Traditional Hungarian Favorite; Haluski, Made from Scratch, Cabbage With Dumplings & Ham

There are as many variations of Haluski as there are families in Hungary. You will find some variation of this cabbage and noodle meal in almost every eastern European country. My mother always made it with bow tie noodles instead of making dumplings. I like to make it with dumplings because, well because, I’m a dumpling loving fool, that’s why! Plus they take only a quick few minutes to make. Some like to add a protein like sausage, or bacon to make it a more filling meal; I typically add ham. I love the smokey flavor it adds to this dish. This meal often makes an appearance at our table after the holidays when I have loads of leftover ham.

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Not only is this meal delicious but it’s very filling, inexpensive and nutritious as well. If you are on a budget and need to feed a hungry family inexpensively; this meal checks all the boxes. Haluski has been made by thousands of families all over eastern Europe for hundreds of years, maybe longer. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. It probably kept many families from starvation, sustaining them through wars and famines.

If your family is of eastern European descent you may remember your grandmother or mother making a similar version of Haluski when you were growing up. This is how I love to make it.

Start by making the dumplings. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Mix by hand until you have a wet sticky dough.  Set aside to let the dough rest while you prepare the braised cabbage and wait for the water to come to a rolling boil.

Dice an onion.

Cube ham. You could also use sausage, like Bratwurst or a Polska Kielbasa, or bacon if you don’t have any ham on hand.

Prepare the cabbage.

Cut a head of cabbage into quarters and remove core.

Slice each quarter into thin strips.

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.

Note: If you are using bacon instead of ham, leave out the butter and cook the bacon until it’s soft and renders its fat. Remove cooked bacon, then add the diced onion and cook in the bacon fat.

Add diced onion and cook until onions are translucentm about 4-5 minutes.

Add paprika and stir to combine. 

Add sliced cabbage and stir to combine.

Reduce heat and cover, cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage cooks down, and its nice and tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in diced ham and toss to combine. Continue to cook until heated through. 

Season with salt and pepper.

While the cabbage cooks down, it’s time to make the dumplings.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once water comes to a rolling boil, add some salt to the water.

Scoop dough onto a cutting board.

Dip the blade of a dough scraper into the boiling water to moisten the blade. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the blade. Cut finger sized pieces of dough, scraping them off the edge of the cutting board, one at a time, into the pot of salted, boiling water.

Stir to make sure the dumplings don’t stick together, and boil for 5 minutes.

Dumplings will float to the top when they are cooked through.

Use a slotted spoon to to scoop out dumplings. Add them to the pan with the braised cabbage and ham.

Toss dumplings with the braised cabbage and ham to combine.

Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Serve, topped with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

This is comfort food for me. It takes me back to my childhood. The image of my mother standing at the stove making this for dinner comes to mind when I cook Haluski. She often served this without any meat in it. She called it Kraut Zweckel, loosely translated from German, means cabbage and noodles. She often served it for dinner on Friday’s during lent.

Have you ever tried Haluski? Do you make it this way or is the version your family makes completely different? Let me know in the comments what your favorite version of Haluski is. If you have never tried it I encourage you to give it a try, it’s delicious! There’s a reason its been around for hundreds of years and passed down from generation to generation.

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