This Sauerkraut Salad is quick and easy to make!
Do you love sauerkraut and are looking for a new way to prepare it? This sauerkraut salad might be just what you’re looking for.
Served cold, this salad is your classic sauerkraut with the addition of carrots, onions, diced apple, and just a little bit of oil and some common spices – plus caraway seeds!
We love it as a light starter or side dish to accompany some of the heartier dishes for Sunday roasts or as part of a classic German Brotzeit with bread, cheese, meats and pickles.
Ingredients
To make this sauerkraut salad recipe, here are the ingredients that you will need. There aren’t too many.
Aside from the sauerkraut, it’s just a few extra vegetables and some oil and spices:
- Sauerkraut – Drained. Either make your own sauerkraut or try to buy some that doesn’t have vinegar added to the jar. We like Kühne or Hengstenberg Mildessa for an authentic German taste.
- Yellow onion – Either a small one or half of a larger one.
- Carrot – One medium-sized carrot.
- Apple – We like using Gala apples as they have a slightly sweet taste and are quite crisp, but you can add any type of apple you prefer.
- Oil – We use avocado oil but any neutral tasting oil such as canola oil, sunflower oil or vegetable oil works. Stay away from extra virgin olive oil for this recipe since it has a distinct flavor that may not work well with this salad.
- Caraway seeds – Can be omitted, but we would recommend adding some since caraway tastes great with sauerkraut.
- Granulated sugar – Just a pinch of sugar to balance the flavors.
- Salt – A little bit of salt to bring out the flavors; add more or less depending on how salty the sauerkraut is.
- Black pepper – For flavor.
- Parsley to garnish – To add a pop of color and extra flavor; completely optional.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Before you make this recipe for sauerkraut salad, read through these few tips so that you know what to keep in mind:
- We’d recommend using sauerkraut that doesn’t have vinegar added to it since it can have a very strong vinegar flavor (and since this recipe is based on Sauerkraut salad we used to eat in Germany, we want to keep it authentic). If you can only find sauerkraut with vinegar added, rinse it under running water before using it in this salad.
- Use a neutral tasting oil. We use avocado oil, but sunflower oil, canola oil or vegetable oil, among others, also work well. We don’t recommend using extra virgin olive oil because it has a very distinct flavor that might not go that well with this type of salad.
- You can change up the salad to your liking. The onion, carrot, and apple balance each other out nicely, but you can skip any of these veggies if you don’t like the taste.
- Make sure to cut the apple into small pieces. Instead of dicing the apple, you can also grate it if you prefer. However, we don’t usually do this since the apple is more likely to turn brown.
How to Make Sauerkraut Salad – Step by Step Instructions
In this section, you’ll learn exactly how to make this sauerkraut salad recipe. You can follow the recipe process photos to see just how we did it every step of the way.
The detailed recipe card can be found at the bottom of the post.
If the sauerkraut is in large pieces, cut it a little smaller. Then add the sauerkraut to a large mixing bowl.
Then peel and chop the onion very finely.
Next, peel the carrot and grate it. Add both the onion and carrot to the bowl with the sauerkraut.
Quickly peel and core the apple, then cut the apple into very small pieces. Add the chopped apple to the bowl with the other ingredients.
Now also add the oil, caraway seeds, sugar, salt, and black pepper to the bowl and mix everything together well.
Once the salad is well mixed, cover the bowl and place it into the fridge for at least one hour.
Remove the bowl from the fridge and add more salt, pepper and/or sugar to taste if needed. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving (optional). Enjoy!
Storage Tips
If you have leftover sauerkraut salad, you can store it in a sealed container in the fridge.
Properly stored, it will easily last for a few days and (in our opinion) tastes even better on the second day.
Related Recipes
If you like this sauerkraut salad recipe, here are some other great veggie-based side salads from different cuisines!
- Tomato Salad (Tomatensalat)
- Carrot Salad (Karottensalat)
- German-Style Green Bean Salad
- Cucumber Salad (Gurkensalat)
- German Coleslaw (Krautsalat)
Sauerkraut Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound sauerkraut, drained; see notes
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1 medium-sized carrot
- 1 small apple
- 2 tablespoons oil, see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
- chopped parsley to garnish, optional
Instructions
- If the sauerkraut is in large pieces, cut it a little smaller. Then add the sauerkraut to a large mixing bowl.1 pound sauerkraut
- Next, peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate the carrot. Add both the onion and carrot to the bowl with the sauerkraut. Quickly peel and core the apple, then cut the apple into very small pieces. Add the chopped apple to the bowl with the other ingredients.1/2 yellow onion, 1 medium-sized carrot, 1 small apple
- Now also add the oil, caraway seeds, sugar, salt, and black pepper to the bowl and mix everything together well. Cover the bowl and place it into the fridge for at least one hour.2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Remove the bowl from the fridge and add more salt, pepper and/or sugar to taste if needed. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving (optional). Enjoy!chopped parsley to garnish
Notes
- We’d recommend using sauerkraut that doesn’t have vinegar added to it. If you can only find sauerkraut with added vinegar, rinse it under running water before using it for the salad – otherwise the vinegar taste might be too strong. We like Kühne or Hengstenberg Mildessa which are both available in North America.
- 1 pound of Sauerkraut is approximately 3 cups.
- Use a neutral tasting oil. We use avocado oil, but sunflower oil, canola oil or vegetable oil, among others, also work well. We don’t recommend using extra virgin olive oil since it has a very distinct flavor that may not go that well with this type of salad.
- Instead of cutting the apple into small pieces, you can also grate it if you prefer. We don’t usually do that though since the apple is more likely to turn brown.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
