This pink sauerkraut recipe takes vibrant red cabbage and radishes, creating a probiotic powerhouse that will make your gut sing with joy. This isn’t your ordinary sauerkraut; it’s a feast for the senses, bright pink 💗 , crunchy and tangy. But one that you can make in a flash and enjoy for weeks or months after.
What you’ll love about this recipe
I grew up with traditional sauerkraut made in huge vats from whole heads of cabbages at the cross roads between fall and late fall. Oh, yeah, there is such thing; you can smell in the air the cold fresh snap of late fall, slightly humid, slightly earthy. I remember with a tad of fondness, but mostly with dread, the early rise to queue up alongside hundreds of people in the market, waiting for the cabbage deliveries.
Sauerkraut making was national business in Romania in the late 80’s. Who knew back then how good was sauerkraut for our gut and well-being?
My pink sauerkraut was born out of laziness and not wanting to deal with huge vats of smelly cabbage in my shed in England 😜. But also because at heart I am just a girl that loves pink 💗 so pink foods bring me joy.
- Colorful and Yummy: Get ready for some pink sauerkraut that’s not just delicious, it’s a party for your plate with its vibrant colors.
- Gut-Friendly Goodness: You already know how serious I am about gut health, the microbiome needs feeding! This sauerkraut is like a BFF to your gut!
- Packed with Good Stuff: This sauerkraut, made with red cabbage and radishes, is jam-packed with vitamins and antioxidants to keep you feeling awesome.
- Deliciously Light: I am no calorie counting fanatic, but I am health conscious without the compromise on taste. My pink sauerkraut has got your back.
- Versatile meals: You can get very creative with this pink sauerkraut! Toss it in salads, finely dice and mix in a yogurt and mayo dressing or scatter on tacos. Serve it next to brunch or breakfast omelettes.
- DIY Happiness: Homemade sauerkraut is where it’s at! You can control the ingredients and make sure those bacteria are still live when they reach your gut.
- Long Shelf Life: Once you’ve made a batch of pink sauerkraut, it can last in your fridge for several months.
- Small batches & no special pickling gear: You don’t need fancy utensils for my pink sauerkraut recipe, a jar with a lid is all you need.
Watch how to make pink sauerkraut
Ingredients you’ll need
- Red or purple cabbage – a medium to large one will do, you will probably have some leftovers.
- Radishes (optional) – they will enhance the taste and color, a few handfuls are enough.
- Garlic – as many as you want really 😉, 3-5 large cloves will release garlicky aromas. So tasty !
- Dill – I think dill is such a special herb, it always evokes pickles and traditional flavors for me. If you don’t like dill, leave it out, but it makes me sad when people don’t like dill… Just joking 😜!
- Chili (optional) – a few slices, seeds removed.
- Water and salt (the secret to natural lacto-fermentation) – the simplest brine ever that helps the good bacteria grow and ferment your veggies. And the salt keeps the bad bacteria from growing, protects the vitamins in the veg and keeps your veggies crunchy!
How to make the easiest pink sauerkraut
Time needed: 7 days
Lacto-fermented vegetables – red cabbage in a pink sauerkraut with fermented radishes
- Clean the red cabbage and radishes
Remove any wilted, dry or bruised outer leaves from the cabbage.
Remove the tops and root ends from the radishes if you are using and give them a good wash in cold water. You may need to gently scrub to remove any soil from radishes.
Pat dry with kitchen paper. - Chop the vegetables
Cut the red cabbage head in half and remove the hard core.
Slice the cabbage roughly in 3 cm slices approximately.
Slice the larger radishes in 0.5 cm discs or leave the small ones whole. - Prepare the garlic, chili and herbs
Peel the garlic and set aside.
Remove the seeds from your chili, slice as many or as few as you want. I only added a few large slices of a cayenne chili pepper 🌶️🌶️🌶️.
Remove any wilted dill strands. Give the dill a good rinse in cold water, shaking any excess water. - Stuff the vegetables in the jar
In a jar (approximately 1 liter capacity) add some dill, a few garlic cloves, then start stuffing with chunks of red cabbage.
Add radishes in any empty spaces. Don’t force them too much, but pack them tight.
Add more herbs, garlic and a few chili slices.
Finish with a few red cabbage slices that you can wedge in the jar neck, so that it pushes everything down.
- Prepare the brine
Make a brine by adding 25 g salt in 1 liter of water. Depends on how many jars you are filling, you might need to make more brine.
- Pour the brine and let the fermentation begin!
Add the brine over the vegetables until everything is fully covered.
Cover loosely with a lid and set on the counter at room temperature, but not too close to any heat sources. - Burp the pink sauerkraut 🫧
After 1-2 days (depending on how warm your kitchen is, you may notice the brine in the jar getting brightly pink and slightly cloudy.
Every day for the next week, use a clean straw to gently blow into the jar to aerate the brine. This helps release gases formed by the friendly bacteria and prevents the vegetables from getting mushy.
With a clean spoon taste the brine daily from day 3 onward to see how sour you like it. - The sauerkraut is ready for the fridge
After a week, your fermented red cabbage is ready! Give it a taste to make sure you like it, but if you want it more sour you can extend the fermentation for an extra day.
It should be slightly sour, acidic, a little fizzy and very tasty 😋. It will keep in the fridge for at least 12 weeks. Don’t worry about the slight sediment settled at the bottom of the jar, it’s normal.
Pro Tips
- Make sure all the utensils and recipients you use are clean.
- Remove the seal from the lid, so that gas can escape during fermentation.
- When you burp the sauerkraut, make sure you push the vegetables gently, so the liquid is covering them fully.
Preparation time
It takes around 10 minutes to prepare the vegetables.
Then another 5 minutes to prepare the brine. I am being generous here, because I know myself (not always super organised 😉).
Fermenting time
The fermentation takes around a week, but it will still continue to ferment very slowly in the fridge, so you may notice the sauerkraut gets tastier by the week.
Total time
This means that in one week you can have a healthy nourishing condiment to add to any meals, you can even replace sides with it (literally, it is so versatile!😉).
Servings
This recipe uses around half a medium to large red cabbage and should be enough for at least 8 servings.
Nutritional goodness
The garlic, dill, chilies, radishes and red cabbage count towards the 30 plants a week which are wonderful news for your gut health! Not to mention all the good lactic acid bacteria (LAB)!
What to serve with pink sauerkraut
- This condiment will go great with grilled meats, especially pork or beef and sausages.
- Sometimes if I’m in a hurry, I would just replace the vegetables from my sausages and char-grilled veggies recipe or my lamb koftas recipe and end up with a gorgeous meal.
- Chop the sauerkraut and pickled garlic really finely and mix in your favorite dressing.
- I use the pink liquid as a vinegar replacement to make an amazing vinaigrette!
- I love pink sauerkraut with breakfast, like this scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, what a feast for the senses!
Inviting my homemade pink sauerkraut into your diet is not just about flavor; it’s a step forward to embrace gut health and the beauty of nutrition-rich, colorful ingredients.
- If you are just getting started with fermented vegetables, this recipe is it!
- If you make my recipe, take a snapshot for your Instagram
- Post and tag me @candyflosie😉🤗!
- Don’t forget to rate my recipe! It will make my day!
Pink sauerkraut FAQ
It will get mushy and smell unpleasant. You can discard it.
After a few days the brine in the jar will get a little cloudy or milky because of the fermentation activity of the friendly bacteria. It will get clearer towards the end of the week and beautifully bright pink.
It could get too sour or it could also get mushy and start developing mold.
It will wash away the goodness in the brine. There is no need to wash it, the brine itself will be so tasty and garlicky. In fact, I challenge you to have a sip, if you ever had a ginger shot that’s what it feels like. Punchy and it can boost your metabolism! 🤩
Not so much if you are after the live bacteria, but still good to add to your veggie intake. Most store bought sauerkraut will be pasteurised to extend its shelf life. So unless it says contains live bacteria, I would stick with my homemade pink sauerkraut 😉!
Pink sauerkraut (naturally fermented)
Equipment
- 1 jar approximately 750 ml to 1 l capacity with screw or rubber seal lid
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 funnel (optional)
- 1 scale
- 1 measuring jug (optional, reuse a clean water bottle with known capacity, for example 1 liter)
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large red cabbage
- 100 g radishes optional, sliced in 0.5 cm thin slices
- 25 g salt
- 1 liter water
- 4 large garlic cloves (peeled and no blemishes)
- a handful dill
- 3 small chili chunks (optional, add more or less depends on how spicy you like it)
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Remove any wilted, dry or bruised outer leaves from the cabbage. You don't need to wash it.
- Remove the tops and root ends from the radishes if you are using and give them a good wash in cold water. You may need to gently scrub to remove any soil from radishes. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
Prepare the garlic, chili and dill
- Peel the garlic and set aside. Make sure your garlic is nice and plump and has no blemishes. You can cut the dark end if you want but it is not necessary.
- Remove any wilted dill strands. Give the dill a good rinse in cold water, shaking any excess water.
- I used a frozen cayenne chili pepper that I bought at farmers market and put in the freezer. But if you are using fresh, make sure it is clean, give it a rinse under cold running water. Chop as much chili as you would like, I used a few small chunks as this cayenne is very hot 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.
Chop the vegetables
- Cut the red cabbage head in half and remove the hardcore.
- Slice the cabbage roughly in 3 cm slices approximately.
- Slice the larger radishes in 0.5 cm discs or leave the small ones whole.
Stuff the fermentation jar
- Start by laying a few garlic cloves, chili and a few strands of dill.
- Continue to stuff the jar with chunks of red cabbage.
- Add radishes in any empty spaces. Don't force them too much, but pack them tight.
- Add the remaining garlic and dill as you fill the jar.
- Wedge a few red cabbage slices at the top so as to keep everything from rising up.
Prepare the brine
- Add 25 g of salt to one liter of cold water and swirl to dissolve.
- Pour the brine carefully over the veggies until they are fully covered.
Fermentation stage
- Make sure there is no space left in the jar at the top then close the lid loosely. Important: remove the rubber seal to allow gas to escape during fermentation!
- Set the jar aside at room temperature, but not too close to a hot spot.
- The liquid will become a bright pink and little cloudy from day 2 onward.
Burping your pink sauerkraut (yes you heard it right LOL)
- You need to "burp" the brine daily. Use a large diameter stainless steel straw if you have one, but can use any disposable drink straws.
- Blow gently to form bubbles in the brine careful not to spill the brine over.
- This will help with the lacto – fermentation. Taste the brine after day 3 and the sauerkraut after day 5, to make sure you are happy with the taste.
- It will take around 7 days to achieve a pleasant sourness and a slight fizz, depending on the temperature of the kitchen.
How to store your fermented green tomatoes
- After 7 days, if you are happy with the level of sourness, store the jar in the fridge.
- Every time you serve it, take some veggies out of the brine with clean utensils and place the jar back in the fridge immediately.
Video
Notes
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I’ve used this recipe multiple times, and it always turns out great! It’s so easy for such a great outcome, and it’s a really fun little project – burping the pickles over a few days 🙂 definitely recommend. So much better than store bought pickles which are not as gut friendly and have an overly sour/astringent taste, this is perfectly balanced
That’s exactly why I do this, love to see people looking after their gut health! thank you for taking the time to rate and review my recipe 😊 !