Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa Recipe

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This Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa takes the traditional Eastern European dish and adds some cheese and cream to make it the ultimate bowl of cold-weather comfort food.

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

25 mins

SERVINGS

6-8

Ingredients

  • 3 large potatoes, diced into 1” cubes and boiled
  • 1 lb kielbasa, thinly sliced and browned
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves (optional)
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 32 oz sauerkraut
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Creamy Kielbasa & Sauerkraut Soup in a bowl with spoon

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa

  1. Dice potatoes and boil them till softened, but not to the point of mushiness. Set aside.
  2. Slice kielbasa and sauté over medium heat until browned. Set aside.
  3. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add butter then sauté onions till slightly browned. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add flour and stir till combined. Cook for about a minute.
  4. Add chicken broth and milk. Cook stirring often until broth begins to thicken.
  5. Add kielbasa, sauerkraut, potatoes, and parsley. Simmer for 5-8 minutes. Then stir in cheddar till combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

PAIRINGS:
Creamy Sauerkraut Soup with Kielbasa

Oktoberfestbier

Sauvignon Blanc

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Creamy Kielbasa Sauerkraut Soup on a wooden cutting board with beer bottles in the background

Creamy Sauerkraut Soup is easy to make

It’s depth of flavor may be deceiving, but creamy kielbasa & sauerkraut soup only takes about 40 minutes to make. Cut and chop your components, then build in a pot. And unlike other soups, you don’t have to simmer for a long time in order to develop all the flavors.

Creamy Sauerkraut Soup is perfect for cold weather months

While any hot soup is going to be welcomed in the winter time, the richness of this soup makes it a meal in itself. You’ve got carbs from the potatoes and protein and fat from the kielbasa, cheese, and cream. It’s already sweater weather, so you might as well indulge—you’ve got some layers on to help you hide it.

Sarah’s Eastern European roots love Creamy Sauerkraut Soup

As you’ll find out below, sauerkraut soup, while centered around a German ingredient, was first created in Ukraine and Poland. Sarah is part Slovak, so pretty much anytime she gets near a potato, she glows. Add kielbasa and sauerkraut to the mix, and she faints.

Creamy Kielbasa Sauerkraut Soup with spoon showing potatoes

When was Creamy Sauerkraut Soup first created?

First we have to ask when sauerkraut came into existence. Sauerkraut was first created in Asia approximately 2,000 years ago. Many believe it was brought to Europe by Genghis Khan. Chinese workers who built the Great Wall used rice wine to pickle cabbage, and this is believed to be the first sauerkraut. Genghis Khan discovered the dish and adopted it, and it was introduced by his armies throughout Asia and Europe. This prototypical version soon became the sauerkraut that’s been a staple in European cuisine for centuries.

The European version of sauerkraut replaces rice wine with salt. The juices of the cabbage are fermented with salt and salt to make lactic acid. After the cabbage has been shredded, the salt is added to the cabbage. The cabbage is then pressed down until it releases its juices.

Sauerkraut arrived in America via German immigrants during the 1700s. It was a speciality of the Pennsylvania Dutch community in America’s early years. William Penn invited these immigrants to Pennsylvania and they brought sauerkraut from Europe in barrels. It was first documented in American English in 1776.

Sauerkraut soup is made many different ways throughout Europe—you’ll find chicken broths, beef broths, tomato broths, and creamy broths. While the broth depends on where you’re located in Europe, all recipes have one thing in common—sauerkraut!

The origins of sauerkraut soup can be traced back to Ukraine and Poland, with the Poland version being responsible for the introduction of kielbasa to the recipe.

Our creamy kielbasa & sauerkraut soup takes the Polish kielbasa angle and adds some cream and cheese to Americanize it a bit.

Creamy Sauerkraut Soup flavor profile

Sauerkraut is well-known for its unique sour taste, which is due to the lactobacillus bacteria producing lactic acid. The richness of the cream and cheese and kielbasa in our soup rounds out the sourness for a more balanced take on the soup.

Creamy Sauerkraut Soup health benefits

While the fats and cholesterol in the cream, cheese, and kielbasa may be a bit indulgent, the dish still includes sauerkraut—a superfood. It is easier to digest cabbage through fermentation, which increases its nutritional value. The compounds that make it healthy include:

Probiotics: Sauerkraut has more beneficial lactobacillus bacteria that yogurt.

Vitamins: Sauerkraut is rich in B vitamins such as riboflavin and thiamin. It could also contain vitamin C.

Minerals: Sauerkraut is rich in minerals such as potassium and iron.

Creamy Kielbasa Sauerkraut Soup with spoon showing slice of kielbasa

Different takes on Sauerkraut Soup broth

  • Chicken broth
  • Beef broth
  • Tomato broth
  • Cream broth

Meat or no meat?

Some Sauerkraut Soups are completely vegetarian, even vegan, while others have beef or chicken or sausage.