Zelňačka or sour cabbage is a soup made from sauerkraut.
Do you know it with potatoes, sausage or bacon?
What is your traditional recipe?
And if you don’t have one yet, come get inspired by our cabbage recipes.
The best sauerkraut with sausage
Thick homemade sauerkraut soup that fills you up.
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 g of sauerkraut
- 2 sausages
- 1 large potato
- 1 small onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 spoons of paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 liter of water
- whipping cream
METHOD:
- Remove the juice from the sauerkraut (keep it for another soup or drink it) and prepare it in a bowl.
- Finely chop the onion and fry it in oil, then add diced potato, sausage, chopped garlic and sauté for a while.
- Add cabbage, salt, pepper, cumin and paprika, cover with water and add bay leaf.
- Cook until the potatoes are soft.
- Finally, thicken with cream.

Slovak Christmas sauerkraut (kayselica)
Christmas pickle is traditional in some families. And what about you? Do you cook it too?
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 g of sauerkraut
- 2 sausages
- 1 onion
- flour
- oil
- 500-750 ml of water
- salt
- pepper
- vegetable
- pepper
- dried mushrooms
- 250 ml of water or broth
METHOD:
- Drain the sauerkraut.
- Boil about 500-700 ml of water, depending on how thick you want the soup to be.
- When the water starts to boil, add the cabbage.
- Meanwhile, soak your mushrooms in cold water and let them swell.
- Then you can strain them and add them to the soup.
- Then add whole sausages.
- Prepare a roast in a pan.
- Fry the onion until golden, cover with a little flour, season and cover with broth or water.
- Mix thoroughly, bring to a boil.
- Then put the roast in the soup and mix.
- Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Finally, take out the sausages and cut them into rounds.

The following video can also help you with the recipe for sorrel:
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Honest cabbage with cream
The cabbage recipe is really honest. It has a bacon base and has a mild tomato flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
- 100 g of bacon or bacon
- 2 medium sized onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 spoons of tomato puree
- 1 spoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 4 cups chicken stock or water
- 500 g of sauerkraut
- ⅓ cup of sour cream
METHOD:
- Cut the bacon into cubes and dry-fry until crispy.
- Add chopped onion, garlic and sauté.
- Add the tomato puree and cook for a while, then add the cabbage without juice, spices, cover with water or broth and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
- At the end of cooking, add sour cream and mix thoroughly.
- If necessary, season with salt or sugar.

Moravian cabbage
Here we have another recipe for cabbage. This time in the Moravian way.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 200 g of bacon
- 1 onion
- 500 g of potatoes
- 500 g of sauerkraut
- water
- salt
- pepper
- caraway seeds
- pepper
- Bay leaf
- flour
METHOD:
- Cut the bacon into cubes and dry fry.
- Add finely chopped onion and fry until translucent.
- Cover with flour, mix for a while, then cover with cold water.
- Once the soup starts to boil, add diced potatoes, cabbage and spices.
- Cook until tender.

Red cabbage with potatoes
What makes this cabbage soup different from the classic one? Beetroot is added here.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 small beets
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 500 g of sauerkraut
- 1 liter of water or broth
- 3 medium potatoes
- Bay leaf
- salt
- pepper
- sour cream for decoration
METHOD:
- Fry finely chopped onion in oil, add garlic, coarsely grated beetroot and sauté for a while.
- Add cabbage, cover with water or broth, add spices, potatoes and cook until soft.
- Serve garnished with sour cream.

So how do you like the cabbage recipes? The soup is simple. Basically, there isn’t much to spoil about her. Even a beginner can handle it. However, it is important that it is well seasoned. It is ideal if you strain the juice from the cabbage and save it for something else.
Such a cabbage soup would then be very sour. The usual ingredient is onion, but also sausage, bacon, bacon, or smoked meat. The final thickening is also up to your imagination. You don’t have to thicken it at all, but you can use shortening, sour cream or whipping cream.