My German sauerkraut soup is a simple and hearty meal. The combination of tangy sauerkraut, earthy caraway seeds and smoky bacon makes this soup a taste sensation. This easy recipe is ready in just 30 minutes.
Being German, I have a soft spot for sauerkraut. I love its crunchy texture, its zingy taste and above all, the knowing that I am eating someting really, really healthy.
Back at home, we serve sauerkraut with traditional German meat dishes such as Schweinshaxe or Kassler. This is the first time I have tried it in a soup.
Friends, I am so glad I did. Because sauerkraut soup (Sauerkrautsuppe) is deliciously, delightfully unusual.
If you are up for a lunch or dinner that truly excites your taste buds, this is the recipe for you. It's hearty comfort food with a twist.
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What's To Love About This Recipe
Superfood - Sauerkraut is high in vitamins, especially vitamin C. It is also rich in fibre and probiotics, which are beneficial for gut health. Read all about the benefits of sauerkraut.
Exciting flavor - The fermentation process gives sauerkraut the distinct sour taste. This is an exciting contrast to the other ingredients such as the bacon and caraway.
Naturally low carb - I have tweaked the classic German sauerkraut soup recipe and replaced the potatoes with turnips. This way, the recipe contains only 6.7g of net carbs per serving.
Ingredients
Let's talk ingredients. You'll find exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but I wanted to give you a bit of extra info right here:
- Sauerkraut - Good sauerkraut requires only 2 ingredients: cabbage and salt. I used a brand called Hurly Burly.
- Other Vegetables - Leek, celery and carrot add flavor to the broth. Turnip adds bulk and turns the soup into a filling meal while keeping it low in carbs.
- Bacon - For hearty flavor.
- Caraway seeds - A popular spice in German dishes, caraway makes the soup taste earthy. It also has another funcion: Caraway is a popular home remedy for bloating and digestive discomfort (more of this below).
- Herbs, Spices and Aromatics - We are adding fresh garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, salt and pepper and nutmeg as a soup topper. I also added a herb mix, which contains marjoram (also very typically German!), thyme, rosemary and oregano.
- Chicken stock - It is AMAZING to use homemade chicken broth made from chicken bones in this soup. But, if that's too effort, stock cubes will do just fine.
Instructions
It is simple to make a German sauerkraut soup. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Add bacon to a large, heavy soup pot with a drizzle of oil if required (depends how fatty your bacon is) and cook over medium heat until crisp. Set aside.
STEP 2
Heat olive oil in the dutch oven. Add celery, carrots, leek and turnip. Sauté until softened and golden.
STEP 3
Add the chopped garlic for one more minute and fry briefly until fragrant.
STEP 4
Add the bacon pack into the pot, together with all spices and tomato puree.
STEP 5
Pour in the stock and add the bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer.
STEP 6
Add the sauerkraut and heat through for a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Rinse the sauerkraut! This reduces the risk of bloating, especially if you are not used to consuming fermented foods. Put it in a colander and wash off the brine with plenty of cold water.
#2 If you are new to fermented foods, add the sauerkraut a little earlier. The longer you cook it, the milder it tastes.
Variations
I think my sauerkraut soup recipe tastes pretty perfect. But, it is always fun to tweak recipes, isn't it? Here are ideas how to change up the flavor:
- Classic sauerkraut soup: Instead of turnips, add parsnips or potatoes (this does add more carbs).
- Change the meat - Use Polish sausage such as Kielbasa or chopped ham.
- Spice it up - The earthy spice of juniper berries would be lovely in the soup. Or, try a variation that's less German and more Hungarian by adding paprika.
- Make it creamy - Add a glug of sour cream, creme fraiche or ¼ cup of cream cheese. This mellows the zinginess of the sauerkraut.
Serving Suggestion
Being German, I love a bread roll with my soup. Sauerkraut soup tastes great with cheesy protein biscuits.
Or, keep it Bavarian all the way and pair it with soft and chewy keto pretzels!
Recipe FAQs
Sauerkraut is fermented raw cabbage.
Simply shred the cabbage and put it in a jar with salt. Remove the air and cover. After 5 days the sauerkraut is ready. The longer you ferment it, the more sour the cabbage becomes. Here is a good sauerkraut recipe.
Sauerkraut soup is a traditional dish in Germany as well as in Eastern European countries such as Poland, Czechia and Hungary.
Storage
Sauerkraut soup stays fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I actually think that it tastes better on the second day, once the flavors have had time to meld together
Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave.
You can also freeze the soup for up to 3 months. I freeze all my soups in single serving containers. This way, I have a quick lunch or dinner available for those days when life gets busy.
More Low Carb Soup Recipes
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Recipe
German Sauerkraut Soup
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Equipment
- large heavy soup pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 5.3 oz smoked bacon diced, 150g
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup celery diced (80g)
- ¾ cup leek finely diced (50g)
- ¾ cup carrots diced small (120g)
- 1 cup turnips diced small (160g)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs (or a mix of oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon flaked sea salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 5 cups chicken stock or veggie stock (1.2 litre)
- 1.5 cups sauerkraut rinsed & drained (200g), I used Hurly Burly Original and linked to a brand on Amazon which is similarly clean
- 2 bay leaves
To Serve
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Rinse the sauerkraut in a colander with plenty of cold water. Set aside.
- Add diced bacon to a large soup pot or dutch oven with a drizzle of oil if required (depends how fatty your bacon is). Cook over medium heat until crisp. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the dutch oven. Add celery, carrots, leek and turnip. Sauté until softened and golden, about 4 minutes.
- Add garlic and fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Add the Italian herbs, caraway, tomato puree, salt and pepper and cooked bacon into the pot. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the stock and add the bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the sauerkraut and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.
Allison Done
Delicious soup! Spicier than I expected but that’s not a bad thing.
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you like the recipe!
SUSAN
Hi! Katrin,
Just saw you Saurkraut Soup recipe. It sounds interesting. I love saurkraut. I used to make it in a 5 gal crock. Not the way most people make it now. Squeezing the salt into the cabbage until had the crock almost full then weighting down ro stay in the brine. Put big cabbage leaves over the top and a big plate with weight on top. That made good saurkraut. I will have to try that as soon as I can. I have never been crazy about bay leaves . Would it make a big difference in the taste to leave that out? My Grandmother's family spoke Dutch. I'm not sure where they were from originally. They were referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch. They were not Amish or Mennonite just a designation because a lot of German and Dutch speaking people settled in Pennsylvania, USA. My mother taught me saurkraut making, bread making, etc. When I was very young we went weekly to my Grandparents and Mom baked for them. Bread and pies and cookies. She was the youngest, my Granmother had a heart attack years before and had broken her arm, it was hard for her to bake anymore. My grandfather was a diabetic. The only thing there was then to sweeten things for him was saccharin, as we know now that was very unfortunate. He liked his jelly bread. He liked pies as well, she always made a small one for him. Grsndma just liked to have cookies and pies and bread to offer the grandchildren. I love to bake but don't have a full kitchen, so rarely do much more than mug cakes but make a lot of soup with root vegetables. So I will try this as soon as possible.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you for sharing your recipe and stories! You can leave out the bay leaves, they are not essential for the flavour. Do come back here and leave me a review on the sauerkraut soup. I'd love to hear your feedback.
Barb
I love sauerkraut and this soup is a winner in my books!