Beetroot & red cabbage sauerkraut

Name: Beetroot & red cabbage sauerkraut
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 320g Beetroot; 450g Red Cabbage; 1 small Onion; 2 tsp Caraway Seed; 1 tsp Sea Salt

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Polish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 37 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Tip all the ingredients into a large bowl, add 1-1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, then scrunch it all together with your hands for 5 mins. You might want to wear gloves to avoid staining your skin with the beetroot juices.
Press the veg down in the bowl with your hands, then cover the surface and up the side of the bowl with a large sheet of compostable cling film or something reusable like a beeswax wrap. Now place another similar-sized bowl on top. Press down hard and add anything heavy (packs of rice or cans work well) to weigh it down so the juices rise to cover the surface. Cover again.
Leave to ferment at room temperature for at least five days, but for maximum flavour, leave for one-five weeks (until the bubbling subsides).
Check the sauerkraut. After a few days, you will see bubbles that have built up as it ferments. Give it a stir, then cover and weigh it down again as before. The cabbage will become increasingly sour the longer it’s fermented, so taste it now and again. When you like the flavour, transfer it to sterilised jars and keep chilled. Will keep chilled for up to six months.

Why this works on a weeknight

Beetroot & red cabbage sauerkraut genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Beetroot & red cabbage sauerkraut actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Vegetarian Polish ⚡ 30-Min Dinner