Spiced Honey Sauerkraut

Oktoberfest in Munich ended yesterday. However, I couldn’t let it go by entirely without a special sauerkraut recipe. This Spiced Honey Sauerkraut is a keeper. Flavored with honey, cinnamon, juniper berries, and clove, it is packed with cold-weather flavors. Each bite is a sweet and sour sensation.

First of all, I want to clarify all of my sauerkraut recipes are “cheats”. Meaning, I use canned or already prepared sauerkraut and add seasonal flavors and spices. As a result, these side dishes usually take under 30 minutes to make. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of creative fun experimenting with sauerkraut.  At the bottom of this post, I’ve listed more of my favorite flavored sauerkraut recipes.

Spice Islands is one of my favorite spice companies. I have been using their products for years.

At this year’s  Fancy Food Show, the company gave away darling little samples of their Ground Saigon Cinnamon.  As a result, I found this cinnamon to be a serious game-changer for some recently created recipes. Sourced from the Cassia cinnamon variety,  Cassia is richer and sweeter than the Ceylon version. It makes a huge difference.

Spiced Honey Sauerkraut also contains the leftover delicious Catskill Provisions Fall Honey in the Apple Honey Whiskey cake with Hazelnut Streusel.

Waste not. Want not. But let’s focus on this kraut.

As I mentioned above, the best part about this Spiced Honey Sauerkraut is that it takes under a half hour to make. Its complex flavors are the perfect partner for simple wurst, chicken, or meat dishes. Similarly, this kraut also makes a creative and unique Thanksgiving side dish.

Most importantly, don’t forget to fish out the bay leaf,  juniper berries, and cloves before serving. Otherwise, your lovely guests might get a weird surprise.

Print

Spiced Honey Sauerkraut

Course Condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine German

Keyword Sauerkraut

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 2 sweet onions
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter
• 1 can sauerkraut 850g
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 juniper berries
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Peel and chop the onions into fine pieces.
2. Heat the clarified butter in a large skillet.
3. Add the onion pieces and stir until they become golden brown.
4. Drain the sauerkraut well and add to the pan. Stir to combine completely with the onions.
5. Add the honey and stir to coat.

6. Add the bay leaf, juniper berries, and cloves to the pan and stir to combine completely.

7. Sprinkle the ground cinnamon over the top and mix.
8. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
   
9. Remove the pan from the heat. Fish out the bay leaf, cloves, and juniper berries and serve.
10. If you are not serving the kraut immediately, leave the spices in until just before serving.

Like this Spiced Honey Sauerkraut? Also, check out some of these other recipes:

SPICED SWEET TOMATO CAKE

CARAMELIZED SPICED SWEET POTATOES

PEAR WALNUT STRUDEL BITES