Cabbage and Noodles, pan-fried with onions in butter, is pure comfort food. It’s the type of plain and simple fare that makes bellies full and happy. Serve it as a side dish or, as we often do in our house, as a full meal. This is a budget-friendly dish that your family will love.
Where I grew up, in the mountains of the coal and steel region of southwestern Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh, we call this haluski (pronounced hal-oosh-sky). And in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region, it’s a very popular dish – no fair, food truck or celebration is complete without it. It’s is a dish of central and eastern European origins, particularly Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, German, and/or Hungarian traditions (although my Polish husband would probably call this kluski z kapusta), but it’s also a common Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, referred to simply as Fried Cabbage and Noodles.
And while other cooks in other parts of the world sometimes make their versions of this recipe with potato dumplings, Pittsburgh-style haluski is typically made with homemade or store-bought egg noodles, along with cabbage, caramelized onions, and lots and lots of butter. It’s seasoned simply with just salt and pepper, and maybe a dash of paprika. Add in some kielbasa, and/or some bacon to make it an even heartier meal. Plain, simple, and oh-so-delicious.
Before we get to the recipe, let’s talk ingredients:
Butter – Use your favorite salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. This is a very unfussy recipe, and you can adjust the amount of salt to your liking when seasoning the dish.
Canola oil – I like to add a tablespoon of oil just to keep the butter from getting dark and burning, but you can skip the oil and use all butter – just be careful not to burn it. You can also use another kind of neutral-flavored, like grapeseed or avocado oil, in place of canola. Olive oil is also acceptable but it might add a slight olive-oil flavor.
Onions – I prefer a yellow onion, but use whatever onion you like and have on hand.
Cabbage – A small to medium-sized head of green cabbage is what I use. Savoy cabbage will work, too. I’m not precise in my measurements here because the recipe is flexible. If you love cabbage or want to reduce the carbs, use fewer noodles and more cabbage. If you are more interested in the buttered noodles, use more noodles and less cabbage.
Egg Noodles – If I’m not using my homemade egg noodles, I like to use the store-bought wide egg noodles that are made without the yolks. They have a bit of a firmer texture and seem to hold up well in this recipe. Use whatever egg noodle you prefer.
Fried Cabbage and Noodles with Kielbasa – Yum!
Cook’s Tips:
- When boiling the noodles, don’t overcook them. They should still be firm and slightly chewy because they will continue to cook when added to the cabbage.
- Before draining the noodles, reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking liquid. I sometimes find it helpful to have on hand in case the cabbage and noodles seem too dry or I feel like I need to add in a little bit of liquid to bring everything together.
- Although it’s not a traditional ingredient, I sometimes add finely-diced green bell pepper for a little extra flavor.
- If you want to round out the dish with some meat, add some bacon and/or kielbasa to this recipe.
- If you plan on adding in some bacon, don’t waste the delicious bacon grease. Cook your bacon, then remove to a towel-lined plate. Then go ahead and fry the onions and cabbage in the bacon grease, adding in a tablespoon of butter (or two) if necessary. Crumble in the cooked bacon at the end and toss everything to combine.
- If adding kielbasa, you’ll want to slice the kielbasa and saute until golden brown, then toss with the finished dish.
- If you enjoy a creamy dish, toss the fried cabbage and noodles with a bit of cottage cheese and/or sour cream.
If you try this recipe, I hope you love it! Leave a review for this recipe or give it a rating in the comments below.
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Fried Cabbage and Noodles
Ingredients
Instructions
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This was a awersome recipe will make it again. Thank You Melissa for your great receipes and ideas.
Cabbage and noodles is one of my favorite sides to make. I did not know there was a recipe for it. Thanks for sharing. I also grew up in Pennsylvania.
I think it’s one of those recipes that is more of an idea than a recipe because every cook makes it a little differently. And we love it as a side, too! Hope you have a great weekend!
Oh this dish is so delicious I am a cabbage kid.. at heart anyway…
But please beware Take your gas extra whatever you’re using for gas before you eat !!!! .. by the way I’ve had this recipe or similar to it for years My wife’s from a coal mines and stuff up in West Virginia…..
You know up there where they ask you how come there’s not a screen door on a submarine….lololol..
Yes, cabbage does tend to have that effect. LOL. But it so good, it’s worth it. 🙂
Hey Melissa
I’m like so many other gals out there that follow you a huge cabbage lover……….especially fried cabbage. I have not ever heard of this recipe, but I will try this tonight. It sounds so delicious and I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you so much for all of your great, awesome, recipes. I love getting them
Have a very happy weekend.
Donna Pollock
I am definitely a huge cabbage lover, too! I really hope you enjoy this recipe and thank you so much for your kind words. I’ll be putting out some more recipes soon, so keep a lookout for them. Hope you have a great weekend.
I have been making this for over 31 years, tasting it for the first time after moving to central PA from New York in 1989. It is a very versatile recipe, though we usually just make it with noodles, cabbage and onions. When I was working, we used to have a ‘carb’ night at the hospital I worked at and this is one dish we had alot! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Carb night – I love it! This is definitely not a recipe for anyone watching their carbs! LOL
This is so good!! I cooked the cabbage, onion, diced red bell pepper and shredded carrot in bacon grease. Seasoned with garlic and lemon pepper. Added diced cooked bacon at the end.
I am so happy you like it! The carrot, garlic, and lemon pepper sound like great additions!
This is a frequent meal at my house, either as a side or with kielbasa as a whole meal with a salad. I too am from south of Pittsburgh, a cola miner’s daughter so it is always interesting when others aren’t familiar with dishes such as this and pepperoni rolls! Lol!
Oh, I love pepperoni rolls! I am sure that no one here where I live now in NC would know what that is. I might have to put a recipe up on the blog soon. Thanks for the great idea!
Hello! My mom was Polish but she never made this for us growing up…. so busy working and raising two of us alone. I have made this many times before myself but add a red bell pepper and I do use the bacon and a touch of cayenne as well. One of the best comfort foods in all the world!! I use the really wide Penn. Dutch egg noodles . I urge anyone to try this wonderful comfort food. Thanks for a keeper.
Red bell pepper and bacon – you can’t go wrong with that! And I agree that Penn Dutch egg noodles are excellent.
Hi ! I also am a coal miner’s daughter, grew up in a small coal mining town in Southwestern Pa. My Mother would make this all the time, she always added Bacon. I make it now and have been doing so for years, we love it. I call it my “Hunky” food LOL
I love it with bacon, too! And I grew up in Latrobe and some days I really miss those southwestern PA coal mining towns. My dad and other family members still live there. I can’t wait to go back for a visit when things get back to normal again.