Traditional Blintzes Recipe: The Cheese-Filled Pancake of the Shavuot Table

Active time: ~45 minutes | Total time: ~1¼ hours (including resting the batter) | Serves: 6 (about 12 blintzes, 2 per serving) | Difficulty: Moderate

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Quick Overview

1. Whisk a thin batter and let it rest
2. Cook thin crepes on one side only in a lightly buttered pan
3. Mix farmer’s cheese with an egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest
4. Fill each crepe on its browned side, fold in the edges and roll it into a parcel
5. Fry the parcels in butter until golden and serve warm with sour cream and fruit

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What Blintzes Are

A blintz is a thin pancake, closer to a crepe than to a thick breakfast pancake, wrapped around a filling and fried a second time. The classic filling is sweetened farmer’s cheese. Ashkenazi Jews from Ukraine and Hungary have a strong preference for them; in Hungary the same dish is called palacsinta.¹

The second cooking is what makes a blintz. A crepe is finished in the pan. A blintz is cooked once as a bare pancake, then filled, folded and fried in butter until the outside turns golden and crisp.¹ Blintzes belong above all to Shavuot, the holiday of dairy food,² and many families make them at Hanukkah as well.³

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History and Cultural Roots

The name comes from the Yiddish blintze, and the dish is thought to have started in Slavic countries, including Ukraine. A close cousin is syrnyky: small fried cakes of farmer’s cheese, eggs and sugar, often with raisins, with no pancake around them. Ashkenazi immigrants brought blintzes with them to North America.¹

Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and cheese is its food of choice. In Ashkenazi homes, according to My Jewish Learning, that most typically means blintzes. One explanation is that the Torah calls Israel a land flowing with milk and honey. Another is that once the Israelites received the dietary laws, the meat they had already prepared was no longer kosher, so they ate dairy.²

Families who serve both often have a dairy meal on the first evening of the holiday and meat the next day; the two foods stand for the two loaves brought as an offering on the festival. Cheesecake is popular too, and Sephardic families make bourekas.²

In New York, blintzes were standard fare at kosher dairy restaurants, which served fish and dairy but never meat, next to other dishes Jews knew from Europe: borscht, latkes, lox and herring.⁵

On the Holiday Table

Blintzes have a second holiday. Hanukkah remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, when the Maccabees found a single cruse of pure olive oil, enough for one day, and it burned for eight. That is why foods fried in oil, such as latkes and jelly doughnuts, belong to the holiday.⁴ Many homes also serve dairy dishes at Hanukkah, such as blintzes or cheesecake,³ which is why blintzes are on our Hanukkah menu.

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Traditional Blintzes Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from a comparison of published recipes; the sources are listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

Published recipes use 1 cup (about 125g) of flour to 2–4 eggs and about 1–1⅓ cups of milk or water, with up to 2 tablespoons each of sugar and melted butter in the batter.^6,7,8,9 The filling is about 450g (1 lb) of farmer’s cheese, in one recipe half cream cheese, bound with an egg yolk or a whole egg and sweetened with anything from no sugar at all to half a cup.^6,7,8,9 The crepes cook for about 1–2 minutes in a 15–25cm (6–10-inch) pan, and the filled blintzes fry for about 1½–2 minutes a side.^6,7,9 The amounts below sit inside those ranges; the number of servings is Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate.

Ingredients (makes about 12 blintzes, serves 6)

For the crepes

• 125g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 300ml (1¼ cups) whole milk
• 28g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus a little for the pan
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

For the filling

• 450g (1 lb) farmer’s cheese, or well-drained cottage cheese
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• Finely grated zest of ½ lemon (optional)

For frying and serving

• 40–55g (3–4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, for frying
• Sour cream, for serving
• Fruit preserves or fresh berries, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the batter. Whisk the eggs and milk together, then the sugar and salt. Whisk in the flour a little at a time until the batter is smooth, then the melted butter. Let it rest for 20–30 minutes at room temperature so the flour can absorb the liquid.^7,8
2. Cook the crepes. Heat a lightly buttered 20cm (8-inch) nonstick pan over medium heat. Pour in about 3 tablespoons of batter and swirl it over the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Cook without turning for about 1 minute, until the edges are lightly browned and the center looks dry, then slide the crepe onto a sheet of parchment. Repeat with the rest of the batter, stacking the crepes with parchment between them.^6,9
3. Make the filling. Mix the farmer’s cheese, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, salt and lemon zest until smooth.^7,9
4. Fill and fold. Lay a crepe browned side up and spoon 2–3 tablespoons of filling near the bottom edge. Fold the bottom over the filling, fold in the sides and roll it up into a flat parcel. Set it seam side down and repeat.^6,8,9
5. Fry. Melt about 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Fry the blintzes a few at a time, seam side down first, for 1½–2 minutes a side, until golden. Add more butter for each batch.^6,7,9
6. Serve. Serve warm, with sour cream and fruit preserves or fresh berries.^6,7

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Kitchen Tips

Cook the crepes on one side only and put the filling on the browned side. The pale side ends up outside and browns in the frying pan, so no part of the pancake is cooked twice and turns tough.⁸

If a crepe browns underneath before the center has dried, turn it briefly and use a little less batter for the next one. Lift the crepes with a thin, flexible spatula or your fingers rather than tongs.⁶

A wet filling makes soggy blintzes. Farmer’s cheese is pressed and fairly dry, but cottage cheese needs 1½–2 hours in a sieve before it goes into the filling.^1,10

If a blintz won’t stay closed, rub a little beaten egg along the seam before frying.⁷

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Looking for a Lighter Version?

Our Healthy Blintzes recipe keeps the thin crepes and the folding but bakes the blintzes instead of frying them, fills them with 2% cottage cheese, uses half whole wheat flour and oil instead of butter in the batter, and cuts the sugar.

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Nutritional Information

Per serving (2 blintzes, one of 6 servings), without sour cream or preserves:

• Calories: approximately 315–385 kcal
• Protein: 13–16g
• Total fat: 17–21g, of which saturated 9–11g
• Carbohydrates: 27–33g
• Fiber: under 1g
• Sodium: 430–530mg

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). How much of the frying butter the blintzes take up is Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate; the figures also vary with the cheese.

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Storage and Reheating

The crepes can be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator, stacked with parchment between them. Filled blintzes keep in the refrigerator for up to a day before frying.^6,7

To freeze, lay the filled, unfried blintzes on a tray until solid, then pack them into a bag or container. They keep for one to two months; thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and fry as usual.^7,9 Fried blintzes can be frozen too. Reheat them from frozen in a skillet with a little butter over medium-low heat, or in a 175°C (350°F) oven for 10–15 minutes, turning once.⁷

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a blintz and a crepe?
The batter is much the same. A crepe is finished in the pan; a blintz is cooked twice, first as a bare pancake and then again after it is filled and folded, in butter until golden and crisp.¹

Why are blintzes eaten on Shavuot?
Cheese is the food of Shavuot, and in Ashkenazi homes that most often means blintzes. Two of the explanations given: the land flowing with milk and honey, and the meat the Israelites had prepared no longer being kosher once they received the dietary laws.²

What is farmer’s cheese, and what can replace it?
Farmer’s cheese is a pressed cottage cheese with less moisture and a firmer texture. Where it is hard to find, drained cottage cheese is the usual substitute.¹ Drain it in a sieve for 1½–2 hours, or the filling will be too wet.¹⁰

Can blintzes be made ahead and frozen?
Yes. The crepes can be made a day ahead, and filled blintzes keep in the refrigerator for up to a day before frying.^6,7 Frozen before frying, they keep for one to two months; thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and fry as usual.^7,9

Where does the word “blintz” come from?
From the Yiddish blintze. The dish itself is thought to have started in Slavic countries, including Ukraine.¹

Are blintzes eaten at Hanukkah too?
In many homes, yes. Hanukkah is the holiday of the oil that lasted eight days, so foods fried in oil come first,⁴ but blintzes and cheesecake are among the dairy dishes many families serve as well.³

What were Jewish dairy restaurants?
Kosher restaurants that served fish and dairy but never meat. In New York, blintzes, borscht, latkes and herring were on their menus.⁵

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Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

1. Micah Siva. (30 May 2022). What Are Blintzes and Why Are They Jewish? Aish. The name from the Yiddish blintze; origins in Slavic countries, including Ukraine; Ashkenazi Jews from Ukraine and Hungary, where they are called palacsinta; cooked twice, unlike crepes; farmer’s cheese as a pressed, lower-moisture cottage cheese, with drained cottage cheese as the substitute; syrnyky; brought to North America by immigrants; blintzes at Shavuot.
2. Lesli Koppelman Ross. Why Dairy on Shavuot? My Jewish Learning (no date given). Cheese as the food of choice for Shavuot, most typically blintzes; milk and honey; meat that had not been prepared according to kashrut; a dairy meal on the first evening and meat the next day, for the two loaves; cheesecake, and bourekas as a Sephardic equivalent.
3. Sarah Zielinski. (4 December 2012). A Hidden Hanukkah Tale of a Woman, an Army and Some Killer Cheese. NPR, The Salt. Dairy dishes at Hanukkah: blintzes or cheesecake in many homes.
4. Chabad.org (no author named). What Is Hanukkah? The Maccabees rededicate the Temple; a single cruse of pure olive oil, a one-day supply, lasts eight days; the custom of eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and sufganiyot.
5. Hallel Yadin. (13 January 2025). The Origins and Evolutions of the Kosher Dairy. Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Kosher dairy restaurants in New York as pescatarian restaurants; blintzes, borscht, latkes, lox and herring on the menu.
6. Emily Paster. (17 May 2023). Great-Grandma Bessie’s Cheese Blintz Recipe. The Nosher, My Jewish Learning. Published recipe: crepes cooked on one side for 40 seconds to 1 minute in an 8- or 10-inch pan; farmer’s cheese filling with sour cream or Greek yogurt and an egg yolk, no sugar; 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling; fried in butter; making ahead; Shavuot.
7. Jennifer Segal. (13 April 2026). Cheese Blintzes. Once Upon a Chef. Published recipe: 1 cup flour, 2 eggs, 1⅓ cups milk; batter rests 20 to 30 minutes; 1 lb farmer’s cheese with ½ cup sugar; egg to seal a seam; fried about 2 minutes a side; making ahead, freezing for up to 2 months and reheating.
8. Tina Wasserman. Blintzes. ReformJudaism.org (no date given). Published recipe: 1 cup flour, 2 eggs, milk and water, 12 blintzes; batter rests 30 minutes; farmer cheese and cream cheese with 3 tablespoons sugar; filling on the browned side, so no part of the dough is cooked twice and turns tough.
9. Bonnie S. Benwick. For a dose of comfort and a taste of home, make these classic cheese blintzes. The Washington Post, reprinted by The Peninsula (8 June 2019). Published recipe: about 3 tablespoons of batter in an 8-inch pan, 60 to 75 seconds, not flipped; farmer cheese with yolks, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest; fried 1½ to 2 minutes a side; frozen uncooked for up to 1 month; Shavuot.
10. PJ Hamel. (updated 10 July 2024). Cheese Blintzes. King Arthur Baking. Published recipe: cottage cheese drained for 1½ to 2 hours (not needed with farmer’s cheese); blintzes sautéed in butter or baked in a buttered pan at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.

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Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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