Hungarian Cabbage With Noodles (Káposztás Tészta)

Written by
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek is a former chef who became a cooking school instructor and award-winning food writer.
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Barbara Rolek
Updated 06/20/21
Hungarian cabbage noodles

The Spruce
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
576 Calories
35g Fat
59g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 576
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 45%
Saturated Fat 20g 99%
Cholesterol 81mg 27%
Sodium 892mg 39%
Total Carbohydrate 59g 21%
Dietary Fiber 8g 27%
Protein 9g
Calcium 111mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This Hungarian comfort-food dish known as kaposztás tészta is a simple recipe to make, consisting of cabbage, onion, butter, egg noodles, salt, and pepper.

Cabbage with noodles is a popular and easy dish common throughout Eastern Europe. In Poland, it's called kluski z kapusta or hałuski. In the Czech Republic, it's known as nudle s zelí, and Slovaks call it haluski (without the accent on the "L" as in Polish).

This can be a strictly vegetarian dish, sometimes with added sautéed mushrooms, or it can be enhanced with bacon or other smoked meat, and it makes a terrific side dish or main-course offering that holds up well on a buffet table. If this recipe doesn't tickle your fancy, there are many more Eastern European cabbage recipes to choose from.

Ingredients

  • 1 large head cabbage (cored and shredded)
  • 1 large onion (chopped)
  • 8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 pound medium Hungarian egg noodles (homemade or store-bought, cooked)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Hungarian cabbage noodles
    The Spruce

  2. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté the cabbage and onion in butter until golden brown and tender.

    Sautéing cabbage with onion and butter
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  3. Season with salt and pepper.

    Season with salt and pepper
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  4. Mix with cooked egg noodles. Adjust seasonings and rewarm if necessary to serve piping hot. Enjoy.

    Mix with noodles
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Recipe Variations

  • Add 1 cup sliced button, cremini, or other mushrooms to the skillet with the cabbage and onion and cook until they are all golden brown and tender.
  • Before serving, add 1 cup cooked, crumbled, or diced bacon to the cabbage, onion, and noodles mixture.
  • After mixing the cabbage and onion with the noodles, add 1 cup chopped ham, combining well, and rewarm to serve hot.

How to Store Hungarian Cabbage With Noodles

  • While best eaten the same day it's made, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to two days.

More About Hungarian Noodles

Hungarian egg noodles, known as Magyar tojásos tészta (MAHG-yahr toy-YAH-shohss TESS-tah) or metélt (MEH-telt), come in a staggering number of varieties, rivaled possibly only by Italian pasta.

Hungarians roll them, cut them, pinch them, grate them, and drop them. There's a noodle for every dish and a dish for every noodle. Tészta is actually the Hungarian word for "dough," and metélt means "noodles," but they are used interchangeably.

When the word tojásos is added, we're talking about egg noodles, the pride of Hungarian cuisine. They are made with three simple ingredients—flour, eggs, and salt—and, in some kitchens, not even any salt. 

No water or oil is added to authentic Hungarian noodle recipes because many cooks feel the addition of water creates longer drying times and increases the potential for the noodles to mold when stored.