Crockpot Keilbasa and Kraut for Oktoberfest!
Joelen is hosting another great event. If you haven’t seen her blog, you’re really missing out. Go check it out (after you finish reading this post otherwise you might not come back!) She hosts tons of events at her place in Chicago and lets bloggers participate virtually through the internet. For the Oktoberfest event, German food and drink are being highlighted. Sounds like my kind of evening!
Hubby made this for the first time a few months ago for our German themed dinner party (same party I made these Plum Rolls for). My mom used to eat sauerkraut when I was younger. I had never tried it because of the smell.
This recipe is amazing. The caramelized onions and apple cider really soak into the kraut and sweeten it up. And, by using the crockpot to cook the meat, it becomes very tender. We’ve made this quite a few times in the past couple of months and I’m very glad I decided to try sauerkraut! The kraut is pretty salty so be sure you have a large glass of water (or your favorite Oktoberfest brew) handy.
Crockpot Keilbasa and Kraut – from RecipeZaar – serves 8 – we usually cut the recipe in half
1 medium onion
2 lbs kielbasa (2 kielbasa)
2 (32 ounce) packages sauerkraut
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup apple cider
Slice 1 onion into thin strips and caramelize.
Drain and rinse sauerkraut.
Slice kielbasa into 1-inch lengths.
Combine water, cider and brown sugar.
Combine all ingredients well in crock pot.
Cook on high 6 hours – we cooked on low for about 9 hours and it was done






I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 






Jen made the meatballs for our family. She made both regular spaghetti and spaghetti squash for the carb watchers in the family. I chose the spaghetti squash to go with the meatballs and it was delicious! My only dissapointment was there were none left over when I checked the fridge for lunch! I can’t wait to make these!!!
beantownbaker — December 1st, 2013 @ 6:51 pm
Let me know how they turn out for you. I’ve subbed bacon for the prosciutto in the meatballs in the past before. It makes a LOT so be ready for leftovers/
I use a 19 oz package of Johnsonville Italian sausage (hot) for the ground pork and prosciutto when i make these meatballs. The gelatin is a key ingredient (don’t omit).
I grew up in an Italian home and I gotta tell ya this is my go-to recipe for the best meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
Making it this weekend for my manicotti — looking forward to the compliments!
beantownbaker — March 25th, 2014 @ 9:27 pm
So glad you agree that this is a great recipe! The gelatin is definitely a key ingredient.