Haluski is an easy to make one skillet dinner that is full of comfort food flavors and only requires a handful of ingredients. Your family will love this easy dinner!
The origins of Haluski (pronounced ha-loosh-key) are debatable, but can be claimed in some form or another by the Polish, Slovaks, Ukrainians, and Hungarians. It’s a simple comfort food dish consisting of either egg noodles or a potato dumpling sautéed with cabbage, onion, pork, and sheep or goat’s cheese. The cut of pork you use, the kind of cheese you use, and using either noodles or dumplings will vary from region to region.
American immigrant haluski is made with ingredients that were easier to find in the US and often use noodles. This recipe is an easy version of Haluski that is made in the style of US immigrants. It’s not an authentic version of Haluski that you’d find in Eastern Europe as many of those ingredients just aren’t common in the United States. Slovak-style haluski uses cheese, while other Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine do not usually use cheese. We’ve included some information for making a more traditional Slovak Haluski if you are interested in giving it a go. However you decide to make it, haluski is an easy to make comfort food that only requires a handful of ingredients.
How do I make traditional Slovak potato dumplings for my haluski?
Haluski in the United States is often made with egg noodles or even gnocchi to make it an easy and quick meal. The traditional Slovak recipe is made with a potato dumpling, similar to German spaetzle. To make your own traditional Slovak potato dumplings you will need:
- 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 your dough by grating your potatoes on the smallest shredding option on your cheese grater. Squeeze the excess water out and put the shreddings into a mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and milk 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. Set aside the cut dumplings until ready to cook. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches boil the potato dumplings for 3 minutes each batch. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon.
Can I use bacon instead of pancetta?
Yes! Bacon is an acceptable substitution for pancetta in this recipe. It produces a lot more fat and grease so we recommend skipping the butter in this recipe (or reducing it significantly) and simply cooking up your diced bacon in the skillet and allowing the cabbage and onion to sauté in the grease.
What can I use instead of goat cheese?
Bryndza (a sheep’s cheese) is the traditional cheese used in haluski, but it’s hard to find outside of Eastern Europe. Goat’s cheese offers a similar flavor and is more widely available. Instead of goat cheese, you can substitute with cream cheese for a mild option, or use feta for a bolder flavor. Mascarpone cheese is another option for a smooth, mild, creamy finish.
Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may also be interested in some of our other Eastern European favorites:
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, Facebook Watch, or 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!