How to Make Sauerkraut – Making Fermented Cabbage – Preserving Cabbage

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

Did you grow cabbage in your garden this year? Here’s a yummy way to preserve it by learning how to make Sauerkraut!

Did you grow cabbage in your garden this year? Here's a yummy way to preserve it by learning how to make Sauerkraut!

Canning Cabbage

Sauerkraut is a thinly sliced cabbage that has been fermented. In German, the word sauerkraut literally translates to “sour cabbage.” This recipe requires very few ingredients as the fermentation process happens naturally once the sugars in the cabbage begin to break down and produce lactic acid.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend canning plain cabbage. The recipe below for easy sauerkraut is a great alternative way to preserve your cabbage.

NCHFP recommends fermenting your sauerkraut before canning it. Once you follow the method below, then you can follow the instructions here on how to can fermented sauerkraut. The following tutorial is based off trusted recipes (found at the bottom of the post) and methods for fermenting and I have taken the Fermentation class from my state’s extension office to verify the information.

One more thing…do not use salt with any kind of additives. A pickling or kosher salt will work just fine for this recipe.

Have fun making this kraut! It could be the German in me but I absolutely love a good dish of fermented sauerkraut. I definitely have eaten it for breakfast more than once. 😉

How to Make Sauerkraut

What You Need:

  • 5 lbs Cabbage
  • 3 tablespoons Salt

Canning Cabbage - Little House Living

Rinse your cabbage and remove the outer leaves that may have dents or abrasions.

Canning Cabbage - Little House Living

Starting at the bottom cut each into 4 quarters. This makes it a little easier to then remove the inner core of the cabbage and discard.

Canning Cabbage - Little House Living

Continue to cut the cabbage in thin strips. Cut those strips in half as well.

Cabbage in a bowl

Place the shredded cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle the salt on top. Let it sit (covered with a cloth) for at least 30 minutes to get the juices flowing. (I stir mine around every 20 minutes or so to keep the salt moving around the cabbage.)

Packed Cabbage

Begin putting the cabbage into your jars and pounding it down as well as you can with some kind of kraut pounder or your hand. You want this to be packed as tightly as it can be and during this time you should see the juices coming up to the top.

Be sure and leave a gap of 4-5 inches of headspace from the top of the cabbage to the top of the jar. You may have less headspace if using mason jars. Use as many containers/jars as needed.

Cabbage Leaf

This step is not required, but I like to take one of my cabbage leaves and place it on top of the shredded cabbage. It helps to keep the “floaters” to a minimum.

Cabbage weight

Place a weight on top of your cabbage, making sure that the cabbage juices over the vegetables. If you do not have enough to cover the cabbage, you can make a brine with 4 cups of water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt. It’s good to have at least 1-2 inches of liquid on top of your cabbage.

The type of weight you use will depend on what you are using to ferment with. I have Perfect Pickler Lids that I bought from Lehmans so mine comes with a stainless steel “cup” to weight things down. A crock will have stone weights and you can also get glass weights as well.

Pickler

How you top off your jar will also depend on the system you are using. Follow the instructions with your system or if you are using a crock, place a cloth over the top so that nothing can get in. Above you can see the top to my Perfect Pickler System.

Put the sauerkraut in a dark room with a temp not above 75 degrees F to ferment. It will take about 3-4 weeks to be completely fermented and you will know when it’s ready by when it stops bubbling.

Check on your kraut daily and if you ever see anything scummy on top, remove it gently. If the ferment smells bad or gets a significant amount of mold, throw it out.

If you are looking for a good video on how to make sauerkraut, be sure and watch this one from the Alaska Extension Offices.

Preserving Sauerkraut

Once you’ve finished fermenting your cabbage and have made sauerkraut, you can store it in the fridge or you can preserve it! Follow these tested instructions on how to can sauerkraut from NCHFP.

You can also freeze the sauerkraut or store it in a root cellar. It can be kept in the fridge for several months as well.

*Contact your local extension office for information on altitude/temp/timing changes for all canning, fermenting, and preserving recipes.

Me with Cabbage

Another Method of Preserving Cabbage

If you’re looking for another way to preserve cabbage, you can also freeze it. Simply shred your cabbage and place it in a freezer bag. Any preserved cabbage will discolor over time and this is natural.

div line

Make sure you check out all the free Canning and Preserving Recipes we have on Little House Living!

I recommend a Presto Pressure Canner and the Ball Blue Book for all your canning projects!

Looking for more recipes using cabbage? Check these out.

How to Make Coleslaw From Scratch

Homemade Egg Rolls

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Have you ever tried canning cabbage or making your own homemade sauerkraut? How did it turn out?

merissabio

This post on Canning Cabbage (How to Make Sauerkraut) was originally posted on Little House Living in August 2013. It has been updated as of July 2020.

These instructions can also be found in:

Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving

Ball Blue Book. Muncie, Indiana: Healthmark LLC / Jarden Home Brands. Edition 37. 2014. Page 76.

So Easy to Preserve. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Elizabeth L. Andress and Judy A. Harrison. Bulletin 989. Sixth Edition. 2014. Pp 149-150.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Support Little House Living by Sharing This

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

76 Comments

  1. Okay so does this turn out tasting like sauerkraut? I have tried the way the usda recommends and it made my house stink but it was very good. I am really hoping that this turns out like kraut. We love it and I have alot of cabbage in the garden that I need to use up.

      1. So if I am going to make the sauerkraut do I put in hot water canner for 20 minutes? I don’t have a pressure canner.

        1. As long as you plan on adding the vinegar, yes you make this in a hot water bath canner. If you don’t plan on adding vinegar it will need to be pressure canned.

          1. Just got a pressure canner for Christmas. I have 2 heads sliced FROZEN cabbage from the Fall. I would love to make sauerkraut, am I reading this correct that I am unable to pressure CAN sauerkraut but I am able to HOT WATER CAN it? If I choose this route, what is the best way to thaw the cabbage to get ready for jars?
            Thanks

  2. I didn’t realize how simple this was. Thank you for the recipe! I will be sharing this with my cabbage-loving friends!

  3. How long would you water bath pints of the pickled version? I would be the only one who would eat this and quarts would be too much.

  4. I just wanted to point out that this is not “real” sauerkraut as it is pickled not fermented…someone asked about fermentation above, with the addition of the vinegar it will not ferment. Also traditional sauerkraut is a raw product…no boiling allowed.

  5. I am wondering if you can also use the purple cabbage for this? I Have plenty of both right now, so I am considering trying a small batch, to see if I like it.

      1. The purple cabbage would make pretty jars. I like to look back at the pantry at the end of a long day canning and seeing all the pretty jars.

  6. Very interesting 🙂 So like you said, this is more of a pickled cabbage rather then a true Saur Kraut since the ingredients needed to make Saur Kraut is 5 pounds of shredded cabbage to 3 table spoons of non iodized salt…and yes it does fill up the house when it ferments, lol……..I may try your recipe some time, it looks more like my chow chow recipe 🙂 wonderful site by the way. love visiting it all the time

  7. My husbands very large adn very Polish family has a sauerkraut party every November where they shred, salt and pound 75+ lbs of cabbage into buckets for fermentation. This looks a lot easier 🙂 I’ll pass this on to my husband

  8. Is it still too late to plant cabbage? I live in Arizona, up in the north central part in Prescott Valley. I was wondering if I’d be able to get the cabbage planted and harvested before it’s too late? Also, in my area, are there other green vegetables I can plant, and if so, would they work with container gardening? We rent a duplex, and we aren’t allowed to dig up the yard to plant, but I know that raised beds work kind of well, and I planted some radishes in a long rectangular plant pot, and although they mostly came out soft and really hot, they did grow fairly well. I’d like to plant some eggplant, tomatoes and squash and cabbage. My husband and I are trying to eat better, partly because we’re both extremely overweight, but mainly because he is diabetic and I’m almost diabetic. Would cabbage work, as well as the other vegetables I mentioned, or do I have to wait until next year to plant? Thanks for your time.

    Sincerely,

    Peggy

  9. THANK YOU!!!! My hubby always plants a ton of cabbage and I had NO idea you could CAN it! THANK YOU THANK YOU! I will be doing this!
    Lana

  10. Could you tell my what kind of vinegar to use I thought my grandmother just used reg salt and don’t remember what kind of vinegar thank you

  11. There were a couple of individuals that commented on making old fashion sourkraut. I would love to have inst. on making it. My water content was low when placing it in the jars. Full details from beginning would be great. Thanks.

      1. Once again, this is NOT sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is “fermented” like wine. The “vinegary” taste in kraut comes from the fermenting process. Kraut is raw and take several days or weeks to completely ferment. This is a yummy pickled recipe – like making dill pickles. Both delicious but different products. We use this to make vinegar slaw by adding olive oil and spices when we open a jar. My family loves it!

  12. My husbands family are great lovers of sauerkraut. I personally am not. I remember my grandmother making it the old fashioned way. I think it was the smell that repelled me then. Now, it is the process and the smell. I will be trying this recipe and see if my husband likes it.

  13. We use to make kraut like this, we farmed & always had plenty of sauerkraut all winter. Thanks for the recipe!

  14. I followed the direction just as stated. After removing the jars from the water bath I hand tightened the jars. 30 minutes or so later the jars begin to pop (jars sealing). I stored the jars in the bottom of kitchen cabinets. After 3 or 4 days passed we began to hear popping noise. When I checked the jars I discovered the lids had popped back up. I presuming it from the gasses. Is this normal or should I discard this batch and try again?

    1. Yes it means they were improperly sealed. Jar lids should not be tightened or touched once they come out of the hot water bath until they have cooled and sealed.

  15. I’m prepping my cabbage now how small of pieces should they be. Is size real important? Have never made kraut before.

  16. I’ve both fermented and canned/pickled for several years now. I can see how some folks who might be looking into fermentation could be confused by this post. Often when people are looking into fermenting foods it is due to health issues they are trying to heal. Both canning and fermenting are excellent methods for preserving foods, but when we ferment every single vitamin, mineral, and nutrient in the food gets amplified exponentially, whereas heat processing actually kills some of the original nutrients in the food. This cabbage will not ferment after the fact; it’s a pickled cabbage and there’s nothing wrong with that, I can just see how it couldbe confusing for newbies who may have found there way here searching for info on fermenting. Vinegar is for pickling and has no place in the fermentation process, so that should be a wondering person’s clue if they’re looking at a pickling or a fermentation recipe:-). Hope this helps clear up some confusion. Those interested in fermenting sauerkraut will find awesome tutorials on YouTube searching Sandor Katz Wild Fermentation. You’re also welcome to email questions to me at [email protected] Many blessing and happy preserving!!!

  17. Thank you for you dis-claimer. It was very well spoken and I understood what you were saying from beginning to end. I’m just getting into canning and I remember my Grandmother canning cabbage and calling it Catchup. She added the last of what was on the vine , that had to pickbecause the frost would take them. These green tomatoes were added along with a small amount of some jalapeno’s was added and we called it Cachup. then she also canned ferment just cabbage . She also did rim pickles. Then in the 80’s it change to salt pickles . I so miss these items in my life and I’m trying to put together the recipes she had . I’m from KY.

  18. I was given instructions from farm ladies to make sauerkraut like this; however, it did not make use of canning or water bath. I just put it in the cellar for 3-6 weeks (still good after a year or two). We have made it in a crock, etc., but have liked this the best.

    After filling the quart jar and adding 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Sugar and 1 tsp. Vinegar and covered with boiling water and capped: “Set in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks on top of newspaper or a towel. As the cabbage ferments, gas and bubbles will form which force air out of the jar thus sealing the jar. Sometimes the brine will overflow during fermentation so that is why it is recommended placing your jars on paper. Any jars that do not seal completely should be eaten as soon as possible.”

    To answer the question you have not yet asked: No, we never got sick, etc., from eating sauerkraut made this way and the taste never made us cringe from the sourness of it. This sauerkraut was one of the main reasons we grew cabbage.

      1. I moved to Kentucky late last year and planted an enormous garden. With the help of my 9 year old, we have grown 8 huge heads of cabbage. I have made Sauerkraut the old fashion way in a crock and then canned it. Our 97 year old aunt told us to use the 1 tsp of salt, sugar, and vinegar method. The jars are sealed and placed in the cool dark basement. I called Ace hardware and asked about a buying a crock and they told me to can it in the jar just as Pefry has written. I would think that this is pickled cabbage verses what I made in the past which is just cabbage, water and salt which would be fermented..??

        1. We have always done it the way Prefry says minus the sugar and a little more vinegar. Whether it is considered “pickling” or “fermenting” the process has always taken approximately 6 weeks. The longer it sets the better it gets. We have never had any seep out of the top either.

  19. If I am using pints do I only use 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp vinegar and 1/2 tsp non iodized salt? Also, 1/2″ headspace ok? Braggs organic acv ok to use? Thank you so much! Love your website!

    1. Wondering similar… I am wanting to use half pint (8 oz) jars, how much head space and how long to process? 1/2″? 10 or 15 min?? Hopefully you get this soon as I am working on this now… Thanks so much!!!

  20. Hi, I hope this thread is still “live”. I have just canned some cabbage using this recipe. I accidentally tightened my bands too much and five of the lids buckled a little during the processing. While still hot, I took the bands off and wiped the rims. Then I put fresh lids on and reprocessed for 20 minutes. I hope it will be all right. The cabbage is floating above liquid at the bottom of the jars. My earlier batch did not separate like this, but I may have packed it tighter. Do you think they will be safe to eat, if they are sealed tight when I remove the bands? Thank you so much for your kind help and for posting the wonderful information.
    (o:

    1. If you removed the lids at any point you would need to reprocess the canned goods completely. As long as you did this and the jars are sealed properly they should be fine. I’m guessing that extra separation would be from cooking the cabbage twice, it probably is going to be a little soggy.

  21. No one has mentioned how this is eaten. Is it cooked or is eaten cold out of the jar. if it is cooked how is it prepared? Thanks.

  22. I have a question. I used your post to make my sauerkraut. This is my first time making kraut. It’s been about 12 days and I have noticed four of my kids have popped back up and my jars have so much pressure in them they are forcing liquid out of the jar. Is the kraut bad now? Is this normal?

  23. I used your post to make my kraut. It has been about 12 days and 4 of my kids have popped back up and the jars have so much pressure inside they are leaking around the seal. Is this normal? Are those jars bad now? This is my first time making kraut so i have no idea what to expect.
    Thanks
    Mindie

  24. I have used this method you write about and the fermenting method and love it. Now I would like to take my freshly frozen cabbage, let it partially defrost, seasalt it, add 1/4 cup organic raw apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of raw honey, and 1 regular size raw onion sliced thinly, mix it up and let it ferment naturally in the cabinet for 3 days covered with a tied clean cloth. I have never done this with the frozen thawed cabbage and wondered what you thought? I know frozen cabbage by itself would not ferment but it becomes like cooked cabbage and if you put it with the other stuff that does ferment would it not work out just not firm? Our cabbage when fermented is too hard for my taste, I have teeth problem and wondered what ideas or experience you had with any of this? Of course everything is clean and sterilized minus the food.

  25. I make my first two jars of sauerkraut two weeks ago and it was great. Canning destroys the good probiotics so I’m just going to keep a few jars going all the time. I like to just eat it cold out of the jar.

  26. We have been canning cabbage for many years. we cut it up with a mandolin and layer it in a large crock with salt and Granny Smith apple slices, pounding it down on every layer to about 2/3 full. Then we put ziploc water bags to keep it pressed down. Cover with towels and let it ferment for about 2 weeks, skimming off the foam as needed. Then we bag and freeze. Recipe from my husbands parents. Never had an issue. Best sauerkraut ever!

    1. I want to come to your house Geri! I love cabbage and apples together! I have been wanting to learn to make sauerkraut forever and your recipe sounds wonderful! Maybe with some experience under my belt I will be brave enough to try it! Thank you for the idea…

    2. I make sauerkraut, not pickled cabbage. When it reaches the texture we like, I put it in quart freezer bags & freeze. The first time I did this, I discovered it never really freezes, it continues to very slowly ferment.

  27. This is a wonderful recipe. I’m German,Irish,etc and my family Haas made it like this since my grandfather used to complain about the smell,lol. You can also add onions,caraway seeds,any spice you like. The only difference we do is wilt the cabbage first by putting cabbage in a heat safe bowl and pouring boiling water over it and let it set 10-20mins. This makes the cabbage pack better and you don’t lose the packing while processing the jars!

  28. My recipe calls for a Tablespoon of vinegar and 21 days of souring before use. Otherwise pretty much the same.

  29. I love this and I love your pictures too! They do a great job of outlining every single step of the process of following the recipe. Thank you very much for sharing! Can’t wait to give your recipe a shot and report back with how it turns out!

  30. I use my food processor to shred my cabbage. I make sauerkraut the old way in jars and do nothing more than add kosher salt/water. I check weekly and add brine if necessary. I have never canned it and it lasts a long time. It’s very good!

  31. well …I have ALOT of cabbage in my garden..purposely as we are all on the KETo diet here.
    I have been watching YouTube vids and reading everything I can find on cabbage!! I want to preserve it but would like to can it rather than doing the crock thing. I have 2 special needs boys here that keep me more than busy, so the quicker prep , the better. I do Dilly beans all the time and wondered why that would not work for cabbage..?? This recipe is close.
    Can I safely omit the sugar ( again Keto) ..the whole botulism things scares the hell outa me!!
    also, exploding or popped lid product…..wondering if Im biting off more than I can chew??
    Thanks bunches for sharing!!

  32. I used to make sauerkraut with my mom all the time when I was growing up. We made a brine we poured over the cabbage. I love homemade kraut.

  33. My step-dad and I made homemade sauerkraut..we used a box shredder, 5 gallon sterilized Lowe’s bucket and a 110 year old Birch limb “stomper” (same age as the box shredder) diameter was 10inches. After we would shred a good amount of cabbage it would go in the bucket, and I would start pounding it to get the juice out, my SD would add pickling salt more cabbage and toss in a bay leaf, when all said and done we would have 5 and sometimes 10 gallons of kraut in the fruit cellar. My SD would put a plate over the top that fit real tight, then a garbage bag filled with water for a complete seal. Six or so weeks later some of the tastiest kraut this side of the Appalachian Laurel Highlands…

  34. 5 stars
    I loved It !! Mine came out Great Thank you for sharing ! Great full that you keep these post for all of us to see! Please Don’t let the Canning police Bully you into removing any of your stuff! Be proud of your accomplishments this is great!

  35. Can you turn this pickled cabbage into a “sauerkraut” ? We made this same recipe which we found elsewhere, but it’s not what we were expecting. It’s plain and sweet. We like it more sour. Any suggestions?

    1. Traditional sauerkraut is fermented and the method does not use any vinegar. While I don’t have a recipe up on the blog right now, I plan on getting up one this summer.

      1. I made this recipe in the fall of 2019, my husband & I love it. Looking forward to making this again, thank you.

    2. Maybe this will help: I’ve been making sauerkraut for years in crocks. It’s important NOT to use a vintage crock b/c many crocks prior to the 1980s used a glaze that contained lead, and that leaches into the contents. The inside part of a crock pot can substitute (do not plug in the crock pot!). We have a “kraut-board” which is sort of like a mandolin, but is larger, made of wood, and uses a sliding wooden box that holds the cabbage. Wash the crock and kraut-board or other tool with hot soapy water. Rinse, then pour boiling water over them. Let sit until cooled, pour out the water and you’re good to go.

      It’s important to shred the cabbage finely, like coleslaw. Weigh the cabbage and measure the sale appropriately (5 lb of cabbage + 3 T salt overall) . Working in a couple of batches and in our biggest bowl, we add the shredded cabbage and sprinkle in the pickling salt. It’s important to mix it all together, squeezing but not crushing the cabbage with your hands. It can take 15 minutes or more to mix it up enough. You want the cabbage to release a lot of its water. IMPORTANT – Fill the crock in the same spot you want it to be for fermenting b/c once filled, it will be very heavy and precarious to move. You then put a 2 inch or so layer of the cabbage in the crock and press it down. There are tools called “cabbage pounders” but you don’t actually pound away at the cabbage, you just press it. Cabbage water will appear at the top of the layer and you just keep filling the crock a layer at a time, pressing hard between the layers. Stop when it’s about 2-2 1/2 inches from the top of the crock. I like Merrisa’s idea of putting a cabbage leaf on top to help keep the shreds from air exposure! Then put a plate on top, and put a weight on top of that. My plate is usually a dessert plate, dinner plate, or platter depending on the size of the crock. The weight is a mason jar filled with cool water, with the lid on (any large jar will do). Press slowly on the weight until the cabbage water comes up over the plate. If there is not enough cabbage water to cover the plate when you stop pressing, add some brine (1 cup of non-chlorinated water + 1/2 tsp pickling salt dissolved in it). Remove any floaty bits. Make sure all shreds, the cabbage leaf if using, and the plate are all under water. I cover the while thing with a large tea towel to keep the fruit flies out – it’s important to make sure that the towels do not contact the water or they will wick it all away. You could use a sheet instead of towels but not plastic wrap – you need air circulation. After a couple of days, make sure to remove any scum or foam that forms on a daily basis (or twice a day if the weather is oppressive!) BTW – it’s important that the spoon or whatever you use to remove the scum is very clean. If the water starts to get below the plate, add more brine as above. The crock will start to smell, but it should not be a bad smell, just something cabbagey and it should not fill the house or even the whole kitchen. After about a week to 10 days, remove the weight and plate, and taste the cabbage: A small crock will take a little less than 2 weeks, a large crock will take a bit more than 2 weeks. If it’s not done to your liking, put back the plate (after washing it) and weight (after washing it), press down on the weight, and adjust the water level if needed.
      Writing this out, and I’m sure reading it, make the process sound complicated, but it’s really not. Just make sure everything is clean, if you need to add brine do not use chlorinated water, and check it every day.
      I’m going to try Merrisa’s recipe though, as it’s something different, and I just might love it!
      Best wishes!