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.
I have two favorites that we had when I was growing up, one was neckbones and sauerkraut, and the other one was cabbage and potatoes seasoned with a littl bit of ham if we had it left over. Oh MAN was that good stuff.
When I was a child we didnt have winnies hardly ever.(We were real poor folks). We did have fried kraut often. But my favorite meal now is Pinto Beans, Fried Potatoes, Turnip Greens, Corn Bread, Kraut and Winnies, Onion, and Sweet Tea. You cant go wrong with this. No room for dessert. Love it!!
We often had weiners and kraut when I was growing up. Mom did not cut up the weenies, she browned them whole in a little oil then put in the kraut and covered them with a lid. Yum! One of my favorite budget meals was fried salmon patties, mashed potatoes, english peas and biscuits. I always made a bird’s nest with the mashed potatoes and peas and I loved a salmon pattie on a hot, buttered biscuit with a little ketchup. Haven’t had this in ages.
Hi Christy! I just found your site a few days ago, and I love it! Your recipes are awesome. Some things I’ve never heard of, but I’m willing to try! I live in Canada, so a few ingredients aren’t available to me, so I’ll have to make substituions, but that’s ok. My favorite ‘budget meal’ growing up was made with weiners, baked beans, and pineapple! Sounds like a strange combo, but it is fabulous! Mom would slice up the weenies and stir into the beans. Stir in about half a cup of pineapple juice and spread mixture in a baking dish. Arrange slices of pineapple on top and dust with paprika. Bake uncovered for about forty minutes. Serve with your favorite bread. Amazing how the best recipes are usually the easiest, isn’t it? Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Hi Christy. Franks and sauerkraut was often dinner when I was growing up, also franks and beans. Either was served with Grandma’s homemade biscuits. They were all good, but my favorite was Grandma’s “from scratch” pancakes – fluffy, yet flavorful. We kids never realized until we were grown that we got pancakes because there was no meat in the house. We really never knew that we were poor.
Our po folk meal while growing up was always the ol’ Missourian standby of beans and cornbread .. a nice ham hock in pinto beans simmering all day and a cast iron skillet filled with golden brown cornbread .. my Mama was a wiz in my opinion when it came to the economical meals. She made wieners and sauerkraut also but, I never liked sauerkraut (GASP)!
Don’t beat me too hard, y’ouns ..
Oh my this is a favorite of both myself and my hubby. We must have pintos, cornbread, fried potatoes and a big slice of onion with it. I grew up on this type of food but after I got married and busied myself with a new life, this type of food took a back seat to my busy life and career. It was replaced with quick heat ’em up food and fast food burgers. Today as I enjoy a slower paced lifestyle, this is now a luxury food to my hubby and myself. When we have food like this, we’re happier than two pigs at a feeding trough. Well guess what just went on the menu for tonight…yummy I can already hear the sighs of contentment from our full tummies.
yes Debbie – the onion!