Haluski

Say hello to a fabulous, family-style, down-home, comfort food you may never have heard of…let me introduce you to haluski! When you think of pasta recipes, you probably think of Italian, and likely not, Eastern European recipes.

This simple recipe is a one-dish complete meal that’s hearty, full of noodles, meat, cabbage, and tons of flavor. Make room in your dinner rotation cuz your going to want to add this gem.

We have lots of easy mid-week noodle recipes like this one. Our beef stroganoff, beef and noodles, sausage and rice , and fiesta chicken are always huge family hits!

Let’s make this!

What I Love About Traditional Haluski

This recipe has so many fantastic things about it! I love how you get a rustic, traditional feel with this dish without hours of labor like it would have once taken.

• Powerful, bold flavors
• Hearty enough for a meal in itself
• Preps in less than 30 minutes

What Is Haluski

Haluski is an Eastern European dish that generally includes cabbage, sausage, and either dumplings, potatoes, or noodles. Like many traditional dishes, every family has their own recipe. I’ve gone with a more Americanized version which includes egg noodles.

Their convenience and ease of cooking make this recipe easy to put together during the week. They’re a perfect match for the cabbage and meat. This recipe has so much flavor your kids won’t even realize they’re eating their veggies.

Haluski Recipe Ingredients

• Cabbage- You’ll want to use green cabbage. Red cabbage will turn your Haluski pink! Green holds up well to pan-frying, and it’s by far the most economical.
• Caraway seeds- These little seeds pack a huge flavor punch. They pair beautifully with the cabbage and are very common in Eastern European cooking. With a milder, but similar, flavor to fennel, caraway seeds bring an earthy flavor that balances the dish.
• Noodles – The Slovak haluski recipe uses potatoes, but we’ll make this with noodles. You can switch the noodles up if you’d like. You can use farfalle (always popular with kids because they look like butterflies) or thicker flat noodles, like pappardelle, though I’d definitely suggest breaking the pappardelle up before boiling.
  • Since the original homemade noodles were rolled out and cut into pieces by hand, another trick is to break up lasagna noodles to create a more rustic look and feel.
• Sausage – Don’t substitute a bulk sausage in this dish; just look for a flavorful, but mild smoked beef and pork combo if kielbasa isn’t available.

Recipe Notes

• Bacon makes it better– the traditional recipe begins with rendering down pork, like bacon, and then sauteeing everything in the drippings. Don’t be tempted to skip this! You’ll lose tons of flavor.
• Browning the Kielbasa- why bother with this step, you may ask. Well, when you brown the kielbasa, you leave a lot of brown bits (fond) in the skillet which creates a huge amount of flavor in the overall dish. Trust me and don’t skip this step.
• Deglazing-  Generally speaking, in order to get the fond incorporated into your dish, you deglaze the skillet with a liquid. Not so in this recipe! Instead, all the work is done when you saute the onion and garlic. They have plenty of natural liquid in them that is released when you saute them and it does the job for you. Just make sure you stir all of the bits in as you saute.
• Use real butter– no margarine! You’re not eating this every day, so don’t skimp on the flavor!
• Veggie Prep- Remember this is a rustic, homey dish. Give your veggies a rough chop, particularly the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into bite-sized chunks, so you don’t have long strips of cabbage leaves to juggle. You want to be able to get a bit of everything in each bite.
• Cooking time- You don’t want to overcook the cabbage. You just want it to cook until it becomes slightly soft. If you cook it too long, it gets a little soggy and slimy- definitely not what you’re going for!
• Crockpot – To make crockpot Haluski, brown the bacon, and sausage, then transfer everything except the pre-cooked noodles to the crockpot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Add the noodles during the last hour of cooking.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Can You Freeze This? The texture of the cabbage and pasta won’t be the same after a trip through the deep freeze. I wouldn’t suggest freezing this as a rule.
• Make-Ahead Tips: The best way to make Haluski ahead of time is to complete all the prep. Chop the meats and veggies and store them separately.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

Serving Recommendations

I love to serve this with my quick beer bread, no-knead, no-roll butter swim biscuits, or bisquick biscuit on the side. You can also serve this as a side dish with the main dish, like honey glazed salmon.

How To Make Haluski

1. Cooked the egg noodles and drain. Place noodles back in the pot you cooked them in and toss with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving drippings in the skillet. Set aside.
3. Brown the Kielbasa in dippings and remove to a plate. Set aside. Remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings.
4. Add the onions, garlic, caraway seed, and brown sugar to the skillet and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add cabbage, salt, and pepper and saute, stirring often, until cabbage is tender but still slightly firm when you bite it, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the cabbage mixture, the bacon, and the Kielbasa to the pasta pot, and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve!

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More Eastern European Inspired Recipes

• Hungarian Goulash
• German Goulash
• Pork Stew
• Goulash Soup
• Beer Brats
• Beer Cheese Soup

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Haluski

Peppery cabbage is the star of our Haluski. A hearty, one-pot meal, loaded with sweet onions, lots of crispy bacon, tender kielbasa, and chewy egg noodles.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 ounces egg noodles
• ▢ 4 slices thick bacon diced
• ▢ 12-16 ounces Kielbasa sliced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter divided
• ▢ 1 large yellow onions, chopped
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• ▢ 8 cups cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cooked the egg noodles (8 ounces) in well-salted water according to package instructions; drained. Place noodles back in the pot you cooked them in and toss with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside.
• In a large skillet, cook the bacon (4 slices) until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving drippings in the skillet. Set aside.
• Brown the Kielbasa (12-16 ounces) in dippings and remove to a plate. Set aside. Remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings.
• Add the onions (1 large), garlic (4 cloves), caraway seed (1 teaspoon), and brown sugar (1/2 teaspoon) to the skillet and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add cabbage (8 cups), salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), and pepper (1/2 teaspoon) and saute, stirring often, until cabbage is tender but still slightly firm when you bite it, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add the cabbage mixture, the bacon, and the Kielbasa to the pasta pot, and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve!

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Beef Barley Soup
• 
  Chicken Fajita Pasta
• 
  Fried Cabbage And Bacon
• 
  Pierogi Casserole

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Notes

1. Bacon makes it better- the traditional recipe begins with rendering down pork, like bacon, and then sauteeing everything in the drippings. Don't be tempted to skip this! You'll lose tons of flavor.
2. Browning the Kielbasa- why bother with this step, you may ask. Well, when you brown the kielbasa, you leave a lot of brown bits (fond) in the skillet which creates a huge amount of flavor in the overall dish. Trust me and don't skip this step.
3. Deglazing-  Generally speaking, in order to get the fond incorporated into your dish, you deglaze the skillet with a liquid. Not so in this recipe! Instead, all the work is done when you saute the onion and garlic. They have plenty of natural liquid in them that is released when you saute them and it does the job for you. Just make sure you stir all of the bits in as you saute.
4. Use real butter- no margarine! You're not eating this every day, so don't skimp on the flavor!
5. Veggie Prep- Remember this is a rustic, homey dish. Give your veggies a rough chop, particularly the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into bite-sized chunks, so you don't have long strips of cabbage leaves to juggle. You want to be able to get a bit of everything in each bite.
6. Cooking time- You don't want to overcook the cabbage. You just want it to cook until it becomes slightly soft. If you cook it too long, it gets a little soggy and slimy- definitely not what you're going for!
7. Crockpot - To make crockpot Haluski, brown the bacon, and sausage, then transfer everything except the pre-cooked noodles to the crockpot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Add the noodles during the last hour of cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 834kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 2150mg | Potassium: 740mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 520IU | Vitamin C: 55.4mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 3.7mg

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