Sauerkraut and Weenies
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This is an old-fashioned Southern main dish. As the name suggests, all you need is sauerkraut and weenies to make this tangy yet delicious dish.
This sauerkraut and weenies recipe was one of my dear favorite meals as a girl and still is. It is a prime example of a budget meal (very common in the South back in the day) and so very good! Oh goodness, I’m getting hungry.
Now, I realize some folks are just not sauerkraut fans. Chances are, I lost about half of you in the title of this post. But I know some folks saw that photo and your stomach started growling, and chances are pretty darn good that you’ll be having this for supper tonight. Those who don’t fit into this category, feel free to think of the rest of us as weird. We won’t mind and there will be more sauerkraut for us! Everyone has their preferences and it’s all good either way.
This is one of those meals that is great with slices of polish sausage. But I still like to cook it how Mama did growing up; just by chopping up a few weenies and cooking until the sauerkraut and weenies brown a bit. That’s all there is to it. You can add as many weenies or sausage as you like and if you’re vegetarian, just get some vegan hot dogs and keep on keeping on. If you want to take it up a notch, you can make your own sauerkraut as I do in this post. Put it on your Classic Reuben Sandwich and you will crave it every day.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sauerkraut
- Weenies
- Salt and pepper
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Sauerkraut and Weenies
Slice your weenies and put them in a large skillet.
Add in about two cups of sauerkraut.
Cook this over medium to medium-high heat, stirring often.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You can start with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and then adjust to make it just right for you.
Cook this until your weenies and sauerkraut get a little brown or you can just cook it until everything is heated through.
Now here is a supper from the old days!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend reheating on the stovetop on low heat until heated through.
Recipe Notes
- How many weenies you use is up to you. We used to have to determine this based on how many we had, so to be able to use as many as you want is a big step up nowadays.
- I have a friend from Germany ~waves to Gudrun~ who swears by the bagged sauerkraut so I started buying it and now I’m a convert, too. You can get it in the refrigerated section near the weenies usually and sometimes near the deli if they have a refrigerated section there as well. Mama likes the kind you get in a glass jar and we’ve both used the kind that comes in a can (which you get on the vegetable aisle). Overall, they are all good and there isn’t a lot of price difference so it is up to you to pick your favorite.
- As mentioned, you can use a different type of sausage with the sauerkraut. For example, sauerkraut and brats (bratwurst) is a popular dish in Germany. Kielbasa or franks also work.
- For extra flavor, add 1 diced apple to the skillet as well.
Recipe FAQs
What goes well with sauerkraut and weenies?
Here are some serving suggestions for your sauerkraut and weenies:
- Dinner rolls (with mustard)
- German potato salad
- Mashed potatoes
- Fried potatoes
- Freshly fried corn (or creamed corn or baked corn on the cob).
- Baked beans
- Broccoli salad
- Fresh green beans
- Cornbread
Do you drain sauerkraut before cooking?
If you’re using jarred sauerkraut, you’ll want to drain it before using it.
What condiment goes well with sauerkraut?
Mustard, ketchup, green tomato relish, and hot sauce (like sriracha or tabasco sauce) all pair perfectly with sauerkraut.
How do you season sauerkraut?
Besides salt and black pepper, if you want a touch of sweetness add up to a tablespoon of brown sugar. If you want a more savory flavor, add a teaspoon of caraway seeds. Alternatively, for a kick, add a dash of red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of paprika.
What food goes well with sauerkraut?
Here are some other dishes that pair well with sauerkraut:
- Hot dogs or hot dog chili
- Pork chops
- Reuben sandwich
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Polish sausage or kielbasa sausage
You may also like these recipes:
Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
Ingredients
- 2-4 weenies or polish sausage
- 2 cups sauerkraut
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice weenies into small pieces and place them in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.2-4 weenies or polish sausage
- Add sauerkraut. Cook, stirring often until kraut and weenies brown slightly. Salt and pepper to taste.2 cups sauerkraut, salt and pepper to taste
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
This was originally published in 2010. I updated the post and photos in 2020.
Life is really simple,
but we insist on making it complicated.
Sauerkraut and wieners were a regular at my family table growing up, but my mama just dumped a can of sauerkraut in a pan, then threw in the wieners and simmered it until the wieners looked more like prunes! It tasted good, but wasn’t exactly eye candy, and with a little bit of effort it could have tasted better.
I’ve shared my life with a man from “up north” (Cincinnati) for the past almost 10 years, and he taught me how his Kentucky born mama made this dish. Now, I cook an onion until it begins to get tender, then add my wieners (sometimes sliced Kielbasa) and let them brown a bit. Finally, I drain my sauerkraut (I usually use the refrigerated jars if I can afford them–my store quit carrying those bags :-<), pour it into the pan, add a heaping tablespoon of sugar, and let it all cook until the kraut begins to brown. It tastes like . . . Home (my home, not my Mama's)!
Jayni, over here in Houston
I think all it needs to be perfect is a big ol slice of onion, and some fried potatoes, fried in bacon grease of course….nothin better in the world… then or now.. and yep,, had one of those dirt necklaces ever night to warsh off…. My grandkids try to tell me there is no “r” in warsh.. and I tell them they warsh how ever they want to, hahaha..
hugs
jo in Oklahoma
Momma would brown the weenies first and then add in the kraut. Loved this. I have not made this as an adult. I know my husband would hate it, because he hates kraut. I might have to make a little batch for myself.
When we got married m husband showed me how to make the only meal he knew how to make at the time. He would fry up some smoked sausage, onions, until they browned a bit, add a huge can of pork and beans, juice and all and cook them until most of the liquid was gone. They would come all all glazed and so good. I made cornbread to go with it and we felt like we were eating good even though we were poor. I like hot dogs and sauerkraut too. It doesn’t have to cost much to taste good.
hee hee, poor man’s food, heck when we ate that, we thought we were kings and queens. I just love kraut, any kind of way, and with any kind of meat in it.
Now when we were kids, and of course in summer always bare footed,( you had to save your shoes for special times) and we got all dirty, my Mom would tell us, look at those Grandma necklaces you all have. Maybe it’s an area saying, I don’t know, but thanks for bringing the memory back to me.
That plate looks just like it came from our own kitchen here in Oklahoma except my Corelle has the gold butterflies:) Same food, different Corelle…lol…such great food!!!!
It depends on your taste for the sourkraut. As for me, sometimes I drain the liquid from the can and sometimes I drain and rinse the kraut. Most times I just dump the whole can into the skillet. The difference being is how strong a taste do you want, as the kraut is very tangy and sour.
Christy as usual you bring back such memories for being such a young chick..