The best store-bought sauerkraut with probiotics is found in the refrigerated section. The label will say ‘raw’, ‘live’, or ‘probiotic’ and it will have NO sugar or vinegar in the ingredients list.
To reap all the probiotic health benefits buy fresh sauerkraut made without vinegar. To get the probiotics that you are looking for, stick to the refrigerated options.
Why Eat Fermented Sauerkraut?
Part of eating a nutritious diet includes making sure that you eat plenty of good bacteria, a.k.a probiotics. While you often think of food items like yogurt for your probiotic intake, that is far from the only food from which you can get probiotics. Sauerkraut can be an excellent source, but you should know that not all store-bought sauerkraut has the probiotics that you are looking for.
Raw, fermented sauerkraut is full of probiotics. Probiotics are good bacteria that provide many powerful benefits for your body and brain. They help strengthen the immune system so it can fight off colds and illnesses. The gut-healthy bacteria also help promote overall digestive health, reduce depression, and promote heart health.
Pick The Best Sauerkraut For Probiotics:
The first thing that you should know is how to find the sauerkraut with probiotics. Sauerkraut needs to be kept at a stable and cooler temperature to keep the probiotics alive. Keeping this probiotic-rich food at a steady and cooler temperature means that the most nutritious sauerkraut will be found in the refrigerated section of the store.
Sauerkraut is live, which is why it needs the cool temperatures of the refrigerator. Sauerkraut that you see in the regular aisles are dead and lack the probiotics that you need.
In many cases, you will notice that the best quality and most nutritious sauerkraut is in a pouch or bag rather than cans or jars.
You should also pay attention to the ingredients because not all sauerkraut is good for you. Read the label and make sure that cabbage is the first ingredient listed. Other components to look for are other vegetables, spices, and salt.
Avoid any sauerkraut that contains vinegar, sodium benzoate/sodium bisulfate, any other scientific words, and sugar. Vinegar is a preservative, which means that the product has been pasteurized rather than allowing for the natural fermentation process.
The ingredients should be natural and straightforward. Otherwise, the product is not as healthy as you might think.
Fortunately, there are some great store-bought sauerkraut options that you can trust to have the probiotics.
Top picks for the best brands of sauerkraut full of gut-healthy probiotics:
Bubbies Sauerkraut:
Bubbies is famous for its pickles but they also make amazing sauerkraut. Bubbies sauerkraut is Gluten-Free, abundant with live cultures, and absolutely delicious! Their line of products includes Kosher Dill Relish, Bread and Butter Pickles, Horseradish, and Pickled Herring Fillets. You can buy them on Amazon.
Farmhouse Culture Kraut:
One of the great features of this brand of sauerkraut is the fact that you have several flavors of kraut from which to choose. From the packaging, you can see that it says “Probiotics” so you know that this is a product that will give you the nutritional benefit you need. Try their Classic Sauerkraut with caraway and Garlic Dill Pickle flavored kraut.
Farmhouse Culture also makes a delicious Ginger Beet Gut Shot and a line of Kraut Crisps which are chips packed full of probiotics, 1 billion to be exact.
Gold Mine Sauerkraut:
Raw, organic, and full of probiotics, Gold Mine’s sauerkraut is a nutritious sauerkraut option. This organic sauerkraut is not pasteurized and is full of the living microorganisms that are essential to great probiotics. It’s carefully packaged, hand-crafted in small batches with sea salt, and aged in ceramic crocks to maximize the fermentation process. According to testing, this particular sauerkraut has about 468 million CFUs of live Lactobacillus and bifid bacterium species per ¼ serving. Order it online through Amazon and they will ship it refrigerated. Gold Mine Sauerkraut on Amazon.
Make Your Own Probiotic Gut Shot
Instead of washing the brine down the drain, save it and turn it into a homemade probiotic gut shot.
With brand name probiotic gut shots costing on average $6 per bottle, why not save some money and make your own?
This is a great way to get all of the probiotic power from fermented foods in a simple shot.
It is so easy, drain the brine and mix it with purified water in a 1-1 ratio. You can drink this as a shot or mix into your favorite recipes for a quick health boost.
Is Canned Sauerkraut Good For You?
Does canned sauerkraut have probiotics? Canned sauerkraut does not contain probiotics, due to the pasteurization and canning process. High heat is used to kill all the bacteria both good and bad and ensure it is shelf-stable. Due to the nature of the canning and jarring process preservatives are added to keep the sauerkraut longer, which can have negative effects on your health. So, no, canned sauerkraut is not good for you. However, it does offer a lot of great flavors, but no good bacteria.
The same principle applies to any fermented foods that you buy, including kimchi. Stick to the fermented foods found in the refrigerated aisle and make sure that you read the label to make sure you are purchasing the healthiest product.
| Product | Brand | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bubbies | View On Amazon | ||
| Olive My Pickle | View On Amazon | ||
| Pickled Planet | View On Amazon | ||
| Gold Mine Natural Food Co. | View On Amazon | ||
| Hamptons Brine | View On Amazon |
Prices and images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Does Cooking Sauerkraut Kill the Probiotics?
Yes, cooking sauerkraut can kill probiotics, which is one reason why some sauerkraut in the stores lack the probiotics that you want. The heat used during the pasteurization kills off the probiotics. As you cook sauerkraut to kill the harmful bacteria, you are also killing the good bacteria. Your best bet is not to cook it to get the most nutritional benefit of the sauerkraut.
Does Rinsing Sauerkraut Reduce Probiotics?
When you rinse the sauerkraut, you are also washing away some of the probiotics, but there will still be a good amount on the cabbage itself. There are a few reasons why people rinse their sauerkraut.
Some find the smell and flavor to be too pungent, so they rinse the sauerkraut to make it less sour.
Others rinse the sauerkraut to reduce their sodium intake. Rinsed or not, you will still be getting a good dose of gut-healthy bacteria.
Is Store-Bought Sauerkraut Good for You?
To choose the right sauerkraut, make sure you select options that are raw, non-pasteurized, and found in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
Sauerkraut is an excellent food to add to your diet to make sure that you get the good bacteria that your body needs to thrive. Probiotics may seem like a buzzword, but these live microorganisms are incredibly helpful in ensuring that your digestive tract is working as it’s supposed to. Many health problems are associated with a lack of essential probiotics in the body, which can leave you feeling sluggish and uncomfortable.
Related Topics:
Why Sauerkraut Gets Salty & How To Fix It
10 Delightful Ways to Eat Sauerkraut
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