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This sauerkraut soup is a most unusual and delicious soup. It’s also the perfect example of how the farmers and common folks of Ukraine made delicious foods with simple basic ingredients. My husband’s grandparents stored sauerkraut in barrels for winter. The sauerkraut was one of their primary vegetable sources during the cold months, so they got creative with it and made Kapustnyak (sauerkraut soup).
Can you even imagine not being able to go to the grocery store and buy broccoli or lettuce in the winter? We are truly blessed to live in the US! #sothankful ?
Back to this soup, the sauerkraut gives it a lovely texture and zing and the bacon provides a subtle smokiness. ?Excellent with fresh crusty bread. It’s hearty, filling and will warm your belly. My husband and I enjoyed leftovers for several days.
This recipe was inspired by one of my readers, Oksana, who shared her recipe for sauerkraut soup and bean soup with me. It was also inspired by Rachel Ray’s Ham, Bean and Bacon Soup. Thank you ladies for generously sharing your delicious recipes! 🙂
Ingredients for Sauerkraut Soup:
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz bacon, chopped
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
3 medium (1 lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3″ thick pieces
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed, optional
2-3 cups sauerkraut, triple rinsed & drained (we use 3 cups or about 2 lbs)
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water, or to taste
1 (15 oz can) white beans (click to learn how to cook your own beans)
Salt, Pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
How to Make Sauerkraut Soup (Kapustnyak):
1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven (here’s the one I use). Add chopped bacon and sautee until browned then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
2. Add finely chopped celery and onion. Saute until softened and golden (5 min).
3. Add sliced carrots, potatoes, 1/4 cup quinoa (if using), 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 min.
4. Add 2-3 cups of well rinsed and drained sauerkraut and half of cooked bacon (I keep some for garnish), white beans with their juice, and 1 bay leaf and continue to cook until potatoes are tender (about 10 min). Season soup to taste (I added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash). Serve with fresh crusty bread.
Sauerkraut Soup Recipe (Kapustnyak)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz bacon, chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 medium, 1 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3" thick pieces
- 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed, optional
- 2-3 cups sauerkraut, triple rinsed & drained (we use 3 cups or about 2 lbs)
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water, or to taste
- 1 15 oz can white beans (click to learn how to cook your own beans)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, Pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped bacon and sautee until browned then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Add finely chopped celery and onion. Saute until softened and golden (5 min).
- Add sliced carrots, potatoes, 1/4 cup quinoa (if using), 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 min.
- Add 2-3 cups of well rinsed and drained sauerkraut and half of cooked bacon (I keep some for garnish), white beans with their juice, and 1 bay leaf and continue to cook until potatoes are tender (about 10 min). Season soup to taste (I added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash). Serve with fresh crusty bread.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
All that coziness in a bowl ?. What’s your favorite “weird” soup? Maybe you fancy yourself a bowl of pickle soup or green borsch?
Wow this recipe is perfect!! I have been looking for more Ukrainian recipes and soup recipes and this is great combination of them both! I love Sauerkraut and the tang it gives to this soup is great. Thank you!
Hi Morgan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I also got your message and removed the last name. Thank you for the wonderful review!
Just put this soup on the stove now. I used my home made sauerkraut, some home canned chicken stock and carrots out of my garden. I made fresh sourdough bread this morning, so its going to be a awesome meal on such a wintery day. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Love the recipe! Added a little Vegeta instead of salt and turned out amazing!
Hello Sean, I’m happy that you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing that you used vegeta for this recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe!! It’s on the stove now and smells delicious 😋. I don’t eat meat so I add Bac’Unc ( vegetarian bits) to replace the bacon. Also added some thyme, oregano and parsley. Can’t wait to eat it!!
I hope you love this recipe, Mary! I imagine your home smells so good right now!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Soup was very delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nata! Thank you for the wonderful review!
This recipe sounds close to what grandma made for Christmas Eve. I do remember her adding homemade dumplings. Delicious
That’s so awesome! I’m glad you found this recipe! I hope you try it soon!
Tried this last night and I loved it. Made it vegetarian for my daughter. We also had more of a sauerkraut taste, which was fine with me, but next time I might try cooking it longer. I think I also had more than three cups of sauerkraut. Delicious – thanks for the recipe!
I just don’t know. I followed the recipe and did rinse and drain the Kraut 3 times but, it seems quite sour. I added a large tablespoon of brown sugar, not sure why brown, it just seemed the right choice. I’m on my second bowl at the moment and I’m still not sure. Might need another before I decide…
Hi Skip, it could be the type of sauerkraut – some brands are significantly tangier. You might try cooking slightly longer to cook out the tanginess.
I added shitake bacon for a vegetarian soup. And liquid smoke and salt to the olive oil before adding the onions. No quinoa mushrooms absorb. Great recipe thank you.
You’re welcome. Good addition to the recipe, thanks for sharing that with us!
Delicious recipe, thanks
You’re welcome, Edwina! I’m happy you enjoyed that!
Can I use canned or jarred sauerkraut in this recipe?
Hi Cathy, yes that would work fine to use store-bought sauerkraut.
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Thank you and I am so glad you found my website!
We have added pork steak to it also which was our family recipe from Poland yummy…
Sounds delicious! I hope you enjoyed it!
Its missing a piece of chicken lol; I made it with this recipe and I think the chicken would be a good addition.
Thank you for that suggestion Oksana.
I made this soup yesterday based solely on all the good reviews. It was so simple to make and surprisingly delicious (initially skeptical about the taste). It is definitely a keeper!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Vickie!
My mom used to make this and I have made it numerous times over the years…..I have always started with the ham bone left over from Easter or Christmas – simmer it in water for a few hours with onion a carrot and some celery leaves. Strain the stock from the bones etc and add a couple of cut up potatos, carrots and celery adding the sour kraut to the soup at the end. Serve with toasted rye bread …… presto magic soup that fills the house with such a delicious fragrance that makes everyone run to the table when you announce “Soups On”!!! Love it for the simplicity and the aroma and the flavour!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful feedback with me, Mary Ann! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed this recipe!
It’s been years since I made Kapusta soup. Instead of adding potatoes during cooking, our family made mashed potatoes and placed a huge dollop on top of the soup then fresh grated garlic. Oh my, that was wonderful. You’ve inspired me to make Kapusta soup.
That’s so awesome! Thank you for that wonderful feedback, Barbara!
Could I use rice instead of quinoa
Hello Edna, quinoa is an optional ingredient but I haven’t tried rice yet to advise. If you do an experiment please share with us how it goes.
This is the best soup! My mom used to make kapusta soup, and this recipe is the closest to it. Brings back memories… I follow the recipe as written and it turns out delicious every time. My family loves. Great meal for our cold winter nights. Thank you Natasha, I am a faithful user of your blog, your recipes are delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Pat! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. This is also one of our favorites during the cold winter months.
Natasha, Thanks for all the fail-proof recipes My Grandmother made a sauerkraut soup with sliced kielbasa and milk added (it was a white soup), that was so delicious my husband would have two big bowls, and (you know) that was before the borscht and chicken noodle soup. It was always a feast. I wish I had paid more attention. Do you have such a recipe, or the expert that you are, concoct one that makes sense?
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2020 New Year to you, your husband and those two adorable children.
Hi Lynn, the only thing I can think of like that is our Okroshka summer soup which is a cold soup.
don’t drain the sauerkraut! brine and all makes the soup, along with whatever pork–bacon, kielbasi, ham…
if you have some cabbage, toss that in too.
SOUR! GOOD!
Thank you for sharing that with us, Tim!