Haluski (Fried Cabbage and Noodles)

Haluski is a simple rustic dish made with fried cabbage, noodles, and butter. This delicious and budget-friendly meal cooks up in minutes!

A simply delicious Eastern European recipe

Haluski is a simple, rustic dish of cabbage and onions fried in butter, then tossed with egg noodles, salt, and pepper.

It’s a recipe that almost everyone who grew up in a family of Central and Eastern European descent has enjoyed at one time or another. Chances are your Polish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Czech, or Slovak grandmother made a similar recipe – perhaps with homemade dumplings or noodles.

Some versions also include caraway seed, sauerkraut, slices of kielbasa, or salt pork – but you can add some bacon (or pancetta for a less smoky taste) which adds fantastic flavor to the traditional Haluski recipe.

What does Haluski mean?

Basically haluski are the dumplings in this dish. Depending on the family and country, you might spell this word as “halluski,” “halusky,” or “halushki“. Polish families might call this “kluski” which is the word for any soft dumpling or noodle.

Haluski is considered to be a ‘peasant dish’ – made with affordable ingredients from the pantry and root cellar. But these simple ingredients are magical when combined together in this recipe!

• It’s so simple – and SO good! Who would have thought that fried cabbage and noodles with butter, and simple seasonings would be so delicious!
• It’s a budget-friendly meal and the type of recipe you can make at a moment’s notice from items in your pantry and refrigerator.
• Haluski can be enjoyed as a side dish or a main entree. Either way, this is simply delicious comfort food.

• Cabbage – You’ll want to use basic, inexpensive, green cabbage for this recipe. Other kinds of cabbage could be added, but it will change up the flavors a bit.
• Onions – We use any kind of yellow onion in this recipe as it has a mild flavor. White onions can be used but it will give a much stronger onion flavor to the finished dish.
• Butter – We always cook with unsalted butter so we can control the seasonings at the end to suit our tastes.
• Bacon – This is optional, but adding some bacon gives the dish more delicious flavor. Salt pork or pancetta are other options.
• Salt and Pepper
• Egg Noodles – Store-bought egg noodles are a convenient and delicious alternative to homemade dumplings or noodles.

1. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan.
2. Add onions and more butter, then fry for a few minutes.
3. Add cabbage, more butter, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cover and fry until the cabbage is tender.
4. Cook the noodles while the cabbage cooks. Drain the noodles well.
5. Add drained noodles and more butter to the cooked cabbage mixture. Stir to combine.
6. Heat through on the stove as needed.
7. Add more salt and pepper to taste before serving.

• Can I make Haluski with red cabbage? Technically, you can but it will turn the entire dish a purplish color and the flavor will be a little different. If that doesn’t bother you, you can use red cabbage.
• Can I make Haluski ahead of time? Yes! It reheats nicely without impacting the flavor or texture.
• How do I store the leftovers? Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
• How do I reheat the leftovers? You can fry again in the pan or reheat individual portions in the microwave.
• Can I freeze Haluski? We don’t recommend freezing it as the noodles will get mushy once thawed. But, you could fry up the cabbage and onions and freeze that mixture. Then thaw and cook the pasta fresh and combine for serving.

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This post originally appeared on A Family Feast in January 2015 as sponsored content for No-Yolks Egg Noodles. We’ve updated the post, images, and recipes.

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