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 mother made this a lot and, having Polish grandmothers, she would most often make it with kielbasa. In fact, we had that on New Year’s day! One of the things my mother would make as a “po’ folks” dinner was creamed eggs – hard boiled eggs in a white cream sauce and served over toast. Delicious – especially in the winter! She would also make thin sugar pancakes (almost like a crepe) for us for snacks, and serve them with jam.
Plain white gravy over torn up white bread. For a snack, my granddad’s favorite of white bread with butter and sugar.
My mother made cornbeef hash, it was a can of corn beef, potatoes and onions all cooked together until potatoes were tender. She added more potatoes if more people were eating we loved it. Also my dad was away in the Army she could get wings for 10 cents a pound she would fry a big pan full for us.
We used to eat this a lot as well. That and hotpot. Actually we still do ….lol!
My po folks food memories include all of those above, but also (1) backbone (neck bones) and rice and (2) hamburger/onion gravy. I still make the gravy, but not so much the backbone and rice. It’s very difficult to find neck bones that aren’t smoked, and I don’t particularly like the flavor the smoked ones add. The hamburger onion gravy can feed a family with about a cup of ground beef, browned with lots of sweet Vidalia onion, then thickened with a little flour and milk just like pan gravy. My husband and I have this over white bread with a side salad. Quick, tasty, cheap and filling dinner, although the fat content probably doesn’t pass current health muster (but then what southern foods do?). I still cook with real milk, butter, eggs…all the bad stuff. But it tastes soooo good.
my mom,cooked sour kraut with a little brown sugar and two green apples sliced thin.
she would let that cook for 3 min. then put in the sliced hot dogs. and let the hot dogs get hot.
then on the side she would serve boiled potatoes.for my self,I just like the sour kraut and hot dogs.
it is so good .
Oh that sounds delicious!
Pour 1/2 can reg coke over your kraut, drink the other 1/2 can. Cook kraut and weiners umm good. Kraut not quite as sour, just fine tasting.
Geneva that sound really good! gonna try it tonight!!! Good tip
I’ve noticed a number of people mention eating “Macaroni & Tomatoes”. I also grew up eating them as well. My great-grandmother used to make it. I make them the way she did and it is so good. Is that something common around the country, or just in the South? Our version wasn’t like “Italian” tasting, but more southern, because of the bacon grease added to it with large elbow macaroni, onion, and fresh or canned diced tomatoes, some reserved pasta water, salt, pepper and sugar. So simple but so good and satisfying. Just curious about anyone else’s thoughts on Macaroni & Tomatoes.
I’m from the south and grew up on this, too. I’ve traveled a lot and don’t recall encountering it outside southern states. I make it almost exactly as discussed here and my husband and I also grew up called it “goulash” although I now know better. We still have this every few weeks, with cornbread. Tasty!