Jalapeño & Dill Sauerkraut

Love sauerkraut with a little kick? This homemade version combines crunchy cabbage, fresh dill, and jalapeños for a tangy, spicy topping you’ll want to keep in your fridge. Add a forkful to sandwiches, tacos, grain bowls, or eggs whenever your meal needs something extra.

With just four ingredients and a few fermentation tools, you can turn fresh cabbage into a flavorful homemade staple.

What Makes This Sauerkraut Special?

Jalapeño adds a peppery kick, while dill brings a fresh, familiar flavor that pickle lovers will recognize. Two jalapeños gives this batch a gentle spice levels, although you can add more jalapeños for a spicier version!

Fermentation also brings more than flavor. Sauerkraut provides fiber, and when it hasn’t been heat-treated (aka when it's homemade), it contains live cultures that are great for the gut-health. The types and amounts vary between batches.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg green cabbage, weighed after removing the core and damaged outer leaves
• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
• 3-5 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
• 20 g non-iodized salt (or 2% of the combined weight of the cabbage, jalapeño, and dill)

Salt tip: Use calculator and multiply the vegetable weight in grams by 0.02. For example, 1,030 g of vegetables needs 20.6 g of salt. Use a kitchen scale for accuracy.

Tools:

• 32 oz Mason jars (the amount you can pack into your jar will vary, but in general, 1kg of cabbage should fit inside a 32 oz Mason jar)
• Masontops Fermentation Bundle

Instructions:

1. Prepare your produce and tools.
   Wash your hands, jar, and tools thoroughly. Rinse the cabbage, jalapeño, and dill under running water. Remove damaged cabbage leaves (reserve one clean, intact cabbage leaf) and the core, then thinly slice the cabbage. 

2. Weigh and salt.
   Weigh the prepared cabbage together with the dill and whole jalapeño to account for their weight, then set the dill and jalapeño aside until after massaging. Multiply the combined weight in grams by 0.02 to calculate the salt needed. For example, 1,000 g of vegetables needs 20 g of salt.
   

3. Massage the cabbage.
   Place the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with the measured salt. Massage and pound it with the Pickle Packer until it softens and releases plenty of liquid. Letting it rest for 15–20 minutes can help draw out more juice. Mix in the sliced jalapeño and dill.

4. Pack your jars.
   Place the Smart Funnel on your jar. Add the kraut mixture a handful at a time, pressing firmly with your Pickle Packer to remove air pockets and bring the brine above the vegetables. Pack the cabbage to about the shoulder of the jar, leaving room for the cabbage leaf and Pickle Pebble. Pour in the remaining liquid from the bowl. Leave about 1-2 inches of headspace.

5. Keep everything submerged.
   Add your reserved cabbage leaf on top of the kraut, then place a Pickle Pebble glass weight and press it down to hold the vegetables below the brine (everything needs to be submerged in the brine, including the Pickle Pebble). Remove any floating pieces from the surface. If the cabbage hasn’t released enough liquid, give it more time and massage again before packing.

6. Add your Pickle Pipes.
   Place a Pickle Pipe on top of your jar and secure it with a Tough Band. Place the jar in a bowl or tray to catch any brine that may overflow during active fermentation.

7. Let it ferment.
   Keep the jar out of direct sunlight at a steady room temperature, ideally around 70–75°F. Bubbles, cloudy brine, and a developing sour aroma are normal changes. Check regularly that the vegetables remain submerged. Sauerkraut commonly takes about 3 days to 4 weeks (the range is quite wide as everyone likes in at a different level) at this temperature; cooler conditions can take longer.

8. Refrigerate and enjoy.
   Once fermentation is complete, replace the Pickle Pipe with Tough Top lid and refrigerate. Keep the sauerkraut below its brine and use a clean utensil each time you serve it.

Serving Ideas

Try your jalapeño and dill sauerkraut:

• Piled onto burgers or sandwiches
• Tucked into tacos
• Served alongside roasted potatoes
• Added to eggs or avocado toast
  
• Spooned over grain bowls

For the best crunch, add it just before serving.

Storage and Fermentation Tips

Keep your finished sauerkraut refrigerated and label the jar with the date. As you use it, transfer the remaining kraut and brine to a smaller clean jar to reduce empty space.

If you notice fuzzy mold, a rotten odor, or a slimy texture, discard the batch without tasting it.

Enjoy!!

Are you hooked on a sauerkraut? Try this Cranberry Sauerkraut recipe!