This is my own recipe for Polish Kapuśniak in an Instant Pot. It’s a medley of cabbage, carrots, dried mushrooms, and potatoes in a meaty pork-rib broth. This wonderful soup is exactly the same reheated as it is fresh, so feel free to make it ahead.
Kapuśniak in an Instant Pot
16
reasonable portions10
large portionsHave everything from the mushrooms through the ribs prepped before you start frying the bacon.
Ingredients
1 oz. dried mushrooms
1/2 cup extra dry vermouth
14-16 oz. sauerkraut
4 strips of thick-cut, smoky bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large white onion, peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced
1/2 leek, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbs dried marjoram
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 rack pork back ribs (~1 lb.), membrane removed, sliced into individual ribs
Salt and pepper
2 Tbs butter
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
4 bay leaves
6 allspice berries
3 medium gold potatoes, (peeled and) quartered lengthwise and sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds or half-moons
1/3 celery root, peeled and diced, or 2 stalks of celery, sliced
Sour cream, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Rehydrate the mushrooms: place them, along with the vermouth and 1/2-cup water, into a shallow bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Tamp down on the mushrooms to make sure they’re all in the liquid. Let them rest for at least 5 minutes. Go at them with a set of kitchen shears (without removing them from the liquid) to cut them all into large, bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Strain the sauerkraut and reserve the juice. Taste the strained kraut. If it’s too salty and/or acidic for your tastes, rinse it thoroughly. (If you’re unsure, rinse it.) Use kitchen shears to chop it up roughly. Set aside.
- Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ, more, 30 minutes. Without waiting for the “hot” indication, add the bacon and sauté until it’s crisp, 8 minutes. Fish it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Leave the rendered fat in the pot.
- Fry the onions and leeks until translucent at the edges, 5 minutes. Add garlic, marjoram, and caraway and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add the butter to the pot. While it’s melting, season the ribs with salt and pepper. Fry the ribs, turning every two minutes, until golden, 8-10 minutes total. Remove the ribs from the pot. Strain the mushroom liquid into the pot and deglaze. CANCEL the sauté. Add stock, water, bay leaves, and allspice to the pot, and return the ribs to the pot. Set the Instant Pot to SOUP/BROTH, more (20 minutes), high (pressure). Natural release for 15 minutes.
- Remove the ribs. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, and then pass it through a fat separator. Add the defatted liquid back to the pot. Pull the meat off the ribs; discard the bones and reserve the meat.
- Add the potatoes to the pot. Set the Instant Pot to SOUP/BROTH, less (1 minute), high (pressure). Quick release. If the potatoes are done to your liking, use a Chinese spider to remove them from the pot. Otherwise, leave them in.
- Add the carrots and celery to the pot. Set the Instant Pot to SOUP/BROTH, less (1 minute), high (pressure). Quick release. If the (potatoes), carrots, and celery are done to your liking, use a Chinese spider to remove them from the pot. Otherwise, leave them in.
- Add the reserved mushrooms, reserved meat, sauerkraut, bacon, and onion mixture to the soup. Set the Instant Pot to SOUP/BROTH, less (0 minutes), high (pressure). Quick release. If the potatoes, carrots, and/or celery aren’t in the pot, stir them in now.
- Taste for seasoning. If you feel it needs more salt, consider using the drained sauerkraut juice (perhaps 1/4-cup) instead or in addition to any salt (perhaps 1/2 tsp).
- Serve hot. Add a dollop of sour cream to each serving.
Notes
- I used a mushroom blend: oyster, shiitake, porcini, and black trumpet. Substitute all porcini.
- Other Substitutions: dry white wine for the vermouth. If you do this, consider swapping out the water with wine, also. Green onions – white and green parts – for the leek. A meaty ham bone (smoked or not), or a smoked turkey leg for the pork ribs.
- I developed this recipe for a six-quart Instant Pot. If using a different size or type of pot, you may need to make modifications.
The “reasonable” portion is ideal for a small meal, or as a component of a larger meal. The “large” portion is for when you want to have soup (and nothing else) for dinner.
The Backstory
This is my take on a Kapuśniak, a Polish soup. As is traditional, it features sauerkraut in a pork broth, but unlike many, it’s loaded with so many other wonderful things, that the sauerkraut isn’t playing the lead role, but is instead part of a stellar ensemble cast.
This soup is so quintessentially Polish, that I feel as if I can sense my entire heritage in every spoonful. It has an intensely homemade vibe that is savory with strong undercurrents of tang and sweetness. Pork, marjoram, and allspice give the broth a marvelous flavor and complex aroma that set it apart from most other soups. The cabbage flavor is mellow, wholesome, and comfort-foodie. And because you handle the sauerkraut juice separately, you can give it just the perfect amount of zing. The cooking method leaves you able to taste the ingredients separately, while still enjoying them as a unified whole.
Social Learning
Sauerkraut
Even if sauerkraut isn’t the main ingredient, it is an important one. No two sauerkrauts are alike. If you make your own, or know someone who does, use it in this soup. Otherwise, here are my rules of thumb for store-bought kraut:
- Look for a brand that specializes in kraut.
- Look for one that does not contain vinegar.
- I like a Polish-style kraut for this soup, but a “classic” will work just as well, and I would give a Bavarian kraut a shot, too.
I like Frank’s and SnowFloss. I use the “classic” variety. If you use a variety that has caraway in it, you may want to reduce the amount of caraway that the recipe calls for. My preference is to have the caraway very much in the background in the finished soup.
Tips and Tricks
I went to a butcher for the ribs. If the ribs have the membrane intact, they’ll remove it for you. I’m sure they’d also separate the ribs if you asked them.
Consider overcooking the potatoes so that they’re all but disintegrating. It will thicken the soup somewhat, in a nice way.
When removing things from the Instant Pot during the course of this recipe, take care that nothing drips in between the inner pot and outer housing. Do this either by removing the inner pot, or by using a folded paper towel to cover the in-between area as you work.
Kapuśniak in an Instant Pot
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you, Kesor. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: Polish Kitchen, Polonist, Suburban Grandma, The Spuce Eats. Make It Like a Man! has been ranked by Feedspot as #14 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs!
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Una zuppa molto appetitosa, perfetta per queste fresche serate!
I agree! Thank you!
Love the sound of this and can probably make in my slow cooker. Thanks especially for the brand recommendations for sauerkraut. I would never know. Happy New Year to you both!
Happy New Year to you and yours, too, David!
This sounds fabulous! I love cabbage in soups. Happy New Year!
Thanks, Mimi!
This sounds and looks very warming and comforting, Jeff.
Thanks, Angie!
This sounds like something we would really en joy this winter. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
We’re heading into soup season here in the NC mountains, and this sounds like it deserves a spot on the list! I’ve never come across Kapuśniak before, but the idea of kraut in soup is pretty awesome.
Thanks, David! We’ve been in soup season for quite a while up north. You must be loving that mild weather!
Cabbage is one of the most underrated veg out there. It’s fantastic in soups and stews because it doesn’t disintegrate. But it does have a putrid smell. Making the soup in the instant pot is genius because it won’t stink up the house too badly. I use a Lampe Berger to help mitigate the odours. This looks like the perfect meal to lift us from the January blues.
You know, it’s all about perception. If you walk into a house and smell cabbage cooking, it is an awful smell, to be sure. But if, just before you step in the door, someone tells you that grandma’s making her famous golumpki, it’s the same smell, but it’s mouthwatering. Weird! Thanks for the Lampe Berger tip!
The cabbage smell brings back some rather unusual memories of my childhood. We went away for the weekend and the woman next door (to our townhouse) cooked cabbage rolls and when we returned our house smelled like someone had died in it.
I find their fragrances a little too strong (and expensive!) so I generally cut it with 99.9% isopropyl alcohol. I start with filling the lamp berger halfway with alcohol, then I add a tablespoon or so of the fragrance.
Yipes! That would ruin me for cabbage!
This soup is packed full of nutrients! I love sauerkraut. It’s so good for the digestive tract. I don’t ever eat it in soup, but now I absolutely must try this recipe!
I hope you like it!
¡¡Hola Jeff!! Feliz año nuevo. No conocía esta sopa polaca tan completa y tiene que estar deliciosa, y viene bien después de los abusos navideños cambiar a otro tipo de alimentación como esta rica sopa. Además, aquí está haciendo bastante frío y una sopa siempre es de lo más reconfortante. Besitos.
Thank you! It’s cold here, too – perfect for a soup like this.
I’m continually impressed by how expansive your palate is. And I’m impressed that you have a butcher to go to in your area. I’m not sure if any butchers are near me. I’m not aware of any, anyway.
I’m sure the greater Philly area is full of them! It’s probably the kind of thing that, if it’s not on your radar, you’d be blind to it. Look for a business with the word “meats” in the name.
I love cabbage soup and I love my Instant Pot- I wonder if I could make the recipe work without the meat? probably not the same..
The ribs flavor the broth, so you’d need to replace that with something. Maybe vegetable broth?
Happy New Year Jeff!
I am a fan of Eastern European soups. Maybe it’s because the soups are simple in their ingredients yet soul satisfying. Soups like this one nourish the soul.
Velva
Thanks, Velva!
Happy new year to you and your family dear friend. Greetings.
You too! And thank you!
I love sauerkraut soup but have not had one with so many extras added. It has to be so very flavorful and filling.
Thanks, Karen!
Hi my friend Jeff 🖐😉
When I saw this recipe on you blog I must to say that your way to prepare Polish soup Kapuśniak is very fantastic and creative too. I didn’t do Polish soup Kapuśniak with mushrooms yet, although often in Poland people to prepare this soup without mushrooms, but there are many recipes for this soup with mushrooms and I must to try in the future Kapuśniak with mushrooms (in Polish Kapuśniak z grzybami). I often add to this soup sweet peeper in powder.
Thank you so much for it that you share with other on your blog recipes for Polish soups. I feel very happy when someone to promote polish cuisine. I hope that you will try a lot of polish recipes for different dishes and desserts. 👍😉
Best regards to you and I send you lots of hugs 😘🥰❤
Thank you, Patryck my friend. I grew up in a Polish-American household, and love these kinds of foods. I wonder if “sweet pepper powder” is what I’d call “paprika?” That sounds like an interesting addition.
I welcome you, Jeff again 🖐😊
Thank you very much for you answer on my comment.
Thank you so much for a very interesting for which I answer. Sweet pepper powder translate to Polish like słodka papryka w proszku as a spice. In English also as paprika.
According to Dictionary English, “paprika is a red powder used as a spice to give a slightly hot flavour to food, especially in meat dishes” [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pl/dictionary/english/paprika]
I hope that I helped you to explain translation of the product name. For sure I make a post on my blog about different names products from Polish to English. If you have any other question on a topic related to culinary translation I will answer to them gladly 😊
Best regards to you 🤗😙💖
I would be so grateful, thank you! I often look at Polish recipes, and there are words I cannot translate, especially for ingredients. Next time I will come to you. Again, thanks!
we don’t eat pork but love sauerkraut. (I make a batch every winter.) This sounds very good for winter; perhaps you could use chicken instead?
Let me know what that’s like if you give it a try!
This looks perfect for my slow cooker Jeff. We can’t buy allspice berries, but I’ll research other options. I have a Polish friend who would love this. I’ll be making this in our Winter.
I’ll bet this would be delicious in a slow cooker!
hi pauline
you can buy whole allspice from Herbie’s or gewurzhaus online!
think this soup really good for the cold winter days. This recipe is really more different than our kapuska dish . We have a winter dish not soup that we call it in Turkish “Kapuska = Cabbage dish”. We cook it alot in winter.
Nice!