It was only the morning after and my son was already in mourning. I couldn’t blame him; the day after Malanka is always a bit of a let down. 
Not only does the next one feel like a really long way away, I was also feeling considerably hungover. My son loves Malanka more than anyone I know. But this year it was even more special for him than any other year.
So, on the heels of this wonderful celebration, with 11 long months 1 week and 4 days to go until the next Malanka, I wanted to drown our collective sorrows and capture a little of the spirit of that night with my Ukrainian Daughter’s Crock Pot Casserole. This slow cooker casserole is a giant Ukrainian feast in one pot!
A shining light in the midst of one of the dreariest times of the year, a great big party with family and friends, beautiful dancing and an amazing Ukrainian feast of perogies, cabbage rolls and kubasa. This is our Malanka; our dance school’s Ukrainian New Year’s Celebration.
And this year, my son wasn’t just a spectator – he got to dance at Malanka for the first time ever!
Ukrainian Recipes
Who doesn’t want a giant Ukrainian dinner without having to spend a ridiculous amount of time making it? You can load all the ingredients into the slow cooker within 20 minutes, then go about your day. There is NO precooking required!
Ukrainian Food Recipes
If you are looking for Ukrainian food recipes, give this crock pot casserole a try! It’s about 4 different Ukrainian meals in one dish. But the best part is that it works so well together and tastes amazing! And it should because it took me many tries and many versions to perfect this recipe. It really was a labor of love….
It should hold you over until the next Malanka (or your next big Ukrainian feast) anyway. Fortunately, it was able to ease my son’s pain, if only a little. Oh and it also makes a pretty good hangover remedy.
And if you LOVE Ukrainian food then check out my Ukrainian Recipes Board on Pinterest
MY AMAZON PICK:
Ukrainian Daughter's Slow Cooker Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 -4 cups chopped cabbage 1 very small cabbage
- 2 cup dry instant brown rice minute rice
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup tomato juice
- 2 10 oz cans tomato soup
- 2/3 cup real bacon bits
- 2/3 cup mustard
- 3 tsp horseradish
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 750 g Ukrainian Kubassa ring casing removed
- 1 kg pkg hashbrowns frozen (about 5 cups) defrosted
- 1 ½ cup old light cheddar cheese
- 1 cup light sour cream
- 1 cup dry cottage cheese
- 1 10 oz can cheddar soup
- 1 tbsp dill
- 1 cup sauerkraut chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup butter salted
- 2 tbsp sauerkraut liquid from jar
Garnish (optional)
- Dill
- sour cream
Instructions
- Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1 can of tomato soup into bottom of crock pot. Add 3-4 cups shredded cabbage on bottom of crock pot, then add dry rice.
- Pour 2 cups of water on top of rice, then sprinkle on ¼ cup of bacon bits.
- Evenly spread the other can of tomato soup over cabbage, then pour on tomato juice. Cut kubasa into circles (1/4 inch) and spread evenly over cabbage roll layer.
- Mix mustard, horseradish and greek yogurt together and spread evenly over kubasa.
- In a large mixing bowl mix frozen hashbrowns, finely cut onion, dry cottage cheese, sauerkraut, sour cream, remaining bacon bits, cheddar cheese soup, dill, and the grated cheddar cheese. Then cut butter into very small pieces and mix in.
- Spread hashbrown mixture over top of kubasa. Sprinkle sauerkraut liquid over hashbrown mixture.
- Turn crock pot on low for 8-10 hour. It is ready when cabbage is tender and cooked through.
Notes
Ok….coming from a fellow Ukrainian….yes ALL that food takes lots of time to prepare. I seriously don’t know how baba did it all the time. When my kids as for perogies my answer is: “Are you coming over to help?” I miss those extra celebrations. Since my baba, mom and most of my aunts are long gone, I have great memories of all the extra holidays….and wonderful food. I loved reading your story.
When we lived in a small town in north central Alberta these Ukrainian feasts were very common. We were always delighted when we would arrive to a community event to eat all the delicious food. Nothing like the joy of saving a zillion hours of food prep with a slow cooker! Twenty minutes sounds like just the right amount of time to spend in the kitchen in my books.
Happening upon a Ukrainian feast is the best, Sue! Yes, and saving hours of cooking is 2nd best…:)
Very cool, I love to learn about other new year celebrations especially when its about food.
Thanks, Ayngelina! Yes, I agree – I will celebrate almost anything if food is involved!
Wow! Reading through the ingredient list you have accomplished incorporating the Ukrainian dish essentials into one dish – Amazing!
So nice to see the dance pictures. I’m sure your son was so happy to join in all the fun.
Thanks – yes, lots of ingredients ! I took me several tries and about 3 yrs until I got it right! I was determined… Glad you enjoyed the dance pictures – my son was THRILLED to be part of the action! 🙂
I’m part Ukie myself, and boy do I know about the blood, sweat and tears that goes into making a lot of that glorious food from scratch! This is a fantastic idea and it sounds *so* good. It might be a close second to my childhood fave lazy skillet cabbage rolls. NOMS.
mmm . . . This looks delicious. I like how you revised and refined a traditional recipe to make it work well in today’s hectic world.
Yum! If I attempt this, I may try substituting some perogies for the hashbrowns….maybe just add them later in the process.
Pryvit! Love the dance pictures! Is that Thorn cliff community centre? My kids have their Zabava celebration with their dance school there every year. I totally hear you on the feelings the day after.
I look forward to trying your recipe!
Do you mix this all together after it cooked or do you eat it in layers? Also, how do you fit all of that in one crockpot?? Do you have an extra large one?