Sauerkraut Casserole with Chicken

This hearty sauerkraut casserole with chicken and potatoes is the perfect Oktoberfest dish, rainy day autumn dish, and a healthy one-pot comfort food dish that’s ideal for sharing. 

Polish inspired sauerkraut casserole with chicken

This sauerkraut casserole with chicken isn’t a Polish recipe though it could very well be.

Porcini mushrooms as well as prunes go extremely well with sauerkraut and are used in many Polish recipes.  If you aren’t a huge fan of prunes don’t worry, after 2.5 hours in the oven prunes don’t really taste like prunes.  But they do add a wonderful sweetness to this sour dish.

I used a few porcini mushrooms just to add a bit more richness and depth to the overall flavour of this hearty sauerkraut chicken casserole.

Sauerkraut benefits

If you’ve ever attended an Oktoberfest event chances are you would have tried sauerkraut.

I was first introduced to Oktoberfest years ago as a student living in Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada, a town with a sizeable German community.  I seem to remember 3 vital components of the festivities: beer, sausage and sauerkraut.  The beer came in a plastic cup, and the food was served on a matching plastic plate – the sausage in a big hotdog bun, with steaming hot sauerkraut on top.

I am a big fan of sauerkraut (not necessarily always in the company of beer and sausage, although admittedly they do make a delicious trio).  Sauerkraut is not only delicious, but also healthy.

It is a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.  It’s contains, however, a lot of salt.  This in itself is not a great thing but you can also use it to your advantage.  You simply won’t need to add any salt to your sauerkraut recipe!  Another thing you can do if you find your sauerkraut too salty is rinse it (very briefly) under cold water (in a strainer).

When you shop for sauerkraut try to look for yellow rather than grey coloured sauerkraut, preferably made without any additives.  Polish delicatessens usually sell good quality sauerkraut.

How to make chicken sauerkraut casserole

This chicken potato casserole with sauerkraut is super easy to make.  It requires very few ingredients and most of the cooking takes place in the oven so all you have to do is give it a stir every once in a while.  This chicken casserole tastes even better reheated the next day, so make a big batch to enjoy over 2-3 days.

Once you’ve prepared all the ingredients putting the casserole together is a quick process (it takes about 10 minutes).

Start by heating up some oil and frying the onion, garlic and spices.  Then move the onion mixture aside and add the chicken.  After a couple of minutes add the sauerkraut, prunes and porcini and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients, give a stir, cover and pop in the oven for 2.5 hours.

It’s really that simple!

More recipes with sauerkraut

A while ago I posted a vegetarian version of the popular Polish sauerkraut soup, a delicious low fat comfort food recipe. (Anything with sauerkraut in it can be classed as comfort food really).  See also my zesty Polish sauerkraut salad with carrot and apple.  Check out also these Polish sauerkraut pierogi, a traditional Christmas Eve dish.

Check out also this collection of 13 healthy, easy one pot chicken recipes!

Print Recipe

Sauerkraut Casserole with Chicken

This hearty Sauerkraut Casserole with Chicken is the perfect Oktoberfest dish, rainy day autumn dish, and a healthy one-pot comfort food dish that's ideal for sharing.  

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time2 hrs 30 mins

Total Time2 hrs 45 mins

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: International

Keyword: chicken, sauerkraut

Servings: 4 -6 portions

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs skinless
• 300 g sauerkraut
• 1 large carrot peeled, diced
• 6 small/medium potatoes peeled, cubed
• 6 prunes deseeded, halved
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 4 porcini mushrooms, rinsed thoroughly
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 whole allspice
• 1 level teaspoon caraway seeds
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C/ gas mark 4. You will need a deep casserole dish with a lid.
• Heat up the oil in the casserole dish, add the bay leaf, allspice, caraway seeds, onion and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes over a medium heat stirring often.
• Move the onion mixture to the side, add the chicken and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Add the prunes, sauerkraut, mushrooms and stir thoroughly. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the carrot, potato, wine and water, a generous amount of pepper and stir thoroughly. Cover and pop in the oven for 2.5 hours. Stir the stew 2-3 times throughout cooking. Taste before serving to see if salt is needed. Serve with crusty bread or simply on its own.

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RECIPE LINK PARTIES

I am bringing this sauerkraut recipe to #CookBlogShare.  Also sharing to Recipe of the Week, and Fiesta Friday. This week’s co-hosts areShinta @ Caramel Tinted Life and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.