Sauerkraut Chowder

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!

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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.

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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.

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After careful consideration with DW, we decided that this was a solid 4 star recipe. (please see my rating system) A truly different chowder and a great departure from the standard seafood, fish or other protein chowders. I'm not sure what to do to tweak this, but one of the things we did was to use chicken stock instead of plain water and that boosted the flavor nicely. Mika's idea of adding some freshly greated cheese is a good one. Garlic would also be a welcome addition. Thanks for posting!

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This soup really is amazing. It's my new favorite! I used smoked turkey sausage instead of kielbasa and it didn't need any extra salt. Thanks for sharing your mom's recipe! NOTE: I just made this for the second time. I used a very mild kraut and no meat and it had no flavor whatsoever. You definitely have to use a strong tasting sauerkraut and using a smoked sausage or kielbasa gives it alot of extra flavor.

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Wow!!! I had one of my kids that kept asking when we could eat because it smelled so good. I DOUBLED this in my crock pot. First I put in 1 1/4 cup of presoaked small white beans that I had sprouted the day before. I used the last of my russet potatoes then used red potatoes also. I used two smoked kielbasa that were 12 oz. each an I quartered them lengthwise then cut them every half inch. I cut my onion in half and sliced it by the quarter inch, then I browned it in butter before adding it to the crock on top of the potatoes. I buy my kraut in bulk, so used 4 cups for the doubled recipe. I did not drain the kraut, so some of that liquid was used in place of the water. I only added enough water to cover the potatoes. Cooked on high for 5 hours then I put one 8 oz. brick of cream cheese on top and 8 oz. of sour cream on top of that. Twenty minutes later I came back to stir it all in. It wasn't as thick as I wanted so I added another 8 oz brick of cream cheese.

My mom who doesn't care for kraut loved this and most of my kids liked it too.
Next time I will try to do it "correctly" , but this was still yummy.. And bonus, I had enough for my son and I to have for lunch the next day.

So I layered this in my crockpot as follows:
Beans, potatoes, onions, kraut and kielbasa then black pepper.

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Well, I just made this with much trepidation because of the sauerkraut / cream cheese combo. The only thing I did differently, was to add some ham soup base to the water, and a finely chopped carrot (had one left in the crisper that needed to be used) to the potato / onion boil. The recipe doesn't say whether or not you should drain and or rinse the sauerkraut, so I just drained 1/2 the liquid out of the can, but did not rinse it. When ever I use sauerkraut in anything else, I drain and lightly rinse it, because I don't like that intense sour taste. I figured, though, that if I did that in this recipe, I'd just have cabbage soup. I also added diced kielbasa, that I had pre-cooked, to it. Anyway, I tasted it, and it's delicious. Other reviewers have said it's better the next day, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

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Yummy! We both enjoy polish sausage and sauerkraut so there couldn't be a better way to enjoy this combo on a cold, rainy day like today! used 6-8 russets and boiled with salt. while they boiled i chopped the onion and pan fried it with cracked black pepper and unsalted butter. i had let the package of cream cheese sit out and whisked it in a bowl with about half a cup of half and half. added onions to soup when all was done and turned to simmer. caramelized the sauerkraut with granulated garlic, cracked pepper, and a few diced multi color mini sweet peppers. added them to the pot. carefully spooned out some of the broth into cream mixture to temper it and then added to pot. cut up kielbasa in thinner half coins and also pan fried in the cast iron. threw in pot when done. i also had some leftover home made shallot cream cheese from bagles and mix that with some broth to temper and put in pot so it would get used up. very good soup! im sure its calorie free too! ha ha! ;) Thanks Jaimelee!

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We liked this soup...better the second day. I wasn't as wowed like some other reviewers who stated this was the best soup they'd ever had. It was hearty, comforting and rich. It made a lot, so much so that I was worried what I'd do with it all if we didn't like it. We made it with the sausage. It was too thin initially, fortunately I had some leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge which I stirred in to thicken it up. Worked like a charm. If you have the same issue, stir in some instant mashed potatoes which I've used several times to thicken up chowders prior. Thanks for sharing.

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Awesome ! Imade this using 2 potatoes, 3 carrots and a container of mushrooms, sliced.I used a mixture of chicken broth and water {mostly chicken broth} to cook the vegetables in. The soup was delicious.

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I love this. I skipped the meat and the soup was fantastic. Leftovers went to work for lunch.

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I never understood why sauerkraut exists. Now I know.

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Kids fought over the empty pot!!!! But Momma got to lick it clean!! Fantabulous soup....will definitely be making this again and again. Might possibly add fresh mushrooms? Thank you for such a delicious recipe.

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Oh my my my!!! This was to die for. I've had the recipe saved in my cookbook forever and finally found the right time to make it - best served on cold, rainy or snowy days indoors! :) As long as you LOVE sauerkraut and you're not too worried about the caloric intake, this recipe is for YOU! It was very thick and hearty. Me & the DH like a good thick chowder, but if you don't, you may have to add extra water or milk. Thanks Jaimelee for a fabulous recipe!! Great for us Czech/Germans, heh :)

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Pretty darn good! Used left over pork and sauerkraut and it was awesome, DH asked that it be added to menu wheel.

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As a "dad" who doesn't cook much (short of grilling steaks), I treated the family to this dish tonight. I made the polish kielbasa version of this, and grilled the kielbasa before adding, and also used the fat free versions of cream cheese and evaporated milk.

Despite the fact that I don't cook in the kitchen all that much, I nonetheless found this dish extremely easy to prepare. The best part was that the meal was a BIG HIT, and everyone thought it was delicious. I got a lot of praise for my efforts, and the family was surprised that dad could deliver such a tasty dish to the table. THANK YOU for sharing your mom's recipe with us. I hope you don't mind, but I believe that in the future, my girls will be referring to "your mom's recipe" to "One of our Dad's Awesome Recipes"... LOL

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Great recipe. I made it last week. My neighbors, who just happen to be German citizens living in Texas now, dropped by and ate with us. They said "Das schmeckt gut!" Translation: "That tastes good!" What more could you ask for?

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Everyone is right to rave about this recipe. Made it with low-fat cream cheese, evaporated skim milk and turkey kielbasa (I'm *trying* to be good!) and it was delicious!

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Great soup! DH loved it and pretty much polished off the pot himself. I did add mustard as others have suggested. I'll be making this often, as per hubbys request. Thanks for posting!

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This was ridiculously easy to make and one of the best soups i've ever made. I will definitely be making this one many many more times.

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