Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and Potato Soup
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Sauerkraut, bratwurst, and potato soup is a creamy, slightly tangy soup full of veggies, potatoes, bratwurst, and sauerkraut. The recipe has deep roots in Eastern Europe, with tons of variations. German sauerkraut soup, Polish sauerkraut soup, Russian and Ukrainian versions, you name it.
Some sauerkraut soup recipes are creamy, while others have a clear broth, but all of them are united in the use of sauerkraut and potatoes.
When I first posted this Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, and Potato soup recipe years ago, I told the story of how I had asked some fellow bloggers to contribute to a post I was working on entitled “Soup Supper Round-Up ” on my blog.
Sauerkraut Soup With Sausage
Making Authentic Sauerkraut Soup With Bratwurst And Potatoes
Polish and German sauerkraut soup recipes tend to feature a creamy broth, which is awesome! Don’t expect the sauerkraut to overwhelm you either. Because the potatoes cut the tanginess, and the bratwurst makes the broth so savory, everything balances out nicely.
Ingredients For Polish Sauerkraut Soup
- Chicken Stock
- Sauerkraut – Frank’s is what I used, of course!
- Kraut juice – drained from the sauerkraut and added to a bit of water.
- Butter
- Flour
- Milk
- Cream
- Potatoes
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Bratwurst – casings removed
Find the complete measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Sauerkraut, Bratwurst & Potato Soup
Step One: Get all of your ingredients prepped by chopping up the veggies and removing the casings from the bratwurst before you begin.
Drain sauerkraut, reserving juice. Add water to kraut juice to make 3 cups. In a large soup pot, bring chicken broth and kraut/water to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes, cover, and cook until veggies are desired tenderness.
Step Two: In a skillet, chop and brown bratwurst until it gets nice and brown. Remove from pan, set aside.
Step Three: Do not clean the pan. Add onion and celery to pan, and saute for about 5 minutes. Add sauerkraut, continue browning until sauerkraut is cooked well. Return bratwurst to kraut mixture. Add this mixture to the simmering stock.
Step Four: In a small saucepan, melt butter, add flour to melted butter whisking to form a roux. Slowly add milk and cream to the flour mixture. Cook on low, whisking as it thickens. Pour into the broth and let the soup simmer on low until heated through.
Talk about a great hearty soup! This one is perfect for those cold weather days when you just want to feel warm and cozy!
Love it? Pin it!
Don’t forget where you found this comforting potato soup recipe! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go.
Sauerkraut Soup, Aka “Kapusniak” Soup
This is similar to my Kapusniak recipe. (You may also see it spelled “kapusnyak” or “kapustniak“) There are as many ways to spell it as there are to make it! This soup is a heritage soup that typically gets served around the colder months. For good reason! First, of course, any hot and hearty soup is great for chilly days. That goes without saying.
But, in days before refrigeration, the ingredients like sauerkraut didn’t fully pickle after the fall harvest until the colder months set in. So the timing worked out perfectly to use it as an ingredient then. Traditions born of necessity are typically lifesavers and when it comes to mealtime traditions, well, that’s a good thing!
More Great Sauerkraut Recipes
I have oodles of sauerkraut recipes on my website! Here are a few others you will be sure to love:
- Smoked Polish Sausage & Sauerkraut
- Grilled Bratwurst Meatball Kabobs
- Everything Sauerkraut Bread
- Kluski Kapusta Kiszona (Polish Noodles & Sauerkraut) Pictured Above
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Sauerkraut (it’ll cure what ails you!)
- Sauerkraut Salad
- Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake
Love Sauerkraut? Well, here is everything you always wanted to know about Kraut! Where it comes from, how it’s made, the massive amounts of benefits that come from adding it to your diet, and of course, tons of Sauerkraut recipes in this Ultimate Guide to Sauerkraut.
My youngest son will tell you that this is his most favorite soup recipe that I make! I hope that you and your family will enjoy it for years to come as we have.
Let’s make some sauerkraut potato soup, shall we?
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Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups kraut juice + water to make 3 cups We LOVE Frank's!!
- 3 potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 small onion diced
- 4-5 stalks celery diced
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups cream
- 2 cups sauerkraut drained -- Frank's is the BEST!
- 5 bratwursts casing removed
Instructions
- Drain sauerkraut, reserving juice. Add water to kraut juice to make 3 cups. In a large soup pot, bring chicken broth and kraut/water to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes, cover and cook until veggies are desired tenderness.
- In a skillet, chop and brown bratwurst until it gets nice and brown.
- Remove from pan, set aside.
- Do not clean pan. Add onion and celery to pan, and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add sauerkraut, continue browning until sauerkraut is cooked well.
- Return bratwurst to kraut mixture.
- Add to broth.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter, add flour to melted butter and whisk, making a roux.
- Slowly add milk and cream to flour mixture.
- Cook on low whisking as it thickens.
- Pour into broth and let soup simmer on low until heated through.
Notes
Nutrition
I originally posted this recipe on November 5, 2013. It has been updated to improve user experience and reshared on January 12, 2022.
original recipe from Simply Gourmet
This sounds delicious! I love sauerkraut and I’m sure it tastes amazing in soup! Pinning!
omg sound fantabulous!!! i too am polish/german with russian/native american, what a mix huh!! instead of ‘mutt’ i used to say i was ‘heinz 57’ but dont ask me where that came from, i was a kid when i started saying it, and i never knew there was such a product either, lol 😀 now i just say i am ‘abbynormal’ lol definitely going to try this and the blue cheese and cabbage!! thanks for sharing them!!
‘and’ not ‘with’
I am anxious to hear your opinion on both of the soups 🙂
I love that this recipe has staple ingredients; it was easy to make and delicious! I am making it again!
I bet this soup has fabulous flavor! I’ve never heard of a soup like this before. Not only tasty, but a filling dish, too!
I love this!! So perfect for the chilly weather!
Such a cozy, comforting soup for all this cold weather we have been having! Love the potato and bratwurst combo!
Your Sauerkraut, bratwurst, and potato soup reminds me of one I make—a few changes which might make it more flavorful and tasty! I will be trying it out this weekend! Thanks for another great recipe! Have a great day!
This is such a unique soup! I definitely want to give it a try. It makes sense that combining it would potatoes and bratwurst would be absolutely delicious, thanks for sharing.
I love your process shots! This sounds amazing.
We loved this soup! Just what we needed for this cold night!
What a wonderful recipe! My heritage is German, too, and these ingredients and flavors all sound so appealing to me. Can’t wait to make a big pot of this soup for my family. Thanks for another winner!
This sounds amazing, do you have any suggestions for an alternative to bratwurst? I live in Ecuador, I can get regular sausage or smoked sausage. We can’t get sauerkraut either, but I now make my own.
Any smoked sausage would be great! I love that you make your own sauerkraut!