Sauerkraut Chowder

jaimelee's Note:

Perfect comfort food on a snowy or cold night. this is the most amazing soup I have ever had and it gets even better reheated the next day! Not only that but anyone I have made it for has become addicted even if they do not like sauerkraut. It is my mother's recipe and I was easily able to make it vegetarian. It can also be made low fat. I have listed both options for meat eaters and vegetarians. It can be made vegan if vegan ingredients are substituted for the dairy ones but I have not tried that yet. It is best with buttery crackers but it is plenty a meal by itself. Note: I am not sure of can and package sizes so they are estimates, but I think that I am pretty close, this is a hard recipe to ruin.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 -4 large russet potatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can sauerkraut
• 1 (10 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (1 lb) package kielbasa, diced (optional)
• water
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cut potatoes into bite size pieces (you can peel them if you would like, I leave the skin for extra nutrients) place in a dutch-oven or soup pot, cover with water, add onions and boil until cooked through and fork tender.
2. When potatoes are done add sauerkraut, evaporated milk and cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is completely blended.
3. At this time if you wish to add the kielbasa do so.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste (don't let the sauerkraut fool you, the potatoes take away most of the tartness so you will need more salt than you think so make sure to taste).
5. Cover and cook at a low simmer for 30 minutes.

Reviews

[snew1234]

This is a family recipe submitted by my daughter. It is interesting to see how people "tweak" it for their own preference. It definitely is better the next day. Some said it was too thin. That may be due to the amount of water you use. I only use enough to just cover my diced potatoes. It will also thicken if allow to cook onn a low heat longer. My sister adds a stick of butter to hers but we usually leave that out or just add a small amount. I am really glad to see that people are still enjoying this recipe!

[Cinnamon Turtle]

For a cold winter night, this was great made with Tofurkey meatless Polish Sausage. I added powdered veggie broth with the water and used fat-free evaporated milk and low-fat cream cheese. Three people emptied the pot. Thanks for a great recipe. This was so easy, it will surely become one of my go-to winter soups, especially since I usually have these ingredients on hand. If you like dill pickle soup, you'll love this.

[Nana Lee]

I have to say I was a bit skeptical about sauerkraut and cream cheese! But it wourled out just fine! I did add the kielbasa to the potatoes and onion before cooking them. I found it gave a great depth of flavor to the soup. Removed the kielbasa before adding the milk and cheese. When it was heated through and creamy, I cut the kielbasa into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces and added to the pot. Raves here! Thanks for posting. jaimelee.