Fried Cabbage and Noodles (Krpice sa Kupusom / Flekice sa Kupusom)
Fried cabbage and noodles (krpice sa kupusom or flekice sa kupusom) is an easy weeknight vegetarian dish that proves simple food is the best food. Beloved in Croatia and beyond, small pasta squares are tossed with soft, slowly caramelized cabbage for a glorious finish. Shall we?
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Background
Fried cabbage with noodles remains a nostalgic comfort food in the Balkans. It's consumed mostly in Croatia, but also in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with small differences in naming and preparation.
Krpice or flekice refer to small homemade square-shaped pasta, traditionally cut by hand. Combined with fried cabbage-highly popular and available regional vegetable-these humble noodles become something deeply comforting and surprisingly flavorful.
You won't believe how ingredients so simple can taste so good!
In the absence of homemade square pasta, use quadrucci, farfalle, or fusilli. The taste is still amazing. It’s a flexible dish that adapts easily to what you have on hand. And once you try it, it’s likely to become a regular in your kitchen.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
🥬 Simple and deep. These simple ingredients inspire the deepest flavor yet!
🍝 Small pasta! Any small pasta works, whether homemade or store-bought.
🫶 Filling without meat! A vegetarian option that's truly filling and nourishing.
Ingredients
A few everyday ingredients are all that separates you from this great, quick lunch:
- Onion. Red, yellow or white.
- Cabbage. One young/baby cabbage head is preferred. Substitute with regular cabbage, but keep in mind it'll take a little longer to fry.
- Oil. Vegetable, or olive all work.
- Butter. Regular butter, ghee or lard.
- Sugar. Regular or brown.
- Seasonings. Salt, pepper (very important!), stock powder (or Vegeta).
- Pasta (flekice/ krpice). Homemade square pasta works best (flekice or krpice). Substitute with quadrucci, fusilli or farfalle.
Instructions
Here's how to make fried cabbage and noodles (kupus sa flekicama):
Step 1. Sauté the base.
Step 2. Prepare the cabbage.
Step 3. Cook the cabbage.
Step 4. Make the noodles.
Step 5. Combine noodles and cabbage.
What to Pair With Fried Cabbage And Noodles
Here are a few ideas what goes well with cabbage and noodles:
Handling
- Serve fried noodles warm as a main dish. Add meat (like the rissoles above), bread, and a salad.
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Anything longer than that and the cabbage gets soggy.
- Reheat by warming in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water or oil.
Do not freeze!
Expert Tips
- Cut it up! Cabbage tastes even better when cut into squares, so don't be afraid to cut your ribbons even smaller.
- Season it up! Ground pepper is crucial for this dish as pepper and cabbage do great things together.
- Grease it up! Cabbage likes fat, so make sure you have enough butter.
Recipe FAQs
Krpice or flekice are traditional Croatian pasta cut by hand into small squares. Krpica is a word for a small piece of leftover fabric, and the pasta resembles tiny fabric squares (similarly, flekica means a speck).
They’re similar to Italian quadrucci. Today, any small pasta shape can be used as a substitute.
Absolutely.
Use whatever small pasta you can find: shells, fusilli, even egg noodles.
Cabbage is "fried" in the sense that it's sautéed in oil or butter so it lightly caramelizes.
Cook uncovered, avoid overcrowding the pan, and let the moisture evaporate so the cabbage can caramelize properly.
Also, older cabbage usually contains less moisture, although it takes longer to cook.
Traditionally, this is a meatless dish. However, you're welcome to add in bacon, or dried meat.
Yes. "Mašnice" is the name for "bow" pasta.
Thoughts?
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Prijatno, dobar tek & bon appetit!
Fried Cabbage and Noodles (Krpice / Flekice sa Kupusom)
Ingredients
- 1 onion red, yellow or white; minced
- 1 cabbage head (about 1.5-2lbs or 700g-1kg) preferably young cabbage
- 1 ounce oil vegetable, olive, avocado or coconut
- 1 ounce ghee or butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar regular or brown
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon stock powder or Vegeta, adjust to taste
- 3.5-5.5 ounces pasta (krpice or flekice) or fusilli, quadrucci, farfalle, or small pasta
Instructions
- Sauté the base. In a large pan, melt butter with oil over medium-high. Add onion and sugar and sauté for 4–5 minutes. Stir often, until the onion softens and lightly caramelizes. (Watch closely to prevent burning.)
- Prepare the cabbage. Remove any tough outer leaves and the core, then slice the cabbage into ribbons. (Cut even further if you like smaller pieces.)
- Cook the cabbage. Add the cabbage to the pan. Season with salt, pepper and bouillon cube, and cook (fry) over medium-high to high for 20–25 minutes. Stir occasionally, and turn the cabbage from bottom to top so it cooks evenly. (If using older cabbage, you'll have to cook longer until fully soft and tender.)
- Make the noodles. While the cabbage is cooking, boil the noodles in salted water according to instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Combine noodles and cabbage. Once the cabbage is done, taste and adjust the salt. (There is a thin line between not enough and too much, so work carefully with salt.) Add the cooked noodles and mix well until fully combined.
- Serve fried noodles warm as a main dish. Add meat (like the rissoles above), bread, and a salad.Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Anything longer than that and the cabbage gets soggy.Reheat by warming in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water or oil.
