Cabbage Noodles (Haluski)

I first came across these tasty cabbage noodles at a wonderful Hungarian restaurant in New York’s north country. A small bowl was served as a complimentary appetizer. And this gesture certainly worked up your appetite for more of their hearty Eastern European dishes.

As it turns out, cabbage noodles have quite the fan base in upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania. This is especially the case in communities with a significant population who are of Hungarian or Polish descent.  Passed down over generations, this comfort food, known as haluski, originates in Eastern Europe.

Variations of the dish include those made with dumplings, cheese, bacon and sausage. The potato dumpling version called Bryndzové halušky, is the national dish of Slovakia. And in neighbouring Czechia, this cabbage and dumpling variation is popular as well. However, it requires a little more prep time compared to boiling up some store-bought egg noodles. Furthermore, the simplicity of the egg noodle version is a hit with the Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian diaspora, especially in the US.      

Make it next level with a few tweaks

Knowing that everyone I had dined with loved these cabbage noodles, I managed to experiment with my own recipe. It took some tweaks, like choosing the right type of noodles and balancing the ingredients. But now, this recipe closely resembles what we all enjoyed at that Hungarian restaurant.

Hałuski the basic Polish recipe with no meat, is the one posted here. For some extra flavour I like to add some caraway. It’s also a common seasoning in Eastern European cuisine. When serving it as a side dish, I keep it vegetarian. For a more traditional Hungarian Káposztás Tészta top the cabbage noodles with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions.

Turn it into a one-pot main course

You can turn this side dish into a heartier main course with the addition of some meat. Start by frying up about a half pound of chopped bacon. Remove the cooked bacon and all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat. Then add the butter, cabbage and onions and cook the recipe as directed below. You can also add some sliced smoked kielbasa to the pot. Finally, to give it a little kick, add some sauerkraut. This also compliments the sausage quite nicely.

Cabbage noodle cooking tips

Don’t second guess the cabbage to noodle ratio. Once both are cooked, the balance is right (for my liking). That’s because cooked cabbage shrinks while cooked noodles expand. I prefer using egg noodles in this recipe, but you can substitute flat pasta such as fettuccini, linguini or even bow ties. Just be sure to cook the pasta al dente since you don’t want it to fall apart when you stir it in the cooked cabbage. 

Cabbage Noodles (Haluski)

Kevin Lamoureux

This simple one pot dish of buttery sautéed cabbage and egg noodles makes a perfect side for many Eastern European meals.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Eastern European

Servings 4

Calories 297 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 6 ounces egg noodles (about 2 cups before cooking)
• 4 tbsp butter (divided)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ head of cabbage chopped (about 4 cups)
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp caraway seeds (optional)

Instructions

 

• Cook the noodles according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet or deep pan, add the cooking oil and melt 3 tbsp of butter then add the cabbage and onions.
• Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until thecabbage and onions are tender and lightly browned. Stir frequently.
• Add the cooked noodles, salt, pepper, paprika, caraway seeds and 1 more tbsp of butter, then toss everything together until well combined.Heat for about one minute.
• Remove from the heat, and serve.

Notes

To add even more flavour to this dish add some onion soup mix:

1. Save about ½ cup of the water used to boil the egg noodles.
2. Dissolve a heaping tbsp of onion soup mix into this water.
3. Stir this mixture into the cooked cabbage just before adding the egg noodles to the pan.

 

Nutrition

Per serving

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Iron: 2mg

Keyword cabbage, noodles

Originally published 1/11/2020. Revised and republished 2/22/2024

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This dish goes great with

• Schnitzel (Veal, Pork or Chicken)
• Chicken Paprikash
• Côtelette de volaille – Kyiv Style