6 Polish Kielbasa Recipes (Smoked Sausage Dinners)

Kiełbasa is just the Polish word for sausage, and in a Polish kitchen there is nearly always a ring of smoked one in the fridge. It goes into soups, stews and one-pan suppers, and it brings smoke and salt to everything around it. These are the six Polish kielbasa recipes I cook at home.

Most of them use smoked kiełbasa. My guide to where to buy Polish ingredients in the US lists what to look for, and my guide to Polish food covers the rest.

1. Fasolka po Bretońsku (Polish Baked Beans)

PPin it

Smoked kiełbasa krakowska and boczek with potatoes and two kinds of beans in a marjoram tomato sauce. One pot, just under an hour. Get the recipe.

2. Łazanki (Polish Pasta with Sausage)

PPin it

Small squares of Polish pasta fried with smoked kielbasa, sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and mushrooms. Fifty minutes in one pan. Get the recipe.

3. Leczo with Smoked Sausage

PPin it

The Polish take on Hungarian lecsó, and a meatier one: smoked kiełbasa browned first, then peppers, tomatoes and sweet paprika cooked down until the colour deepens. About an hour and a quarter, and better on the second day. Get the recipe.

4. Żurek (Polish Sour Rye Soup)

PPin it

Poland’s sour rye soup, made on a fermented rye starter with sausage, smoked bacon and marjoram, finished with cream and a halved boiled egg. I use biała kiełbasa, the white sausage, or a smoked wiejska. Get the recipe.

5. Bigos Królewski (Polish Hunter’s Stew)

PPin it

Three meats, kielbasa among them, with sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, dried mushrooms and red wine, cooked slowly. It is at its best on the second or third day. Get the recipe.

6. Bigos Hultajski (Slow Cooker Bigos)

PPin it

Beef and smoked kielbasa with undrained sauerkraut, and the potatoes and carrot cook in the same pot. About six hours and you have a whole dinner. Get the recipe.

FAQ

What kind of kielbasa should I use?

A smoked Polish one for most of these: krakowska in the fasolka, toruńska or podwawelska in the leczo. Żurek is the one where I use biała kiełbasa, the white sausage, or a smoked wiejska.

Which is quickest?

Łazanki at fifty minutes, then fasolka at just under an hour. Bigos is the weekend one.

Which ones are soups and which are stews?

Żurek is the soup. Fasolka, leczo and both bigos are stews, and łazanki is a pasta dish.

Which kielbasa dinner will you make first?

One pan or one long Sunday stew. Smacznego!