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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cabbage recipes, egg noodles recipes, Haluski, kielbasa recipes, one pot meals

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings people

Calories 834kcal

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!

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.

Nutrition