Cabbage and noodles (Vegan Polish Haluski) is the ultimate comfort, delicious, budget-friendly wholesome family meal that will easily become a firm family favourite.
The UK is currently going through a cost of living crisis, as is many other parts of the world such as the US, so to offset some of my rising electricity and food costs I am preparing many more budget-friendly plant based vegan meals for my family. And even better I hope many more people will also benefit from these tasty frugal meals.
This cabbage and noodle dish is so surprisingly satisfying and packed with budget-friendly ingredients its so worth a try. You won't be disappointed!
Quick Origins Of Polish Haluski
Haluski or halusky refers to noodles or dumplings.
Haluski or noodles and cabbage is popularly thought to have originated in Poland or Slovakia. However, Hungarians and Ukrainians have similar dishes so the exact location of the first cabbage and noodle dish is not known for certain!
What is known is that during the US Great Depression Era, cabbage and noodles was a common much loved meal especially within the Polish community.
Its easy to see why as this meal is so budget-friendly, provides valuable nutrition and energy while just tasting great!
Haluski is a favourite meal to serve during the 40 days of Lent which is a fasting period for many Christians leading up to Easter. During those 40 days of Lent, on Fridays including Good Friday, and Ash Wednesday, meat is not allowed to be consumed.
This year, 2022, Lent begins on Wednesday 2nd March and ends Thursday 14th April.
For this cabbage noodle recipe I have included a can of drained white beans for extra nutrition, texture and well my family love beans so they do get added to most things!
However, beans are not a traditional addition so feel free to leave those out if preferred.
How To Prepare Haluski Noodles And Cabbage
Cook the onion in vegan butter for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle in the garlic powder and pour in the vegan stock.
Meanwhile prepare the noodles or pasta according to package instructions. Tip in the canned cooked beans along with the noodles as this will heat them up and soften them further into tasty creamy beans as the pasta cooks.
Once the noodles are cooked drain and mix through the cooked cabbage and beans.
Throw over some chopped parsley and serve with chunks of your favourite crusty bread. A sprinkle of paprika flakes is also tasty.
Recipe Notes And FAQS
Store leftovers within a covered container and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Or freeze for up to 3-4 months.
Place the cabbage and noodles into a non-stick pan and pour in about ¼-1/2 cup of water or plant milk (or a mix of both which is what I like to do) and reheat the noodles until piping hot. Stir frequently.
Once reheated a handful of fresh chopped parsley chucked in and mixed through is very tasty and refreshes' the dish.
Leftovers are really tasty served on a slice of toasted/grilled bread for next day's lunch.
Absolutely.
Simply choose a gluten-free pasta shape. It is not essential that the pasta be noodles.
Also ensure that your vegan stock is also free from gluten.
The best kind of noodles is the type that is most easiest for you to find!
I use tagliatelle which are a thick wheat noodle and are very tasty for this cabbage noodle recipe.
But any noodle or pasta shape is fine including pasta shells/bows/tubes, linguine, spaghetti, fusilli, macaroni elbows, pappardelle, etc.
Egg noodles, usually the short shaped varieties, are commonly used for cabbage and noodle dishes but as these are not plant based, longer pasta shapes such as spaghetti or tagliatelle can be simply broken up into smaller pieces if preferred.
Traditionally Polish noodles and cabbage is prepared with butter and the fat does provide lots of the flavour.
However, it is not essential for this vegan adaption and other ingredients can be added to provide extra flavour.
The vegan butter that cooks the onions and cabbage can be replaced with about half a cup to three quarters of cup of vegan stock.
And at the end of cooking instead of melting an extra tablespoon of vegan butter through the dish try subbing the fat for a tablespoon of white miso paste or a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes.
White miso paste can now be sourced at many UK supermarkets including Asda (comes in a little jar, the link is to Asda and is not an ad. This is just to show the white miso paste that I tend to use).
This cabbage and noodle recipe is really filling and can be enjoyed as a main meal with simply a side of bread. But it can also be a great side-dish and can then stretch to a few more servings.
A few ideas:
- your favourite crusty bread/rolls/baps
- garlic bread
- 3 ingredient vegan quick dinner rolls
- fresh herbs
- vegan sausages
- vegan carrot hotdogs
- vegan bacon
- cabbage and noodles would be a delicious side-dish for sage and onion meatloaf (which is prepared with chickpeas, green lentils and oatmeal)
- a scoop of vegan mayonnaise or vegan sour cream is a particularly tasty accompaniment
The cabbage is so tasty. Do try to source some vegan chicken stock as it does make a difference to the end flavour. Meat free OXO chicken stock cubes are ideal (can be found in Asda (UK).
Discover More Easy Budget-Friendly Family Vegan Meals:
Easy Vegetable Curry (So delicious and you can use whatever veggies you have)
Green Lentil And Bean Mashed Potato Pie
Rice-A-Roni (With Kidney Beans and Bell Peppers)
Cream Of Swede (Rutabaga) Soup With Crispy Tangy Croutons
Traditional Scottish Hotchpotch Soup
If you prepare this easy recipe for plant based vegan Polish cabbage and noodles do pop back and let us know how you got on.
We love receiving feedback and comments.
Thanks so much x
Recipe
Cabbage and Noodles (Vegan Polish Haluski)
Equipment
- large non-stick pan (can use a Wok), with a lid or heat-proof plate that fits the pan for cooking cabbage mix
- Large saucepan/ dutch oven pan for cooking noodles
Ingredients
- 580 grams cabbage 1 head of cabbage, (weight is after the hard inner stalk is removed) this recipe used savoy cabbage but any type is perfect, shredded or rough chopped
- 180 grams onion 1 medium-large, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine such as Flora dairy-free
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder can replace with 4 cloves fresh fine diced garlic or tablespoon of garlic puree
- 250 millilitres vegan chicken stock or regular vegan vegetable stock
- 400 grams tagliatelle pasta noodles or similar, break up each nest of noodles into smaller parts (but not too small!)
- 1 can white kidney beans or other white bean such as butter beans, cannellini, etc. One 400g (14oz) can, drained or 240g cooked beans
Mix through finished dish
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine
- 20 grams fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegan butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir frequently.
- Tip in the cabbage. It will look like a lot of cabbage but it will soon break down!Mix the onion through the cabbage. Stir the cabbage frequently and cook for 10 minutes.
- Next sprinkle in two teaspoons of garlic powder and pour in one cup (250ml) of vegan chicken stock. Give everything a good stir.
- Pop a lid over the cabbage and cook for a further 10 minutes or while the noodles are prepared.
Meanwhile prepare the noodles and beans
- Tip in the noodles and drained canned beans into a large pot and cover with water. Sprinkle some salt into the water.Cook the noodles or pasta according to the package instructions.Once cooked, drain the cooking liquid and return the noodles and beans to the pot.
Finish the cabbage and noodles
- If the cabbage is ready before the noodles are simply leave the cabbage off the heat but pop a lid over the pan to keep warm.
- Melt an extra tablespoon of vegan butter through the cooked cabbage mix and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Tip the cabbage mix into the noodles and stir well. Taste the seasoning and add more to taste.
- Sprinkle or mix through most of the parsley. Keep some separate to sprinkle over each portion. A few paprika or red pepper flakes is also a tasty garnish.
- Serving with a scoop of vegan mayonnaise or vegan sour cream is particularly nice.
Notes
- Nutritional data is for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Leftover noodles and cabbage can be stored within a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Or frozen for up to 3 months. Although the texture of the pasta may not be the same after freezing.
- To reheat leftover cabbage and noodles place in a non-stick pan along with half to three quarters of a cup of veggie stock or water (or a mix of both) and reheat until piping hot. Stir the cabbage and noodles frequently.
- Mix through a handful of fresh parsley once reheated.
- Leftovers are tasty reheated and served on a slice of toasted/grilled bread for next days lunch.
- For gluten-free cabbage and noodles choose a gluten-free pasta shape (link to gluten-free pasta above within the ingredient list) and a gluten-free veggie stock.
- Do try to source some vegan chicken flavoured stock as it does add a lot of flavour. If you are in the UK try source some meat free chicken OXO cubes which are usually for sale in Asda.
- On an oil-free diet? Replace the vegan butter with some veggie stock to cook the onions and cabbage. At the end of cooking mix a tablespoon of white miso paste through a quarter cup (60ml) of hot water until smooth-ish (you don't want lumps of miso as they do taste quite strong!).
- White miso paste can be found in Asda (UK) or instead simply mix a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes through the finished cabbage and noodles.
SANCHA VAUGHAN
My late Mother cooked lots of Polish dishes.I loved her stuffed cabbage leaves.I am vegan so I can not eat meat.Your cabbage recipe sounds Fantastic.I never had it,but will give it a go as soon as I go to buy a cabbage.Thank you for the insoiration.
Jacq
Thanks so much for your lovely comment. Your late Mother sounds amazing cooking all those tasty Polish dishes for you. Stuffed cabbage leaves sound great I have always wanted to try those. Hope you enjoy the cabbage and noodles! Would love to hear how you get on 🙂