These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (2024)

Kielbasa sausage is a smoked Polish sausage that adds big flavor to a variety of dishes. It's a hearty main dish when paired with vegetables, pasta, and potatoes. It also serves as a flavorful addition to seafood boils, breakfast hash, and casseroles. Try these tasty recipes with kielbasa, and consider subbing it into your favorite sausage dishes!

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Apple-Kielbasa Hash

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (1)

Kielbasa and potatoes? Yes, please! If you’re looking for a familiar way to try this Polish staple, look no further than this simple breakfast hash. It combines a ton of familiar ingredients, like yellow potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and fried eggs, with kielbasa to make a classic breakfast sausage skillet.

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Shrimp and Sausage Boil

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (2)

Change up the flavor of your shrimp boil just a little by using kielbasa. It has a similar smoky flavor to andouille sausage, but with less spice, which can help the other ingredients in the boil shine. Cook the sausage, potatoes, corn, and seafood all together in a big pot, then serve it family-style for everyone to share.

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Sauteed Red Cabbage with Onions and Smoked Sausage

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (3)

One skillet is all you’ll need to toss together this kielbasa recipe. Cook the sausage with red cabbage and Swiss chard for an easy veggie side. If you want to make this recipe heartier for a winter meal, try serving with baked or mashed potatoes.

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Cabbage and Kielbasa

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (4)

This dish has multiple European influences, featuring Polish kielbasa and German spaetzle. The kielbasa and cabbage cook all together in one skillet, giving you time to cook the spaetzle on the side. Combine everything at the end for a hearty, delicious comfort food dinner!

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Pressure Cooker Smoky Cassoulet

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (5)

Set-and-forgot this easy recipe for kielbasa in your pressure cooker. Just combine navy beans, kielbasa, pancetta, and a few veggies and seasonings in the cooker. Once it’s done, top off with a splash of dry white wine to give the sauce a little more richness.

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Red Beans and Rice with Andouille and Ham

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (6)

This slow cooker kielbasa recipe has plenty of smoky flavor, thanks to the sausage (we swapped in kielbasa) and pork hock. Both cook low and slow for most of the day alongside red kidney beans and veggies. Once all of the flavors have simmered together, stir in rice for the last half hour of cook time for a little more heartiness.

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Greens, Cannellini Beans, and Sausage Pan Stew

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (7)

Keep it simple for dinner with this kielbasa recipe. In just 30 minutes, you can whip up a filling meal with sausage (try using kielbasa here), cannellini beans, and chopped kale. Top everything off with thyme to add a little freshness to this hearty meal that’s great for winter.

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Russian Roulette Dogs

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (8)

It’s time for a new look at your summer barbecue! Instead of grilling up hot dogs and bratwurst, try adding kielbasa to your bun instead. This kielbasa and sauerkraut recipe incorporates a lot of cookout favorites, like pickle relish and cheese, but with a completely different flavor profile.

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White Bean and Sausage Rigatoni

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (9)

Just six ingredients make up this turkey kielbasa recipe. It also teams up with rigatoni, cannellini beans, stewed tomatoes, basil, and Asiago cheese for a cozy, filling dinner. And since it cooks in just 20 minutes, it’s one of the best kielbasa recipes with pasta to make when you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal.

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Sausage and Peppers Soup

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (10)

Sausage and peppers are a classic combo, and it’s so easy to turn this dish into a kielbasa recipe. Cook sliced kielbasa, sweet peppers, and onions together in your Dutch oven, then turn it into soup by adding canned tomatoes and tomato paste. A dash of crushed red pepper adds a hint of heat, but you can always add more to turn up the temperature.

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Linguine with Sausage and Greens

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (11)

Don’t count dandelion greens out. Their slightly bitter flavor is a little bit like spinach, and they add a great healthy component alongside summer squash. Serve this kielbasa recipe with pasta in summer when you’re in need of a tasty, hearty dinner.

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Sausage and Tortellini Soup

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (12)

This turkey kielbasa satisfies just about every craving on a cold night. Cook the sausage and cheesy tortellini with a can of French onion soup for loads of flavor. Green beans and coleslaw mix add a few healthy veggies to this soup recipe, too.

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Corn Bread-Topped Sausage Bake

These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (13)

A little like a sausage skillet and a little like a pot pie, this kielbasa recipe is a lot of deliciousness. Sausage and veggies cook in bean soup in the skillet, creating lots of savory, smoky flavors. Then, cornbread is baked over everything at the end, making this dish into a version of a Southern pot pie.

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These Cozy Kielbasa Recipes Make an Easy, Comforting Meal (2024)

FAQs

What do Polish people eat kielbasa with? ›

On weekdays, parties or during Christmas or Easter, Polish cold hams and sausages are traditionally served in cuts with cold side accompaniments: pickled mushrooms, gherkins, spicy horseradish, ćwikła (a mixture of shredded beets and horseradish), tartare sauce, mustard, root vegetable salad.

What goes well with kielbasa for dinner? ›

Here are the top side dishes and sauces that go well with kielbasa: Bigos, Meat Stuffed Cabbage, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Noodle Soup, Vegetable Soup, Mushroom Barley Soup, Ukrainian Meat Borscht Soup, Matzoh Ball Soup, Mushroom Gravy, and Mustard and Horseradish Sauce.

What is the traditional way to eat kielbasa? ›

Kielbasa is best served on a plate or in a roll with mustard, horseradish, or sauerkraut, but can also be combined with other ingredients in stews, soups, casseroles, and sauces.

What is the best way to cook kielbasa? ›

Poke the sausage a few times with a fork and place it in a pot or deep skillet. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat and simmer until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and serve it with mustard, slice it to serve with pierogis or place it in rolls or sandwiches.

Is there a difference between Polish sausage and Polish kielbasa? ›

In Poland, the term kielbasa can be used to refer to breakfast links, spicy Italian sausage, and smoked sausage flavored with garlic and marjoram. However, in the United States, “Polish sausage” and “kielbasa” are often used to refer to the same type of sausage.

What is a Polish person's favorite food? ›

Real Dishes Locals Love in Poland
  • Pierogi.
  • Bigos.
  • Placki ziemniaczane.
  • Barszcz.
  • Gołąbki.
  • Pączki.
  • Żurek.
  • Flaki.

Is kielbasa a healthy meat? ›

Is Kielbasa Good for You? In moderation, kielbasa can be a part of a balanced diet. Its nutritional profile includes a good amount of protein and various vitamins and minerals. However, moderation is key, and your serving size and frequency of consumption play a major role due to its calorie, fat, and sodium content.

What cheese goes well with kielbasa? ›

The pepper jack cheddar pairs well with kielbasa because of its robust garlic and herb profile.

Do you take the casing off kielbasa before cooking? ›

While most sausage lovers will cook a sausage in its casing, there are times when the casings can be removed. Removing a sausage casing gives you access to the deliciousness inside, allowing you to use the filling for other recipe ideas.

Should you poke holes in kielbasa? ›

Sure, some recipes suggest that you poke or score the casings, because it might prevent the sausages from bursting at the ends, while helping the interior cook slightly faster and more evenly. However, you should skip that step and simply cook the sausages at the right temperature for the proper amount of time.

What is the white stuff in kielbasa? ›

Don't worry; it's supposed to be there! It is a penicillin-based mold similar to the white mold you will find on a fine cheese like a French Brie or Camembert. It's a natural part of the fermentation process of producing artisanal salumi, and the salami mold has its own flavor and flora.

What goes with kielbasa for dinner? ›

The best side dishes to serve with kielbasa are polenta, mac and cheese, applesauce, scalloped potatoes, green beans casserole, cabbage soup, potato salad, shepherd's pie, cauliflower cheese soup, fried onions, polish potato pancakes, bigos, cucumber salad, sauerkraut, coleslaw and grilled vegetables.

Should you season kielbasa? ›

Place fresh kielbasa in pot with 1 quartered onion, several peppercorns, garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon marjoram (optional) and half a bay leaf. The addition of spices helps replace the seasoning that boils out during cooking.

How long does kielbasa last in the fridge? ›

All sausages- except dry sausage - are perishable and therefore must be kept refrigerated or frozen. Uncooked fresh sausage can be stored in the refrigerator one to two days; after cooking, keep for three to four days refrigerated (40 °F or less).

What do Polish people eat with meat? ›

Meat is either chopped and eaten with soup, used to make the next dish, or eaten with bread. It is common to eat two dishes during dinner: (1) a soup, and (2) a side (potato, rice, groats, pasta) with meat, stews, or sweet dishes.

What do Polish people eat on BBQ? ›

Probably every Pole you ask will have their own idea of what makes the best Polish barbeque, but here are my recommendations.
  • Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad) ...
  • Potato Pancakes. ...
  • Kielbasa. ...
  • Naleśniki (Blintzes) ...
  • Pierogi. ...
  • Kompot. ...
  • Polish Beer.
Aug 4, 2019

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