We’re off to the winter races, so to speak. Although some parts of the country still have warm weather, winter is coming. And the season of colds and flu will be upon us. Read my article, “How to Beat Cold Symptoms, with Natural Remedies,” for helpful tips.
Although the Recipe Redux challenges are no longer active, they were a great motivation to try something new. Here was the challenge for October.
So, it’s with this month’s Recipe Redux challenge that I present this Creamy Vegan Sauerkraut Soup. A warm, comforting bowl of immune-boosting goodness, including celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, and white beans, which have great fiber.
The big immunity boost comes from the sauerkraut.
You may have heard of cabbage soup, in fact, I have an Irish Cabbage Soup recipe, but I hadn’t heard of sauerkraut soup until recently.
But sauerkraut is one of my favorite dishes, so I wanted to try this. It’s often served with sausage, so you could add sliced vegan sausage to the recipe if that sounds good.
More Recipe Redux Challenge Recipes:
- Baked Apples with Cashew Cream
- Spring Asparagus, Pea, Zucchini Soup with Pesto
- Sheet Pan Ratatouille with Creamy Polenta
- Vegan Huevos Rancheros Casserole
- Cherry Vanilla Swirl Cake Bites
Some store-bought sauerkraut is live, and to preserve the probiotic nature of these, it’s best to add it at the very end of this creamy sauerkraut soup and just heat through.
This vegetarian sauerkraut soup is a great addition to your plant-based diet. And using cabbage is an inexpensive winter vegetable. Cabbage is very healing to the gut and provides glutamine, which is noted to strengthen the immune system.
It’s a great source of vitamin C, as well, and is known to shorten the length of colds by stimulating the activity of white blood cells, which form the first line of defense for your immunity.
I love sauerkraut on sandwiches, as well, and this is where you want to use the live version. Try more vegetarian sauerkraut dishes, like my Tempeh Reuben Sandwich.
This brand from Farmhouse Culture, which can be found at Whole Foods and other markets, is an example of the live version. My favorite is this classic caraway flavor, but they have others like Garlic Dill Pickle and Horseradish Leek.
This sauerkraut soup vegan recipe uses ingredients you most likely have on hand except, perhaps for the sauerkraut, and is easy to throw together for a quick weeknight meal.
Don’t miss my other immune-boosting Winter Immunity Soup recipe, which uses mushrooms and a little light coconut milk for creaminess.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Creamy Vegan Sauerkraut Soup recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Instagram page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
Vegan Sauerkraut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 rib celery finely diced
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 medium carrots thinly sliced
- 3 medium potatoes peeled, chopped 1/2" cubes
- 1/4 cup quinoa uncooked and rinsed
- 2-3 cups sauerkraut drained and rinsed
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or 8 cups homemade)
- 2 cups water
- 1, (15-oz.) can white beans drained and rinsed. Sometimes called white kidney beans or cannellini.
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, saute the finely chopped celery and onion in a small amount of vegetable broth or water until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add sliced carrots, potatoes, quinoa, bay leaf, broth and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Add sauerkraut and white beans and continue to cook about 10 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf and transfer about half of the soup, slightly cooled, into a blender and blend until smooth. Then pour back into the pot and stir well. Or use an immersion blender to cream part of the soup right in the pot.
- Season soup with salt and pepper to taste.
This looks delicious! I love sauerkraut soup. I’ve had it several times but have never made it at home. Thank you for this recipe, I’ve been trying to find my mother’s old recipe but could never locate it. Definitely going to try this one and hopefully it is close!
Thanks, hope you enjoy it!
Creative! Looks so comforting!
Thanks, Karman, it’s great this time of year!
Can I use a head of cabbage instead of sauerkraut from a pkg.?
I think you could use cabbage, but not the whole head since the recipe calls for 2-3 cups of sauerkraut. Shredded cabbage would probably work, but it won’t have quite the same flavor. I love cabbage soup, though. Good idea 🙂
Rinsing the sauerkraut removes all the healthy brine full of enzymes – the whole point of eating sauerkraut. I cook my vegetables and add the sauerkraut at the very end. It just gets warm but you don’t kill the good stuff in it by cooking. We eat some sauerkraut every day. It’s actually good for ulcers even though you wouldn’t think so. It’s cheapest and tastiest to buy at a Polish or European deli. They make it in big vats and they know how to make it properly. Never buy the stuff in the cans made with vinegar.
Great suggestions. I just figured the heat would kill any live cultures. I’m going to update the recipe to reflect your note. It would depend on if you’re using “live” sauerkraut. Live sauerkraut is quite expensive, but purchasing at a Polish or European deli would work. I didn’t know it was good for ulcers. I love sauerkraut and do buy the live version, but would love to make it myself sometime.
We made our own sauerkraut this year and are totally enjoying it. It’s quite crispy, but we couldn’t leave it in the crock any longer because the liquid was evaporating. Next time I’ll know I can add water to prevent that (and I’ll keep a lid on it too). Even crispy, it’s delicious, and quite simple to make!
That’s awesome that you make your own sauerkraut! I’ve been wanting to do that so thanks for the inspiration.
Made 36 packed quarts of sauerkraut last year….Just A 20 minute hot bath to seal lids….So much better than store bought….Shredded 15 large heads of cabbage from my garden…Nothing better than home made!!!
Wow, what an accomplishment. You are set!
I was thinking about this myself and you might be able to answer my question as you seem to know about kraut. I buy batches of polish kraut and am wanting to make soup with it – but as I cook for myself I tend to cook in batches then freeze. Could you tell me if freezing the kraut would have the same affect as heating and kill the good bacteria? If I don’t overheat during cooking and thawing?
Hi Lauren, So since you’re asking the question, the polish kraut you buy must be live. 🙂 I wish I did know more about sauerkraut, but I had to look this one up. I found this from Holly, the sauerkraut wizard, “The recommended temperature to set your freezer at is 0° F (-18° C). There is not much data out there, but from what I’ve recently read, freezing sauerkraut retains some, if not all, of the probiotics created during fermentation. My experience on freezing those microscopic, yet powerful bacteria indicates that the cold doesn’t kill them.” I hope that helps. I wish I had a spot to buy Polish kraut.
Seems like if you put your kraut in at last for a warm up you will be OK!!
Do you cook quinoa before adding to the soup?
No, the quinoa is uncooked. I’ll update that on the recipe to make it clearer.
I loved this soup! I was delicious and filling. Any idea what the nutrition/ calorie information is on this?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup. I forgot to add the nutrition label, thanks for reminding me. I just added it, but I changed the servings to 8 with 2 1/2 cups per serving because it makes quite a bit. Did you find that it made quite a lot, as well? There are only 180 calories per serving.
I’ve been craving a sauerkraut soup since going vegan, but haven’t tried anything because I’m so used to the sausage taste – I’m going to try cooking this tonight! I’m not a big fan of quinoa though, do you think subbing in brown rice would be alright? Thanks for sharing!
Hey Sam, You can substitute just about any grain in this recipe. Just keep in mind the different cooking times since quinoa cooks very quickly and the size of the grain as it may take up more space. You can always add more broth. I love how easy it is to sub out ingredients in most recipes (except baking, maybe). I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Confused … do I drain and rinse the beans? #3 says “white beans with their juice”?
Many thanks, Darlene
Hey Darlene, you would drain and rinse the bean first before adding them. Thanks for catching that. I updated it in the instructions.
I made this tonight and it was great! I didn’t have enough sauerkraut but it was so tasty. It’s even good with braised kale and pumpernickel bread 🙂
Thanks, Desi, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and the sides of kale and pumpernickel sound like great choices. Delish!