How To Ferment Low-Sodium Sauerkraut

Looking for a way to make sauerkraut a bit less salty? Here is what you can do with too-salty kraut along with a few ways to make low-sodium sauerkraut that is still fermented and packed with probiotics!

Why does sauerkraut need salt?

Traditional sauerkraut is preserved so that it can be eaten all winter long. Fermented kraut is packed with vitamin C, making it a particularly important storage vegetable.

A brine-based ferment of at least 2.2% salt is the best way to ensure that a jarful of sauerkraut will last in the root cellar for several months. This is why most fermented vegetables and pickles are particularly salty.

If salty foods aren’t your favorite (whether for health or flavor) there are two options:

1. Make sauerkraut with a typical brine ratio, then serve it in a way that reduces the impact of the salt.
2. Ferment a low-sodium sauekraut.

1. What to do with sauerkraut that is too salty?

It’s pretty easy to end up with sauerkraut that is too salty. Whether you find 2.2% salt to be too much, or you accidentally added too much salt, don’t worry! As long as the salt isn’t above 5% of the total ferment, it will still result in probiotic kraut.

Here are a few ways to reduce the impact of overly salty sauerkraut:

• Seasoning: Use the sauerkraut to season a dish. For example, sauerkraut can provide the salt for a potato salad.
• Rinse: Rinsing sauerkraut right before serving will remove some of the salt. It will also remove some of the beneficial bacteria. So I only recommend rinsing commercial, non-fermented kraut.
• Add more cabbage: Adding more cabbage after the initial fermentation is finished is my FAVORITE option. Simply add more cabbage (up to double the original amount of cabbage). Let it ferment for 3 more days before popping it in the fridge. It will be packed with probiotics, slightly sweeter than a usual batch of sauerkraut, and way less salty.
• Add more water: Alternatively, adding more water after the initial fermentation is finished is an easy option. This is a cross between rinsing and adding more cabbage. Simply add more water (up to double the original volume) before popping the kraut in the fridge.

Options for fermenting with little or no salt.

As a gluten-free person, I have to admit that gluten-free sourdough is not the same as typical sourdough. Likewise, low-sodium sauerkraut really isn’t the same as sauerkraut. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t probiotic and delicious!

There are a few ways to make low-sodium sauerkraut:

• Seedy kraut: Paul Bragg (of the Braggs liquid aminos and other products) came up with a method of using seeds (1 Tbsp each of caraway, dill, and celery) to flavor and keep salt-free sauerkraut crunchy. Most recipes for salt-free kraut are based on this method. Just be sure to move the kraut to the fridge within 7 days.
• Sweet kraut: A sweet fermented sauerkraut uses a sugar-based culture to ferment the vegetables, instead of the natural lactic bacteria cultures. Sweet krauts can be made with kombucha, ACV, homemade wine, or other fermented beverages. If you want to try this style of kraut, feel free to try my fermented piccalilli recipe. The salt is added for flavor only, so feel free to skip it altogether.
• Vegetable starter: Using a vegetable starter is my preferred way to make low-sodium sauerkraut. I find it’s the best way to make kraut that has exactly the flavor I want. So it’s what I used for the recipe card. Again, I recommend reducing the fermentation time to less than 7 days to prevent the risk of contamination.