This Kielbasa and Potatoes Recipe is such a classic combination, that it is sure to become a family favorite. Yes, it is a simple smoked Polish sausage recipe, but many of the best dishes are simple.
Of course, kielbasa and potatoes are such a natural pairing anyway. Not only is this easy kielbasa recipe satisfying, it is inexpensive to make too. It is one of my favorite stove top weeknight dinners.
As an added bonus, with one pot preparation, cleanup will be a breeze.
I made this easy kielbasa recipe frequently for my late husband. Kielbasa and potatoes was pretty much his favorite among the polska kielbasa recipes I would prepare for him. The man loved his smoked sausage.
I still make the dish occasionally, but for me, I use the lower fat chicken or turkey kielbasa sausage rather than the pork or beef versions he preferred.
If you are wondering what to make with kielbasa, I like serving this kiebasa with sauteed broccoli rabe sometimes with a splash of hot sauce on top. Many prefer to simply dig into a big bowl of the kielbasa and potatoes for dinner without a side, perhaps with a vegetable tossed right in the skillet.
Kielbasa and Potatoes
I told you this kielbasa sausage recipe was easy now I will show you step-by-step in pictures how to make the dish.
You may want to skip this part if you are an experienced cook. Printable recipe card is right below.
Here are all the ingredients you need to make this easy kielbasa recipe:
- 1 pound of kielbasa sausage
- 1 ¼ - 1 ½ pounds of potatoes* (chopped, no need to peel)
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- ⅓ teaspoon of Kosher salt (or Sea salt)**
- ¼ teaspoon of oregano or Italian seasoning
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
*Yukon Gold or Red Skinned potatoes
**if you only have regular table salt, reduce amount to ¼ tsp
Directions:
Cut the sausage into slices roughly ⅓ to ½ inch thick.
TIP: Some brands have tougher casing than others. If after a couple slices it seems to be an issue remove it.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the slices. Fry the kielbasa for approximately 6 minutes, until browned, but still moist.
Scoop out the sausage into a bowl, but leave the rendered fat in the pan.
Add the potatoes, paprika, salt and oregano to the skillet.
Toss with the leftover fat from the smoked sausages.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and stir every couple minutes for 15 minutes.
Add the onions and fresh garlic. Stir and cover. Continue cooking, stirring every few minutes for another 10 minutes.
Now add the sausage back to the pan. Stir and cover. Cook for about 4 minutes to reheat the sausage and meld the flavors.
Check to ensure potatoes are fully cooked before serving. If they aren't tender, cook a little longer, stirring regularly.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the polish sausage and potatoes as is, with a vegetable side or even for breakfast with some eggs.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Since this recipe was originally published back in 2011, many have shared their own kielbasa dinner ideas, tips and additions.
Additions:
- peppers - by far the most popular addition to this dish. Add sliced sweet bell peppers when you add the onions and they should come out just right. Green pepper is a popular addition for readers.
- sauerkraut - this came in a close second, many add it. Personally, I'd add it close to the end of cooking.
- cabbage - nearly as popular as the fermented sauerkraut is cabbage. I'd add this in midway through cooking. Some fry is up with the kielbasa, then add it back in at the end with the sausage.
- Cheese is another great addition to this satisfying meal. Melty cheddar cheese sprinkled on immediately after cooking is my personal favorite way to go.
- Broccoli, carrots, corn and even noodles were added, by some adventurous readers. They seemed pretty happy with the results too.
- A pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne could spice up this polish sausage meal.
Tips:
- Use Yukon Gold or Red Skinned potatoes. Russet are likely to break up during cooking.
- No I do not add water. I feel it interferes with the frying. Once the steam from the potatoes themselves starts to get exhausted, the onions are added, which release more water. If your stove runs a little hotter, you may find you need a little liquid.
- Turkey or chicken kielbasa will not release enough oil to fry the potatoes. Supplement with a tablespoon of classic olive oil, avocado oil or ghee.
- I haven't done this but a few readers precooked their potatoes in the microwave to cut down on cook time. It might be worth a try if you are on a time crunch. Frozen hash browns would also be a quick solution in a pinch.
Pan fry this easy kielbasa skillet dinner yourself and don't be afraid to toss in a little something extra if you like. Even when you mix it up a bit this is still an easy dinner that screams comfort food.
More Easy Kielbasa Recipes
Looking for more ways to cook kielbasa? I have several other Polish sausage recipes, right here on the site.
- If you are watching your carb intake, try my Kielbasa and Cabbage recipe. It is quick, simple and easy on the carbs.
- Want a delicious meal you can make in your pressure cooker without fuss? try my Instant Pot Kielbasa Pasta.
- Pierogies and Kielbasa are an authentic Polish combination. Here they are prepared in a cheesy skillet in just 30 minutes!
Kielbasa and Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz. kielbasa sausage
- 1 ¼ pounds potatoes 5 medium sized
- 1 Vidalia onion , chopped
- ½ tsp. paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ⅓ tsp. Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. oregano or Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat skillet on med-high heat.
- Cut the kielbasa sausage into slices, and drop into the heated pan. Stir while frying.
- As kielbasa is browning, chop the onion and potatoes.
- Once the sausage has browned for approximately 6 minutes, scoop it out and put aside. Much of the fat will have rendered. Make sure to leave grease in the pan.
- Dump the chopped potatoes into the hot skillet with the kielbasa grease. Add the paprika, salt and oregano. Stir to coat in the fat and reduce the burner to medium to medium-low. Cover.
- Brown the potatoes for 13 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 12 minutes. Covered, but stirring regularly.
- Once the potatoes have softened and onions are cooked add the kielbasa back into the pan mix in and all cook for 4 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
alternative spellings: keilbasa, kilbasa, kelbasa, kalbasa, cabasa sausage, kaboski
Susan N Lee says
So delicious! I cut the potatoes first, and boiled them a bit while I chopped everything else. I used extra lean kielbasa and there was still enough fat to cook everything else. I added some frozen corn, but would have used cabbage if I had it. I think this would be a perfect casserole for hunting season! Thanks!!
Lisa Cooney says
Easy and delicious!
JAMIE LYNN says
My new favorite way to cook polish sausage!
Vickie says
I am trying without onion but adding onion powder and broccoli slaw.
Carli says
Super easy, and really good. I am a very advanced cook, but was looking for a use for the kielbasa I had and this was definitely perfect! I added the sauerkraut and it came out perfect!
George Klein says
I made it and it was just like Ma's! Great healthy food and was easy to prepare. Thank you, George
Sherlynn McKenzie says
This is great smoked sausage recipe-our family are campers and it works great to cook over open flame in one pot. We have used frozen and fresh potatoes , and add green beans or corn in the same pot, or grill the corn on the cob as a side.
We have used frozen potatoes of different cuts (hashbrowns, diced, tots). When we use fresh potatoes, we steam them first.
We have also used left overs and cooked them together.
This easy kielbasa recipe is so versatile you can use your imagination.
Rosemary Shea Phillips says
Absolutely Delicious! I followed the recipe to the tee, and it was so easy! Thanks for sharing this way to cook kielbasa!
Daniel says
Add mushrooms with the polish sausage, yummy
Dee S. says
I made this tonight for dinner and,,,,the whole family and I LOVED it! When the potatoes got browned, but still not softened, I added a small amount of water to the skillet and then continued to cook the potatoes covered. I then followed the rest of the recipe. I added the green peppers to the recipe and I had fried bacon this morning, so I used some of the bacon grease and it gave a very positive hint of flavor to the dish. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone wanting a flavorful, hearty , country style dinner or breakfast! I definitely will be making this often! YUM!!!
Janey says
I've made this recipe 3 different ways; pork/beef kielbasa with golden potatoes, pork/beef kielbasa with shredded hashbrown potatoes (frozen Or-Ida brand) , and chicken/pork/beef kielbasa with Russet potatoes (needed to use what I already had on hand). By far the best and most flavorful of the three was the pork/beef kielbasa with the golden potatoes. The butter flavor and texture of the potatoes was the perfect complement to the kielbasa and somehow managed both balance out the flavors as well as enhance the overall flavor of the dish as a whole. The hashbrown version I ended up modifying so much it hardly followed the recipe as written at all, but still turned out perfect with a side of pancakes for breakfast. The third version I made with chicken/pork/beef kielbasa and Russett potatoes I didn't expect much from but I needed to use up 2 lbs of Russets I already had on hand and had planned on using the final result to make breakfast burritos for dinner. As expected, the Russet broke down while cooking and even stirring as gently as I could they became more and more starchy/sticky and mashed potato-like the more I touched them. And unlike the pork/beef kielbasa they was hardly any grease at all in the pan after it was done browning, so I ended up adding 2 Tbsp sunflower oil to cook the potatoes in. I also had to add a few Tbsp of water so the potatoes cooked more evenly from the steam. Overall it came out very thick heavy, like my dad used to say, it'll "still to your ribs."😄 I definitely won't be making that version again. It had hardly and flavor or depth at all. I added a tsp of Worcestershire sauce to the kielbasa and reheat them seperately before adding back in with the potatoes.
Thi recipe is so simple and versatile it can be customized to suit any occasion or time of the day. This recipe has become part of our regular rotation and they all commmme up with a new way to customize it. 😁 Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Robin Gagnon says
Yes, all potatoes are certainly not created equally...lol. Thanks for sharing your experience and Kielbasa On!
Anna says
Made this tonight but put my own little flair on it! Sauteed onions first(cause I'm the only one who eats them!) Then sauteed the kielbasa with added mushrooms and garlic and onion powder! Took them out and cooked some frozen potatoes with sea salt and cracked pepper and a can of whole sweet corn drained minus a tiny bit of the corn water! Added a few dashes of Maggi and Worcestershire for depth of flavor. Cooked that until the potatoes were cooked through (about15 minutes) then added the kielbasa and mushrooms back in and cooked together for about 8 minutes! Absolutely amazing!
Tanya Orndorff says
This is a SUPER simple recipe that is just delicious! I do have both smoked paprika, and also regular paprika in my pantry, so I opted for the smoked, and it was the best choice I made that day! I also added a red and a green pepper because I read the comments, and wow! I'm an empty nester w a big ol' corn fed midwestern manz to tend to lol- he immediatley asked me to add this to my cookbook! We also eat fairly early in the evening... and normally leftovers get packaged for lunch the next day- well this did not make it. We BOTH ended up eating a 2nd time before it was over... yes, folks it's that good!!!
One other thing- I imagine this would be AWESOME as a base for a breakfast! I imagine this exactly as it is with scrambled eggs- even wrapped in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito w some shredded cheese.
Thank you Mom Foodie!!!!! I read that this recipe is dear to your heart, and I just want to thank you for sharing a piece of that with us. It is near and dear to my family's now too 🙂
Dawn Shaw says
I made this and it was great! Is this a recipe that would freeze well?
Robin Gagnon says
Yes, but while the kielbasa will hold up perfectly, the texture of the potatoes may not be quite the same after thawing.
Joann says
Delicious 😋. After done cooking I added shredded sharp cheddar and topped with over easy eggs. My husband ate 2 helpings. Will definitely make again!
Mary Verdun says
Cooked this! It was easy and delicious
Carol Hodge says
Added some beef broth and turned the heat done when cooking the sausage. Much better! A good quick dish!
Trudy says
It was really easy. I was between shopping trip and had just what I needed on hand.