Homemade Sauerkraut

This sauerkraut recipe turns a single head of cabbage and a jar of kosher salt into a probiotic-rich, deeply tangy fermented food that stores for months and costs almost nothing to produce. You master the basic salt-to-cabbage ratio once, and every batch after that runs on instinct. Whether you follow a classic easy sauerkraut recipe with just caraway seeds or add juniper berries and mustard seeds for a more traditional german sauerkraut recipe approach, the counter and the salt handle the hard work while you wait.

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Prep Time 15

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: German

Calories: 45

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional for flavor)

Equipment

Wide-mouth mason
Smaller jelly jar
Cheesecloth and a rubber band

Method

Clean everything
You wash your wide-mouth mason jar, jelly jar, and hands thoroughly and rinse away all soap residue before anything touches the cabbage. Soap residue kills the beneficial bacteria on the leaves. You take two extra minutes here and protect the entire batch.
Slice the cabbage
You peel off and discard the wilted outer leaves, keeping one intact leaf to use later as a cover inside the jar. You quarter the cabbage and trim the core from each quarter. You slice each quarter lengthwise into thin wedges, then cut each wedge crosswise into ribbons as thin as you can manage. Thin slices release their water within five minutes of salting. Thick chunks sit there for twenty minutes and may never release enough liquid.
Massage in the salt
You transfer the shredded cabbage to a large bowl and sprinkle the kosher salt evenly over the top. You dig both hands in and squeeze, press, and work the salt through every handful of cabbage for five to ten minutes without stopping. The cabbage starts dry and stiff. After a few minutes it turns limp and wet, and a visible puddle of cloudy brine collects at the bottom of the bowl. You keep squeezing past the point where your hands start to cramp. That brine is your preservation liquid. You mix in the caraway seeds, if you use them, at this stage.
Pack the jar
You grab handfuls of salted cabbage and press them into the wide-mouth mason jar. You use your fist to tamp each layer down firmly so no air pockets survive between the shreds. You pour every drop of liquid from the bowl into the jar. You lay the reserved intact cabbage leaf over the surface of the shredded cabbage inside the jar, pressing it against the sides to create a seal that holds the shreds below the brine.
Weigh the cabbage down
You slip the smaller jelly jar into the mouth of the mason jar and press it down onto the cabbage leaf. You fill the jelly jar with water or add a few clean stones inside it to add weight. The goal is to keep every shred of cabbage submerged under the liquid at all times, because any shred that floats above the brine line and contacts open air can develop mold.
Cover and rest
You drape a square of cheesecloth over the mouth of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. You set the jar on a plate or tray to catch any overflow that may bubble out during active fermentation. You place the jar somewhere away from direct sunlight at a room temperature between 65°F and 75°F and leave it alone.
Press daily for the first 24 hours
You press the jelly jar weight down onto the cabbage every few hours for the first day. Each press forces more brine up through the shreds and fills any remaining air gaps. By the end of the first day, the brine should rise visibly above the cabbage line. If it has not, you dissolve one teaspoon of kosher salt in one cup of water and pour enough into the jar to submerge the cabbage fully.

Recipe Notes

Canning sauerkraut: You can process sauerkraut for shelf-stable storage outside the fridge, but the heat kills the beneficial bacteria the fermentation built. Follow the canning instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation if you want to go that route.

Larger or smaller batches: You hold the same cabbage-to-salt ratio and just change the container size. Smaller batches ferment faster, and larger ones take longer to sour.

Hot and cold temperatures: You store the jar at a cool room temperature whenever you can. High heat turns the sauerkraut mushy or spoils it outright, while cool temperatures above freezing work fine and only slow the fermentation down.