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.

Cabbage and noodles is a simple and inexpensive comfort food that is perfect for fall and winter. Preparations of cabbage pasta are popular throughout many Central and Eastern European nations.
Austrian krautfleckerl is a close relative to haluski, which has Slovak, Polish, and Hungarian origins. They can be nearly identical in many ways, but haluski is sometimes made with small homemade dumplings instead of noodles.
The term krautfleckerl is a reference to both the cabbage (kraut) and the specific type of square-shaped noodles often used to make the dish in Austria (fleckerl). You can absolutely use other noodles or even pasta in place of the fleckerl.
If you'd like to add bacon or ham as many people do, see the Expert Tips section below for instructions. Otherwise this cabbage and noodles recipe is vegetarian, and could be vegan if you replace the unsalted butter with a plant-based butter.
This cabbage pasta recipe is a great way to use up leftover cabbage if you had purchased a head for another use.
Ingredient notes
- Noodles: 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.
- Cabbage: Your typical run-of-the-mill round green cabbage is perfect for this recipe. You can also use white cabbage (also called Dutch cabbage). It's a type of green cabbage which as you can imagine is a more pale color than the green. Select a head of cabbage that is firm with smooth unblemished leaves. Halve the cabbage and remove any of the tough core near the root end before cutting the remaining cabbage into small pieces. You can shred the cabbage like you would for slaw, but I like chopping it for this krautfleckerl recipe.
- Caraway Seeds: Caraway seeds are extremely popular in Central European cuisine. You can omit them if you dislike them, but I think it adds good flavor and authenticity to the cabbage and noodles.
How to make it
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Next, 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. Stir the cabbage mixture occasionally, and sprinkle in a bit more water throughout the cooking process, as needed. This will keep the mixture from drying out. Cook until the cabbage is soft and tender, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles in boiling salted water until al dente or slightly softer, drain, and set aside.
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.
Store leftover krautfleckerl in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat before eating.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
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.
Although you can thinly slice or shred the cabbage, I like to chop it into approximately ½-inch pieces. First slice your cabbage in half and remove the core (PHOTO 1). Then slice that cabbage half into ½-inch slices (PHOTO 2). Lay a few stacked slices flat-side down on your cutting board. Cut into ½-inch slices in one direction (PHOTO 3), and then again into ½-inch pieces in the other direction (PHOTO 4). It doesn't need to be perfect, but it's good to have pieces approximately the same size so they cook evenly.
I like adding some water or broth to the cabbage mixture as it cooks. It helps the cabbage gently soften (almost like a braise) without allowing it to dry out or brown. You can use less water (or none at all) and let your cabbage caramelize a bit, but I like this method and never need to worry about my cabbage browning too much or burning if I forget to stir it. This is also pretty traditional to the region.
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.
Other recipes you may like
- Túrós Csusza (Hungarian Cottage Cheese Noodles)
- Älplermagronen (Swiss Alpine Macaroni and Cheese)
- Schinkennudeln (German Ham and Cheese Noodle Casserole)
- Kasnocken (Austrian Spaetzle with Cheese and Onions)
- Zapiekanka (Polish Pizza)
- Liptauer (Austrian/Slovakian Cheese Spread)
- Browse all German and Austrian Recipes
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Krautfleckerl (Austrian Cabbage and Noodles)
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
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- 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.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles in boiling salted water until al dente or slightly softer, drain, and set aside.
- 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.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat before eating.
Notes
- 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
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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