Best Sides for Kielbasa & Sauerkraut

Wondering what to serve with kielbasa and sauerkraut? Then you’re in the right place!

Read on for a list of the best side dishes to pair with your delicious Polish sausage dinner. You can't go wrong with a meal this satisfying!

Table of Contents

• 🗝️ Key takeaways
• 🥦 Vegetables and Sides
• 🥖 Breads
• 🍰 Desserts
• 🍷 Wine and cocktails
• 🍇 Garnish
• 💭 Things to know
• 💬 Comments

🗝️ Key takeaways

• Roasted vegetables and sides are a great addition to an already easy dinner—pick your favorite veggies, and supper will be ready in minutes.
• Create a full meal (and keep hungry eaters filled up!) with rye bread, sourdough, rolls, or another yeasted bread of your choosing.
• Desserts featuring sweet apples or nuts are a delicious way to round out your meal, so don't skip it!

Turn smoked kielbasa and sauerkraut into a complete meal with various easy and quick side dishes. There are lots of tasty sides to choose from, so you’re bound to find ones your whole family will love!

🥦 Vegetables and Sides

The most popular side dishes for a kielbasa and sauerkraut recipe are simple vegetables. You can roast ‘em in the oven or air fryer, saute ‘em in a large skillet, or slow cook them all day in a crockpot!

1. Old-fashioned potato salad
2. Polish egg noodles
3. Polish cucumber salad with sour cream
4. Green salad
5. Southern cucumber salad
6. Sauteed bell peppers
7. Sauteed onions
8. Red-skinned mashed potatoes
9. Grilled corn on the cob
10. Roasted sweet potato salad
11. Potato and cheese pierogies
12. Polish potato pancakes
13. Fried apples
14. Sauteed brown mushrooms
15. Air fryer cauliflower
16. Sweet-spicy oven roasted sweet potatoes
17. Baked French fries
18. Stewed tomatoes
19. Classic green bean casserole
20. Instant Pot scalloped potatoes
21. Steamed carrots and broccoli
22. Green beans and potatoes with bacon

🥖 Breads

A chunk of crispy, golden brown bread is the perfect accompaniment to any meal. You can't go wrong serving smoky kielbasa and sauerkraut with cheesy bread, easy dinner rolls, or flaky biscuits—it's all delicious!

23. Rye bread
24. Smoked gouda cheese bread
25. Sourdough bread
26. Parmesan garlic bread
27. Honey bread (piernik)
28. Swedish limpa rye bread
29. Reuben rolls
30. Onion cheese yeast bread
31. Air fryer biscuits
32. Potato bread
33. Sweet dinner rolls
34. Potato rolls
35. Pretzel buns
36. No knead beer bread
37. Polish egg bread
38. Rice bread (Pirog)

🍰 Desserts

A sweet dessert perfectly complements the sour flavor of tangy sauerkraut! Some of the best desserts to finish off your easy kielbasa dinner are also simple ones, so they won't take much effort.

39. Cinnamon applesauce
40. Apple bundt cake
41. Babka
42. Amish apple fritter bread
43. Viennese Christmas bread
44. Cream cheese kolaches
45. Peach cobbler
46. Bourbon apple pandowdy
47. German apple pie
48. Old World poppy seed roll
49. Dutch apple pie
50. Pecan pie cobbler
51. Southern pecan pie
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Old-fashioned pumpkin bread

🍷 Wine and cocktails

Although kielbasa and sauerkraut is traditionally enjoyed with a mug of foaming beer, you can pair this simple dish with wine and cocktails, too. Cocktails made with whiskey and fruity flavors also work well!

54. Cranberry whiskey sour
55. Apple cider sangria
56. Lager beer
57. Malbec or Merlot wine
58. Cranberry daiquiri cocktail
59. Chianti
60. Cabernet Sauvignon
61. Cranberry Moscow mule
62. IPAs
63. Classic whiskey sour

🍇 Garnish

There are so many different garnishes to serve with your kielbasa sausage and sauerkraut dinner. Each one adds different flavor, so choose whatever you're in the mood for—or choose a few!

64. Sour cream
65. Freshly ground black pepper
66. Red pepper flakes
67. Spicy brown mustard
68. Dijon mustard
69. Crispy fried onions
70. Sauteed peppers
71. Pickled onions
72. Caramelized onions
73. Sprinkling of brown sugar

💭 Things to know

These tips will help you to have the best kielbasa and sauerkraut ever! Learn how to amp up the flavors in your meal and identify what isn’t a good side dish for this tasty meal.

• Make a double batch of side dishes and bread to feed a crowd or have extra for another meal. Always store leftovers in an airtight container.
• Buy pre-cut frozen vegetables from the grocery store to save prep time.
• If you make a sauerkraut and kielbasa recipe with potatoes in the slow cooker, then don’t serve it with other potato-based side dishes like potato salad or mashed potatoes.
• Kielbasa and sauerkraut is best made with a good Polish sausage or other smoked sausage that you like. (And, no, hot dogs don't cut it!)
• Things like potato salad and green bean casserole make some of the best side dishes for kielbasa and sauerkraut because the creamy texture is a nice contrast with the acidity of the sauerkraut!
• When I had young kids at home, I always quartered the kielbasa slices. It's a choking hazard for little ones, otherwise.
• Using apple juice, apple cider, chicken broth, or light beer instead of water is a great way to add more flavor to a slow cooker sauerkraut sausage recipe.
• Mix in a teaspoon of caraway seeds, fennel seeds, and garlic powder in the sauerkraut mixture to amp up the unique flavors.

What are your favorite sides to serve with Kielbasa and sauerkraut? Leave a comment and let me know!