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4.8 from 18 votes

Krautfleckerl (Austrian Cabbage and Noodles)

Krautfleckerl is an extremely easy and surprisingly flavorful dish of cabbage and noodles. This comforting recipe is popular throughout Central and Eastern Europe and sometimes goes by different names (like haluski) depending on the region.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 459 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German , Austrian , Hungarian , Polish , Romanian , Czech

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • ½ small head green cabbage (about 1.13 kg/2 ½ pounds), trimmed, cored, and cut into ½ inch pieces or thinly shredded (approximately 450 g/1 pound cabbage after halving, trimming, and coring)
  • ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ to ¾ cup water or broth (beef or vegetable), or more as needed
  • 12 ounces (340 grams) egg noodles or fleckerl (see substitutions in notes)
  • chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the cabbage, caraway seeds, salt and pepper and combine. Stir in ¼ cup water or broth, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, and sprinkling in a bit more water throughout the cooking process (to keep the mixture from drying out) until the cabbage is soft and tender, about 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in boiling salted water until al dente or slightly softer, drain, and set aside.
  4. When the cabbage and noodles are both ready, toss them together, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley for color, if desired. Serve hot or warm.
  5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat before eating.

Notes

  • The cabbage I used in this post weighed 2 ½ pounds and was the smallest head I could find at the grocery store. After peeling off the 2 outer leaves, halving and coring it, one half was exactly 1 pound. If your cabbage is bigger you can definitely use more than 1 pound trimmed cabbage. The resulting dish will have a greater cabbage to noodle ratio but will still be absolutely delicious.
  • Fleckerl are actually small square pasta shapes that are common in Austria. You may substitute wide egg noodles, homestyle egg noodles (featured in these photos), broken up pappardelle or tagliatelle, or even farfalle (bow-ties) or other pasta. I've even made it with casarecce pasta (the kind used in my Pasta Bianca recipe) and it was fantastic, though the texture is different from flat noodles.
  • Some people like to also add chopped bacon and/or ham. If you want to do this, render down the chopped bacon first to crisp it up and release its fat. (You can add the ham at the same time. If you’re only using ham and no bacon, you’ll still need some butter or oil to get it going.) Remove the cooked bacon/ham with a slotted spoon but leave the fat and use it to cook the onions and cabbage. Return the crispy bacon/ham to the cabbage before tossing with the noodles.
  • The cabbage I used in this post weighed 2 ½ pounds and was the smallest head I could find at the grocery store. After peeling off the 2 outer leaves, halving and coring it, one half was exactly 1 pound. If your cabbage is bigger you can definitely use more than 1 pound trimmed cabbage. The resulting dish will have a greater cabbage to noodle ratio but will still be absolutely delicious.
  • This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US), preferably Diamond Crystal brand (which has slightly larger crystals than some other brands). If you are using table salt or a different brand of kosher salt, definitely scale down the salt.

Nutrition Information

Calories 459kcal (23%) Carbohydrates 69g (23%) Protein 14g (28%) Fat 15g (23%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Monounsaturated Fat 3g Cholesterol 120mg (40%) Sodium 317mg (13%) Potassium 451mg (13%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 8g (16%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 459

% Daily Value*

Calories 459kcal 23%
Carbohydrates 69g 23%
Protein 14g 28%
Fat 15g 23%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Monounsaturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 120mg 40%
Sodium 317mg 13%
Potassium 451mg 10%
Fiber 7g 28%
Sugar 8g 16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.