Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe (Mason Jar)

🔪 Use a mandoline for even strips

I strongly recommend it. Strips of the same thickness ferment at the same pace, so you don’t end up with raw chunks next to limp shreds. You can do it with a knife, but it’s slow and uneven. Cut the cabbage into quarters so it fits, and the mandoline gets through all of it in a few minutes. Just watch your fingers and use the hand guard.

🧂 Fine sea salt, not iodized table salt

Here’s why. Table salt contains an anti-caking agent that can make the brine cloudy, and iodine can darken the cabbage a little. It won’t make your sauerkraut unsafe, but it won’t look as good. Fine sea salt dissolves fast and has nothing else in it. The amount matters too: one tablespoon for a cabbage of about two pounds works out to roughly 2% of the weight, right where it should be for a safe ferment.

🫙 Two jars, and a baking sheet underneath

A cabbage this size in one 1-liter jar barely fits, and it overflows. Mine overflowed several times. Split it between two jars and set them on a baking sheet, you’ll thank me. And they don’t have to be Mason jars: any clean jar with a lid that closes will do.

💧 Keep the cabbage under the brine, every single day

I didn’t use a fermentation weight or cabbage leaves on top. I just packed the cabbage into the jar and checked on it daily. I’d open the lid to let the gas out, push the cabbage back under the liquid with a clean spoon and top it up whenever it ran low. Use salted water, one teaspoon of salt per cup: plain water would dilute the salt a little more every time. Cabbage exposed to air is what goes moldy, so that’s the one rule you can’t forget.

🟣 Red cabbage sauerkraut works too

Firm green cabbage is my pick, but the same method works with red cabbage or savoy cabbage. Red cabbage turns into a gorgeous sauerkraut and dyes all the brine. Pick one that’s firm and heavy for its size: that water inside the cabbage is what becomes your brine.

📅 Getting ahead

This recipe is already a make-ahead: plan one to three weeks before the day you want to serve it. The prep itself takes five minutes: jars washed and fully dry, salt measured, wine open, juniper berries out, timer ready and a baking sheet waiting on the counter. What can’t wait is the massaging: once the cabbage is sliced, massage it right away and pack it while it’s full of juice. On the day you’re feeding people, pull the jar from the fridge at the last minute and serve it cold, straight from the jar.

❄️ Fridge for months, never the freezer

Once refrigerated, your sauerkraut keeps for several months as long as it stays under its brine. The cold slows fermentation, so it keeps changing slowly. Always use a clean fork. I don’t freeze it: it loses its crunch, and the crunch is the whole point.

✅ What to serve with my homemade sauerkraut with white wine and juniper?

On a hot dog, it’s a classic nobody argues with: try it on my European hot dogs with bacon, smoked mayo and sharp cheddar. It’s just as good on my smash burger recipe, where the tang cuts through the beef, and next to my bratwurst sausages with leeks and beer. Otherwise, a handful in a salad, or just straight up as a snack. And if you like keeping homemade jars in the fridge, make my homemade pickled beets and my quick pickled red onions too.