New-Fashioned Sauerkraut Salad

Is sauerkraut a dieter's friend? You bet. It's just cabbage with layers of flavor and virtually no calories. Enjoy it here in an old-fashioned salad updated — yes, that's "new" fashioned — to be lighter and brighter and more healthful and, naturally, more delicious too.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

COMPLIMENTS!

• "Delicious!" ~ ibh

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Modern Cooks, Read On!

We love our convenience products, the ones that deliver supper to the table almost by themselves.

But for the label-readers among us, dismay sets in. Too often, the cost of convenience is long lists of scientific-sounding ingredients and unhealthful ingredients to avoid like trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup.

Meet sauerkraut, our new friend, simple cabbage that’s fermented. Rinsed, think of sauerkraut as naked coleslaw. Chopped, think of it as salad awaiting the fixings.

Church-style cookbooks list quick salads favored at family meals and potlucks. Their traditional sauerkraut salad recipes call for cups of oil and sugar. My contemporary sauerkraut salad is fresh and light with great crunch and adds beans for protein and fiber. I’m willing to bet you won’t miss the fat, the sugar and especially the unnecessary calories!

This recipe is perfect for outdoor summer meals and family gatherings, quick and inexpensive to prepare, easy to transport, no fuss to serve, a great foil for grilled burgers and ribs and all the traditional summer foods.

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NEW-FASHIONED SAUERKRAUT SALAD

Still convenient, now contemporary

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Makes 12 cups

• 16 or 32 ounces sauerkraut, preferably from a bag or jar (not canned)
• 15 ounces canned hominy, rinsed and drained (see TIPS)
• 15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1/3 cup rice vinegar (see TIPS)
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons sugar (Splenda works fine)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 a red onion, diced small
• 1/2 an English cucumber, diced small
• 2 ribs celery, diced small
• 2 carrots, diced small
• 1 green pepper, diced small
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley (or cilantro or dill or another herb)
• Optional: chopped tomato

Rinse, squeeze, drain and chop sauerkraut. Rinse and drain hominy and beans.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk vinegar, water, sugar, olive oil, mustard seed, salt and pepper.

Add remaining ingredients, stirring into liquid as added. Stir in sauerkraut and beans. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later. Keeps in fridge for several days.

ALANNA's TIPS Worried about a sauerkraut-y taste? Don’t. Once rinsed and chopped, the sauerkraut almost fades into the background. Hominy is a popcorn-shaped whole-grain corn, dense, chewy and nutty. Look for it in the Mexican section of grocery stores or substitute corn or another canned bean. Rice vinegar is less harsh than white vinegar but really, any good clear vinegar will do. The brand I use is 4.3% acidic.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Half Cup: 39 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 72mg Sodium; 7g Carb; 1g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 1g Protein WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 1 & SmartPoints 1 & Freestyle 1 This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat and sugar and additions of low-calorie and fiber-rich vegetables and additions of protein- and fiber-rich beans.

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More Great Summer Salad Recipes

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more salad recipes ~

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This Week at A Veggie Venture

~ Pimm's Original ~
but really, the story and photos of a mother-daughter weekend, the OCHERs and the YaYas, nearly 60 years in the making

If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ sauerkraut recipes ~
~ canned & dried beans ~
~ cucumber ~
~ carrots ~
~ bell pepper ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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