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1 Comment What better food to serve than the ultimate comfort food with this delicious sauerkraut casserole? I made mine with celeriac but you could easily replace this for regular mashed potatoes. This sauerkraut recipe is pretty flexible so I’ll be giving some variations below.
Sauerkraut casserole with celeriac
Growing up we had a lot of sauerkraut mash dishes and apparently a sauerkraut casserole is typical German food? I would rather call this typical Dutch but I guess it doesn’t really matter as this sauerkraut casserole is just simply delicious and perfect comfort food. (like this kale casserole too!)
That said; as a kid I wasn’t really all that fond of tangy sauerkraut but well, my mum wasn’t the best of cooks so it took a while before I learned how to properly prepare it myself. I love it now and this casserole dish is absolutely one of my favorites.
What goes into the casserole?
- celeriac – I needed just a little more than one pound, clean weight. Replace for a few large potatoes if you want
- minced beef – choose any minced meat you like.
- onions and garlic – you can go for onion powder and garlic powder for ease of use
- canned tomatoes
- tomato paste
- herbs and spices – oregano, thyme and chili flakes
- sauerkraut – you can use canned sauerkraut or fresh sauerkraut
- sliced almonds – I made a layer of sliced almonds on top but adding some creamy cheese or swiss cheese is a good choice too
How to prepare the sauerkraut casserole
Making this great recipe is not very difficult. You start by preheating the oven and then take a large skillet on medium heat and add a bit of coconut oil or olive oil. Sauté the onion first until translucent and then add the garlic and minced beef. Sauté until the meat is cooked through and drain any excess fat that might be rendered out of the beef.
Once the beef is cooked you add the tomato cubes and the paste and season with sea salt and pepper and the dried herbs. And that’s pretty much all the cooking that is required.
Add your tomato sauce to the bottom of the prepared pan or oven dish and add the layer of sauerkraut. Make sure the sauerkraut is squeezed dry as you don’t want too much liquid in the dish. Now on top of the sauerkraut you add the mashed celeriac and sprinkle the sliced almonds over. Or if you’re using cheese this would be the right moment to spread the cheese over the top too.
Place the sauerkraut casserole in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown and the dish is bubbling hot. If the top browns too quickly you can cover it with some aluminum foil.
Additions and variations
I’ve already talked about adding cheese or swapping the celeriac with potatoes. You can also mix those two together. Have half of the celeriac with half of the potatoes. Also really tasty!
I love varying with the herbs and spices used. A good addition would be some caraway seeds or fennel seeds. The minced beef can be replaced by Italian sausage. If you do go for the sausage break them up and do bake them first as you did with the mince. For adding a little bit of sweetness you can add a bit of brown sugar to the dish as well.
Questions asked about sauerkraut casserole
How long will the sauerkraut casserole last after baking?
My sauerkraut casserole is too wet after baking
How long does it need to be in the oven?
Sauerkraut casserole
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac 500g cleaned weight. diced
- 1 tbsp of coconut oil
- 300 g minced meat
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 400 g tomatoes canned
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 500 g sauerkraut drained and squeezed
- 25 g sliced almonds
How to make the sauerkraut casserole
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F. (convection oven)
- Cook the celeriac until soft. Drain and lightly steam. Mash and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large frying pan with 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the mince and garlic. Fry the mince until tender, then add the diced tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan.
- Season the tomato mixture with chilli flakes, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour into the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
- Spread the sauerkraut over the mince and top with the celeriac puree.
- Sprinkle the celeriac with almond shavings and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
This gotta be my favorite casserole of all times!