I want to present the recipe for the most consumed soup on the first day of the year: the sauerkraut sausage soup.
Named in popular terms as the "drunkards soup", it is the most suitable preparation to cure the hangover after a New Year's Eve party.

This sauerkraut soup recipe has many variants, and almost every country in Eastern Europe has a different version.
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My recipe is adapted from Hungarian cuisine, so it contains smoked sausages. For an added flavour, I added little smoked pork ribs, and you will see it's delicious.
Let's See the Ingredients
This soup contains few ingredients, is very easy to make, and is prepared relatively quickly.
We need two medium onions, smoked pork sausages, good quality, and smoked pork ribs.
The pork rib is not necessary, and you can leave the pork sausages, just increase the quantity and necessarily be smoked.
We also need pickled cabbage or sauerkraut, which is the recipe's main ingredient. You can find it in stores, grated in thin lines and most often in brine.
How to Make the Sauerkraut Sausage Soup Recipe?
As I said, this is a simple sauerkraut sausage soup recipe whose preparation takes around an hour.
Prepare the Ingredients
In the beginning, I cleaned and chopped the two medium-sized onions.
We also cut the sausage into pieces that were not very thin.
Another important thing to do is to taste the sauerkraut. If you think it is too salty or too sour, which usually happens, it is advisable to wash and drain it.
For this, you put the sauerkraut in a sieve, wash it under a stream of cold water, and then leave it in the sieve to drain well.
Fry the Onion
In a soup pot, I heated a little sunflower oil, in which we will fry the chopped onion. Fry onion for about 3-4 minutes until it becomes translucent.
We can add the sauerkraut to the pot and mix a little cabbage with the fried onion.
Season with two teaspoons of cumin powder and a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.
Boil the Soup
We fill the pot with cold water, put about two litres, and let it boil over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes.
After about half an hour, we can add the smoked ribs cut into pieces and sliced sausages to the pot.
Make the Roux
Boil another 20 minutes, during which time we prepare the thickening. To do this, heat two tablespoons of sunflower oil or pork lard in a small saucepan.
When the oil is hot, put two tablespoons of wheat flour, stirring constantly.
The flour must be fried a little, becoming golden for the thickening to taste pleasant.
Take the pan from the heat and add a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder. We must be careful not to burn the paprika because it will become bitter.
Add two tablespoons of water and mix until it becomes a homogeneous paste.
This thickened recipe is typical of Hungarian and Transylvanian recipes, which often thicken the food with this type of fried flour, or cold roux with flour and sour cream.
Finishing the soup
Add this thickener to the soup using a sieve as in the bean soup recipe, and let it boil for another 5-10 minutes.
You can taste the soup, and if you need more, you can season it; I put one tablespoon of vegetable mix in soups.
Our sauerkraut sausage soup recipe is ready, and we can serve it.
Tips
Here are some ideas for anyone who wants to try this recipe:
- taste the sauerkraut before, and if necessary, wash it
- you can only use smoked sausages, but choose high-quality pork sausages
- you can make soup without using the thickening; for this, add the paprika powder at the beginning over the fried onion
- taste the soup before adding salt; it may not be necessary, nor have I added at all
I wish you well, and I look forward to your ideas.
Serving Ideas
This sauerkraut sausage soup is served hot and with fresh bread.
If you want to eat creamy sauerkraut and sausage soup, you can add a tablespoon of sour cream and serve it with chilli; I guarantee you will feel much better in the new year.
If you like soups, try the following soups recipes from our blog:
- white bean soup with smoked ribs
- smoked sausage potato soup
- Hungarian tomato soup
- tripe soup recipe
- best fish soup recipe
- traditional Hungarian goulash recipe
- Greek lemon chicken soup recipe
- best cabbage soup recipe
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Sauerkraut Sausage Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Soup Pot
Ingredients
- 1 kg sauerkraut
- 500 g smoked sausage
- 250 g smoked pork ribs
- 2 pcs onions medium-size
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 teaspoon caraway powder
- 1 tablespoon dried vegetable mix
- 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
For the Roux
- 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
Instructions
- In a pot of soup, I heated a little sunflower oil, in which we will fry the chopped onion. Fry onion for about 3-4 minutes, until it becomes translucent.
- Add the sauerkraut in the pot, and mix a little the cabbage with the fried onion. Season with two teaspoons of cumin powder and a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.
- Fill the pot with cold water, I put about two litres, and let it boil over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. After about half an hour, we can add the smoked ribs cut into pieces and sliced sausages in the pot. Boil another 20 minutes, during which time we prepare the thickening.
- Add this thickener to the soup using a sieve and let it boil another 5-10 minutes.
- Add a tablespoon of cream and serve with chilli and fresh bread.
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