Cabbage stew with prunes and mushrooms is an incredibly tasty Ukrainian dish that is similar to the famous Polish Bigos, also known as Hunter’s Stew. In Halychyna (Galicia), the region in Western Ukraine that borders Poland, this stew is called “Bigus.” However, in the Ukrainian recipe that we know, we use a slightly different set of ingredients and don’t add tomatoes.
We found that prunes, aromatic cloves, and dry or fresh mushrooms add a completely different twist to the taste and tomatoes are just not required. We make this cabbage stew with turkey; however, you can use chicken or pork too. Prunes and cloves are very important ingredients as they create special smokey, aromatic and sweet tastes.
We posted a video on Youtube to illustrate this recipe and recommend watching it before you start cooking this dish:
The vegetarian stew where only cabbage, prunes and mushrooms are used is a very tasty dish too. Therefore, we show two variations so you can modify this recipe to suit your diet preferences. We used fresh cabbage; however, you can add some sauerkraut if you want. By the way, in this recipe no need to add dill or parsley, so common in Ukrainian cuisine. The taste of this dish is quite elegant and requires a different bouquet of flavors.

How to Make Cabbage Stew with Meat and Prunes
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 1 cabbage
- 1 pound turkey (or chicken) breast
- 25 prunes
- 4 mushrooms shiitake, brown, or portobello
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots medium-sized
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 3 cloves
- black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ cups mushroom broth optional
Instructions
- If you choose to use dry mushrooms, soak them overnight and boil them the next day. Strain the broth and keep it for the stew.
- Get all the ingredients ready for cooking: shred cabbage, grate carrots, and chop mushrooms, onions, garlic, meat, and prunes. Tip 1
- Preheat the frying pan, reduce the heat to medium, and add vegetable oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté them until golden. Add mushrooms, then in about 1-2 minutes add grated carrots, mix well, and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add chopped meat to the frying pan. Sprinkle with black pepper, salt, and paprika, mix well with other ingredients. Add bay leaves and simmer under the closed lid for 10 minutes, until the meat is almost ready.
- Add shredded cabbage, mix well, add water (or mushroom broth) if necessary.
- Add cloves and prunes to the mixture on the skillet, cover with the lid and stew for 20-25 minutes on low heat. Stir it one or two times and add salt to taste at the end if needed.
- Serve warm. You won’t need any additional sauce for this dish. Tip 2
Notes
Vegetarian Cabbage Stew
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Pot 5 quart
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups sauerkraut or freshly sliced cabbage
- 15 prunes
- ½ pound mushrooms brown, shiitake, or portobello
- 1 red sweet pepper
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 carrot Small
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 3 cloves
- black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp valsamic vinegar
- ½ cup mushroom broth optional
Instructions
- If you choose to use dry mushrooms, soak them overnight and boil them the next day. Strain the broth and keep it for the stew.
- If you use sauerkraut, rinse it with cold water so it is not too sour. Tip 1
- Get all the ingredients ready for cooking: grate carrots, and chop mushrooms, onions, garlic, red pepper, and prunes.
- Preheat the frying pan, reduce the heat to medium, and add vegetable oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until golden. Add mushrooms, in 1-2 minutes - grated carrots, and red pepper, mix well and sauté for about 5 minutes. Tip 2
- Add shredded cabbage, mix well, and add water (or mushroom broth).
- Sprinkle the vegetables with black pepper and paprika, add bay leaves and simmer under a closed lid for 10 minutes.
- Add cloves and prunes, cover the vegetables with a lid, and stew for 20-25 minutes on low heat. Stir it one or two times and add salt to taste at the end.
- Serve warm. You won't need any additional sauce for this dish. Tip 3
Notes
What is the best type of cabbage for cabbage stew?
Fresh white cabbage is the best type of cabbage for cabbage stew. It can be mixed in equal proportion with sauerkraut. You can use just fresh cabbage and add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it, but in our recipe we use balsamic vinegar. Nappa cabbage is not used in Ukrainian cuisine. We didn’t try this recipe with red cabbage or Savoy cabbage so we can’t comment on how this dish would taste with these kinds of cabbage.
What is the best type of meat for cabbage stew?
The best type of meat for cabbage stew is fresh pork. However, you can use any other kind of fresh meat too – chicken, turkey, or veal — just as you would for Ukrainian cabbage rolls.
What types of mushrooms to use in cabbage stew?
Use dry mushrooms, such as boletus, in this cabbage stew (but soak them overnight first). If you don’t have dry mushrooms, you can use fresh portobello or shitake, or just brown mushrooms (champignon). Mushrooms are very popular in Ukrainian cuisine. Check out another vegetarian recipe, which uses mushrooms – Shuhy (Ukrainian beet spread).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the cabbage stew with prunes and meat is a simple and delicious recipe that you can make from affordable products, such as cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, and meat. However, to achieve the smokey and unique taste, you will also need to prunes and cloves. All the ingredients are natural and complement each other. Please add your comments, we would like to know if you liked this unique Ukrainian dish. Thank you for visiting our recipes. Pray for brave people in Ukraine!