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.
My all time favorite “po folk” meal was a great pone of cornbread (cooked in a well seasoned, passed down through the family black cast iron skillet) with a crust so crunchy it sang when you bit into it and an inside so moist it melted in your mouth, a BIG bowl of pinto beans that had been cooking with ham hocks on the back of the stove all day, and crispy, sweet and salty, crunchy on the sides but still soft in the middle fried potatoes. You don’t need much more than that other than a big ol glass of sweet tea so sweet it doubles as pancake syrup in a pinch. It is still my go to meal in those wonderful crisp days of fall, or after working in the garden or yard. My husband didn’t quite know what to think of this meal when we first got married (he’s a city kid) but I think he now has adjusted. Oh! and if you are having a rich month if you want to add a little cole slaw you are in high cotton!
Thanks again Christy for a wonderful break in my day!
Jeanene,
You are a poet, that is for sure! you have just made my stomach cry foul that I don’t have exactly what you described on my oven right now!
Thank YOU!!! For a jim dandy of a menu!
Gratefully,
Christy
my mama would always use the Bavarian Sauerkraut – then she would add the weeines. She would always add some oil, salt n pepper then sugar. ( she puts sugar in everything). As a child i never ate the kraut just the weenies but as I have gotten older the more my taste buds have grown
Isn’t it funny how things we sometimes hated we grow up to love? Its amazing to see tastebuds change in my own children. your Mama sounds like a gem. My grandmother put sugar in everything, too! lol
Gratefully,
Christy
That brought back some great memories! We ate this all the time. And our other “poor folks” recipe was Creamed Beef on Toast. It was amazing how a small jar of dried chipped beef could feed a family of 5!
That was the favorite meal of my brother & me when we were kids. Add some homemade mac & cheese – we were in starch heaven!! Now it’s still a favorite-even my 8yr old son loves sauer kraut. For desert, he has cornbread & butter milk. Ya know, it’s rare now days to see kids eat such things. Most his friends only want LunchAbles & frozen pizza.
BTW…. proper southern girls never wore dirt necklaces – we called ’em “Grandma’s beads”!!
Mmm, that looks so good! I was just thinking about how when my mom would make saurkraut with hot-links and fried potatoes how we would come close to fighting at the table. Now I can’t get my son to even try it. Making me hungry just thinking about it.
You gotta add a little helping of mashed “taters” to make it just right though!!!!
Enjoyed this…love some kraut & weenees! =) Also, we called the dirt necklace..”Granny Beads”. =)