This bratwurst and kraut meal may be the quickest slow cooker meal you ever made!

This is what I call a real short-cut meal.

It’s done in the slow cooker, but if made on high, it will take 3 hours or less. You can do it stove top as well, in  dutch oven and it takes even less time.

My secret with slow cooking when it comes to potatoes is–I use canned. Yep, canned.

A friend once told me that one of the most useful canned pantry items was whole canned potatoes. They appear to be new potatoes from the size but the great thing about them is they keep their shape and don’t fall to pieces during the longer cook times in a slow cooker.

I used bratwurst here. That’s where the major prep lies with this dish. First I prick the bratwurst’s casings and steam them for about 10 minutes to release a lot of the fat I just don’t want in the finished food. Then I slice them and brown them in a skillet. The slow cooker (or the stove top cooking) will finish them off.

This meal tastes really good made with fully-cooked smoked sausage or kielbasa. If you use those, all you’re doing is warming up all the ingredients in the crock pot. That may seem silly, but you can dump this in and go about doing other things, especially if you set the cooker to low!

This meal may not be very glamorous, but it’s tasty, hearty and filling. Nice for a chilly night.

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Bavarian Bratwurst with Kraut

This bratwurst and kraut meal may be the quickest slow cooker meal you ever made!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Pork, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bratwurst, sauerkraut

Servings: 2

Calories: 2665kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb bratwurst or smoked sausage/kielbasa
• 14 oz can whole potatoes, drained
• 14-16 oz can sauerkraut (undrained)
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp caraway seeds see NOTES

Instructions

• If using uncooked bratwurst, prick casing and steam for 10 minutes to release excess fat. This step may be eliminated if using fully-cooked smoked sausage or kielbasa.
• When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces (do the same if using kielbasa)
• Brown sausage (or kielbasa) in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add browned sausage to slow cooker.
• Add the sauerkraut, juice, sugar caraway seeds and potatoes. Stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours, low about 5 hours (times are approximate)

Notes

You can use more caraway seed if you really like them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 2665kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 265g | Saturated Fat: 37g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 1940mg | Potassium: 1640mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 8mg

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Like Zuppa Tuscana? You’ll love the version of this creamy soup made with bratwurst and bacon.

At first I set out to make the hack of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana.  But I was tired of Italian sausage having had them so much over the recent holiday season.

Bratwurst was on sale this week, and I always buy them when they go on sale.  Sadly, they didn’t have the cheddar variety, which I LOVE and would have tasted better in this soup, so I bought the plain.

Basically, the soup is the same as the Olive Garden version, except for the flavor the bratwurst impart.

A meal in a bowl

Another great (and different) flavor would be smoked sausage or kielbasa in place of the brats. In fact, that sounds so super, it’s on my rotation in a couple of weeks!

Nothing difficult or time consuming about the prep or cooking of this soup.  It’s any easy dinner.  Only thing I strongly advise is using a very good and flavorful chicken stock.

The chicken stock in the can or the newfangled box probably won’t cut it here for flavor. When I cheat and don’t make my own stock, I find the flavor of Knorr concentrated–the stuff in the little tubs sold 4 tubs to a package–or Swanson’s Flavor Boost to be outstanding.

If you are lucky enough to be in a part of the world that sells OXO liquid, use that as the flavor is outstanding!  My sister supplies me with it each time she visits from the UK.

This is a complete meal in a bowl, so a nice crusty roll or a hunk of Artisan bread is probably the only accompaniment you need here.

EDIT: The flavor of this soup improves 100% if made ahead! The leftovers I reheated 2 days later tasted  much better than when I’d originally served it.  So I suggest making it at least 24 hours before you intend to serve it.

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Bacon & Brats Soup

Like Zuppa Tuscana? You’ll love the version of this creamy soup made with bratwurst and bacon.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Pork, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, bratwurst, soups

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 717kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb bratwurst uncooked*
• 1/2 lb bacon diced
• 2 large potatoes diced
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 8 cups rich chicken stock**
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup shredded kale
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

• *Kielbasa, smoked sausage, Italian sausage or bulk sausage may be substituted
• **8 cups water + 2 little tubs of Knorr concentrated chicken stock may be substituted. Swanson's Flavor Boost Chicken flavor is good too--use 2 pouches + 8 cups water. You can use Herb-Ox (or similar), but it doesn't taste as good, FYI
• Cut bratwurst into 1/4-inch slices.
• Heat a stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bratwurst and cook, breaking up into smaller lumps, until it's brown and no pink remains. If using kielbasa/smoked sausage that's already cooked, brown it well. Remove from pan and set aside. Drain pan of any accumulated fat.
• Add the bacon to the same stock pot/dutch oven. Cook and brown over medium heat. Remove bacon to paper-towel lined tray to drain. Remove all but about 2 tbs of fat from the pan.
• Add the onion, potatoes & garlic and saute over medium-low heat until onion is translucent--about 5 minutes.
• Add the bratwurst, bacon and stock to the pan. Add the salt & pepper if necessary--you may not need it if using Herb-Ox type stock.
• Bring to boil over medium heat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• Add the kale and cook for about 1 minutes.
• Add the cream; heat through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 717kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 1762mg | Potassium: 1079mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1722IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 4mg

Bacon & Brats Soup

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