Traditional German Sauerkraut and Pork: A One-Pot Meal
Healthy sauerkraut is slow braised with pork chops along with bacon, apples, onions and aromatic spices. This German-inspired one pot meal is ideal during fall and the cold days of winter. It is especially comforting when served with mashed potatoes.
Did you know that fresh homemade sauerkraut is making a comeback? Many people are now making their own because it is considered a very healthy probiotic-rich food. It is high in vitamins C and K. It also contains other nutrients that can help boost your immune system and digestion. This is especially true when it is fresh and free of added sugar, vinegar, or chemicals.
Sauerkraut’s origins go back to China, when it was made from shredded cabbage that was fermented in rice wine. It is used in main courses and side dishes in many countries around the world. My husband and I have had delicious meals with sauerkraut in France, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
During our travels in Germany, we have had traditional pork and sauerkraut at restaurants and beer halls. A German specialty is heaping platters of sausages, smoked pork chops (Kessler) and hocks piled high on sauerkraut. This is especially true in Bavaria during Oktoberfest and throughout the rest of the year.
While traveling in the Alsace region of France, we have enjoyed the classic choucroute garnie. It consists of sauerkraut, slices of pork, smoked streaky bacon, and various types of sausage served with boiled potatoes. The photo below was a lunch size serving of choucroute my husband ordered at the Winstub au Rouge d’Ottrot.
Sauerkraut served alongside roast duck and dumplings is also a special meal. You will see it served in the Czech Republic for Christmas and other special occasions.
Here in the U.S., New Yorkers buy steamed hot dogs topped with sauerkraut from one of the city’s sidewalk hot dog carts. They also enjoy sauerkraut served on a Reuben sandwich with corned beef and melted cheese..
For New Year’s celebrations, many people believe that pork and sauerkraut will bring them good luck. My husband’s favorite way of starting out the new year is having spareribs and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day. Nonetheless, we like pork and sauerkraut any time of the year.
Click on any photo to enlarge and see a slide show.
Of all the ways to enjoy sauerkraut, one of the most popular is when it is served with pork. My recipe below is very adaptable. This time I used smoked pork chops. When cooking for a group, I add a variety of smoked meats and sausages.
I like to add apples for a slight sweetness, it balances the flavor of the sauerkraut. I also like serving creamy mashed potatoes infused with garlic. This is a rich and comforting side that complements the smokiness of the pork chops. Other times I will cook potatoes in with the sauerkraut. However you decide to serve the dish, it is a filling and delicious one-pot meal.
Smoked Pork Chops With Sauerkraut, Bacon, Apples and Onions
Serves 2-4, adjust the recipe accordingly
Ingredients
- 1 qt. sauerkraut, drained, (I like fresh refrigerated sauerkraut)* see note
- 2-3 slices applewood smoked bacon, diced (pancetta can also be used)
- 1 large onion, cut in half and then thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 juniper berries, optional
- 8 peppercorns
- 1 c. chicken stock
- 1 c. wine, beer or apple cider
- 1 apple, cored and cut into slices, I used Granny Smith
- 4 thick sliced smoked pork chops ( labeled fully cooked)
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, cook the diced bacon over medium heat. Continue cooking until the bacon starts to crisp..Remove bacon with a slotted soon into a small bowl.
- Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well.
- Add back the bacon. Add all the other ingredients except the apples and pork chops. Stir well, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook 30 to 45 minutes until soft and creamy.
- Add the apple slices and mix in to the sauerkraut. Then brown the pork chops lightly in a large sauté pan with just a little butter. Cook for 1 minute on each side. Add the chops to the sauerkraut and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Before serving, remove the whole bay leaves.
You can find sauerkraut easily in most supermarkets, but not all types you’ll come across will be the same. I like using refrigerated sauerkraut. Please taste whatever brand that you buy. Some brands can be very salty or very strong. It that is the case just rinse in a colander with cold water and drain.
If available, I like the Kessler style smoked pork chops from a German deli but they are difficult to find. Most supermarkets carry fully cooked Smithfield brand packaged smoked pork chops which I used in this recipe.
If you are making this recipe for a crowd just increase all ingredients. 30 minutes before your meal is finished you can add potatoes or sausages. If adding German white sausages, brown them first. Then only put them into the sauerkraut for the last 5 minutes. This way, they don’t split open.
Leftovers can be reheated on low on the stovetop. Alternatively, use a 300 degree oven and warm them for 20 – 30 minutes.
Notes From The Kitchen
****
Smoked pork chops and sauerkraut are great for a casual party with friends. Add some crusty rye or pumpernickel bread. Include pretzels, sweet and hot mustard, and lots of beer. I also like serving a Gewurztraminer, Riesling, or other crisp white wine for non-beer drinkers. Believe me, your guests will feel like they are in one of Germany’s famous beer halls.
If you have leftover sauerkraut, try it as a delicious topping on a hot dog or Reuben. Enjoy it as a tasty side dish with grilled sausages or bratwurst. It’s perfect on game day, don’t you think?
…and mashed potatoes! That looks perfect for the wet and stormy day here. I love the way it was served at the Winstub au Rouge d’Ottrot, piled high with sausages.
I was brought up eating everything sauerkraut. Just add smoked meats or sausages, or fresh polish sausage or country style ribs, add alittle barley along with apples, caraway seeds, onion, celery and kluski’s at the end. Using homemade kraut is best. My family enjoys these dishes as much as I do. Yum 😋
Fastastic! That is one beautiful meal. I’ve never made it from scratch. Maybe because my mother used to have vats of sauerkraut going in our kitchen and it smelled like an outhouse!!!
Looks hearty, comforting and tasty…a perfect meal for cold grey days.
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
I was raised on sauerkraut. Love it. My favourite is perogies and sauerkraut.
This recipe reminds me of my late MIL, she was German and her specialty was saurbraten with sauerkraut, I haven’t had it in years! Your recipe sounds delicious and I love the versatility~
Jenna
Great idea. My kids have me eating less meat so I might try this without the chops but with the bacon, adding the potatoes and rye. Thanks.
I use to make my own sauerkraut when I had a big garden and grew my own cabbage. It does lose some of its nutrients by cooking it but if you cook it at a low heat and not for very long you can retain some of the nutrients its known for 🙂 Perfect on a hot dog or Reuben!
Great post- Sour Croute is not appreciated as much when it is heated directly from the can. When slowly cooked with wine, apples, juniper berries, chicken stock and caraway seeds it is much better- Chou Croute Garni is fantastic with Duck Confit.
I think sauerkraut needs it moment!
A little sauerkraut once and awhile is always good!
Karen, I love this dish and have eaten many variations of it. Besides pork knuckles, this is my husband‘s favorite. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
It was a sure sign of November… and winter in general… when my mother made pork and sauerkraut, the latter cooked with apple slices and caraway seeds, a few plain boiled potatoes with butter, all flavor enough. Nothing said cozy on a chilly grey day like that dinner. Thanks for the reminder!
we adore sauerkraut. I always have some in my fridge sometimes I make my own, but mostly I buy a German brand without added vinegar or chemicals.
We spent the month of November in Spain, but unfortunately I got sick with a stomach virus about two weeks after we arrived and haven’t been very well since so I’ve been missing out on commenting on a lot of of my favourite blogs. I’ll try to catch up.
It’s coming into summer here with days >37 °C. Your meal though, has me thinking of cooler days and hearty food.
Oh Karen – you have taken me right back to my ‘beginnings’! Methinks I must have been given ‘bits’ of this dish, eaten each and every week in Estonia, before I had quite come off mother’s milk! You make it very similarly but serve it much more elegantly :)! Well, with day-after-current-day close to 40C here perchance we are eating more salads and stirfries but . . . Sauerkraut . . . oft devour a good one cold these days . . . and make the Korean version . . .
My father used to love sauerkraut. I admit I’ve never really tried it. However this recipe may get me to make a change!
Beautiful images, Karen! Your recipe sounds perfect for our cold winter evenings!
Sauerkraut has never been on my top list but I have to say you make it sound so enticing here!
I’ve been eating kraut and pork all of my life (wieners as a kid) and have always enjoyed the dish – I’ve used country style ribs a lot. But your recipe kicks up the kraut several notches and must be tried soon.
The perfect comforting winter dish! I’m all for adding apples to the mix. They do balance the sauerkraut so nicely.
I was quite surprised by the “lunch size serving of choucroute”! 🙂
Yes please! This is my kind of comfort food. Add a dish of noodles or mashed potatoes. Yum!
Merry December!
I love Sauerkraut but that must be from my German family background. I did not know it came from China! This dish is my ideal comfort food 🙂
I’m SUCH a huge sauerkraut fan! I even got my picky dad on board after buying him some fresh from the farmers market. It’s like night and day over the canned stuff.
I’m one of those folks who traditionally eat pork and sauerkraut for New Year good luck. It’s a once a year thing for me. My husband could eat it once a week. He likes pork and sauerkraut cooked with kielbasa and hot dogs. Once, I added onions and apple to his beloved meal and I think he thought I was being sacrilegious! We cook out of love and I make pork and sauerkraut — his way — not weekly, but often.
Love your recipe! I’ve never made Sauerkraut from scratch, I guess the varieties we get here in Germany don’t really make that a necessity. I’m putting Sauerkraut, mash & sausages on my “make during Xmas vacation” list 🙂
Delicious. We eat pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day also. I haven’t thought about smoked pork chops in years. I think I will save your recipe to use 1/1/2025.
I love German food, but haven’t made sauerkraut in years. It never went out of fashion in natural food circles, but it just seems my falls are always so busy! I bought a (simple) smoker and have been planning to test it on a turkey breast or salmon–now I’ll have to add pork chops to that list!
I love sauerkraut! Pairing it with pork chops, bacon, apples, and onions – yes, that seems so German … and so delicious!
Yes sauerkraut is very popular in UK now for just the health reasons you say, and kimchi as well.
Looks so lovely and warming! Although I’m not a big fan of it “full strength”, I like sauerkraut a lot when it’s not just rinsed but soaked to remove most of its acidity, leaving just a pleasantly mild tang. I’ve made choucroute garnie that way and it’s to die for! I’m sure this is equally delicious and a lot easier to pull off.
We always add an apple to sauerkraut, too! And we also use the refrigerated ‘kraut. I’ve never made homemade sauerkraut, but your comment is making me think that I should give it a try. This sounds like a fun project!!
Gut friendly sauerkraut is a one pan meal – love this. So warming and nourishing on a cold winter’s day. Healthy World Cuisine
I didn’t know sauerkraut originated in China! I considered incorporating it into my diet but haven’t made an effort to do so. Your post inspires me to take action. This meal looks so hearty and delicious!
I didn’t know sauerkraut originated in China! I considered incorporating it into my diet but haven’t made an effort to do so. Your post inspires me to take action. This meal looks so hearty and delicious!
mmm. . . The Pork and Sauerkraut looks delicious. When I was a child my family always had it on New Year’s Day. I may need to revive that tradition this year.
we don’t eat pork but I love sauerkraut and make it every winter. So good for you too!
sherry from sherrys pickings
This meal brings back fond memories from when we lived in Germany. I didn’t know that sauerkraut is a food know for good luck! Looking forward to trying this meal.
Comforting, hearty, and delicious.
I know we would both love this — and I really love that you used smoked chops — that makes a huge difference. Marry Christmas, Karen — sorry I’m so behind on my commenting!
Love sour croute and pork. Fermented and one of my comfort foods!
This dish perfectly captures the heart of German comfort food—smoky pork chops paired with tangy, slow-braised sauerkraut, sweetened just enough with apples and rounded out by the richness of bacon and onions. My kind of meal
This sounds like a wonderful meal! I love sauerkraut–I didn’t realize it was so good for you! A good excuse for me to eat more of it! 🙂
I have to try this. We make pork and sauerkraut a couple times each winter. I also make a sauerkraut soup from time to time.
Wow – that looks good!
The detail about adding apples to balance the sauerkraut’s acidity is something I’ve experimented with too, and Granny Smith is exactly the right call — that tartness plays so well against the smokiness of the pork without tipping the whole dish into sweetness. What I find fascinating from a fermentation standpoint is that fresh, unpasteurized sauerkraut contains *Lactobacillus* strains that research published in the European Journal of Nutrition has linked to measurable improvements in gut microbiome diversity — which makes me a little sad that most commercial versions are heat-processed and lose that entirely.