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.
Salmon Patties!!!
We grew up on this, with a slight variation. Because the sauerkraut was a little too sour for us kids, mom would drain the liquid from the kraut. She’d then put it in a pot, put a little water over it, added a pinch of sugar and a teaspoon or so of caraway seeds. Then she’d let it simmer for about a half hour. For the hot dogs, she’d cut them up and fry them up with a little butter and oil until they were browned. Then she’d throw them into the pot with the kraut for a bit and then serve them up with a side of baked beans and Boston brown bread.
The only thing that could top that was when my grandpa would take me to Coney Island, which we lived not far from. There we’d each get two Nathan’s hot dogs slathered with hot Kosher mustard and topped with that day-glow green relish, a side of chips (fries), and wash it all down with an ice cold Nedicks orange drink. Oh how I miss that.
Back in the 70’s when I was growing up, Hamburger Helper was new at the grocery with only two flavors. I remember them well as we ate it every week cuz my Mom really disliked cooking which I guess is the reason I love cooking! Cheeseburger Macaroni and the Potato Stroganoff. Glad to have it then and wouldn’t eat it for years when I got older, but now crave it occasionally.
My grandmother made a dish called tomato pudding. It consisted of her canned tomatoes, light bread, butter, brown sugar and salt and pepper. I loved it! When my husband and I started dating I told him he HAD to try it! He took one bite and made a terrible face! Haha he was not a fan. We also used to eat macaroni and tomatoes with ritz crackers. That’s still one of my favorite dishes!
Raised in East Tn. Loved home made kraut and weenies with skillet fried taters with onions and corn bread I am 82 and still eat it.
My momma always made macaroni noodles and tomatoes.. gooood stuff. And salmon patties, I LOVE those. And cube steak. Also, what we called Swiss steak, which was cube steak, and basically vegetable stew with rice.
Oh my goodness, that all sounds divine!
I grew up eating sauerkraut and wieners. My mother and all my grandmother’s made this, pretty much the same way. Very simple and cheap, but very good. We would have red beans, cornbread and soft fried potatoes. Christy, the plates you have the kraut, beans and cornbread on are the same plates my parents had that I remember eating on my whole life. They were a wedding gift to my parents, back in 1977. Love these simple old time foods. Lots of memories.
Oh my goodness, my husband and I still use the Corelle dishes after 38 years of marriage! We’re from Michigan what is SOS?
SOS is S*** (poop) On a Shingle! My husband said that’s what the Navy called it. It’s chipped beef, the kind you get in the little jars, rinsed and chopped and added to milk gravy, or bechamel sauce. Some make it with hamburger, and I’ve used the little packs of Buddig wafer sliced beef with good results.
I still love kraut and wieners!!! But I have to make instant mashed potatoes with this!!! I DO NOT make instant mashed potatoes ANY other time!!! It is weird but needed every now and then!!!