Tender egg noodles, sautéed cabbage and onions come together in this Hungarian-inspired cabbage and noodles recipe. Mushrooms and peas add extra flavor and texture, while optional caraway seeds add a more traditional note. Serve it straight from the skillet or finish it in the oven for even more buttery, savory flavor.
Cabbage and noodles is one of those wonderfully simple dishes where a handful of everyday ingredients turns into something much better than you’d expect. The cabbage, mushrooms and onions cook until tender and lightly browned before being tossed with egg noodles, butter, garlic and peas.
You can serve everything straight from the skillet, but my favorite way to finish this recipe is with a short bake in the oven. It gives the noodles time to absorb more of the buttery onion and garlic flavor and makes the whole dish even more delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Cabbage and Noodles Recipe
This is an easy, inexpensive recipe that’s hearty enough for dinner but versatile enough to serve as a side dish.
- Simple ingredients: Cabbage, egg noodles, onions and mushrooms make up the heart of the dish.
- Meatless and satisfying: It’s substantial enough to serve as a vegetarian main dish.
- Easy to customize: Add kielbasa, bacon, ham or pancetta if you’d like to include meat.
- Flexible noodle choices: Egg noodles are my favorite, but you can use another pasta you have on hand.
- Even better baked: The optional oven finish gives the noodles extra time to soak up all those buttery cabbage, onion and garlic flavors.
What Is Hungarian Haluski?
Haluski is a simple Central and Eastern European comfort food made in many different ways depending on the country, region and family. Cabbage, onions, butter and noodles are common ingredients, and some versions include caraway seeds or meat.
My recipe is inspired by those traditional cabbage and noodle dishes, with mushrooms, garlic and peas added for extra flavor, color and texture. If you enjoy the distinctive flavor of caraway, I’ve included it as an optional addition.
Tips for the Best Cabbage and Noodles
Because this recipe uses such simple ingredients, the way they’re cooked makes a difference. Give the vegetables enough time to develop some color rather than rushing them.
- Brown the mushrooms well. Let them cook until golden before adding the onions.
- Don’t overcrowd the cabbage. Adding it in batches makes it easier to sauté and brown rather than steam.
- Save some pasta water. A little added at the end helps loosen the noodles and brings everything together.
- Add the noodles gradually. Cabbage heads vary considerably in size, so you can adjust the noodle-to-cabbage ratio to your liking.
- Taste before adding more salt. This is especially important if you’re adding bacon, ham, pancetta or kielbasa.
- Try the oven finish. You can absolutely serve the cabbage and noodles from the skillet, but I prefer the flavor after that additional short bake.
Make It a Main Dish
Cabbage and noodles makes a satisfying meatless meal on its own, but it’s also an easy recipe to turn into a heartier dinner. Add cooked meat when you combine the cabbage and noodles, or serve it alongside your favorite protein.
- Kielbasa or smoked sausage: Slice and brown it before adding it to the finished dish.
- Bacon or pancetta: Cook until browned and use a little of the rendered fat to sauté the vegetables.
- Ham: A great way to use leftover diced ham.
- Keep it meatless: The mushrooms add plenty of savory flavor and make the original version satisfying without meat.
What to Serve with Cabbage and Noodles
Hungarian cabbage and noodles can be served as either a main dish or a hearty side. Its mild, buttery flavor pairs especially well with simple roasted or grilled meats.
- Roasted or grilled chicken
- Pork tenderloin or pork chops
- Kielbasa or other smoked sausage
- Ham
- A simple green salad for a lighter meatless meal
Can You Make Cabbage and Noodles Ahead of Time?
Cabbage and noodles is best served soon after it’s made, while the noodles are tender and the cabbage still has some texture. You can make it earlier in the day and reheat it, but I’ve found it’s simply not quite as good as it is freshly made.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. When reheating, add a small splash of water or broth along with a little butter or olive oil if the noodles seem dry.
More Easy Comfort Food Recipes
If you’re in the mood for more cozy side dishes and comfort food favorites, here are a few more recipes to try:
- Sautéed Cabbage – A simple, flavorful way to turn fresh cabbage into an easy side dish.
- Cauliflower Gratin – Tender cauliflower baked in a rich, creamy cheese sauce until golden and bubbly.
- Mashed Potato Casserole – Creamy mashed potatoes baked into a comforting side dish that’s perfect for family dinners and holidays.
- Truffle Mac and Cheese – Rich, creamy mac and cheese with truffle flavor for an extra-special take on classic comfort food.
Whether you serve it straight from the skillet or give it that extra time in the oven, this Cabbage and Noodles recipe is simple comfort food that’s easy to make and easy to adapt. Tender cabbage, buttery egg noodles, mushrooms and onions make a cozy meatless dinner or a versatile side dish—and it’s a delicious way to turn an inexpensive head of cabbage into something everyone looks forward to eating.
Cabbage and Noodles (Hungarian Haluski)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces egg noodles
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided, plus more as needed
- 4-6 ounces white or cremini mushrooms sliced
- 2 Tbsp butter divided, plus more as needed
- 1 large yellow onion diced or thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic smashed and rough chopped
- ½ tsp caraway seeds optional
- ½ head green cabbage sliced into ½" slices
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper plus more to taste
- ½ cup frozen or fresh peas
- 2 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside.8 ounces egg noodles
- Sauté the mushrooms and onions. While the noodles cook, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden, about 5 minutes, adding a little additional olive oil if needed. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.2 Tbsp olive oil, 4-6 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, 1 large yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Cook the cabbage. Add half of the cabbage and 1 tablespoon butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage begins to soften and brown. Add the remaining cabbage, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, garlic powder, onion powder and optional caraway seeds. Continue cooking until the cabbage is tender with lightly browned edges.½ tsp caraway seeds, ½ head green cabbage, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, 2 Tbsp butter
- Add the noodles and peas. Add the drained noodles to the skillet, a little at a time, until you have your preferred ratio of noodles to cabbage. Add the salt, pepper and peas and toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water, about ¼ cup at a time as needed, until the noodles are moist and everything is well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning.1 tsp sea salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, ½ cup frozen or fresh peas
- Serve or bake. The cabbage and noodles can be served immediately from the skillet. For my preferred method, transfer the mixture to a buttered casserole dish or roasting pan and add up to ½ cup reserved pasta water. Cover with foil and bake at 300°F for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Finish and serve. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.2 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Notes
- Noodles: Egg noodles are my favorite for this recipe, but other pasta works well too. Gluten-free linguine is also a good option. Watch gluten-free pasta carefully because it may cook more quickly.
- Cabbage amount: Cabbage heads vary in size, so adjust the amount to your preference. You can also add the cooked noodles gradually to get the cabbage-to-noodle ratio you like best.
- Using less butter or oil: Once the mushrooms and onions are cooked, small splashes of water can be used instead of additional butter or olive oil if you'd like to reduce the amount of fat.
- Adding meat: For a heartier main dish, add cooked kielbasa, bacon or ham. You can also add about 1 cup diced pancetta when cooking the onions.
- Oven finish: Baking is optional, but I highly recommend it. Allow an additional 25 minutes for this step. It gives the cabbage and noodles extra time to soften and allows the onion, garlic and buttery flavors to soak into the noodles.
- Leftovers: This dish is best freshly made. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and gently reheat with a splash of water or broth and a little butter or olive oil if the noodles seem dry.
- Servings: This recipe serves about 4 as a meatless main dish or 6 as a side dish.
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com
While Hungarian cabbage and noodles does not contain peas and mushrooms, I liked adding them, especially the mushrooms because I’m diabetic and I cut down on the amount of noodles to reduce the carbs. Very yummy.
Hi Betsy, I’m glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment. It means a lot.
Lovely! Seriously, though, it isn’t Haluska with peas and without the caraway seeds! Can you say that it’s INSPIRED by Haluska? This is culturally like suggesting adding soybeans to replace clams in Sardinian Fregola – they aren’t cultural.
I was looking for a ‘comfort food” recipe to use up a head of cabbage that I got in my organic bag this week. This totally fit the bill. I did add some shreaded carrot (also in the bag) to add some color and extra vitamins. Very yummy!! Thanks Sally!
I’m about to make this tonight and am VERY excited. I LOVE egg noodles and cabbage so I’m sure this is going to be most excellent!
BEST EVER! I actually chopped up about 3/4 of a pounds of lean corned beef and added it to this recipe. SOOOO good!!
Stan, this is a perfect recipe with corned beef added in! Yum!
I’m from western PA, and many, many moons ago, my grandmother (who is Hungarian) and her friends taught me to make this, however they taught me to add potatoes but I prefer it with noodles. This is a wonderful recipe Sally.
Hi Julia! I’m glad you liked the recipe and I have to say, potatoes would be fabulous. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It means a lot!
My wife and I really enjoyed this.I am a fan of Egg Noodles and I never experienced them this way.
I’ve been making this for years & come from a Slovak background. We also make it with sausage and I do like the addition of mushrooms. Great recipe!
Fran, the addition of sausage sounds like just what I need to make this a hearty meal. Thanks for stopping by to comment!
I love the idea of this but I really don’t like mushrooms! Is there anything I could substitute them for to still get a rich flavour?
Hi Jess, sorry this reply is so late. You may omit the mushrooms and this dish is still rich and delicious.
Im Hungarian and never in my life heard of Haluski. It sounds central european indeed, but more Slovakian maybe…Czech? Polish?
In Hungary the recipe is “kaposztas laska”.
Me too. OTHER THAN SEASONING AND BUTTER, WE ONLY HAD 3 INGRED. FRIED CABBAGE AND ONIONS AND WIDE EGG NOODLES, PERIOD! FRIED ONIONS IS A MUST! YOUR CORRECT ON THE NAME. YOU ARE HUNGARIAN😃
Made this several times already, with wild porcini we picked here in the Sierras. Love it exactly as is. Thank you.
Tina, thanks so much for stopping by to let me know this. You’ve made my day and I’m so glad you like the recipe! Wow, fresh, while porcini mushrooms in the dish? Excellent!
Easy, delicious, and healthy!!!! I’m already looking forward to the next time I make this!!
Thanks Tami, I’m glad you liked it. I’m thinking about trying it next time with zucchini noodles. Since you turned me on to zucchini noodles, what do you think?
How many people does this serve?
Hi Jackie, I’ll go in and edit the recipe but it feeds 4 people as a main dish and 6 as a side.
How did it come out with zoodles? I grew up on cabbage and noodles (Polish heritage), Thanks!