Sauerkraut Casserole with Chicken

This hearty, delicious 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. It's super simple to make and requires very little effort.

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.

Sauerkraut benefits

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 much salt to your chicken 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). But I don't recommend it for this recipe.

Sauerkraut casserole ingredients

This sauerkraut casserole with chicken isn't a Polish recipe though it is loosely based on Polish bigos sauerkraut stew.

I used skinless chicken thighs but you can use drumsticks or chicken legs if you prefer.  I do not recommend using chicken breast as it just becomes dry and stringy if cooked for too long. Dark meat is best.

I used a handful of simple vegetables including onion, carrot and potatoes to offset the sourness and to add more substance to this dish.  

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 also used a little white wine, allspice berries, one bay leaf and caraway seeds for more flavour.

How to buy sauerkraut

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

Sometimes sauerkraut contains a little carrot which is added in for sweetness.  It's absolutely fine to use that too.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

This chicken sauerkraut casserole 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 sauerkraut casserole tastes even better reheated the next day, so make a big batch and 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).

1.Preheat the oven to 170 C. Start by heating up some oil and frying the onion, garlic, caraway seeds, bay leaf and allspice for 2-3 minutes.

2. Then move the onion mixture aside and add the chicken.  Fry for 3 minutes on each side.

3. Add the sauerkraut, prunes and porcini, stir and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients, give a stir, cover and place on the bottom oven shelf. Bake for 2.5 hours. Stir twice during cooking.

5. Remove the chicken from the pot, put on a plate and separate the meat from the bone.  Put the chicken back in the pot, stir and serve!

Top tips and FAQs

• I used chicken thighs but you can use chicken quarters or drumsticks if you prefer. I do not recommend using chicken breast.
• I recommend using salad potatoes, such as Charlotte, baby potatoes or Red Bliss, as they hold their shape well in cooking.
• You don't need to add much salt into the casserole (sauerkraut is salty) but be generous with the pepper.
• I recommend buying sauerkraut in a Polish delicatessen.  Look for yellow and greenish rather than grey looking sauerkraut.
• This sauerkraut casserole tastes even better the next day. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

What else can you do 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 Polish sauerkraut pierogi, a traditional Christmas Eve dish.

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

Keep in touch!

How has your chicken sauerkraut casserole turned out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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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.  

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Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: gluten free

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings: 6 portions

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

• ▢
  Medium size casserole dish suitable for all heat sources.

Ingredients

• ▢ 300 g sauerkraut
• ▢ 4-5 chicken thighs skinless
• ▢ 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
• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 4 tbsp white wine
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 2 allspice berries
• ▢ ½ tsp caraway seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp coarse sea salt or to taste, plus pepper to taste

Metric - US Customary

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, 1 teaspoon of salt and a generous amount of pepper and stir thoroughly. Cover and place on the bottom oven shelf and bake for 2.5 hours. Stir the stew 2-3 times throughout cooking.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and separate the meat from the bone. Put the chicken pieces back in the pot and stir. Serve with crusty bread or simply on its own.

Notes

• I used chicken thighs but you can use chicken quarters or drumsticks if you prefer. I do not recommend using chicken breast.
• I recommend using salad potatoes, such as Charlotte, baby potatoes or Red Bliss, as they hold their shape well in cooking. 
• You don't need to add much salt into the casserole (sauerkraut is salty) but be generous with the pepper.
• I recommend buying sauerkraut in a Polish delicatessen.  Look for yellow and greenish rather than grey looking sauerkraut.
• This casserole tastes even better the next day. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 787mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1844IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

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