Baked Chicken Legs With Sauerkraut and Potatoes

Are you using Sauerkraut in your cooking? Well, you should!

It's full of vitamins and other good things and when prepared correctly, it tastes absolutely amazing.

Let me show you one of my favorite Sauerkraut recipes: Baked Chicken Legs With a Sauerkraut "Base". It's very easy to make, cooks along with the side of potatoes in the same baking dish and I'm pretty sure you will like it :)

As usually, I will embed a video that you can cook along with, below this introduction. If you like it, check my CookWeWill Youtube Channel and subscribe :)

You can also visit my blog for a more detailed version of this Sauerkraut Baked Chicken along with a few tips on how to choose the right sauerkraut type.

This was one of the first videos where I tried to talk too... I was nervous as one can get in front of the camera and we had some microphone problems too, so please bare with me :) I hope the instructions were clear and you could understand what I was saying... let me know in the comments!

This recipe requires just a few ingredients and all of them are pretty common, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting those.

These amounts should be sufficient for 4-5 servings.

1 kg (2lbs) quality sauerkraut
5 chicken legs
1kg (2lbs) potatoes
1 large onion
200-250ml (1 cup) chicken or beef broth/stock
3 cloves garlic
200-250g (1 cup) diced bacon
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp seasonings for the chicken, I used a mix of onion and garlic powder and red paprika
Italian seasoning to taste
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil

Add about a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a pot big enough to take all the sauerkraut we will use. In with the diced bacon, sliced onions and garlic. Sautee for about 10 minutes or until the onions become translucent and the bacon starts to brown.

TIP: No need to cut the onions finely at all, thick slices are ok too.

Add the sauerkraut and 1 cup of chicken or beef broth or stock. Season with salt and pepper, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and cook for about 15 minutes.

TIP: Check the baking sheet in the middle of the baking process and add more broth or water in case it has evaporated.

Season the chicken legs with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil that helps the dry seasoning sticking to the meat better. I’ve used 3 teaspoons of a seasonings mix: onion and garlic powder with red paprika. Salt and pepper of course and some Italian seasonings.

You can experiment with the seasonings! Do you have some favorite chicken seasonings mix? Use it!

Form a thick layer from the sauerkraut mix at the bottom of a baking dish. Place the chicken legs atop of it and fill all the space between the meat with potato wedges. I've seasoned the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.

When cooking for more people, you can use more chicken legs and bake the potatoes on a separate sheet.

Cover the baking sheet with aluminium foil and bake at 220C (425F) for about 1 hour or until the meat becomes tender. The foil protects the chicken and potatoes from direct heat, which makes it cook slower and it will become softer.

After 1 hour, the chicken legs should be almost fully cooked and tender and the potatoes must be soft.

Remove the foil and keep baking for 15-20 minutes at the same temperature to broil the skin and potatoes.

Depending on your oven, this can take a few more or less minutes... basically, we just want the skin to become crispy and the potatoes just as well.

When serving the chicken legs, I create a small “nest” from the sauerkraut and place the chicken or potatoes on top of it. But feel free to do it your way of course.

The chicken should be fall off the bone tender, with crispy skin. The Sauerkraut has absorbed all the drippings form the meat and the flavor should be very intense.

Let me know how you liked this recipe, in case you decided to try it. Would love to hear your feedback :)

Try some of my other "chicken" recipes such as the Sheet pan chicken legs or Chicken thighs with gravy.

Thanks for reading and watching :)

Cheers!