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.
This is exactly what I’m fixing tonight dinner (pinto beans,kraut & weenies, & cornbread). My favorite memory is my Grandmother & Mom both fixing the exact thing. My Mom would fix kraut & weenies as a side w/other dishes. Neither are no longer with us but I cherish the memories that I have.
Yummm!!!
Christy my grandmother just called our dirt necklaces our granny beads. My favorite meal was a big slice of cornbread crumbled in the plate & topped with butterbeans & a lot of their soup & black pepper, a big ole slice/chunk of onion & several pieces of fried salt pork. Now that was good eatin then & it’s good eatin now. I loved growing up in the country (outside of Jasper) and I thank God that He blessed me with such a wonderful childhood where I never realized we were poor but I knew with every ounce of my being that I was loved!!!
Oh my goodness, that was and is good eating indeed!!!
Hi Christy! I love your blog and so many of your recipes do bring back great memories of my Mom’s wonderful cooking! Back in the late 60s when I was in school (here in the South) our cafeteria almost weekly served a delicious creamy tomato sauce with weenies in it over mashed potatoes. Do you possibly know how to make this sauce? I’ve never found a recipe for it or seen it served since that time. Thank you and blessings on your day! 🙂
Let me think on it a bit and ask Mama if she knows.
The sauce might have been tomato gravy. Mama made it to stretch a couple of hotdogs between 6 kids. We had it with rice.
My momma used to serve sliced weenies and cook them in barBQ sauce. Served them with mashed potatoes and fried cornbread!
try tomatoe gravy. its made brown flour in bacon grease slowly for about five minutes add a can of tomatoes sauce and 2 cups of water. simmer for about 5 minutes add salt and pepper to taste
Hey Christy: I got your email with the recipes for the week and I saw this recipe was on the menu. Your right about the comments section, the conversations about the “po folk” food are the best. I have commented several times over the past several years and it is this post which made me finally subscribe to your site. Its fun to think about all the old foods we used to eat and that were cooked for us by our loved ones who may no longer be with us. One thing I always think about was my grandmother used to make fried mash potatoes. She would use leftover mashed potatoes and add, onion and maybe an egg to it, then fry it until they were a beautiful rich golden brown. They were crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Delish! I remember when I was child I would ask her if we could have fried mash potatoes I didn’t realize at the time that she was turning something leftover into something new. Good memories. 🙂
I was born in Birmingham, but, now living in Houston, Tx. When my 7 kids and I are not doing the sauerkraut and weiners with cornbread, pintos and onions we make those delicious southern sauerkraut hot dogs. Sometimes we throw in a ‘chili dog’ being in Texas, you know! I really enjoy Southern Plate.
I am so glad you are enjoying the site Jonel!!
Oh my goodness, I love potato cakes (as we call them) too!!
Oh, the memories! This is the first dish my mother ever let me make by myself when I was a little munchkin. I still love it!
What a great memory!!!
My Mom made this, too. We served ours on mashed potatoes, but before adding the sauerkraut, we put a large chunk of butter to melt in the middle of the mashed potatoes. I still have it regularly.
Yummm!!!
We had kraut and weenies, stewed potatoes, purple hull peas, and cornbread Saturaday night. Yum!
Oh Yum is right!!!