How to make Sauerkraut in a Crock

Sauerkraut in a brown crock next to a lid and weights on a white table.

5 from 4 votes

Loaded with good bacteria and tang, learning how to make sauerkraut in a crock is so easy! Perfect for a snack or side dish, this easy recipe promotes good gut health and tastes delicious. Perfect for beginners!

Prep Time20

Cook Time4

Total Time4 20

Course: Healthy Gut

Cuisine: German

Keyword: crock, easy, fermentation, fermentation jar, fermentation pot, good bacteria, gut health, homemade sauerkraut

Servings: servings

Calories: 10kcal

Author: Bethany Galloway

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage white or red
1 large carrot optional
1/2 red onion red, white, or yellow (optional)
1/2 apple green or red (optional)
1.5-2 tablespoons of sea salt ground or coarse

Instructions

Begin by making sure your sauerkraut crock is clean and dry. No need to sanitize it, just wash it clean with hot, soapy water.
Next, Prepare the veggies. Remove the coarse outer leaves, and save two unblemished leaves from the cabbage head. Remove the thick core, then shred the cabbage in thin slices (as thinly as possible), grate the carrot and apple (on the largest shredding side of the grater), and thinly slice the onion.
1 head of cabbage, 1 large carrot, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 apple
Add the shredded cabbage, carrot, apple, and onion to a large mixing bowl along with the salt, and mix everything together with your hands. If you'd like to add in extra herbs or spices, now is the time!
1.5-2 tablespoons of sea salt
Gently squeeze and massage the vegetables and fruit. After about 10 minutes of massaging there should be liquid pooling at the bottom of the mixing bowl. See note 1 if there isn't enough liquid (brine).
Taste it to see how salty it is. It should be pleasantly salty but not overwhelming. If it's too salty add more vegetables, not salty enough, add more salt.
Next, pack the crock pot with the sauerkraut. Add in a little at a time, pushing it down firmly so that the liquid comes to the top above the cabbage. We like to use our crock weights that came with the crock to help push it down. See note 2 if you don't have fermentation weights.
When all of the sauerkraut has been added in, top it with the two saved cabbage leaves from earlier, followed by the weights.
Seal the crock with its lid.
Place it in a place that's easy to access but won't be disturbed. We use a shelf in our kitchen.
If it's a water-sealed crock, add the water after you've set it where it's going to stay.
Allow the sauerkraut to sit for 4 days before tasting it. This allows all of the beneficial bacteria to work their magic.
It takes between 4-14 days for the fermented cabbage to be ready to eat. This number depends on your personal taste and also the temperature of the room. If it's a cool place, it will take longer to ferment. With that in mind, it may take longer in winter than in summer if the temperature inside fluctuates throughout the year as ours does. We recommend tasting a little every day to see if you like the flavor.

Notes

Not enough liquid (brine): If there isn't much liquid coming out of the vegetables, firstly taste them. The raw sauerkraut should taste pleasantly salty. If it doesn't taste like there's enough salt, mix in a little extra salt. On the other hand, if it tastes like there's too much salt you can add in some extra vegetables. Then, cover the mixing bowl with a clean tea towel and allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. After that, you should see some liquid gathering at the bottom of the mixing bowl. When you've packed the sauerkraut into the crock and there still isn't enough brine to cover everything, you can add leftover brine from a previous batch of sauerkraut, or some lemon juice to top it off.
Fermentation weights: Our crock came with weights. They look like two crescent moons that fit easily into the pot. Some like to use a jar filled with water that just fits into the crock to weigh the sauerkraut down. An 8-ounce jar is great for this. However, the drawback is that the brine on top is exposed to the air and may also be exposed to bad bacteria.
Other ingredients to add to enhance the flavor: We love adding 0.5-1 tablespoon of:

Caraway seeds
Juniper berries
Black Pepper (peppercorns or ground)
Lemon
Dill
Bay leaves
Smoked salt (replace half of the regular salt with this)

Storage Instrictions

When this classic dish has finished fermenting, place sauerkraut in an airtight container like a mason jar in the fridge. Push it down in the jar as much as possible, and make sure it stays submerged in the brine so that it doesn't go off. Sauerkraut will last between 4-6 months if it's kept properly.

Nutrition