Kielbasa and Cabbage Noodles – Gimme Some Oven

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These hearty sausage and cabbage noodles are quick and easy to make and bursting with rich savory flavors.

Every winter, I find myself craving some version of sausage and cabbage. But these noodles may be my favorite recipe yet! ♡

We’re going unapologetically BIG on savory flavors here, beginning with a rich sauté of smoky bacon and garlicky kielbasa. Then we’ll add in a huge pile of chopped green cabbage and cook it down until tender. Then everything everything gets tossed together with chewy egg noodles in a simple tomato-paprika sauce until each bite is evenly coated and bursting with flavor. It’s total comfort food and truly couldn’t be more delicious!

The recipe comes together quickly (especially if you chop as you go) and is easily adaptable with whatever type of sausage and noodles you love best. Feel free to also add in any other leftover veggies you have on hand that might sound good. And while I love the paprika and caraway included in the recipe below, you could also play around and take the seasonings in a Cajun or Italian direction instead if you prefer. There are lots of fun ways to customize this one.

So the next time you’re craving a hearty meal of sausage and cabbage, grab some noodles too and give this recipe a try!

Kielbasa and Cabbage Noodles Ingredients

Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this kielbasa and cabbage noodles recipe:

• Egg noodles: Egg noodles add chewy texture to this dish and perfectly soak up the flavors in the sauce. I’m partial to using curly wide egg noodles, but feel free to use any other variety of egg noodles or other type of pasta that you prefer.
• Kielbasa: This Polish sausage is famous for its garlicky, smoky flavor. Slicing it diagonally helps to maximize the surface area of each piece, adding even more flavor as it cooks and browns.
• Cabbage: Green cabbage softens as it cooks and soaks up the flavors of the smoky bacon and seasonings. I prefer roughly chopping the cabbage into bite-sized pieces, but you can also shred it (or purchase pre-shredded cabbage) if you prefer a different texture.
• Bacon: Bacon adds delicious extra layers of smoky, salty flavor to the dish. To maximize flavor, I recommend sautéing the other ingredients in the leftover bacon grease. But you’re welcome to sub in olive oil if you prefer less bacon flavor.
• Onion and garlic: Onion and garlic serve as the simple aromatics for this dish, adding an extra layer of savory flavor to the dish.
• Chicken stock: Chicken stock (or you could sub in vegetable stock) serves as the base for our broth.
• Tomato paste: Tomato paste gives the sauce a foundation of rich, tangy, sweet tomato flavor which pairs nicely with the seasonings.
• Seasonings: Smoked paprika and caraway seeds serve as the dried sesasonings for the sauce, along with salt and pepper, adding smoky, earthy and anise-like flavor. If you don’t have caraway seasonings in your pantry, no worries, you can just leave them out.
• Apple cider vinegar: Finally, we’ll add a splash of ACV to the sauce to balance out the rich flavors with a hint of tanginess.

Recipe Tips

Detailed step-by-step instructions are included in the recipe box below. But here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when making this recipe:

• Slice the kielbasa on a diagonal. Slicing the sausage on a diagonal into bite-sized pieces increases the surface area for browning, adding extra caramelized flavor to each bite.
• Don’t overcook the cabbage. The goal is to cook the cabbage until it is soft but not soggy, so that it still adds a hint of texture to the dish.
• Add the noodles just before serving. In order to avoid soggy noodles as well, be sure to cook the noodles until they are *just* al dente and toss them with the rest of the dish immediately before serving.
• Season to taste. Finally, don’t forget to give everything a quick taste just before serving to see if you’d like to add any extra salt and pepper (and/or smoked paprika or caraway).

Recipe Variations

Here are a few more variations to this cabbage noodles recipe that you’re welcome to try:

• Add extra veggies: Sauté some extra veggies along with the cabbage, such as bell peppers, broccolini, carrots, green beans, mushrooms or zucchini.
• Add mustard: If you’re a fan of mustard, a generous spoonful of Dijon would also be delicious mixed into this dish.
• Add different seasonings: Instead of the smoked paprika and caraway, you could season the dish with Cajun seasoning or Italian seasoning.
• Add beer: Use beer (I recommend a light pale ale or wheat beer) in place of chicken stock as the base for the broth.
• Make it spicy: Add your desired amount of crushed red pepper flakes when sautéing the cabbage.
• Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free egg noodles (or another type of gluten-free pasta) to make this recipe gluten-free.

More Cozy Noodle Recipes

Looking for more noodle recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:

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