Haluski is a Polish dish of cabbage and noodles that is so simple yet so delicious (and it’s budget-friendly too!). It’s a must-try that is sure to become a favorite!
Haluski may not win any awards in the looks department, but the flavor is all there, baby!
Cabbage and onions are sautéed in butter until tender and then tossed with egg noodles (and a little more butter!) for a meatless dinner or side dish that everyone will love!
My grandmother on my mother’s side was Polish. Her mother (we called her Baba) came here from Poland and spoke hardly any English. My grandmother spoke Polish, though, and I can remember listening to the two of them go back and forth and not having a clue what they were saying!
In addition to that, I was born, raised and live in an area of Pennsylvania where a lot of people have Polish heritage. And I married a guy who is part Polish.
Needless to say, Polish food has always been a part of my life. I love it for it’s simple, humble, affordable ingredients and big flavor. Pierogies, stuffed cabbage rolls, potato pancakes, kielbasa, and haluski were on the menu a lot growing up (and still often are)!
There are lots of different recipes for haluski (pronounced ha-loosh-key). The more traditional ones use homemade noodles or potato dumplings.
There’s even some debate about where it actually originated (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine). I have always known it as a Polish dish.
The recipe I’m sharing today is my mom’s more Americanized version – super simple with store-bought egg noodles. She most often made it during Lent when we didn’t eat meat on Fridays, but it’s an easy and affordable meatless meal or side dish for any time of the year!
It’s also a delicious way to get some cabbage in your diet. I feel like cabbage is such an underappreciated vegetable, but it’s really delicious (especially when sautéed in lots of butter and mixed with noodles)!
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED:
- Egg noodles (I use extra-wide)
- Butter
- Green cabbage
- Onion
- Salt and pepper
HERE’S A QUICK LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE HALUSKI (CABBAGE AND NOODLES):
TIPS & TIDBITS:
- Seasoning this dish properly is very important! It will be pretty bland if you don’t, but the right amount of seasoning makes a huge difference in the flavor. We all have different tastes, so I can’t tell you exactly how much salt and pepper to use, but just be sure to taste and season as you go (including salting the cooking water for the noodles).
- It will take about 15 to 20 minutes for the large pot of water to come to a boil for the noodles. To use your time most efficiently, get the water going first and then start cooking the cabbage and onions while you are waiting.
- If you’d like to add some meat to your meal, kielbasa goes great with haluski! Ham and bacon are also good choices. Cook them first, then either mix them in with the noodles or serve them on the side.
- This recipe makes a nice big pot of haluski – 8 servings as a main dish and even more if you serve it as a side dish. You can easily halve the recipe, but the leftovers are really good for lunch or another dinner or…
- Breakfast! Yes, I said breakfast. Heat up some leftover haluski in a pan, scramble up a few eggs, and mix them together. Don’t question it. Just try it. It’s so amazingly good!
If you’ve never had this Polish comfort food classic, you’re in for a real treat!
I hope you try this recipe for Haluski (Cabbage and Noodles) and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
Haluski (Cabbage and Noodles)
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) package egg noodles, I use extra-wide
- 8 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 (3-pound) head green cabbage, cored and roughly chopped into 1" to 2" pieces
- 1 large onion, sliced about ¼ inch thick (about 2 cups total)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the egg noodles according to the package directions; drain. Be sure not to overcook them so they are not mushy. Note: To use your time most efficiently, move on the the next steps while you are waiting for the water to boil and the noodles to cook.
- In a 7 or 8-quart pot (I use a 7-quart Dutch oven), melt 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat.
- Add the cabbage and onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is tender (about 15 to 20 minutes).
- Add the cooked noodles and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir to combine until the butter is melted and the noodles are heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Notes
- If you’d like to add some meat to your meal, kielbasa goes great with haluski! Ham and bacon are also good choices. Cook them first, then either mix them in with the noodles or serve them on the side.
Colsen
Came out exactly as described. I added bacon and didn’t pepper it up as recommended. Hubby doesn’t usually eat cabbage, but he loved this. The bacon and less pepper were adjustments I made to entice hubby.
Michelle
Thank you! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed it (you can never go wrong with a little bacon)!
Charlotte Hendershot
Would recommend that the cabbage be a bit more browned, but not dark.
Michelle
Thanks for your feedback, Charlotte! Yes, you can certainly brown the cabbage if that’s your preference.
Donna
Used it as a side dish. Very good. Will make it again
Michelle
Thank you, Donna! So glad you liked it!
Pamela
Love this recipe!I grew up in the PA coal region ,and still reside there,in the “Skook” as it is refered to. This is a staple in our home.Now my daughter enjoys these recipes,also.Although she is serving our country,far from our PA home.
Thanks for this great recipe
Michelle
Hi, Pamela! Thank you for the 5-star rating! It’s great to hear from a fellow Pennsylvanian (I was born, raised and still live here too, up in the northeast corner). And a big thank you goes out to your daughter for her service. I hope she will be home cooking up and eating some yummy recipes with you soon!
Kay Kick
This is a great recipe, but it is listed under a low potassium diet. How many mg are in a serving, and how much is considered a serving? I have to keep account of my mg for the day.
Thanks
Michelle
Hello, Kay! I am wondering where you got the information that this is listed under a low-potassium diet, as I do not state this in my post. I am not a nutritionist, so I cannot tell you how many mg of potassium are in a serving. This recipe makes 8 main-dish servings, so one serving would be 1/8 of the total finished dish. I know that is a vague answer (sorry!), but I’ve never actually measured it out. A guesstimate would be about 2 cups. If you need very precise numbers, I suggest you measure out how much you get in your finished dish and divide that by 8.
Barbara McCarthy
Great recipe! Instead of a Dutch oven, I always use a very large skillet or frying pan- so the cabbage and onion get a little brown on the edges. The browning/ caramelizing brings out the flavors. Also caraway seeds are great- but so is a small amt of poppy seeds.
Michelle
Thank you, Barbara!
Diana Arvay
I too am from PA. Growing up in a Hungarian family, it’s one of our favorite dishes. A little tid-bit helper, once my cabbage is in my skillet I pour about 3/4cup of water over it, add a lid. It helps to steam the cabbage to get done faster.
Michelle
Thanks very much, Diana!
Meg
5 plus!!! Looking for my uncle’s ( from Ukraine,) recipe! This was spot on!!! Butter, salt, pepper, cabbage, onion and some noodles!!! So fantastic! Thank you! Was made for leftovers, but gone…
Love!!!
Michelle
Thank you so much, Meg! I’m so happy you enjoyed the haluski and that it was just like your Uncle’s. It’s so awesome when we can recreate those wonderful memories with food!
Meg
I made it again today! Just as delicious!! Again, no leftovers!! My Uncle would be so proud!!! Thank you so much!!!
Michelle
That is so awesome and makes me so happy! Thanks again, Meg!
Meg
Since you seem to be channeling my uncle, do you know his potato pancake recipe? We would get 50 pounds of potatoes and 30 pounds of onion (seemed like it) and shred them with cheese graters. I think he added flour and eggs, but the joke was: how are you doing? Response: Grate!! Lol! Great memories! Grate memories too!
Michelle
LOL! Wow, that is a lot of potato pancakes! We use my husband’s grandma’s recipe for potato pancakes. Although I haven’t posted the potato pancakes yet, my recipe for Zucchini Potato Pancakes is pretty much the same exact recipe except that I substituted zucchini for half of the potatoes. So you could try that recipe but just omit the zucchini and use 4 cups of potatoes total. They’re really grate (couldn’t resist)!
Amy
This was just so yummy! 40+ years of marriage & I never remember that hubby doesn’t like cooked cabbage. I mean, WOW this recipe was just So Good! How can a person not even try it is beyond me. Butter, cabbage, onions & noodles – lordy, that was the best combination of ingredients. I did add sliced kielbasa & I could not find my egg noodles (kitchen remodeling) so used penne. Still quite Yummy! It’s a keeper recipe!
Michelle
Thank you, Amy! So happy you enjoyed it, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment and rate the recipe!
Nancy Z
Hello. I have made this several times. Love it😋. I like to add a dollop of sour on the side, so delicious.
Michelle
Thank you, Nancy! So happy you love it, and I’ll have to try it with some sour cream on the side…that sounds delish!
Melanie
Close to grandma Sophie’s recipe. Perfect dish to share at an office potluck. Thanks!
Michelle
Thank you, Melanie! So happy you enjoyed it!