Even people who insist they do not like sauerkraut end up won over by this one. Keto baked sauerkraut and sausage is a genuine one-dish dinner, nothing to stir, nothing to babysit.
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This is different from my other sauerkraut and sausage recipes, this one bakes in the oven in a single dish, no pressure cooker or skillet required.
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut, then squeeze it mostly dry, not bone dry. Rinsing tames the strong flavor while keeping the fermented, probiotic benefits.
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Chef Jenn’s Take on Baked Sauerkraut and Sausage
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut, then squeeze it mostly dry, not bone dry. Rinsing tames the strongest flavor while keeping the fermented, probiotic benefits intact.
Lay the sauerkraut in the baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the brown sugar substitute over the top. Top with the sausage, and prick each one with a fork in 4 to 5 places. Add a splash of water to the bottom of the dish if the sauerkraut is browning too much or the layer is thin enough to risk overcooking. Use good quality sausage with no starchy fillers, check the label. Bratwurst is the classic choice, but Oktoberfest, garlic, chicken sausage, or Polish sausage all work well too.
This is genuinely flexible, based on real reader ideas. One reader adds shredded carrot, diced onion, and minced garlic for a variation with Russian roots. Another lines the dish with crispy bacon underneath the sauerkraut, which sounds worth trying. A recent reader used half sauerkraut and half sliced cabbage instead of draining it fully, and it worked out well too. Some readers skip rinsing entirely and just drain, preferring the stronger flavor, both approaches genuinely work.
What You’ll Love About Baked Sauerkraut and Sausage
- Genuinely flexible, with real reader variations to try.
- A genuine one-dish dinner, nothing to stir or babysit.
- Wins over people who insist they don’t like sauerkraut.
Ingredients
- Sauerkraut – Or Oktoberfest, garlic, chicken sausage, or Polish sausage.
- Bratwurst – Drained, rinsed, and squeezed mostly dry, not bone dry.
- So Nourished brown sugar alternative – Or your favorite keto brown sugar sweetener.
- Salt and pepper – Season to taste.
How to Make This Sauerkraut & Sausage Recipe
Drain the sauerkraut in your strainer. Rinse it with cool running water, then squeeze out (with your very clean hands) most of the water. It doesn’t have to be bone dry. Just MOSTLY dry.
Lay the sauerkraut in the bottom of a baking dish. Season it with salt and freshly cracked pepper and sprinkle the brown sugar substitute over the top.
Top the sauerkraut with the meaty sausage. Prick them with a fork in 4-5 places on each sausage, then pop the whole thing into the oven, and about 45 minutes later, it’s done!
Make It A Meal
Your meat and veggies are covered here, so add a cool, creamy salad like Cucumber & Feta Salad, or dip fresh veggies in Ranch Dressing. Serve with a good spicy mustard, or my own Horsey Sauce.
For more sausage in your rotation, Sausage Parmigiana and my pressure cooker Sauerkraut and Sausage are both worth adding.
Storage
This freezes well. Cool it down, then package in a freezer-safe zipper bag or container. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat covered in the oven at 350°F until heated through, or in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
A touch of sweetness helps, plus salt and pepper. But the real key is to rinse and squeeze dry the sauerkraut before cooking with it, to remove the strong winey or fermented flavor. Some brands are also stronger in flavor than others!
If you’re sticking to no-carbs or low-carbs, go for a German cucumber salad to keep things in the spirit of this baked bratwurst recipe.
It all depends on the size of your baking dish, how cold the sausage and sauerkraut where, and at what temperature you’re cooking it at. Expect about 45 minutes at 350-F. Sausage should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165-F.
A hearty serving of a least one sausage and 1/2 cup of sauerkraut is only 5 net carbs.
Add Preferred SourceOven Baked Sauerkraut & Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bratwurst sausage
- 4 cups sauerkraut drained, rinsed, squeezed dry
- 1 tbsp So Nourished Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Drain, rinse and squeeze dry (but not bone dry) the sauerkraut. Add it to the bottom of a casserole dish large enough to hold the sausage in one layer.
- Sprinkle the sauerkraut with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of So Nourished brown sugar substitute.
- Top with the sausage and prick the each sausage with a fork in 4-5 places.
- Bake uncovered at 350-F for about 45 minutes or until the sausage have reached an internal temperature of 165-F.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed. Erythritol carbs (sugar substitutes) are not included in the carbohydrate counts as they have been shown not to impact blood sugar, and they have zero calories and zero carbs. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Want even more keto goodness? Check out these Dash egg bites for breakfast, and if you’re a soup fan, these keto soups and chowders are a must-try. Keto corned beef hash is another top pick for breakfast, and you can’t beat a French dip sandwich for lunch!
This sounds like such a tasty and easy weeknight dinner for the whole family – we will definitely be giving it a go!
What a hearty meal that’s satisfying and delicious! I love the idea of baking the sauerkraut for an easy meal. Definitely making this for dinner tonight.
Easy, delicious, and so satisfying! Thanks for the great recipe!
This looks so comforting and delicious!! I’m adding this to our dinner menu for next week!
This recipe looks so simple and tasty! Love how easy it is to make too, thanks for sharing!
LOVE sauerkraut, I drain the liquid but do not rinse. In my humble opinion the best part of sauerkraut is the flavor. It’s such a simple recipe but full of flavor. Thanks for sharing.
I love it too! I’ve had some pretty funky sauerkraut brands that I’ve had to rinse but mostly I just drain and go! Thanks for coming by to comment! ~Jenn
I’m Russian and we always add shredded carrot, finely diced onion, and minced garlic to our sauerkraut! Made it tonight- this is delish served with mashed potatoes or on a hoagie bun! Yum!
Love the idea of adding more veg to it, thanks for sharing your ideas! ~Jenn
That sounds delicious, I’ll try that next time. Thanks for the tip.
Love that this is so easy and taste so good.
I did just as directed and served with pickles and for kids some hard crust bread.
It was great, thanks
I’m so glad you all loved it! It really is so good for being so simple! Thanks for stopping by to comment! ~Jenn
I’ve made this for many years and it’s a family favorite. The only thing I do different is I line my casserole dish with cooked bacon, not crispy just so there’s no yucky white fat showing, ha ha, and then I top it with the strained but definitely “not rinsed” sauerkraut. As the sauerkraut is our favourite part, and then top it with sausage of choice and cook it the same way that you have mentioned here. You must try it with bacon…. I’m sure you will love it that way as well!
Oooh, bacon! This sounds amazing! Great tip, thank you, and I’ll try it for sure! ~Jenn
This was really good. Only thing I changed was to use half sauerkraut and half sliced cabbage rather than draining/squeezing the sauerkraut.
I was concerned about overcooking the sausages (and about overfilling my baking dish) so futzed around with cooking the sausages first then cooking the vegetables separately… what I forgot is that I normally cook sausages at 400F so they’re ready in 20 minutes or so. At 350F the sausages and vegetables take roughly the same amount of time so following the directions would have worked out just right.
Great idea to use half cabbage half sauerkraut. Thanks for coming back to comment! ~Jenn