Haluski (pronounced ha-loosh-key) is a rich and hearty dish with a perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors. It starts with cabbage being sauteed until lightly caramelized, bringing out the sweet element. Then adding pork gives this dish its savory depth, and while you can use any cut of pork, we love the salty richness that is pancetta. This deliciously spiced meat really ups the level of flavor in any recipe. There are different variations of Haluski depending on the specific region of Europe the recipe hails from, but whichever one you decide to make, this is the type of comfort food that tastes like home.
Compliment your Haluski by serving it with our Homemade French Bread or Homemade Rye Bread.
Why Our Recipe
- Only 30 minutes to make with just 7 ingredients.
- Make with either egg noodles, gnocchi, or homemade potato dumplings.
- Budget-friendly ingredients allow you to splurge a little on the pancetta.
Haluski is a popular Eastern European recipe with differences in the recipe ranging from Poland to Hungary. Some countries don’t use cheese in their Haluski, but Slovak-style Haluski does. And we’re cheese people in this kitchen, so it’s a no-brainer that this is the variation that we wanted to make. If you’ve been nervous about trying goat cheese in the past, we’re about to change your world for the better. This is a creamy, refreshing and rich cheese, making it another perfect component to this dish.
Ingredient Notes
- Green Cabbage: Looks similar to a head of lettuce, but is a denser leaf with a stronger flavor than iceberg lettuce.
- Onion: We prefer the mildness of a white onion, but a yellow onion can be substituted.
- Pancetta: A cut of pork similar to bacon, without the smokiness in the flavor. You can find this in the deli area of most grocery stores, sometimes already chopped or cubed.
- Egg Noodles: Sold in a plastic bag near the dry pasta in the grocery store. Gnocchi is a great option for if you want to switch things up and make a more authentic Slovak version of Haluski.
- Goat Cheese: Crumbly cheese with a slight tang. Feta can be substituted but is a little saltier than goat cheese, so start with less to avoid overpowering your recipe and add more to taste.
Slovak Potato Dumplings (the OG dumpling):
In the US, Haluski is usually made with egg noodles. The traditional Slovak recipe is made with a potato dumpling, similar to German Spaetzle. Here’s a recipe for the traditional Slovak potato dumplings in case you want to try your hand at it:
- 2 large potatoes, peeled
- 3+ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
Make a dough by grating the potatoes on the smallest shredding option of the cheese grater. Using a paper towel or cheesecloth, squeeze out any excess moisture from the shreddings, then place the shreddings into a mixing bowl. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and milk, and mix until a dough forms, adding more flour if necessary to achieve a workable consistency. Divide the dough into 6 sections. On a flour-dusted surface, roll out each dough section into a long rope or snake. Slice the snakes into 1/4 inch wide “pillows” or dough ball sections. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the potato dumplings to the pot in batches and cook each batch for 3 minutes. Remove cooked dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl lined with paper towels.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through.
More European comfort food at its finest…
Potato and Cheese Pierogi
1 hr 15 mins
Granny’s German Schnitzel
20 mins
Potato Leek Soup
45 mins
Traditional Irish Colcannon
45 mins
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Thanks for sharing! I do not eat goat cheese… at all!
What would be a good substitute for this recipe?
You can leave out the cheese or substitute any other soft cheese. Even cream cheese would work.
Exactly my kind of comfort food ! Thank you so much ! Pinning to Frugal 🙂
Thanks for the awesome recipe. Will definitely make it a lot. We omitted the pork and cheese only because we didn’t grow up eating it that way.
We make this with fried sauerkraut and browned butter on the dumplings.
My great grandmother was Czech and she made Huluski. I love it and everyone I’ve it made for loves even though they don’t know what to make of it when I describe the recipe. She,, however, made a different version.
She fried bacon, crisp, removed to paper towels and leave bacon fat in the pan.
Shred the cabbage and add to the bacon fat and cook until tender
Grate the potatoes (food processor is great for this task) squeeze water out. Don’t grate ahead of time as the potatoes will turn brown..
Add flour, baking powder,, salt (you may want to omitt because of the bacon, but I don;t)
I don’t use the eggs either or milk, but rather I use water. The mixture should be the consistency of pudding befor it sets up.
Cook in boiling water (test a few first – if the dumplings fall apart add flour to the mixture, if they don’t cook through in 5-6 mins. add more water.. This sounds difficult, but just take your time and DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
Drain dumplings and combine with cabbage and bacon mixture.
I guarantee you will never make enough.
Leftovers reheat well , but you won’t have any.
This is the traditional way my husbands family from Slovakia makes it. They also do not put cheese in the dish. Just the cabbage, dumplings and bacon. So delish! We all fight over the leftovers.
That’s how I made it also with bacon but used sauerkraut and dumplings love love love it
Yep! That is the correct Halusky! This recipe uses pasta instead of the actual Halusky… When you mix cabbage and bacon the Czechs also call it Strapacky. Since they changed the mix of the traditional Slovakian Halusky, they gave it another nickname. I dont know why Americans take European foods, change it so much one cant even recognize it and then call it the same thing. Anyway I enjoy all varieties tbh Depends on the mood 😀
My husband’s family makes (the recipe has been passed down for generations). We make it as well, starting from scratch,,..grating fine potatoes (on the side of the grater that no one uses). As well, my husband’s traditional recipe calls for sauerkraut. The instructions include the saying “mix until a woman’s arm cannot mix any more then its ready”….pretty old fashioned way of a recipe. But…we both love it…and during the winter months, this is our go to when its cold outside (we live in the Canadian prairies.). When we serve it, its just a heaping dollop of sour cream and fresh bacon bits if available (if not the Hormel bacon bits work fine).
My family never used bacon or cheese for this dish. I suggest trying it without these two ingredients for a change. I don’t think I’d like all the salt from the bacon and cheese. I just looked up the recipe for Irish cabbage which is cabbage and bacon. I think I’ll save the bacon for Irish cabbage. I’m watching the 1964 movie The Girl With The Green Eyes (youtube) and Peter Finch talks about his cook making Irish cabbage for him.
My Slovak in-laws and ancestors were too poor to add bacon or cheese to their haluski-kapusti. Just browned cabbage and onion with lots of butter on the dumplings.
Carole my Mom used only , browned onions , sometimes added zucchini, green & yellow, over Home made wide noodles We were also poor, but she made mashed potatoes and added it to her dough making the noodles heavier. We couldn’t ask for enough. More & more. Three growing girls to feed. No meet & no cheese. Lots of onions & zucchini. It was awesome! I make it. My Italian husband loves it.!!!
My Slovakian Grandma too, Although we don’t bother with the onion, just brown the cabbage in butter, as you said lots of butter on the Shesh-kee which the way Grandma pronounced it….don’t know the correct Slovak spelling, but that was what it sounded like.
As a third-generation Hungarian living in the US, my grandmother (mom really couldn’t cook) made this every time we visited, since she knew I loved it…she used only noodles, onions, butter and cabbage. She’d let the cabbage get lightly-browned for added flavor….just a delicious, filling dish. I’ll try it with bacon & goat’s cheese, but it’s hard to beat Grandma’s.
Just came back from visiting my daughter in Prague and had this for the very first time! Now I can’t wait to try ur recipe… thanks so much for posting this!
I can hardly wait to make this recipe! I love cabbage. I love onions. I love pasta/dumplings. All of those tasty ingredients combined sounds heavenly 🙂
I am an old slovak,and this was a childhood favorite of mine. Mom made a little differant by caralizing butter and onion, then poring over cabbage and potatoe noodles. Delicious!!
Galushki are made from potato, some flour and egg. Italian gnocchi.. If you would be using pancetta, it has to be golden before adding onion and galushki. Otherwise, you will have gummy pancetta… Once, onion and galushki are browned, add cabbage. Sim under cover for about 10 min, cabbage must be a little bit crunchy. .
I've never heard of this before, but I like all the ingredients. I'll have to try it!