Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Kranjska Klobasa
The protected Carniolan sausage, simmered and served with mustard, bread, and sauerkraut, a Slovenian icon.
Slovenian · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 20 min
~299 cal · 12g protein · 15g carbs · 21g fat · 1g fiber · 2g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kranjska klobasa, the Carniolan sausage, is Slovenia's most famous product, so tied to national identity that it holds protected geographical status in the EU. Made from coarsely ground pork and bacon seasoned simply with garlic and pepper, it is a point of real pride.
Traditionally sold in pairs joined by a wooden pin, the sausages are gently simmered rather than fried to keep them juicy, then served with mustard, fresh or dark bread, and often sauerkraut or the turnip dish known as kisla repa. Simple, honest, and satisfying, it is Slovenian everyday food at its best.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg- and nut-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 4
4 Carniolan or coarse pork sausages
4 slices crusty or dark bread
2 cups sauerkraut
to serve grainy mustard
to serve horseradish (optional)
Instructions
1
Bring a pot of water to a bare simmer, off a rolling boil.
2
Lower in the sausages and poach gently for about 15 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Poach, do not boil. A hard boil bursts the skins and dries the sausage; a gentle simmer keeps it plump and juicy.
3
Warm the sauerkraut through in a pan.
4
Serve the sausages with mustard, bread, sauerkraut, and a little horseradish.
Slovenian protected-food tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ljubljana. Struklji is a category rather than a recipe: the same rolled dough boiled, baked or steamed, filled with cottage cheese and tarragon, or walnut, or apple. Zganci is the other everyday thing, buckwheat cooked stiff and broken into lumps, once the breakfast of anyone working outdoors.
🗺️
Slovenia. Potica is the rolled cake that marks every occasion, yeast dough spread thin with a filling and coiled into a ring tin, with walnut the classic and tarragon the one that surprises outsiders. It holds EU protected status. Struklji are the savoury and sweet rolled dumplings, boiled or baked, and buckwheat zganci is the mountain porridge underneath a lot of the older cooking.
🌍
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 Slovenia
JotaA Ljubljana stew of soured sauerkraut, borlotti beans, potato, and smoked pork, winter in a pot.
Ajdovi ŽganciRustic buckwheat "spoonbread" crumbles served with warm milk or cracklings, Slovenian comfort.
Prekmurska GibanicaA grand layered pastry of poppy seed, walnut, apple, and cottage cheese, Slovenia's most celebrated cake.
Browse all Slovenia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
Make it a Slovenia meal
Prekmurska GibanicaDessert
Idrijski ŽlikrofiDinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kranjska Klobasa?
The protected Carniolan sausage, simmered and served with mustard, bread, and sauerkraut, a Slovenian icon.
Where does Kranjska Klobasa come from?
Kranjska Klobasa is a Slovenian dish from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Can Kranjska Klobasa be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kranjska Klobasa recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kranjska Klobasa 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 count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), 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 Kranjska Klobasa take to make?
About 25 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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