This simple Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet recipe is a classic Polish sausage dish that happens to be keto friendly. A quick and easy comfort food featuring fried kielbasa sausage and seasoned cabbage.
Make this recipe for a perfect low carb easy weeknight meal. You can also serve the cooked cabbage and sausage with a side dish of egg noodles as a hearty family dinner.
Fried Kielbasa and Cabbage: Polish Comfort Food
Polish kielbasa smoked sausage and cabbage are a traditional combination (as is the sausage with sauerkraut). The dish is classic Polish comfort food. Unlike most old school dishes, this is not a heavy meal.
I used regular pork kielbasa to make the skillet. Use turkey kielbasa to lighten the meal even more and reduce saturated fat.
If you want something a bit more hearty, try my Pierogies and Kielbasa or my pan-fried potato and kielbasa recipe. Both are quite popular.
Kielbasa Cabbage Keto Combo!
It is actually low carb (7 net grams of carb). There are not potatoes or pasta, cabbage makes up the bulk of the plate, with a normal sized serving of kielbasa nestled in the chopped sautéed seasoned cabbage with onion and garlic.
Quick Budget Comfort Food
This is a 20 minute dinner from start to finish, if you are relatively fast at chopping.
Plan on another 5 minutes, if you are slower with your knife skills. Either way, the speed of preparation makes this a great recipe to prepare for a weeknight dinner.
Another benefit of this pan fried kielbasa and cabbage recipe is it's low cost. Kielbasa is nor particularly expensive and cabbage is cheap.
How to Make Kielbasa and Cabbage
This one pan meal is not complicated at all. I'll walk you through it here and there is a video included if anything is unclear. The printable recipe card can be found below.
The recipe makes 6 servings.
Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins | Total Time: 20 mins
Ingredients You Need
Here is everything you need to make this simple and delicious kielbasa cabbage skillet.
- 14 oz kielbasa rope, sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil (or any sautéing oil such a avocado or vegetable)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- ¼ tsp sea salt or season with salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- medium head of green cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or wine vinegar is you prefer)
- ½ tsp caraway seeds ***optional I loathe caraway seeds, but my mom always used them.
- pinch of red pepper flakes ***optional
Preparation
Now let's get cooking!
If you haven't already, slice the sausage, core and chop the cabbage, chop the onion and mince the garlic. I like to cut the sausage on a slight diagonal.
Removing the core of the cabbage before chopping, helps with even cooking. The core is quite tough, if only fried.
Place a Dutch oven or deep large skillet or over medium high heat. Pour in half the oil and toss in the sausage. Saute for about 5-6 minutes to render fat and lightly brown the edges of kielbasa slices. Remove the sausage to a bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.
Dump the onions and garlic in the pan along with the whole grain mustard, salt and black pepper. Sauté for about 2 minutes.
Once lightly browned, add the cabbage a bit at a time, mixing to coat as you do. Once it is all in the pan, reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook cabbage for about 6-7 minutes, stirring a couple times to evenly cook.
Remove the lid and pour in the vinegar. Toss, then dump the kielbasa back in the pot. Mix and cook another minute, uncovered.
Season the kielbasa and cabbage with more salt and pepper to taste if you like before serving.
No I don't recommend freezing the sausage and cabbage recipe. Cooked cabbage tends to get mushy and unappetizing when frozen.
Yes.
The high fat content of Kielbasa actually makes it a good choice for the ketogenic diet. It is also high in sodium, which many keto dieters find beneficial.
Be sure to check labels though as carb counts will vary based on brand, and some may not be good choices.
Cabbage is a great vegetable choice for anyone watching their carbs and eating keto due to it's low net carb content. Cruciferous veggies have a good deal of health benefits and cabbage when lightly sauteed, as in this recipe maintains a nice crunchy texture.
As mentioned noodles are a popular choice to serve with this recipe. Fried, mashed or roasted potatoes are a good choice, as are pierogies.
Mustard and horseradish are traditional condiments served with the sausage.
More Recipes you May Like
- Mustard Dill Oven Fries
- Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry Keto Recipe
- Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables
- Sausage and Pepper Soup
Kielbasa and Cabbage
Equipment
- large deep skillet or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 14 oz kielbasa rope sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil or any sauteing oil such a avocado or vegetable
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Ground pepper to taste
- 1 head cabbage medium sized, cored and chopped (green cabbage, not purple)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- pinch red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- If you haven't already, slice the sausage, core and chop the cabbage, chop the onion and mince the garlic.
- Place a deep large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Pour in half the oil and toss in the sausage. Saute for about 5-6 minutes to render fat and lightly brown the edges of kielbasa slices. Remove the sausage to a bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Dump the onions and garlic in the pan along with the whole grain mustard, salt and pepper. Saute for about 2 minutes.
- Add the cabbage a bit at a time, mixing to coat as you do. Once it is all in the pan, reduce heat to medium and cover to cook cabbage. Cook for about 6-7 minutes, stirring a couple times to evenly cook.
- Remove the lid and pour in the vinegar. Toss, then dump the kielbasa back in the pot.
Mix and cook another minute, uncovered. - Season with more salt and pepper to taste if you like before serving.
Leana says
This is my kind of comfort food. Hubby and I are on a low carb diet. The kids had fries in the air fryer on the side. They ate the cabbage which surprised me.
Harry says
Added some peppers to the kielbasa. Next time I will try adding bacon too. So yummy.
Robin Gagnon says
Yeah, bacon would especially be a good addition for those on the Keto diet!
Nicole says
Thanks! I just restarted keto but am on a tight budget and this cheap kielbasa recipe is helping a lot. I broke the pan up into servings and have it for lunch each day.
Connie says
My husband cooked this for dinner last night. He added some leftover potatoes and extra onions. It was delicious and we will have it again soon.