German sauerkraut with bratwurst

German sauerkraut is finely shredded white cabbage preserved with salt by lactic acid fermentation and then braised until it turns mild and tender. In Bavaria it is served with sausages and roast pork, and bratwurst and sauerkraut appear on Munich menus from the Oktoberfest tents to the Hofbräuhaus. Here is how cabbage becomes sauerkraut, how it differs from Bavarian cabbage, what to look for when you buy sauerkraut, and our editors' recipe with bratwurst in US measures.

How cabbage becomes German sauerkraut

For sauerkraut, the shredded cabbage is mixed with 1.5 to 2.5 percent salt by weight and packed down firmly, as the biology encyclopedia of Spektrum explains. The salt pulls water out of the cells, and the brine pushes the air out from between the layers; weighted lids keep everything submerged. Without air, lactic acid bacteria take over and turn the sugars of the cabbage mainly into lactic acid. The sauerkraut is finished when it holds about 1.5 percent lactic acid and its pH has dropped to 4.1 or lower.

How long that takes depends on temperature and the sourness you want. GenussErbe Bayern, the food heritage portal of the Bavarian agriculture ministry, names one to three weeks; Spektrum gives about four weeks or more for traditional methods at 18 to 20 °C (64 to 68 °F). Sauerkraut supplies vitamin C, but because of the way it is made it also contains plenty of salt.

German style sauerkraut or Bavarian cabbage?

Sauerkraut is fermented. Bayrisch Kraut, Bavarian cabbage, is fresh white or pointed cabbage that GenussErbe Bayern describes as finely cut and braised soft with a little fat, water, salt, caraway and sugar, for example as a side for roast pork. The portal's traditional recipe adds bacon, onion, broth and a splash of vinegar and lets it stew for 30 to 45 minutes. Our German page Sauerkraut und Bayrisch Kraut has a recipe for both.

Bavarian sauerkraut from Ismaning

For Munich's sauerkraut, Ismaning played a special role. According to GenussErbe Bayern, its cabbage growers founded the first Bavarian cooperative for processing cabbage in 1898, and the first cabbage factory in Bavaria was built on Münchner Straße. Large quantities were eaten in Munich, every year at the Oktoberfest and also during the Olympic Games, and at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris the Ismaning cooperative won a gold medal among 123 food producers. Later the company Durach took over the processing and built cabbage silos there that the portal calls the largest in Europe.

Bratwurst and sauerkraut in Munich

At the Oktoberfest 2026, the Löwenbräu tent served two pairs of Munich Schweinswürstl, small pork bratwursts, with sauerkraut for 15.80 euros and sauerkraut as a side for 6.80 euros; the Bräurosl tent put four bratwursts fried from raw sausage meat on a bed of sauerkraut with hot mustard. On the October 2026 menu of the Hofbräuhaus, four Schweinswürstl with mustard and sauerkraut cost 14.90 euros. In Franconia, the bratwurst from Nuremberg is eaten the same way: GenussErbe Bayern describes it as a full meal with sauerkraut and rustic bread. Sauerkraut also suits roast pork and pork knuckle.

Where to buy sauerkraut, and which kind

The Austrian register describes the two basic forms you will find. Raw sauerkraut is sold without any heat treatment, in tubs, bags or straight from the barrel. Preserved sauerkraut comes in cans, jars or pouches; the fermentation is stopped by brief heating, and the product is pasteurized after filling, which, as Spektrum notes, makes it keep longer.

In Austria, the register notes, sauerkraut is available all year and is sold directly by producers, in food stores and through restaurants. Either kind works for the recipe below, because braising turns any sauerkraut mild and soft, so a jar from the grocery shelf is fine. Read the label, too: under the Austrian food codex, sauerkraut is essentially white cabbage fermented with salt, and flavorings such as wine or apples have to appear in the product name.

German sauerkraut recipe with bratwurst

Serves 4. Prep time 15 minutes, cooking time about 1 hour. The kraut follows the recipe on our German page, but here the bratwursts finish cooking in the pot. A freshly grated potato binds the kraut lightly without flour or cream, while juniper, bay leaf and caraway provide the seasoning.

Ingredients

• 1⅔ lb (750 g) sauerkraut from a jar, can, bag or the deli counter
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp lard or clarified butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• ½ tsp whole caraway seeds
• 1¼ cups (300 ml) meat or vegetable broth
• 1 small floury potato such as a russet, about 3 oz (80 g)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 fresh (raw) bratwursts, about 1 lb (450 g)
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Taste the sauerkraut. Only if it is very sour, rinse it briefly in a sieve under cold water and squeeze it out well; otherwise use it unrinsed and loosen it a little with a fork.
2. Finely dice the onion. Heat the lard in a pot, let the sugar caramelize lightly in it and cook the onion for 3 minutes until translucent.
3. Add the sauerkraut and cook for 5 minutes, turning it over. Add the bay leaf, juniper and caraway and pour in the broth. Cover and braise over low heat for 40 minutes in total, stirring now and then and adding a splash of broth or water if needed.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown the bratwursts on all sides for about 5 minutes without piercing them. After the sauerkraut has braised for 25 minutes, tuck the sausages into it, cover again and let them cook for the remaining 15 minutes.
5. Peel the potato, push the sausages aside and grate the potato finely into the kraut. Stir it in and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes until the sauerkraut is lightly creamy. The bratwursts are done when they reach 160 °F (71 °C) in the center.
6. Take out the bay leaf and juniper berries, season with salt and pepper and serve hot with mustard and mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes or bread.

Alfons Schuhbeck's trick

The Munich chef Alfons Schuhbeck stirs applesauce into his sauerkraut in the later part of the braising time, which gives it a fruity note and a little body. Before that he sweats the kraut with onion, deglazes it with dry white wine that he lets cook down almost completely, and braises it in broth with a thick slice of smoked pork belly that comes out again before serving. He suggests a Franconian Silvaner for the wine and serves the kraut with Rostbratwürstl, roast pork or duck. If fresh sauerkraut is available at the market, he recommends it as especially mild and aromatic. The full recipe, in German, is available from Alfons Schuhbeck on schuhbeck.de.

More sides are in our guide to Bavarian food.