Sesame Free Homemade Sauerkraut
Tangy, crunchy, and deeply satisfying, this homemade sauerkraut is one of those fridge staples that makes everything it touches taste better — from a simple sausage plate to a grain bowl to a humble cheese sandwich. The entire recipe comes down to two ingredients: green cabbage and fine sea salt. That's it, which means there's zero guesswork about hidden additives or allergen cross-contact that can make store-bought versions a gamble. The magic happens through lacto-fermentation, where massaging the salt into the cabbage draws out its natural liquid to create a brine that slowly transforms the shreds into something complex and alive. You pack it into a jar, weigh it down, and let time do the heavy lifting over the course of one to two weeks. Tasting it daily starting around day seven lets you pull it at exactly the sourness you love — bright and mild, or deeply funky and assertive. Once it hits the fridge, it keeps beautifully and gets even better as the days go on.
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Learn more →Ingredients
16 servings
- 1 small head green cabbage (about 2 lb), outer leaves reserved
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt (non-iodized)
Instructions
- 1
Peel off and set aside 1–2 large outer cabbage leaves. Quarter the cabbage, cut out the core, and slice the remaining cabbage into thin shreds about 1/8-inch thick.
- 2
Place the shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the sea salt evenly over it. Massage and squeeze the cabbage firmly with clean hands for 8–10 minutes, until it has released a significant amount of liquid and feels limp and wet — the brine should pool visibly at the bottom of the bowl.
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