Kielbasa and Sauerkraut in Instant Pot – easy one pot recipe for a favorite Polish winter dish.
Other then oatmeal, sauerkraut is probably the dish I cook the most in my Instant Pot (and no, this is not a sponsored post, just my opinions and insights). The beauty of it is that it doesn’t smell up my kitchen and it cooks quickly. When cooking is over and pressure is down, I take the pot to my balcony and open the lid. When majority of steam evaporates, I return the pot inside. In this way I minimize the smells which to me is pretty important.
You could have a problem with silicon ring odor. I tried all kinds of stuff to eliminate it: washing by hand, washing in a dishwasher, soaking in bicarbonate soda and vinegar, but to no avail. Finally I’ve found someone on the internet said it should be put in the sun. I did just that. I put it on my window sill (the window was closed) and let it stay there for a few hours. It seems that this tip worked. Yay!
I usually cook potatoes separately, but this time I put it to the pot together with other ingredients. I was afraid they would fall apart, but they didn’t since food in the pot does not move during cooking. It was even hard for me to tell which photo was shot Before and which was shot After cooking because they look so similar. The only difference I could notice was that cabbage changed its color a little bit. Anyway, potatoes soaked up other flavors and turned out really delicious.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot or another type of pressure cooker – no problem. You can cook the same dish on stovetop for about 45-60 minutes or until sauerkraut is cooked to your liking.
I must warn you to be careful with your sauerkraut. In the beginning of autumn and winter it is usually milder tasting so you just need to drain it, no need to rinse it with water. Later on in the winter and spring, the longer it sits on a shop or pantry shelf, it will become more and more acidic and salty. Then you’ll need to rinse it or even let it soak in a bowl of water for up to 30 minutes. You need to taste the cabbage to know what to do with it, because even the same brand changes as time goes by. This time my sauerkraut was salty enough so I didn’t need to add any salt to it.
Some people like to add brown sugar and caraway seeds to it, which is fine, but I didn’t use it this time.
Kielbasa and Potatoes Skillet Dinner
I change my recipes from time to time, mostly according to people I’m serving food to. For instance, my father does not like almost any seasonings, herbs or spices. For him I cook sauerkraut plain, with just onion, garlic and a little bit of paprika, just for color. To that I usually add some smoked pork ribs.
This time I let him try my Polish twist on Sauerkraut with Kielbasa. He liked it very, very much. I didn’t dare to tell him that I put a bay leaf, mustard and an apple to it, though. Thank God he didn’t ask! This recipe for Kielbasa and Sauerkraut turned out to be a huge success and I’m sure I’ll be making it again soon.

- 2 Tbsp lard or oil
- 2 oz (55 g) bacon
- 1/2 lb kielbasa, cut into desired size pieces
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 lb sauerkraut, drained
- 3 potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 apple, peeled and grated
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup white wine or beer
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- black pepper, to taste
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Put oil or lard in Instant Pot*. Using Saute setting, fry bacon and kielbasa until brown. Remove from the pot.
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Add onion to the pot and saute until soft.
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Return kielbasa to the pot and add sauerkraut together with all remaining ingredients.
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Close the lid, set valve to Sealing. Cook for 15* minutes on Manual setting, high pressure, natural release. Serve Instant Pot Sauerkraut immediately with a fresh bread or dinner rolls.
*The same dish can be cooked in a regular pot on a stovetop for about 45-60 minutes or until sauerkraut is soft.
This sounds very tasty, but whenever I use sauerkraut in any dish – I always rinse it a ‘little’, and squeeze the liquid out (in a colander). IMO, sauerkraut (straight out of the pkg. or can) is much too salty & sour, and tends to overpower the flavor of the dish. Just sayin’….
I agree with you, Angelina. I would always rinse sauerkraut because I don’t like it sour, but this time I didn’t because my dad prefers is this way.
I love serving this kind of dish with my thanksgiving turkey dinner.
What is an Instant Pot?
It is a kind of electric pressure cooker. It is programmable, so it can be also used for steaming, cooking rice and slow cooking.
Does the time change (in an IP) if you are using turkey sausage (Eckrich skinless)–I’m pretty sure it’s already cooked?
You need to cook this long for sauerkraut to become soft. I’m not sure whether turkey sausage would overcook.
This looks amazing! I’ve been trying to find a recipe that is true to the traditional Kielbasa and you definitely deliver. thanks!