Tangy Fermented Cabbage Soup (Printable)

Tangy soup with fermented cabbage, smoked meats, and vegetables. Perfect for gut health with natural probiotics.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Meats

01 - 5.3 oz smoked bacon or kielbasa sausage, diced (optional for vegetarian version)

→ Vegetables

02 - 17.6 oz sauerkraut, drained and roughly chopped
03 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
04 - 2 medium carrots, diced
05 - 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
06 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Liquids

07 - 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
08 - 1 cup water

→ Spices and Seasonings

09 - 1 bay leaf
10 - 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
11 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1/2 teaspoon paprika, sweet or smoked
13 - Salt to taste

→ Finishing Touches

14 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
15 - 4 tablespoons sour cream for serving, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - In a large soup pot over medium heat, sauté the smoked bacon or sausage until browned and fat is rendered, approximately 5 minutes. For a vegetarian version, skip this step or sauté smoked tofu in 1 tablespoon of oil.
02 - Add the onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
03 - Stir in the sauerkraut and potatoes. Sauté for 3 minutes to blend flavors.
04 - Add the broth, water, bay leaf, caraway seeds, black pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until potatoes are tender and flavors meld.
05 - Taste and adjust salt as needed.
06 - Remove bay leaf. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with fresh parsley and a dollop of sour cream if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's naturally packed with live probiotics from real fermented sauerkraut, which means your gut actually thanks you for eating soup.
  • The caraway seeds and smoked meat create a deeply savory flavor that tastes like it simmered for hours, but comes together in less than an hour.
  • One pot, minimal fuss, and it tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had time to deepen.
02 -
  • Pasteurized sauerkraut is dead—it has no living probiotics, so if gut health is part of why you're making this, hunt for the unpasteurized kind in the refrigerated section or a health food store, where the brine is cloudy and alive.
  • Don't skip the caraway seeds; they're not a nice-to-have but the flavor signature that makes this taste authentically Central European rather than like generic vegetable soup.
03 -
  • Don't drain the sauerkraut aggressively—leave a little brine clinging to it, as some of that tangy liquid adds flavor depth that pure cabbage can't deliver alone.
  • If your sausage is very salty, use low-sodium broth and taste before adding extra salt; oversalting is harder to fix than undersalting.
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