Kraut Burgers
Here is an easy recipe that I grew up eating in my childhood, and now make regularly in my recipe rotation. I am unsure if my mom made this one up, or it was an old recipe adapted over time but the simplicity of ingredients and use of store bought dough make this a meal that is great for weeknights. It also is a wonderful recipe to make ahead of time for busy schedules and travels well for packed lunches or dinners.
After prepping your ingredients (allowing dough to thaw and rise ahead of time), shredding cheese, and browning ground beef, assembling these kraut burgers is a cinch. Refer to the photos above for a visual of these steps. Use your hands to gently flatten dough into a circle, ensuring you do not rip any holes in your dough. Add a spoonful of cheese, then ground beef, then sauerkraut. Fold two sides over fillings and pinch together, then fold the opposite sides. Pinch in the four corners over the seam created and ensure there are no holes. If you do break through the dough some, pinch back together with wet fingers. Assemble on baking sheet, evenly spaced out with seam side down. Brush each roll with an egg wash. Bake and enjoy with your condiment of choice (ketchup is my favorite to eat with these!).
Kitchen Tip!
Are you looking for ways to reduce waste in your kitchen? I think when most of us have this goal, we primarily think of food waste but there are some really great ways to reduce the waste created through single use cooking or food storage items. As you can see in some of the photos on this blog post, I use a silicone baking mat instead of single use parchment paper to bake these Kraut Burgers. As often as I bake cookies, roast vegetables, or cook dishes in which I would use parchment paper, investing in some reusable baking mats was a game changer. I hand wash, or even toss them in my dishwasher and use them over and over again. I do still keep some parchment paper on hand for things like baking sourdough bread, but overall switching to silicone baking mats for lining my sheet pan has greatly reduced waste in my kitchen. Another great silicone kitchen item that I highly recommend are reusable food storage baggies. They come in a variety of sizes and I store block of cheese, crackers, nuts, chopped vegetables, herbs, packed sandwiches and so many more uses. And again I throw them in the dishwasher and use them over and over again, without tossing out plastic bags all the time!
Nutrition Tip!
It is OKAY to use processed foods in your cooking. It is OKAY to enjoy eating processed food. It is also OKAY to feed processed food to your family. Including processed food in your diet does not mean that you are ignoring your health goals. If using processed foods in your meal prep enables you to more easily prepare meals at home, by all means utilize the resources that you have!
I enjoy spending time in the kitchen, experimenting with new recipes and taking on more challenging food prep. But I also don’t have the time or energy to make all of my food from scratch. And in my professional opinion, I am confident in stating that using processed or convenience foods can help you to prep more meals at home. It is unfortunately common to feel shamed about relying on processed food items, but whether you are using store bought frozen dough in a recipe, or making boxed Mac and cheese for dinner you are nourishing your body while also honoring the time and effort you have. Additionally, relying on processed foods does not mean you are ignoring your health goals. Nutrition related health goals are not an all or nothing effort. There are a multitude of processed food items that are healthful and nutrient dense (think canned beans, dried pastas, frozen or canned veggies, tuna packets, cheese, yogurt! the list could honestly go on and on). There are also a multitude of ways to add nutritional value to meals in which you use processed food items (think pot pie using store bought pie dough, pasta using jarred sauce, the boxed mac with some added frozen veggies, or soup using frozen wontons or tortellini). So next time you feel shamed when hearing the recommendation to reduce the amount of ‘processed or prepackaged food items’ in your diet, take this with a grain of salt. And remember my favorite nutrition advice- focus on delicious ways to add nutrition to your meals, rather than fixating on what to take away.
Kraut Burgers
Ingredients
- 12 frozen dinner roll dough (I like Rhodes brand)
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cup sauerkraut
- 6 oz Swiss cheese, shredded
- 1-2 Tbsp AP flour
- 1 egg
- ketchup or thousand island dressing for serving
Instructions
- Place frozen dough on a sheet pan covered with oiled plastic wrap (I lightly spray mine with nonstick cooking spray) 3-5 hours before prepping kraut burgers to allow them to fully thaw and rise.
- When ready to prep Kraut Burgers, preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.
- Shred Swiss cheese and set aside. Prep the rest of your work station by dusting a cutting board, or area of your counter lightly with flour.
- Assemble Kraut Burgers (refer to photos on blog) by gently pulling dough into a larger circle, about 4 inches in diameter. Place a small spoonful of shredded cheese on the dough, then a spoonful of ground beef, and lastly the sauerkraut. Aim to press out as much liquid from the sauerkraut as you can, I do this by pressing to the side of the jar with a fork. Fold up all corners of the dough pinching dough together to form a seal around fillings.
- Place Kraut Burgers on a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat seam side down. Whisk egg in a small bowl, and brush onto Kraut Burgers.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
- Enjoy with condiment of your choice! Ketchup is my personal favorite with these.
