Haluski (Cabbage and Noodles) – Easy, Frugal Comfort Food
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This traditional haluski recipe is an Eastern European comfort food that is rich and filling. It’s a great way to use fall garden produce and fill up tummies on a budget.
When I made haluski for the first time, the family’s response was, “Ha-whata?” Now they ask for it by name when they know I’m picking cabbage, and even the youngest, my fussy eater, loves it. I kid you not – both boys ate leftover haluski for breakfast this morning.
I make an assortment of things with cabbage, including sauerkraut and coleslaw, but this is one of our family’s favorite cabbage recipes.
Note – I’m mixing photos from two different batches of haluski in this post, so that’s why some photos have green cabbage and some have red.
Haluski Recipe (Cabbage and Noodles)
Adapted from The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook by Andrea Chesman.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 medium head cabbage (about 2 pounds)
- 1 large onion
- 1 pound egg noodles (or Tinkyada GF noodles)
- 1 pound carton sour cream
- Salt and black pepper
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the noodles. Meanwhile, cut onion in half and slice thinly.
Place butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they start to get tender and caramelize.
While onions are cooking, thinly slice or shred your cabbage. Aim for uniform slices/shreds for even cooking. Add cabbage to pan with onions and butter.
Cook the cabbage and onions on medium high for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and showing a bit of browning.
Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Aim for “al dente”, not well done, so they hold up better in the finished haluski. Drain well.
Add the noodles to the fried cabbage mixture (or the cabbage mix to the noodles, whichever way it fits better) and mix well. Add the sour cream and stir until distributed over the noodles and cabbage. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 6-10.
How to Cut Cabbage for Haluski
The most important thing to keep in mind when cutting your cabbage is to keep the pieces roughly even in size. That way you don’t end up with half raw or half turning to mush.
One of the easiest ways to cut up the cabbage is to start by quartering it and removing the core. Then take each quarter and cut it into strips.
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Depending on who’s playing sous chef in the kitchen, our strips vary in width from around half an inch to around a quarter of an inch. Both options work fine. Wider strips are faster to cut, thinner strips are faster to cook.
If you need to save time, you could pick up a package of pre-shredded cabbage for cole slaw. Those packages typically hold between 10-16 ounces, so you’ll need a couple of them to make a full batch of haluski.
Variations and Substitutions – Dairy Free, Gluten Free
To reduce the carb count, skip the noodles and cut the sour cream by about half. 1 cup of cooked cabbage has around 8.3 grams of carbohydrates, 2 tablespoons of sour cream has 1.3 grams of carbohydrates, and a half cup of onions contains around 3.5 grams.
For dairy free, cook the cabbage in lard or refined coconut oil, and try a dairy free sour cream. The flavor will be a little different, but you should still get that creamy texture.
You can reheat your haluski on the stovetop or in the microwave (or just eat it cold), but don’t overheat it or the sour cream will break and ruin the texture.
Making gluten free haluski is easy with the rice noodles instead of wheat noodles. Lately I’ve been using the Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals , but wide egg noodles are more traditional.
Lightly browning your onions and cabbage is important. It really adds that “extra something” to the flavor of the dish.
What to Serve with Haluski
Because we already have starch and vegetables in the haluski, we usually pair it up with meat. I like burgers or sausage, including the classic, kielbasa.
To turn your haluski into a full meal, just add some sliced kielbasa. Simply slice your kielbasa and add it to the cabbage and onion mixture near the end of cooking to heat through.
If you’d like some added browning, feel free to grill the kielbasa or fry it separately before adding it to the dish.
Keep in mind that we have a rich, starchy dish, so it works best with a strong flavored meat. Chicken sauce is a much batter match than boneless, skinless chicken breast.
A side salad with a vinegar or lemon dressing to add acidity to meal works. Or better yet, try some pickled vegetables, like pickled beets or dilly beans.
For a special dessert to wrap up the meal, bake up some Hungarian nut rolls or Czech kolache.
PrintHaluski – Cabbage and Noodles
Rich and creamy, budget friendly comfort food. My boys’ favorite way to eat cabbage.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 medium head cabbage
- 1 large onion
- 1 pound egg noodles (or Tinkyada GF noodles)
- 1 pound carton sour cream
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, put water to boil for noodles. Meanwhile, cut onion in half and slice thinly.
- Place butter and onion in large frying pan or Dutch oven. Sauté onions over medium heat until onions start to get tender and caramelize.
- While onions are cooking, thinly slice or shred your cabbage. Aim for uniform slices/shreds for even cooking. Add cabbage to pan with onions and butter.
- Cook the cabbage and onions 15-30 minutes, flipping and mixing regularly, until tender and showing a bit of browning.
- Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Aim for “al dente”, not well done, so they hold up better in the finished haluski. Drain well.
- Add the noodles to the cabbage mix (or the cabbage mix to the noodles, whichever way it fits better) and mix well. Add the sour cream and stir until distributed throughout the dish. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 6-10.
More Comfort Food Recipes
We have dozens of easy to make comfort food recipes on the site, including:
Note: This recipe was originally published as “haluska”, but was updated to “haluski” as that is the more common spelling.
Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2023.