If you're looking for a warming addition to your winter dinners, you will love this classic Polish Haluski recipe because it's a wonderful hearty dish of Noodles with Cabbage and Bacon.
Best of all, you just need a few staple ingredients for this comforting dish the whole family will love!
Ha-who-ski? That’s right.
Haluski (or halušky) is a wonderful dish of noodles, fried cabbage (or sometimes sauerkraut), and bacon.
Anyone who comes from an eastern and central European family knows that this recipe is a staple for dinner, especially on cold nights. Plus, it is SO easy to throw together.
📃 Why it Works
- Made in just one pot, it’s quick, easy, and comforting. You don’t have to worry about adding any side dishes.
- It's simple enough for any cooking level, and it's hearty enough to feed any sized appetite.
- If you’re vegetarian or vegan, leave out the bacon or grab this pasta recipe with pumpkin and goat cheese or feta mac and cheese!
"Sometimes, the simple things in life are the best, like a belly full of pasta."
🛒 Ingredients and Notes
This haluski is made up of egg noodles, cabbage, onion, and bacon.
So, don’t be skeptical about the cabbage – it’s not boiled, but rather sautéed in bacon fat. There's a considerable improvement in cabbage's flavor and texture when it's fried, especially in bacon fat.
Egg noodles are fabulous in Hungarian goulash, with ground lamb, chicken noodle soup, stroganoff, and, well, haluski.
And if you want to make this extra Polish, you can throw in some kielbasa.
Ham is also an option - just cube it up and fry it, though you may need a bit of extra oil in the pan as I don't feel ham renders as much fat as bacon or kielbasa.
🔪 Instructions
*Keep scrolling to get the full (printable) recipe, ingredient amounts, and more tips, or click on the “Skip to Recipe” button at the top of the page.
- In a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet, fry the diced bacon over medium heat until crisp; drain bacon on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Sauté the onions in bacon fat, add cabbage and cook until tender.
- Meanwhile, cook egg noodles; drain. Add noodles and bacon to the skillet; season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
- If you're omitting the bacon, fry cabbage in ½ cup butter, or use kielbasa or another smoked sausage.
- You can add one clove of minced garlic to the skillet with cabbage if you prefer.
- Try a variation of this dish using sauerkraut!
Noodles Without Borders
The idea for the Polish fried cabbage and noodles recipe came for my December Noodles Without Borders, a monthly challenge that my friend Bobbi from Healthy World Cuisine and I started doing in August (can you believe it's December already?).
We each share around-the-world yummy pasta recipe on the first Tuesday of every month.
Otherwise, the rules are that there are no rules. Bobbi shows us how to make Italian pasta Trofie al Pesto from scratch, so you better go check it out now but be sure to come back. 😉
Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my email list below too!
Noodles Cabbage and Bacon - Polish Haluski Recipe
EQUIPMENT
- Sieve
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon, diced
- 1 onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- Head of green cabbage, about 1 ½-2 lbs, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 oz egg noodles
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet, fry the diced bacon over medium heat until crisp.
- Drain bacon on paper towel. Add the onions to the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add cabbage to the skillet and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in caraway seeds if using, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil egg noodles according to package direction and drain.
- Add cooked egg noodles and bacon to the skillet. Season with salt to taste and lots of black pepper and stir until noodles are heated through.
Notes
- If you're omitting the bacon, fry cabbage in ½ cup butter or use kielbasa or another smoked sausage.
- You can add one clove minced garlic to the skillet with cabbage if you prefer.
- Try a variation of this dish using sauerkraut!
helenfern says
Reminds me of something my grandma made - Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party. Have a wonderful week!
Jas says
Grandma's meals are the best 🙂 They're like big warm hugs!
Marie | DIY Adulation says
This looks absolutely incredible! It would be a great way to get your cabbage in for New Years. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipe with us at Merry Monday this week!
Jas says
Thank you, Marie! It's a simple dish the whole family loves! 🙂
ParsiCuisine.com says
Jas, love the polish treat. Thanks for sharing on Fiesta Friday group.
Jas says
Thank you, Rita! 🙂
Barbara says
My great aunt was a chef in Vienna at turn of century. Hungarian a Austrian descent!
Your recipes are great, grew up with them a raised my 3 kids with them
Thanks for the memories!
Jas says
Awe, so glad you like them! Thank you so much! ❤
The Speedy Spatula says
Wow! This looks and sounds amazing! Will have to try!
Jas says
I promise you won't be disappointed! 🙂
Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons says
It is amazing to me that frying or roasting cabbage turns it into an entirely different vegetable. What a great winters meal. Thank you for bringing it to FF.
Jas says
Right? It's absolutely delish! Thanks, Liz!
The Red Painted Cottage says
Jas, Another family dish that has been passed down through the generations! I can't even pronounce the Hungarian version, so we just call it cabbage and noodles. My husband decided to make it one time and it tasted better than mine, but then later I found out he never drained the bacon grease. LOL
Jas says
LOL, your husband knows what's good! Bacon makes everything better, doesn't it? 😀
Eha says
Heavens to Murgatroyd 🙂 ! I click on to a new blog for me and find two of my very favourite people commenting ahead if me ! Have obviously not done my homework 🙂 ! Well, having been born in Estonia and having had my eldest auntie (of nine children and eight girls who married into seven different European countries !) wed to a Polish army general, I have obviously had this dish at quite a few prior times in my life before . . . have to pay much more attention to you and Bobbi . . . oh, by the bye, hello from summery Australia . . .
Jas says
Oh, wow! Hello, fellow European! 😀 So nice of you to stop in and nice to "meet" you. That's quite a rich family history and how lucky to try traditional dishes first-hand! And then you move across the globe, lol. Hope my next recipe (will be published Friday at 7 am EDT) will bring more memories of your eldest auntie, as it's also a classic Polish recipe. 🙂
Enjoy your summer!
Donna Reidland says
Oh my! This looks delicious! I never met a noodle I didn’t like. LOL I will definitely be pinning and giving this a try!
Jas says
Lol, it makes two of us, Donna! Thanks for stopping in. Happy Holidays!
Recipes Made Easy says
Looks really delicious. I usually stir fry my cabbage as it gives it a better flavour and texture than boiling but ive not eaten with noodles before but I will now. thank you for linking to #CookBlogshare
Jas says
Hi Jacqui, that's precisely what I did. I only boiled noodles. 😉 Happy Holidays!
Priya @currynation says
This nooodles! ohhh so delectable... i wish i could grab a bite from the photo 😉
Jas says
Incredibly tasty for such a simple dish. Thanks, Priya! xx
Corina Blum says
I think bacon is such a great meal combined with pasta! I would love to eat this on a really cold day.
Jas says
I totally agree, Corina! It's a perfect comfort winter dish! xx
Healthy World Cuisine says
We you hear you loud and clear about the brutal winters of this frozen arctic tundra, we call Michigan. A delicious bowl of Polish Haluski is sure to warm you from the inside out. Extra bacon of course for the boys as according to teenagers- "Bacon is it's own food group". Thanks for making Noodles Without Borders a fun and memorable journey around the world.
Jas says
The more bacon the better is what I say. Maybe I'm secretly a teenage boy, lol. Thank you, Bobbi! Love doing our monthly noodles with you. Stay warm this winter! Hugs
Ron says
Jas, another fine dish that will suit the Swedish table well. We have a dish where you fry thick sliced pork belly in butter and then saute cabbage, but not with noodles. We'll just have to give your Haluski a try and see if it kicks our Bacon- och vitkålspytt up a notch or two. I think it will.
Jas says
Try it, Ron. My mom used to stretch meals by adding noodles to cabbage, sauerkraut, and bean dishes (I never liked pasta with my beans, not even today). Sometimes she'd add cooked rice to fried cabbage instead of noodles. Ah, the memories...