I’m so excited to share with you how to make the easiest two ingredient sauerkraut! This is the recipe I have used in my kitchen for years now.
If you are looking to get started with ferments this sauerkraut recipe is by far the easiest way to just do it!
Why Two Ingredient Sauerkraut is the Perfect Winter Food
With winter comes warm, cozy evenings. A hundred years ago, this would have meant preparing the larder by preserving your garden bounty and stacking the woodpile to crackle in the fireplace.
In our modern era, it means binge watching on netflix, hot chocolate, and sweatpants. But, while that’s all well and good, the old soul longs for more.
We long to be connected to our past.
-To the hundreds of generations of winter tradition.
-To what our ancestors have been practicing before us.
The way humans have been living and surviving their entire existence.
Preserving the fruits of our labor – It is every human’s heritage.
“Now the potatoes and carrots, the beets and turnips and cabbages were gathered and stored in the cellar, for freezing nights had come.
Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then were hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads. The pumpkins and the squashes were piled in orange and yellow and green heaps in the attic’s corners.”
– Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods
I have always loved this peek through time and into the past. The way Laura Ingalls Wilder writes about food with such anticipation to take part in its goodness has always captivated me.
And why wouldn’t you be captivated by this preservation process? With so many hours and days of work and going into preserving foods for the winter to come, the anticipation must have been tangible.
We live in a world of takeout and 30 minutes meals. However, old-world food preservation was a full-time job in certain seasons.
Consider how much more we would appreciate and honor our food if we had invested time and intention in its preparation.
And what a beautiful way to cultivate more joy and contentment around our warm winter tables?
Why Two Ingredient Sauerkraut is the Easiest Ferment Ever
If you have never taken part in fermentation or food preservation before, sauerkraut is the perfect place to start.
It’s a simple process to understand and very easy to fit into our modern lifestyle.
It’s only two simple ingredients – Cabbage and salt.
That’s it!
It requires about 15 minutes of your time and it’s a super easy recipe to have young helping hands be part of the process!
Make Sauerkraut a Meal
What I love most about having sauerkraut in the fridge is that it’s a side dish that’s always ready to go!
Pair sauerkraut with sausage to make a hearty and savory soup.
Use is on sandwiches for a burst of fresh, tangy flavor.
Top a salad!
It’s delicious on eggs and provides a wonderful serving of probiotics to get your morning started off with energy!
Health Benefits of Two Ingredient Sauerkraut
While you enjoy its delicious tangy flavor, you can rest assured that you are also feeding your body gut-healthy probiotics that will boost your immune system during the winter cold and flu months.
It’s a beautiful design.
My favorite fun fact about sauerkraut is that it actually contains more probiotics than expensive store bought probiotic capsules!
Plus it’s a food so it’s more bioavailable for your body!
Additionally, it’s crazy cheap compared to some insane prices of probiotic capsules I’ve seen!
Sauerkraut also contains all of these vital nutrients:
- Fiber (3 grams in a cup)
- Carbs
- Calcium
- Vitamins A, C, and K
- Iron
- Folate
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
Tools You May Need
Large mixing bowl or pot
2 quart or 1 half gallon Mason jar
Measuring spoon
Chef’s knife
Fermentation weights (optional)
The Easiest Two Ingredient Sauerkraut Recipe
Ingredients:
2 medium size heads of cabbage
2-3 tablespoons of salt
How to:
Start by removing the outer leaves of your cabbages and set them aside for later. Core your cabbage and reserve the cores as well.
Slice your cabbage as evenly as possible into long, thin slices. Place your sliced cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle in the salt. With clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
Using your hands, a mason jar, or a pounding tool continue to work and pound the cabbage, breaking it down until briney juices begin to appear. This typically takes 5-10 minutes. If you are not seeing juices after 5 minutes, add a little bit more salt one teaspoon at a time until you see the brine appear.
Next, add your cabbage and brine to a clean 1 quart or half gallon mason jar, depending on your amount of cabbage. Add the cabbage to the jar 1 cup at a time, pressing and packing it down as you fill the jar.
Once the jar is full you want to press the cabbage down so it is all submerged under the brine you have created. This brine is what protects your sauerkraut from oxygen and prevents mold growth, so it’s crucial to be sure all the cabbage is underneath the brine.
Fold your cabbage leaves and press them on top of the shredded cabbage and underneath the brine.
Add a fermentation weight on top of the leaves to hold everything down underneath the brine. This could be a glass fermentation weight, but you can also use the core of the cabbage as a weight.
Screw the lid on loosely in order to allow some of the gases to escape, and set out on the counter for 5 days – 3 weeks. The sauerkraut gets more sour the longer your ferment, so gage fermentation time by taste.
Once it has fully fermented to your liking, remove the cabbage leaves and core, screw on the lid, and store in the refrigerator.
Your sauerkraut will be good for up to 6 months!
PRINTABLE RECIPE
The Easiest Two Ingredient Sauerkraut Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium heads of cabbage
- 1-2 Tablespoons sea salt
Instructions
- Start by removing the outer leaves of your cabbages and set them aside for later. Core your cabbage and reserve the cores as well.
- Slice your cabbage as evenly as possible into long, thin slices. Place your sliced cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle in the salt. With clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Using your hands, a mason jar, or a pounding tool continue to work and pound the cabbage, breaking it down until briney juices begin to appear. This typically takes 5-10 minutes. If you are not seeing juices after 5 minutes, add a little bit more salt one teaspoon at a time until you see the brine appear.
- Next, add your cabbage and brine to a clean 1 quart or half gallon mason jar, depending on your amount of cabbage. Add the cabbage to the jar 1 cup at a time, pressing and packing it down as you fill the jar.
- Once the jar is full you want to press the cabbage down so it is all submerged under the brine you have created. This brine is what protects your sauerkraut from oxygen and prevents mold growth, so it’s crucial to be sure all the cabbage is underneath the brine.
- Fold your cabbage leaves and press them on top of the shredded cabbage and underneath the brine.
- Add a fermentation weight on top of the leaves to hold everything down underneath the brine. This could be a glass fermentation weight, but you can also use the core of the cabbage as a weight.
- Screw the lid on loosely in order to allow some of the gases to escape, and set out on the counter for 5 days – 3 weeks. The sauerkraut gets more sour the longer your ferment, so gage fermentation time by taste.
- Once it has fully fermented to your liking, remove the cabbage leaves and core, screw on the lid, and store in the refrigerator.
- Your sauerkraut will be good in the refrigerator for up to 6 months!
More Fermented Recipes From My Cottage Kitchen
Sourdough Pumpkin Protein Crepes
Sourdough Apple Pancake Layer Cake
Easy Sourdough Apricot Fritter
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Sourdough Scones
PIN FOR LATER
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you give this two ingredient sauerkraut a try! It will change your life (and you gut health!) to know how to create such an easy ferment that is full of probiotics.
Have a lovely day friend!
@lovinggracehome
