapples to it! Pure perfection :)
Tasty and easy, it's a big hit at our potluck dinners.
I have to start off by saying I hate saurkraut and the smell of it. What was I thinking?! Serves me right. My husband loved this, but thought there was too much saurkraut in it. I think its a great recipe, but I dont know that I'll make it again becuase I don't care for the smell...but that's just me.
Fantastic! Made exactly as written - nothing altered. Served it with garlic mashed potatoes. Hubby devoured it.
I don't know what I did wrong. My family didn't like it either. It was really sweet and the sausage didn't taste good either.
We like sausage on a bun with sauerkraut once in a while so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. Unfortunately this just wasn't something we enjoyed at all. I used the big jar of wine sauerkraut which I drained and rinsed and I used double smoked Harvest sausage from Costco. The sausage was just ok, and the sauerkraut was sweet and tangy but in a bad way. It really stunk up the house too. Maybe I don't like sauerkraut as much as I thought? Won't make again.
I loved it and like someone else suggested, I sliced an apple and used it instead of the onion. I have never been a sauerkraut lover, but this was really good. I used the big pork sausage links and just sliced them and layered them in the crockpot. I also sprinkled a little more brown sugar on the layers. This is a keeper for sure.
Used fresh polish kielbasa. Found the smoked variety a bit salty. Added thinly sliced apple to the recipe. Also added a bit of celery seed.
It was really good. I made it exactly as the recipe says. I think it was alittle bland.... could use salt pepper maybe some bratwurst mustard... but other than that very good.
Good but a little bland. I used hot Italian sausage and added some potatoes to add flavour. may experiment further but will try again.
This was incredible! I added a sliced up apple and the flavor was fantastic. This is definitely a new favorite.
I am always surprised with the lack of spices in these sauerkraut recipes. I always add caraway seed (whole or powdered.), bay leaf, pepper corns. Fresh or granulated garlic, juniper berries, and lots of apples or applesauce. No onions.
I used lite turkey sausage and it was delicous! Drained the sauerkraut, peeled an apple and let it do it's thing. Served this over mashed potatoes and it was a pretty healthy meal. I think I too will start serving on New Years Day.
I liked this ok, but my husband and son thought it was quite good. I used kielbasa like so many recommended. I will make it again, at some point, but I will cook it on low for around 8 hours, and see if I like it better!
Did anyone notice that the recipe calls for ground sausage, but the pictures show kielbasas, brats, or something similar?
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This is how my mother usually fixed sauerkraut when I was growing up, so even after all these years I still love it like this. Sometimes for a special treat she would use hot dogs instead of sausage (what kid generally doesn't love hot dogs?!!). I also have fixed it this way for my family. It's an old recipe that's sure please sauerkraut lovers! Thanks for submitting this, Grannycancook.
The only changes I made were to add caraway and 3 juniper berries. Very quick, easy, and as someone said, economical.
So easy and yummy! I used beerbrats. Next time I will add some sliced apples and serve with Italian rolls. Kids love it too!
So, after about three attempts, I finally found the perfect rendition of this recipe for me! I did a much smaller batch of it, and cooked it on the stove. While browning sliced turkey kielbasa in a deep pan, I rinsed my jar of sauerkraut in a strainer, smashed out all of the water, and then fluff mixed it with 1/4 cup truvia brown sugar alternative, and about 4-5 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Once the kielbasa was browned on both sides, (with a lid covering it to keep the moisture in), I dumped the sauerkraut mixture in with it, stirred it up, and layered ringed onion slices on top. I lit it all simmer on medium low for a bit to blend the flavors. This was soooooo good!!! And a much more manageable size for a single/small family. Love! Love! Love this! Plus, I feel good about knocking the calorie count down quite a lot with the use of the turkey kielbasa and Truvia brown sugar. Definitely one for the win!!
followed the recipe with no variations. Hot dang! We enjoyed the meal. No need for sides. It was quite filling.
Next go round will try some variations that commentators wrote. apples sound interesting.
May even try making the sauerkraut from scratch. We have already made from scratch various sausages, so why not.
Thanks for the recipe
For what it is, this was EXCELLENT! I made it exactly as described, using beef kielbasa. Served with herbed mashed potatoes.
I thought this was okay, not being a big fan of sausage, and loving the 'sauer' in sauerkraut - which the brown sugar removes. Hubby loves sausage and prefers the sauerkraut flavor from this recipe - so he really liked this. I will probably make it again for him.
I normally don't like sauerkraut. but the brown sugar took the bitterness away. I used Jacksonville Brats, left them whole, grilled them for a few minutes before cooking. added a can of beer too. Loved It.
I love this recipe but I only used a quarter cup of brown sugar. I probably should have used less.
What a difference a 1/4 cup of brown sugar makes! I've been making this same recipe for years minus the brown sugar. It adds a whole new depth to the flavor, I'll be making it this way from now on.... I use refrigerated deli sauerkraut instead of canned however.
Did this on the stove with kielbasa and it was superb! Didn't have an onion and added onion powder. Still yummy.
My husband says it tasted just like his Polish Grandmother's cooking. That is what I was looking for. ; p
I have been making this recipe for years. I love it and other love it as well. I love to serve this with egg noodles and peas .
Made per recipe. We really enjoyed the potato and sauerkraut tastes together. It was easy and quick to prepare and cook.
Almost as good as my mother-in-law use to make and she is from the Netherlands. I will put this in my food rotation for sure
easy to execute and not too crazy with the time management. Easy to put together after a day at the office for a Hot Dinner on the fly.
