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Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut)
Sauerkraut stewed slowly with smoked pork belly, onion, carrot and caraway, then finished with golden caramelised sugar until sweet, sour and darkly glossy, the Latvian winter side for pork, sausages and potatoes.
Latvian · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 115 min
~147 cal · 4g protein · 12g carbs · 10g fat · 1g fiber · 10g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Štovēti kāposti, stewed sauerkraut, is the hot sauerkraut of Latvian winters and a must at Christmas. It is sweeter and darker than plain sauerkraut, because it is stewed for a long time and finished with sugar, often caramelised first until golden, so it comes out soft, glossy and sweet-sour.
The basics are sauerkraut, fat and sugar. Most cooks start by frying a little onion and cubed pork belly or bacon, which gives the dish its rich, savoury base, and caraway seeds and grated carrot are common additions. Beyond that every family has its own way, with apple, tomato paste, honey or barley, and each is sure theirs is the right one. The dish shows the German influence on Latvian cooking.
It is served beside roast pork, a pig's knuckle or fried smoked sausage with boiled potatoes, and is also used as a filling for pīrāgi.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 1 kg sauerkraut, drained, rinse it if very sour
- 150 g smoked pork belly or bacon, cut into small cubes
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 500 ml water, plus more as needed
- 4 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
- to taste salt
Instructions
- 1In a heavy pot, fry the pork belly over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the fat runs and it starts to brown. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes more, until soft.
- 2Add the sauerkraut, carrot, caraway and water, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover and stew on low heat for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring now and then and adding a splash of water if it starts to catch, until the sauerkraut is very soft.
- 3In a small dry pan, melt the sugar over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, without stirring, until it turns golden. Pour it into the sauerkraut and stir well.✎ Chef’s noteTake the caramel off the heat as soon as it is golden amber. Dark caramel turns bitter.
- 4Cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until any liquid has evaporated and the sauerkraut is glossy and golden brown. Taste and add salt or more sugar. Serve hot with pork, sausages and boiled potatoes.
Latvian winter and Christmas home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Riga. Riga is devoted to grey peas with smoked bacon and onion, a dish so tied to Latvian identity it is eaten at midwinter. Rye bread, sour cream, dill, cold beet soup, and smoked fish from the Baltic define the everyday table.
🗺️
Latvia. Latvian cooking is hearty and grey-pea-loving, built on rye bread, pork, potatoes, and the beloved cold beet soup. Foraging, dairy, and dark bread reflect a deep connection to the Baltic land and forest.
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Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Latvia
Grey Peas with BaconNutty grey peas simmered soft and tossed with crisp bacon and fried onion, Latvia's unofficial national dish.
Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart)Little hand-raised rye pastry cases filled with potato and sweet spiced carrot purees, baked until set, an ancient Livonian specialty.
Frikadeļu ZupaA light, clear broth with tender meatballs and vegetables, a homey Latvian everyday soup.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut)?
Sauerkraut stewed slowly with smoked pork belly, onion, carrot and caraway, then finished with golden caramelised sugar until sweet, sour and darkly glossy, the Latvian winter side for pork, sausages and potatoes.
Where does Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) come from?
Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) is a Latvian dish from Riga, Latvia.
Can Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Štovēti Kāposti (Latvian Caramelised Stewed Sauerkraut) take to make?
About 130 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 115 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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