Crispy, salty potatoes stuffed with a flavorful mixture of cabbage,
kielbasa, onions, and mozzarella—the perfect cozy dinner for cold nights!
inspiration
This recipe was born from some serious food cravings. I am always craving potatoes, and for some reason I’ve been on a real cabbage kick lately. I try to trust my body to know what it needs, so I don’t ask any questions. I just eat the cabbage. This month has been a little tight, too, so my goal has been to make meals that are inexpensive and filling while still tasting amazing.
I’ve been wanting to do another twice-baked potato recipe for a while, but I’ve been a little stumped. I really wanted to do something different from the typical cheddar-chive-bacon classic (even though that is always excellent). I also realized that I do very little Eastern European-inspired cooking even though I’m interested in it.
So you can see how all of these things just sort of collided to make cabbage & kielbasa stuffed potatoes.
why i love this recipe
To be honest, I was not sure how these were going to turn out. While I rarely make anything actively bad, sometimes recipe experiments turn out a little weird. My mom was skeptical when I mentioned these on the phone. So I was glad they were inexpensive to make—I thought I might end up having to order a pizza or something if they turned out terrible.
As it turns out, cabbage & kielbasa stuffed potatoes seriously deliver on all fronts. They’re delicious, filling, and inexpensive. I ended up standing at the counter and eating spoonfuls of the filling out of the bowl. I couldn’t stop! And even after sneaking an uncountable number of bites, there was still plenty left for filling the crispy, salty potato skins.
It’s a lot of food, too. I usually expect to eat a whole potato for dinner, but half was perfect with a side. (I still have three of them in my freezer as we speak.) Most of the food groups appear here, too: carbs, protein, vegetable, dairy. Amazing! You know I love that in a meal. While I love a main with a couple of side dishes, that’s just not realistic for a weeknight dinner—especially since I commute and live alone. I probably properly cook two or three nights a week, and meals like this make it as easy as possible.
details
In order to get that beautiful, salty, crispy potato skin, you’ll rub the (washed and dried) potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Don’t forget to prick holes in the potatoes, or else they’ll explode in your oven and that will put a bit of a damper on the whole evening.
While the potatoes are baking, you’ll want to start cooking the rest of the filling. Oil first, then kielbasa, onions, and cabbage. A splash of apple cider vinegar makes the flavors sharper and brighter. Making these potatoes is a feast for the senses. You need your sight to tell when the cabbage is cooked; the kitchen is full of the crackle of sausage in oil. Something about the sizzle and steam of cooking onions, cabbage, and sausage is very homey and makes me feel like I am exactly where I should be and I have all the time in the world.
Even with flavorful ingredients, it’s important not to neglect the actual potato. It’s important to scoop the flesh out carefully and try not to rip the skin, if you can; but if you do, don’t worry too much. We love being real here and the reality is that sometimes your potato skins split. We want every bite to be packed with flavor, so we’ll dress it up with butter, sour cream, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then add the rest of the filling and some mozzarella.
Scooping the filling into the potatoes goes pretty quick. I try to sort of mold the filling in there neatly, so it doesn’t look like chaos, but if you like the chaos, do your thing. Then you just sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and bake.
notes
Here are a few notes for success:
- Taste as you go. Getting enough salt is crucial in every recipe, and especially when it comes to potatoes.
- Kielbasa is a polish smoked sausage. It usually comes fully cooked in long links. If you can’t find it, just use whatever sausage you like, but cook it first.
- Serve with a fruit or a salad to offset the heaviness.
- Reheat in the oven at 350F for about 20 minutes, or until warm.
- These will keep for 3 days in the fridge or a couple of months in the freezer.
Looking for more cozy, cold-night meals? Try garlic butter schnitzel with lemon aioli, mushroom, spinach & zucchini lasagna, or dutch oven dublin coddle.
cabbage & kielbasa stuffed potatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Bake potatoes. Preheat the oven to 450F. If you haven’t already, thoroughly wash the potatoes and pat dry. Rub them generously with olive oil, salt and pepper. Use a fork to poke holes all over them so they don’t explode in the oven. Bake them directly on the oven rack for 45-60 minutes, or until tender.
- Make filling. While potatoes are baking, chop the kielbasa and the onion into large dice and the cabbage into rough squares or strips. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet or cast iron pan. Add the kielbasa and cook until browning. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Finally, add the cabbage and cook, stirring often, until it has shrunk. Continue to cook,stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is browning and potatoes are done. Don’t stir too often at this point—you want to leave it alone so it’ll brown. Right before you take the potatoes out, stir in the apple cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill potatoes. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh, the leaving skins intact if you can. If you can’t that’s okay. They’ll still taste really good. Add butter, garlic, sour cream, mash the potatoes. Salt and pepper the mash to taste. Add mozzarella and the cabbage/kielbasa mixture and gently fold it into the mashed potatoes. Scoop the filling into the potato skins and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake and serve. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
Notes
- Reheat in the oven at 350F for about 20 minutes, or until warm.
- These will keep for 3 days in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer.
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