Sauerkraut and Weenies
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.
We also had kraut & weenies when I was little but cooked it a different way. Dump kraut in a saucepan, add water so it doesn’t boil dry and a few tablespoons of bacon grease (yep I said it – bacon grease). Get this good and hot then add as many cut up weenies as you want. Gently boil this mix until most of the liquid is gone. So good with cornbread!!!! Makes me hungery just to think of it – and I just ate.
OMG. This reminds me of “soul food Night”, as momma used to call it — fried potatoes, pintos, kraut & weenies, cornbread — I’m hungry!
Don’t EVER apologize for the food you make and eat!~! It’s the food we grew up with from the loving hands of our mothers and grandmothers. I just LOVE this ‘kraut’ combo as many do. I swear even tho I’m waaaaaaay up here in the Great White North my grandma’s Kentucky genes are showin’ up again!
When we went to the drive-in movies on Friday night, we couldn’t afford the food at the concession stand. But Mama packed us the best take along food. We all just shared everything. She took a pound of baloney, a pound of American Cheese, pickles, a big can of pork n beans and potato chips. We just passed everything around the six of us and enjoyed this so much. Those were the good old days. Today if you can find a drive-in they ban you from bringing your own food.
Linda, our drive-in reopened a few years ago here in Tiger, GA and they have NO problems with you bringing your own food. We have even taken our grill and grilled out before the movies (double feature on Friday and Saturday night for one price) and the grill was cool enough to take back home with us when the movies were over.
Christy – This picture clinches it for me. We MUST be related! I certainly remember this dish growing up and now I’m wondering why I never thought to make it for my family. Pinto beans and cornbread. I think we had those every night along with something….oh! and sliced raw onion. That was always on the table too. Thanks for this sweet reminder. I’ll be cooking it next week. – Jan
My momma used to make smoked sausage and sauerkraut when I was a kid – but she paired it with navy beans and cornbread. She also added 2T of sugar to the sauerkraut. Sausage and kraut was the first meal I ever made for my husband – and he wasn’t fond of it. I LOVE it, but when I make it I have to make the sausage separately for my sauerkraut-hating family. It’s so funny to see this post on here – brings back so many memories! Every time I make pork chops I hear the whistle of The Andy Griffith show in mind because that’s what was always on TV when my mom started cooking dinner. Good times growing up in Alabama!
Last summer I was asked to fix sauerkraut for a cook out in WA state. Most of the people there didn’t care for sauerkraut but my daughter loved mine and asked me to go ahead and make it. I “fry” it with bacon grease, brown sugar, apple bits, and chopped bacon. There was not one spoonful left. One of the guys said he grew up on sauerkraut and had never had any this good….just saying. Thanks for all your wonderful receipes and conversation!
how about the recipe?