Buttery Cabbage "Noodles"
Long ribbons of green cabbage cooked in butter until silky and golden at the edges — a cheap, cozy stand-in for buttered egg noodles.
Nutrition per serving
1 cup- Net carbs
- 4.4g
- Calories
- 132kcal
- Protein
- 1.7g
- Fat
- 12g
- Total carbs
- 7.4 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Bacon haluski: The Polish-Pennsylvanian favorite without the egg noodles: cabbage fried in bacon fat and butter with plenty of soft, sweet onion and crispy bacon.
- Fry the bacon in the pan first until crisp, lift it out and cook all the onion in the bacon fat for 6–8 minutes, until golden.
- Add the cabbage and salt and continue as written, using the 2 tablespoons of butter when you uncover the pan. Stir the bacon back in to serve; a pinch of caraway seeds is traditional.
With smoked sausage: Browned coins of kielbasa make it a cheap, one-skillet dinner.
- Brown the sausage in the dry pan over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes, until caramelized at the edges, then set it aside and cook the onion in the butter and sausage drippings.
- Return the sausage for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Check sausage labels for added sugar.
- Nice to have (optional)
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $1.74 for 4 servings ($0.43 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Cut the cabbage half into two wedges and cut out the core. Peel off the leaves in stacks of 3–4 and slice them lengthwise into ½-inch (1.25 cm) ribbons — long strips look and twirl like egg noodles. (For spaghetti-like strands, slice them ¼ inch / 6 mm wide.)
-
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion for 3–4 minutes, until soft.
-
Add the cabbage and salt, toss to coat, then cover and cook for 4–5 minutes, until wilted.
-
Uncover, add the remaining butter and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring only every couple of minutes, until tender with golden-brown edges but still with a little bite.
-
Season with pepper and serve as is, or as a bed for meatballs in marinara or a creamy alfredo.
Tips for success
-
A short covered steam followed by open, high-heat cooking is the technique: the lid softens the ribbons quickly, then the open pan drives off the water so the butter can brown the edges. - Leave it alone. Constant stirring prevents browning, and the toasted edges are where the flavor is.
- Savoy or napa cabbage makes more delicate noodles and cooks in about half the time. Add crisp bacon and a pinch of caraway for a keto take on Polish haluski.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Reheat in a skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes so the edges toast again.
Refrigerate up to 4 days and reheat in a skillet. Not great frozen — the texture turns limp.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosBacon haluski
FlavorThe Polish-Pennsylvanian favorite without the egg noodles: cabbage fried in bacon fat and butter with plenty of soft, sweet onion and crispy bacon.
- butter → butter
- + 6 slices bacon
- + ½ medium extra onion
5.7 g net · 158 kcal · 6.9 g protein · 11 g fat · ≈$0.63 per serving (+1.3 g net carbs vs the original)
With smoked sausage
ProteinBrowned coins of kielbasa make it a cheap, one-skillet dinner.
- + 12 oz smoked sausage or kielbasa
5.2 g net · 395 kcal · 12 g protein · 36 g fat · ≈$1.29 per serving (+0.8 g net carbs vs the original)
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