If you have ever tried a kraut burger, you would know that these are addictive and unique in their taste. As long as you get the filing for this recipe right, this burger will become your next go-to meal.
Here is the ultimate kraut burger recipe made from scratch: ground beef, sweet dough, cheese, onion, cabbage, and chili pepper filing; everything will be baked perfectly so that you can enjoy this gorgeous burger and come back for more.
We have to admit, these burgers are a little time-consuming, but once you try them, you will realize that they are completely worth the time and effort. You can make 12 burgers with one batch, and the best part is that you can also freeze these burgers after you have baked them. We recommend packing the burgers individually and storing them in a freezer-safe container. You will have to freeze these burgers immediately after they cool so that they do not go bad.
Kraut Burger Recipe – The Basics
- This recipe uses all-white flour, as well as some wheat flour. You can use 5 1/3 cups of flour, along with 1 extra tablespoon after it rises. Cut the dough up equally and roll it up into balls.
- Make sure to use good quality yeast.
- We would recommend using green cabbage for this recipe. You can also use purple cabbage if green cabbage is not available.
- Cheese: We recommend using sharp cheddar cheese as it is traditional and tastes brilliant. You can also use a blend of aged gouda and cheddar. We assure you that this would taste amazing. White cheddar is also great, but it has a milder flavor if you do not like the taste of intense cheese.
- Hot peppers: if you like your burger to be spicy, we would recommend using a jalapeno pepper or green chili.
Regular vs. Spicy Kraut Burgers
As mentioned before, these burgers need to be baked. If you want your kraut burgers to be spicy, you will need to poke 2 holes on top of the burger, and if you want it to be regular, you will need to poke 1 hole.
Baking
We recommend baking these burgers for 30 minutes to achieve that perfect golden color. However, if you want your burgers to be darker, you can bake them for longer. You must bake the burgers well on the bottom, too, so make sure to keep an eye out.
When your burgers come out of the oven, you must brush them with melted butter to help bring flavor, texture, and color to the burgers.
Reheating
If you want to reheat your burgers, you can use a toaster oven. Reheat your burgers for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, regardless of whether you are using convection or a conventional oven.
Once reheated, put some toppings of your choice and enjoy your burger!
Prepping a Night Before
It would help if you made your dough a night before so that once it rises, the burger can be stored in an airtight container. Leaving it overnight will allow the dough to rise sufficiently. Remember to store the filling separately till you are ready to assemble everything the next day.
Ingredients for the Dough
- Warm water: 2 cups
- Yeast: 1 ½ tablespoon
- Flour: 5 cups
- Olive oil: ¼ cups
- Sea salt: ½ teaspoon
- White sugar: 2/3 cups
- Ingredients for the Filling
- Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
- Green cabbage: 6 cups, diced
- Yellow onion: 2 cups
- Ground beef: 1 lb
- Diced jalapeno: 1 ½ cups
- Sea salt: ½ teaspoon
- Black pepper: freshly ground, to taste
- Cheddar cheese: 6 cups, shredded
- Melted butter: 4 tablespoons
Method for Making the Dough
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup of warm water. The water needs to be warm, not hot, as this can kill the yeast. In the bowl, add 1 ½ teaspoon of year and mix it up gently. Keep the mixture aside for 10 minutes.
- Take a big bowl and mix in the flour, sugar, and salt, along with 1 cup of warm water. Once the yeast starts to activate, add it to the flour mixture and mix it all up. You can use your hands to do this.
- Start kneading the dough and keep it for 5 minutes or until it is not sticky anymore. You can add 1 teaspoon of flour till you feel like the dough is not sticky anymore.
- Using your hands, make a ball of dough and allow it to sit in a bowl. Cover this bowl with a lid for 45 minutes so that the dough can rise.
Method for Making the Filling
- Chop up some jalapenos, onions, and cabbage. Shred the cheese.
- Put a skillet on low to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is heated, add cabbage, onion, 2 lbs of ground beef, salt, pepper, and jalapenos. Use a wooden spoon to break the beef apart so that it does not clump. Cook this for 10 minutes, and then start lowering the heat.
- Cook for 10 additional minutes and check to see that the vegetables and beef have softened. Get rid of the additional liquid. However, don’t throw it away- you can use it in other dishes!
Assembling the Kraut Burgers
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Brush the burger buns with some melted butter after baking them. Line them up in a tray with some parchment paper
- Make 12 pieces with the dough you have made. Keep them in the fridge and take out one.
- Roll the dough by putting some flour on your 0workstation.
- Roll the dough out so that it is 7 inches in diameter. The edges need to be thin, while the middle needs to be thick. Layer ¼ cup meat, ½ cup cheese, and again ½ cup meat. This technique helps the cheese stay on top instead of creating a soggy mess.
- Pitch opposite ends of the dough, stretch it and pinch it at the center again. Use the same process to seal all sides. Once the burger is sealed, flip it and seal it again.
- Put the burgers on the baking sheet one by one till your tray is lined with 6 burgers.
- Bake for 30 minutes to start to brown the bottom buns too. Once done, allow the burgers to cool for 10 minutes.
- Use the same process for the other burgers.
Our Final Thoughts
Even though you can complete this kraut burger recipe by serving the hot buns with whatever condiments you want, we recommend hot sauce as it will hit all the right notes! If you are feeling extra creative, mix up some mayo and hot sauce and enjoy these wonderful condiments together.