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This sauerkraut soup is a most unusual and delicious soup. It’s also the perfect example of how the farmers and common folks of Ukraine made delicious foods with simple basic ingredients. My husband’s grandparents stored sauerkraut inbarrels for winter. The sauerkraut wasone of their primaryvegetable sources during the cold months, so they got creative with it and made Kapustnyak (sauerkraut soup).
Can you evenimagine not being able to go to the grocery store and buybroccolior lettuce in the winter? We are truly blessed tolive in the US! #sothankful ?
Back to this soup, the sauerkraut gives ita lovely texture and zing and the bacon provides a subtle smokiness. ?Excellent with fresh crusty bread. It’s hearty, filling and will warm your belly. My husband and I enjoyed leftovers for several days.
This recipe was inspired by one of my readers, Oksana, who shared herrecipe for sauerkraut soup and bean soup with me. It was also inspired by Rachel Ray’s Ham, Bean and Bacon Soup. Thank you ladies for generously sharing your delicious recipes! 🙂
Ingredients for Sauerkraut Soup:
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 ozbacon, chopped
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
3 medium (1 lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3″ thick pieces
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed, optional
2-3 cupssauerkraut, triple rinsed & drained (weuse 3 cups or about2 lbs)
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water, or to taste
1 (15 oz can) white beans (click to learn how to cookyour own beans)
Salt, Pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
How to Make Sauerkraut Soup (Kapustnyak):
1.Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven (here’s the one I use). Add chopped bacon and sautee until browned then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
2. Add finely chopped celery and onion. Saute until softened and golden (5 min).
3. Add sliced carrots, potatoes, 1/4 cup quinoa (if using), 8 cups broth and 2cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 min.
4. Add 2-3 cups of well rinsed and drained sauerkraut and half of cooked bacon (I keep some for garnish), white beans with their juice, and 1 bay leaf and continue to cook until potatoes are tender(about 10min). Season soup to taste (I added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash). Serve with fresh crusty bread.
Sauerkraut Soup Recipe (Kapustnyak)
This sauerkraut soup is a most unusual and delicious soup. The sauerkraut gives it a lovely texture and zing and the bacon provides a subtle smokiness. It's hearty, filling and will warm your belly.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 35 minutes mins
Total Time: 50 minutes mins
Ingredients
Servings: 8 large bowls of soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz bacon, chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 medium, 1 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3" thick pieces
- 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed, optional
- 2-3 cups sauerkraut, triple rinsed & drained (we use 3 cups or about 2 lbs)
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water, or to taste
- 1 15 oz can white beans (click to learn how to cook your own beans)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, Pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
Instructions
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped bacon and sautee until browned then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Add finely chopped celery and onion. Saute until softened and golden (5 min).
Add sliced carrots, potatoes, 1/4 cup quinoa (if using), 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 min.
Add 2-3 cups of well rinsed and drained sauerkraut and half of cooked bacon (I keep some for garnish), white beans with their juice, and 1 bay leaf and continue to cook until potatoes are tender (about 10 min). Season soup to taste (I added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash). Serve with fresh crusty bread.
- Full Nutrition Label
- Nutrition Disclosure
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Russian
Keyword: Sauerkraut Soup
Skill Level: Easy/Medium
Cost to Make: $$
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
All that coziness in a bowl ?. What’s your favorite “weird” soup? Maybe you fancy yourself a bowl of pickle soup orgreen borsch?
Natasha Kravchuk
Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.
Read more posts by Natasha
FAQs
Kapusniak (Polish Potato, Kielbasa, and Cabbage Soup) Simple, delicious, and deeply nourishing. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site.
How do you make sauerkraut less sour? ›
A couple. tablespoons of brown sugar and a can of beer.
What is sauerkraut good to eat with? ›
Sauerkraut can be added to soups and stews; cooked with stock, beer or wine; served with sausages or salted meats, and is especially good with smoked fish, like hot-smoked salmon.
How long is sauerkraut soup good for in fridge? ›
*If you do not have bacon, you can use 1 Tbsp olive oil to cook the vegetables. *Store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Why is my sauerkraut so sour? ›
Why is tangy sauerkraut sour? It's the lactic acid that is the key to the tangy taste in sauerkraut and fermented food. Up to a point, the longer vegetables are fermented, the more bacteria multiply, the more carbohydrates are consumed and the more lactic acid is produced.
Why is my homemade sauerkraut so sour? ›
If sauerkraut is not allowed to ferment for a long enough period, it will be too crunchy and sour. On the other hand, if it is fermented for too long, it will be overly sour and mushy. Another mistake that can make sauerkraut too sour is using the wrong type of cabbage.
Why is my homemade sauerkraut bitter? ›
If your sauerkraut is bitter, it's spoiled. Throw it out.
Is sauerkraut good for your bowels? ›
Let's take a look at what adding this food to your diet can do for your body. One serving of sauerkraut has two grams of fiber — a nutrient known to aid with digestion. For people with constipation, fiber increases the weight and size of their stool and softens it, making it easier to pass.
Does sauerkraut flatten stomach? ›
Sauerkraut. This delicacy, with its distinctive sour, briny taste, is basically shredded cabbage left to ferment in its own juice. Besides its high belly-slimming properties, sauerkraut also contains a good amount of cancer-fighting compounds (glucosinolates) and the gut-friendly probiotic bacteria – Lactobacillus.
What is the healthiest brand of sauerkraut? ›
Overall, we think Olive My Pickle Fermented Sauerkraut is a great choice for anyone looking to improve their gut health. It's a high-quality product that's made with simple, whole-food ingredients and contains probiotic live culture raw & unpasteurized foods.
To benefit from consuming sauerkraut, you are recommended to maintain the consistency of quantity and consume it regularly. Sauerkraut can be eaten at any time of the day but consuming it early in the morning is considered the best time.
Is sauerkraut good on eggs? ›
Sauerkraut and Eggs is a fabulous combination and so good for you! Sauerkraut is a fermented food and very popular in Austria. And although I've grown up with it, I never knew that it is an excellent way to rebuild healthy gut bacteria! It's an excellent source to make our guts more healthy!
Is sauerkraut healthier hot or cold? ›
But does sauerkraut and kimchi have to be raw in order to have these benefits? Not necessarily. Although heat does kill the good bacteria living in your sauerkraut, it only happens at 46°C (115°F). So if you're cooking at a very, very low temperature, you should still retain a large amount of these probiotics.
What is the national soup of Kazakhstan? ›
Sorpo (also called shorpo or shurpa), a flavorful broth created with leftover meat from the national dish besbarmak, is the most common soup in Kazakhstan. After a lamb has cooked, the broth is poured into large bowls and some of the chopped meat is then added.
What is the national soup of Chile? ›
Cazuela. This soup is made with chicken, beef or lamb, and you may also find squash, corn cob or potatoes in it. It's as hearty as it sounds, a good, warming dish, flavored with peppers, chili, and corn. Made with chicken, it's called cazuela de ave and is Chile's national dish.
What are the benefits of eating sauerkraut soup? ›
Sauerkraut is a source of probiotics and nutrients that support your immune system . For starters, the bacteria that populate your gut can have a strong influence on your immune system. The probiotics found in sauerkraut may help improve the balance of bacteria in your gut, which helps keep your gut lining healthy.
What is the national soup of Slovenia? ›
Prežganka ("browned" soup with eggs) is Slovenian national soup made of flour, caraway seeds and beaten eggs. The brown color comes from browning the flour in oil or butter.
