Some of my favorite recipes come not from cookbooks, but from the quiet joy of watching Lecker aufs Land or Landfrauenküche—those heartwarming German cooking shows where six women from rural regions cook for one another, sharing meals, stories, and beautifully decorated tables. Their dishes are rooted in tradition, made with love, and often spark my own culinary curiosity.
One evening, inspired by a Swabian episode, I decided to make Krautkrapfen—rolled noodle dumplings filled with Sauerkraut, Bacon, and Onions. It’s a dish that feels like home: rustic, savory, and perfect for cooler days when the oven warms both the kitchen and the soul.
It’s just wonderful what you can conjure up from pasta dough. Filled pasta specialities such as Tortellini, Schlutzkrapfen, Pelmeni or Wonton are considered the premier class of homemade pasta. In the Allgäu and in Swabian cuisine, there is another classic made of pasta dough, which is the Krautkrapfen. This is in addition to the famous Maultaschen.
The Dough: A Clever Shortcut
Instead of making fresh noodle dough, I used lasagna sheets—boiled for 5 to 8 minutes until soft enough to roll. It’s a practical twist that still delivers the comforting texture of traditional Krautkrapfen.
The Filling: Tangy, Smoky, Creamy
While the pasta cooked, I fried bacon until crisp, then drained the fat and added finely diced onions to the pan. After a couple more minutes of sautéing, I stirred in rinsed and well-squeezed sauerkraut, seasoning with salt, pepper, a touch of honey, and caraway seeds (optional, but so Swabian). The mixture simmered for about 10 minutes, then I folded in a generous spoonful of sour cream and let it cool.
Rolling and Nestling
I spread the sauerkraut mixture across each lasagna sheet —leaving the edges clean—and rolled them up from the long side. Seam-side down, they nestled together in a buttered casserole dish like cozy little bundles.
The Broth Bath and Bake
I poured warm broth over the rolls until just covered, sealed the dish with foil, and baked at 350°F for 35 minutes. After removing the foil, I brushed the rolls with melted butter. I added a final flourish of crispy breadcrumbs or French fried onions just three minutes before the bake was done.
Serving: A Taste of the Swabian Countryside
The Krautkrapfen emerged golden and fragrant, the edges crisp, the filling creamy and tangy. I served them with a side of mashed potatoes and a light salad. I imagined how the Landfrauen might rate my table setting. It was perhaps not perfect, but certainly heartfelt.
A Dish That Connects
Making Krautkrapfen reminded me that food doesn’t have to be fancy to be meaningful. It just needs to be made with care. Whether you’re cooking for guests or simply for yourself, this dish brings a little Swabian countryside to your table.
If you’ve ever been inspired by a cooking show or a dish that speaks to your heritage, I’d love to hear about it. And if you try these Krautkrapfen, let me know how they turn out.
Last time I visited the Swabian region I had the Maultaschen at some friends house. This Krautkrapfen version is a lot easier, no need to make your own pasta dough, just use cooked Lasagna sheets.
With our Krautkrapfen recipe, you are sure to succeed in this hearty noodle variant without any problems. It’s just wonderful what you can conjure up from pasta dough.
Prepare your own homemade Pasta:
Ingredients:
300 g (2 1/3rd cup) all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Olive oil
Preparation:
For the pasta dough, sift the flour onto a work surface, make a well in the middle. Add eggs, salt and oil, mix with a fork. Repeatedly incorporate flour from the edges. Knead with your hands into a smooth dough, form a ball and wrap it in foil and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge and knead it on a floured work surface. Cut in half and roll out both parts very thinly into long rectangles.
Spread the prepared Sauerkraut mixture over the halves of the dough, leaving the edges a little free, then roll up from the long side and place seam-side down on the worktop.
The savory mixture of sauerkraut, bacon and onions is simply spread over the rolled out dough and then the whole thing is rolled up like a strudel.
Cut the rolls of dough into slices approx. 5 cm thick (2″) and place them close together in an ovenproof dish.
Then the individual Krautkrapfen can be fried in some oil until golden brown or steamed in a little broth. Since I used Lasagne sheets, I lined them up in a round casserole dish with some broth and baked them in. the oven. Another, very appropriate name for the dish is therefore also “Krautschnecken”
Swabian Krautkrapfen (Sauerkraut rolls)
Ingredients
- 12 Lasagne pasta sheets (cooked for 10 min)
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 lb thick bacon
- 1/2 lb Sauerkraut (drained and squeezed)
- 1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
- 1 tsp honey
- dash salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 750ml broth
- 3 tbsp butter
- Topping:
- Fried bread crumbs or fried onions
Instructions
- Cook about 12 Lasagna sheets for 5 to 8 minutes (check softness, so it can be rolled).
- Fry some bacon and crumble.
- Drain the fat from the pan.
- Peel the onions and finely dice them.
- Add the fried bacon and onions back to the pan and fry 2 more more minutes.
- Rinse the Sauerkraut with water, then squeeze with your hands or in a kitchen towel until most water is gone.
- Add the Sauerkraut to the bacon and onions.
- Then season with salt, pepper, add some caraway seeds (optional) and honey.
- Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring, then stir in the sour cream and allow to cool.
- Spread the prepared Sauerkraut mix over the halves of the dough, leaving the edges free, then roll up from the long side and place seam-side down on the worktop.
- Place the rolls close together in an ovenproof casserole dish.
- Pour in the heated meat broth until the sauerkraut rolls are just covered.
- Close with aluminum foil and cook in a preheated oven at 350 F for about 35 minutes.
- Remove aluminum foil and brush with melted butter.
- Topping: Fried bread crumbs, or (French) fried onions which you add 3 min before finished baking.
Notes
Optional: I covered the casserole dish with bread crumbs that was fried in a hot pan with butter. Another option is to cover casserole with French fried onions in the last 3 minutes of baking.
