Slow Cooker Sauerkraut Cabbage and Sausage ( Kielbasa)

If you love sausage and cabbage together, you have to try my Crockpot Polish Sausage, Cabbage and Potato Soup. It’s the soup version of this dish, and it’s just as easy.

This dish is more about heating and mingling the flavours than cooking. The kielbasa is already cooked and the sauerkraut is already fermented, so the slow cooker just has time to soften the fresh cabbage and let everything get to know each other.

What You’ll Need for Ingredients

Garlic Kielbasa: This is where you need to choose a really, really good sausage. Pick a garlicky, smoked kielbasa that you love on its own. If your sausage doesn’t have that great garlic punch, I’m afraid the sauerkraut will completely overwhelm it, as it is wont to do!

Sauerkraut: One 32 ounce jar. Karlynn’s Tip: I rinse the sauerkraut with water before adding it to dilute the flavour. It makes the dish a little more cabbage-flavoured and less tangy. If you’re a die-hard sauerkraut lover, you might want to skip the rinse.

Green Cabbage and Onion: Half a head of fresh cabbage, chopped, and a sliced white onion mellow out the sauerkraut and cook down until silky and sweet.

How To Make Sauerkraut, Cabbage and Sausage in the Slow Cooker

This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

1. Rinse the sauerkraut in a colander (or don’t, if you love the tang).
2. Slice the onion, chop the cabbage and cut the kielbasa into chunks.
3. Add everything to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, stirring occasionally if you’re home.
5. Serve hot.

How Do YOU Pronounce Kielbasa?

I could tell where you’re from just by how you pronounce it. There was a big discussion about this on my Instagram, and I was asked how I say it. If you pronounce it “koooo-basa,” you are distinctly Canadian Prairie Ukrainian. Period. We take the Ukrainian “kovbasa” and pronounce it our own way. Do not get sucked into the rabbit hole of googling the pronunciation of kielbasa. Do NOT. I did, and I wasn’t any more informed than when I started. But I do know that “kooooo-basa” is definitely a prairie thing!

Make It Fast or Make It Slow

In the Instant Pot: Add half a cup of water or chicken broth to the pot so it can come to pressure, then add the onion, cabbage, sauerkraut and kielbasa. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes and quick release. The cabbage will be tender but still have a little bite.

On the Stovetop: Combine everything in a Dutch oven with half a cup of water, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring now and then, until the cabbage is soft.

Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Like most cabbage dishes, it tastes even better the next day.

Freezer: Freeze in portions for up to 2 months, following USDA food safety guidelines. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stovetop.

More Easy Slow Cooker Recipes

If you love simple, old-fashioned comfort food, try one of these next:

• My Crockpot Polish Sausage, Cabbage and Potato Soup is pure prairie comfort in a bowl.
• These Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes are the perfect side for sausage and sauerkraut.
• My Apple Sausage Slow Cooker Stuffing frees up your oven at the holidays.

That’s all, folks! Simple food, big flavour, and barely any work.

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it went! And tell me: how do YOU say kielbasa? I always love hearing about your kitchen adventures.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn