This easy fermented cabbage is absolutely delicious and packed with probiotics! Try it with a Reuben Sandwich on Sourdough or enjoy it as a topping on a wide variety of dishes!
This fermented cabbage is the perfect topping for sandwiches, burgers, sausages, salads, and even ramen (trust me, it's amazing.) You can also eat a couple spoonfuls of fermented cabbage by itself every day to promote gut health and boost immunity!
According to Healthline in an article titled 8 Fermented Foods and Drinks to Boost Digestion and Health, "Eating fermented foods can boost the number of beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, in your gut. Probiotics are associated with a variety of health benefits, including improved digestion, better immunity, and even increased weight loss."
Jump to:
😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fermenting cabbage is incredibly easy!
- This fermented cabbage recipe requires only a few ingredients.
- Making sauerkraut at home is cheaper than buying it at the store.
- You can start enjoying your fermented cabbage after just a week!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cabbage: I used green cabbage, but you can also make red cabbage sauerkraut with red cabbage.
- Brine: Water and sea salt.
- Spices: Mustard seeds, coriander, caraway seeds, and crushed red pepper. You could substitute the crushed red pepper with a Serrano pepper or other fresh peppers, or leave it out entirely!
- Garlic: I love the flavor that garlic imparts to fermented cabbage. If you're not a fan, you can leave it out.
- Optional Ingredients: You can also add juniper berries, shredded carrots, and dill seed.
🥬 How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage then wash throughly. Next, chop the cabbage with a sharp knife and add it to a large non-metallic bowl. Add slivered garlic, spices, and half of the salt. Stir to combine.
Step 2: Let the cabbage sit for at least 15 minutes then stir once more.
Pro tip: Most fermented cabbage recipes recommend smashing the cabbage and allowing it to release its juices anywhere from 1-2 hours before bottling it. I've tried it both ways and found that the end result is the same.
Step 3: Pack the shredded cabbage mix into 2 sterilized, wide-mouthed 1-quart mason jars using a rubber spatula or non-metallic spoon.
Step 4: Combine 2 cups of water and the remaining salt and stir to dissolve. Pour over the cabbage until it reaches the rim of the jar. Loosely cap the jar with a sterilized lid.
Step 5: The cabbage will begin to bubble as it ferments, so place jars on a rimmed tray or glass dish to catch the juices. Store somewhere cool (between 65 and 72 degrees F).
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Pro Tip: If you have an airlock you can use it to keep impurities out while allowing the air bubbles to escape. You can buy fermenting lids with the airlocks, however, they are not absolutely necessary!
Step 6: Every few days, look inside the jar to see if the water level has fallen below the rim. If so, top it off with more salt water, using 1 ½ teaspoon of salt for every cup of water. If the cabbage is floating to the surface, push it back down until the cabbage is submerged.
Pro Tip: If you have fermenting glass weights, they do a great job of keeping the cabbage submerged in the brine during the fermentation process. This will eliminate mold forming on the cabbage that's being exposed to oxygen.
Step 7: You can ferment your sauerkraut for 1 to 3 weeks, tasting it every few days, until the desired flavor and texture is achieved.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Homemade sauerkraut is so much tastier than the bagged or canned kraut you can buy in stores. Add it to hot dogs, brats, or make a delicious reuben sandwich with some smoked corned beef brisket, Swiss cheese, and fermented cabbage.
You can also use fermented sauerkraut to make kielbasa and sauerkraut.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Fermented cabbage is usually called sauerkraut, which means "sour cabbage". However, there are many kinds of fermented cabbage known by many names across cultures including Korean kimchi, Hatian pikliz, and Vietnamese dua cai chua.
Fermenting cabbage takes at least one week, but it becomes more flavorful the longer it ferments. You can leave your cabbage to ferment for up to 6 weeks, although for many people 3 weeks seems to be the sweet spot.
Fermented cabbage is filled with probiotics and nutrients that can help boost your immune system and promote gut health. In fact, 2 ounces of sauerkraut contains more probiotics than 100 probiotic capsules!
🥒 Other Fermented & Pickled Recipes
- Jerusalem Artichoke Recipe (Pickled Sunchokes)
- Spicy Mexican Pickled Carrots
- Pink Onions Pickled in Beet Juice
- Torshi Assyrian Pickled Vegetables
- Quick Pickled Red Cabbage (red cabbage sauerkraut)
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Don't use metallic utensils or bowls when making fermented cabbage. The metal reacts with the acid from the cabbage, causing your sauerkraut to taste like metal.
- Fermenting weights really help with keeping the cabbage submerged in to the brine so if you have them, definitely use them!
- If you don't own fermenting weights set aside a cabbage leaf when you first start. Once the shredded cabbage is bottled, place the reserved cabbage leaf on top to keep the cabbage from floating to the surface.
- You can use this recipe to make red cabbage sauerkraut by swapping purple cabbage for the green cabbage.
🌶 Related Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe
Easy Fermented Cabbage (Sauerkraut)
Ingredients
- 1 large cabbage (2 lbs)
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 tsps sea salt (divided)
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage then wash throughly. Next, chop the cabbage with a sharp knife and add it to a large non-metallic bowl. Add slivered garlic, spices, and half of the salt. Stir to combine.
- Let the cabbage sit for at least 15 minutes then stir once more.
- Pack the shredded cabbage mix into 2 sterilized, wide-mouthed 1-quart mason jars using a rubber spatula or non-metallic spoon.
- Combine 2 cups of water and the remaining salt and stir to dissolve. Pour over the cabbage until it reaches the rim of the jar. Loosely cap the jar with a sterilized lid.
- The cabbage will begin to bubble as it ferments, so place jars on a rimmed tray or glass dish to catch the juices. Store somewhere cool (between 65 and 72 degrees F).
- Every few days, look inside the jar to see if the water level has fallen below the rim. If so, top it off with more salt water, using 1 ½ teaspoon of salt for every cup of water. If the cabbage is floating to the surface, push it back down until the cabbage is submerged.
- You can ferment your sauerkraut for 1 to 3 weeks, tasting it every few days, until the desired flavor and texture is achieved.
Notes
- Most fermented cabbage recipes recommend smashing the cabbage and allowing it to release its juices for 1-2 hours before bottling, but I've tried it both ways and the end result is the same.
- If you have fermenting glass weights, use them. They do an excellent job of keeping the cabbage submerged in the liquid and not exposed to oxygen as it ferments.
- If you have an airlock you can use it to keep impurities out while allowing the air bubbles to escape. You can buy fermenting lids with the airlocks, however, they are not absolutely necessary!
- Don't use metallic utensils or bowls when making fermented cabbage. The metal reacts with the acid from the cabbage, causing your sauerkraut to taste like metal.
- If you don't own fermenting weights set aside a cabbage leaf when you first start. Once the shredded cabbage is bottled, place the reserved cabbage leaf on top to keep the cabbage from floating to the surface.
- You can use this recipe to make red cabbage sauerkraut by swapping purple cabbage for the green cabbage.
Whaj says
The best recipe ever, and great way of presenting it
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you so much, really appreciate the review!
Anne says
Delish! Tripled the recipe and used pint jars instead. How long will this last in the fridge? We have a lot…
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Anne, Mine lasts for months, as long as there is no cross contamination!
Heidi says
Made this - tried it today after ten days, just brilliant! Used fresh cabbage from the garden, and trialled my small 1.5L fermenting crock from Aldi, worked well. Thanks for posting!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Heidi! Thanks for the review and update. P.S. love Aldi! Wish we had one here.
Amanda says
How long do you process in the hot water bath method of storage
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Amanda,
One thing to consider when canning sauerkraut is you'd be destroying one of the best things about sauerkraut, the probiotics! If that doesn't matter to you, then you can process the cold sauerkraut for 20 min for pints and 25 min for quarts. You need to extend the processing time for higher elevations. Good luck!