What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (2024)

Jump to Recipe

Do you know what kielbasa is? It is a filling and hearty dish with Spanish roots. The hero of the dish is sausages, usually made from beef, turkey, chicken, or pork.

You can add vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, and spinach as add-ons and elevate the dish's flavor.

While kielbasa makes a fantastic dish worth every bite, you may want to make it more interesting by enjoying it with some side dishes.

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (1)

Looking for a quick answer?

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.

Now, let's get cooking!

Table of Contents

  • 20 KielbasaSide Dishes
  • 1. Polenta
  • 2. Mac and Cheese
  • 3. Applesauce
  • 4. Scalloped Potatoes
  • 5. Green Bean Casserole
  • 6. Cabbage Soup
  • 7. Cheesy Chicken and Rice
  • 8. Potato Salad
  • 9. Shepherd's Pie
  • 10. Cauliflower Cheese Soup
  • 11. Fried Onions
  • 12. Polish Potato Pancakes
  • 13. Bigos
  • 14. Sauteed Peppers and Onions
  • 15. Cucumber Salad
  • 16. Apple Fennel Slaw
  • 17. Sauerkraut
  • 18. Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
  • 19. Coleslaw
  • 20. Grilled Vegetables
  • Side Dishes For Kielbasa
  • More Recipes
  • What To Serve With Kielbasa

20 KielbasaSide Dishes

1. Polenta

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (2)

Polenta is an Italian dish that works remarkably as a side option with your kielbasa. It features ground cornmeal and has an excellent texture. The flavor of polenta complements the sausages and vegetables, giving you a fulfilling meal to enjoy.

2. Mac and Cheese

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (3)

Do you crave comfort food after being busy at work all day? If yes, serve yourself some warm kielbasa with soft and cheesy mac and cheese.

Simply make the classic version of this side dish with no add-ons. You will love how these two dishes complement each other and give you all the good reasons to make these recipes again.

3. Applesauce

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (4)

Applesauce is a sweet compote that is loved all over Europe for its unique flavor and texture. It is enjoyed with dishes containing sausages and pork meat. The perfect sweet hints of this sauce helps balance the saltiness in sausages, giving you a well-balanced dish.

You don't need many ingredients to make it. Just stock on peeled apples, cinnamon, water, salt, and honey. Follow the tagged recipe, and you are good to go.

4. Scalloped Potatoes

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (5)

Scalloped potatoes are a treat to enjoy with kielbasa. If you don't have potatoes in your main dish. Try making this side dish at home, and you will definitely love the combo.

In addition, this recipe is the true definition of comfort food and gets ready within a few minutes. The cheesy goodness is worth indulging in and complements the sausages pretty well.

5. Green Bean Casserole

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (6)

If you plan to kielbasa during a holiday, we recommend using the above-tagged recipe to make the green bean casserole. You only require four main ingredients to make this dish, including green beans, cheddar cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions.

Also, this is a perfect dish to serve a crowd. You can make it in a big dish and let everyone take some as they enjoy their portion of kielbasa.

6. Cabbage Soup

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (7)

Do you want to keep things healthy for yourself? If yes, serve kielbasa with a warm and nutritious bowl of cabbage soup. You can even add the mixture of kielbasa to your cabbage soup and enjoy both together.

For a delicious cabbage soup, you require green cabbage, canned tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and vegetable broth. Cook the soup for the time given and mix your kielbasa in it once it is ready and enjoy.

7. Cheesy Chicken and Rice

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (8)

Kielbasa goes great with any dish that is both cheesy and rich. The chicken and rice recipe is the same and packed with loads of flavors to complement the sausages.

In addition, this is a one-pot meal, meaning that you have to add everything together and let it cook before achieving perfection. You can amp up the flavor by adding spices or other ingredients, such as herbs, to the mix.

8. Potato Salad

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (9)

This is a classic potato salad with a fantastic dressing to make your kielbasa worth every bit. The salad features potatoes, eggs, onions, celery, brown mustard, yellow mustard, vinegar, white sugar, and mayo. We recommend you make a big bowl because it finishes pretty quickly.

9. Shepherd's Pie

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (10)

As stated above, kielbasa goes well with all creamy dishes. So, there are many available that make a great pair. For instance, the beautiful Shepherd's pie is rich, nutritious, and fulfilling and can be served with your kielbasa.

To make a perfect pie, you require potatoes, butter, carrots, corn, onion, beef, broth, butter, and sauces.

10. Cauliflower Cheese Soup

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (11)

This is a unique soup with a creamy and smooth texture. Moreover, it gets ready within 15 minutes, ensuring you enjoy it while your kielbasa is hot and fresh.

As per the tagged recipe, you should use a cheddar recipe to achieve the perfect taste and consistency. However, if you don't want this side dish to be too salty and high in calories, replace cheddar with Mozzarella or other low-fat cheese options.

11. Fried Onions

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (12)

As much as it may sound strange but fried onions taste great with kielbasa. Sausages and onions complement each other wonderfully and help balance the rich flavors of each other. Besides, fried onions help add the much-needed crunchy texture and sweet flavor to the dish.

You don't need much effort to prepare the best-fried onions. Just slice an onion into thin slices, then fry those slices while seasoning them with salt. Either place the fried onions on one side of your dish or sprinkle them over your bowl of sausages.

12. Polish Potato Pancakes

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (13)

These pancakes are so soft on the inside but beautifully crispy and delicious on the outside. They are also budget-friendly and can be made quickly. These potato pancakes can easily replace essential potato dishes within minutes and give you a new recipe to try.

As you serve them with your kielbasa, add a sauce or mayo dip to enjoy the complete meal to the fullest.

13. Bigos

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (14)

Do you often feel too cold in winter and always look for the best comforting food? Kielbasa is a great recipe to beat the winter blues and elevate the experience; you can serve this dish with a bowl of bigos.

Bigos is a famous Polish stew made from sausages, cabbage, and other herbs and spices added for the taste. Bigos is packed with flavors and can make you its fan right from the first bite.

14. Sauteed Peppers and Onions

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (15)

This delicious side dish can go with all types of mains, including kielbasa. The colorful bell peppers add color to the dish and enhance the sweet flavor. Besides, the sauteed onions help balance the overall flavors.

Use olive oil to sautee the onions and bell peppers, and then season them with salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, oregano, and garlic. The results are delicious and mouthwatering.

15. Cucumber Salad

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (16)

This light and nutritious salad is another side dish we can't recommend enough. It is refreshing and delicious, helping to balance the strong-flavored sausages in a kielbasa.

To make this creamy salad, you require onions and cucumbers mixed together using a vinegar dressing. The resultant dish is tangy and sweet, a perfect combination of flavors.

16. Apple Fennel Slaw

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (17)

This is a quick slaw that complements pork, chicken, and sausages. Made from apples, head fennels, parsley, olive oil, and red onions, the salad combines great taste and beauty in a bowl.

Make sure that you use fresh parsley for this recipe. Besides, add the leftover slaw in an airtight jar to be used in the next two days.

17. Sauerkraut

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (18)

This is a sour cabbage that people love to eat in Europe. Most restaurants serve this as a side dish with kielbasa, as the sour cabbage perfectly cuts through the meaty and rich flavors of the sausages.

You can make Sauerkraut at home using the tagged recipe. Also, a store-bought version is available if you want to save time and effort.

18. Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (19)

Butternut squash is sweet, and when mixed with maple syrup, its sweetness elevates to a great level. So, benefit from this property and make this recipe with kielbasa.

Roasted butternut squashes are easy to make and have the perfect smoky flavor to add to your main dish.

19. Coleslaw

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (20)

Give your kielbasa a perfect creamy touch with this homemade coleslaw. Although coleslaw is easy to make, make sure that you follow each instruction carefully and use the same seasoning as mentioned in the recipe.

20. Grilled Vegetables

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (21)

If you are too busy to make anything complicated with your kielbasa, grill a few of your favorite vegetables. There is nothing healthier and more nutritious than grilled vegetables. Try the tagged recipe to find the entire procedure.

Now that you know what to serve with kielbasa, try this dish with the sides and impress your guests. Also, don't forget the drinks, as this traditional dish is incomplete without the best chilled beverages.

Side Dishes For Kielbasa

  1. Polenta
  2. Mac and Cheese
  3. Applesauce
  4. Scalloped Potatoes
  5. Green Beans Casserole
  6. Cabbage Soup
  7. Cheesy Chicken and Rice
  8. Potato Salad
  9. Shepherd's Pie
  10. Cauliflower Cheese Soup
  11. Fried Onions
  12. Polish Potato Pancakes
  13. Bigos
  14. Sauteed Peppers and Onions
  15. Cucumber Salad
  16. Apple Fennel Slaw
  17. Sauerkraut
  18. Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
  19. Coleslaw
  20. Grilled Vegetables

More Recipes

What To Serve With Spaghetti And Meatballs

What To Serve With Shrimp Pasta

What To Serve With French Dip Sandwiches

What To Serve With Chicken Alfredo

What To Serve With Clam Chowder

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (22)

What To Serve With Kielbasa

Looking for the best sides to eat with your flavorful kielbasa? We have 20 delicious ideas for the perfect meal.

4.75 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Polish

Keyword: kielbasa

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Author: Corrie

Ingredients

  • 1 Kielbasa

Instructions

  • Make the best kielbasa.

  • Select a side dish from the list above. You can eat kielbasa with 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 or grilled vegetables.

  • Serve together and enjoy a wonderful meal 🙂

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @corriecooksblog or tag #corriecooks!

What to Serve With Kielbasa? 20 Best Side Dishes - Corrie Cooks (2024)

FAQs

What side dishes go well with kielbasa? ›

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 do Polish people eat kielbasa with? ›

Sour Foods

Sauerkraut is an obvious choice for a lot of people when smoky kielbasa is on the menu. This combination is steeped in tradition, but these flavors also just happen to go well together! The saltiness from the sausage and sourness from the fermented cabbage complement each other beautifully.

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. We find it very rewarding to experiment with different recipes, and we encourage you to do the same!

What vegetable goes with kielbasa and sauerkraut? ›

What to Serve with Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
  • Italian Broccoli. ...
  • Grilled Corn. ...
  • Classic Crispy Roasted Potatoes. ...
  • Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes. ...
  • Italian Pasta Salad. ...
  • Greek Salad. ...
  • Twice Baked Potato Cups. ...
  • Homemade Caesar Salad.
Nov 8, 2022

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.

What cheese goes well with kielbasa? ›

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

What is the difference between kielbasa 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 the most popular Polish kielbasa? ›

Favorite? Among the broad group of Polish sausages, the smoked wiejska kielbasa stands out as the most traditional and popular variety of them all. The sausage is usually prepared with fat trimmings and a combination of ground pork and veal, and then it is generously seasoned with garlic and marjoram.

Should you poke holes in kielbasa? ›

Cooking Sausages Without Poking Holes In The Casing

These casings, used for sausages like kielbasa, are still made from animal sources, so they're usually edible. There's no need to remove the casings, or poke holes in them to make them easier to remove after cooking.

Should you slice kielbasa before cooking? ›

Slice kielbasa into 1-inch thick rounds and heat in a skillet for a super quick start to a weekday meal.

Is kielbasa healthy? ›

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 is the best side for kielbasa? ›

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.

What pairs well with smoked sausage? ›

Smoked Sausage Meal Ideas
  • Southern Baked Beans. The sweet flavor of baked beans pairs perfectly with smoked sausage. ...
  • Potato Salad. Homemade potato salad is just what you need to mellow out a barbecue or picnic featuring smoked Premio Hot Italian Sausage. ...
  • Roasted Vegetables.

What beer is best with kielbasa? ›

Serve with any rich Lager Beer. Kielbasa is a classic Polish beef sausage, most often served with sauerkraut and caramelized onions. Har- monize those flavors with a delicious beer that works well with the sour and sweet, such as a Pilsner.

Do you eat the casing on kielbasa? ›

Sausage casings hold and shape the meat and spices inside to keep it all contained. Johnsonville casings come in natural and synthetic varieties, all of which are edible. Basically, decasing a sausage gives you access to the meaty goodness inside, allowing you to use the ground meat for other recipe ideas.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Laurine Ryan

Last Updated:

Views: 5812

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (77 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Laurine Ryan

Birthday: 1994-12-23

Address: Suite 751 871 Lissette Throughway, West Kittie, NH 41603

Phone: +2366831109631

Job: Sales Producer

Hobby: Creative writing, Motor sports, Do it yourself, Skateboarding, Coffee roasting, Calligraphy, Stand-up comedy

Introduction: My name is Laurine Ryan, I am a adorable, fair, graceful, spotless, gorgeous, homely, cooperative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.