Healthy Nalysnyky Recipe: Buckwheat Crepes With Cottage Cheese

Active time: ~45 minutes | Total time: ~1 hour 40 minutes | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Medium

Quick Overview

1. Whisk a thin batter of buckwheat and whole wheat flour, eggs, low-fat milk and water, and let it rest 30 minutes
2. Cook thin crepes in a pan coated once with a little oil
3. Mix a sweet or savory filling of low-fat cottage cheese, with less sugar or with yogurt in place of cream
4. Spread the filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll it up
5. Bake the rolls covered with half the butter of the traditional recipe and no cream
6. Serve with plain yogurt instead of sour cream

What This Version Changes — and What It Keeps

This is the recipe from our traditional nalysnyky article, compiled from published recipes,^1,2,3,4,5 with a short list of documented changes. The thin crepes, the two fillings, the rolling and the covered bake stay as they are, and so do the amounts: 200g of flour for about a dozen crepes, 450g of cottage cheese and six servings. The order stays too. The sweet nalysnyky come first, the way they are made in Ukraine, and the savory Ukrainian-Canadian version with dill comes second.

What changes is mostly the fat. Half the flour is buckwheat and half whole wheat. The milk and the cottage cheese are lower in fat. The batter takes half the oil. Cream leaves the savory filling and the baking dish, the butter is halved, plain yogurt replaces sour cream at the table, and the sweet filling takes half the sugar. Per serving, before toppings, the savory nalysnyky come out about 100 kcal lighter and the sweet ones about 75 kcal lighter, with 6–10g less fat and 2–3g more fiber. Most of the saving comes from the cream, butter and oil; the lower-fat cheese adds only a little.

Why These Swaps Work

Buckwheat and whole wheat flour. Refining wheat into white flour strips away more than half of its B vitamins, 90 percent of the vitamin E and virtually all of the fiber, according to Harvard’s Nutrition Source, which also notes that bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose.⁶ The same page lists buckwheat among whole grains.⁶ Cleveland Clinic notes that buckwheat has a low glycemic index compared with grains such as millet, bulgur and couscous, and its dietitian suggests buckwheat flour in place of all-purpose flour in pancakes.⁷ Buckwheat has no gluten,⁷ and published buckwheat crepe recipes mix it with wheat flour, from a third to a half of the total.^8,9 This version keeps it at half and uses whole wheat for the other half. The crepes come out darker than white-flour ones.

No cream, less butter and oil. The NHS lists butter, cream and sour cream among foods high in saturated fat. It suggests lower-fat dairy, and measuring oil with a spoon or using an oil spray.¹⁰ The traditional savory recipe puts 5 tablespoons of heavy cream into the filling and the dish; here the filling takes 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt instead, and 3 tablespoons of low-fat milk go over the rolls under the foil. Using milk there is a Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimate rather than a published method. The butter for the dish goes from 2 tablespoons to 1, the oil in the batter from 2 tablespoons to 1, and the pan gets a spray or a few drops. Low-fat milk goes into the batter in place of whole.¹⁰

Lower-fat cottage cheese. This change is smaller than it looks. Cottage cheese comes nonfat, low fat (1% or 2%) or full fat, and full-fat cottage cheese has only 1.5g more saturated fat than 2%, according to Cleveland Clinic. Its dietitian advises against nonfat, which has less protein and is less satisfying.¹¹ So the filling uses 2%, well drained. Cottage cheese can be high in sodium. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health advises watching it,¹² and Cleveland Clinic suggests a low-sodium cottage cheese.¹¹ The savory filling takes ¼ teaspoon of salt, so taste it before adding more.

Yogurt instead of sour cream. Cleveland Clinic suggests swapping Greek yogurt in for some of the sour cream in dips, dressings and soups, which cuts some saturated fat, and notes that Greek yogurt has about twice the protein of regular yogurt.¹³ Two tablespoons of sour cream add about 60 kcal and 6g of fat to a serving; two tablespoons of plain low-fat Greek yogurt add about 25 kcal and under 1g of fat. If sour cream is what makes nalysnyky for you, a smaller spoonful works too.

Less sugar in the sweet filling. The NHS advises that added sugars, honey and syrups included, should not go above about 30g a day for anyone aged 11 and older.¹⁴ The sweet filling here takes 1 tablespoon of sugar instead of 2, a Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimate; vanilla and raisins carry more of the sweetness. The NHS notes that dried fruit is high in sugar and is best eaten with a meal or a dessert rather than as a snack.¹⁴ Honey at the table counts as added sugar as well.¹⁴

Healthy Nalysnyky Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from published recipes and the sources for the swaps, all 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.

The base is the traditional recipe on this site, compiled from published recipes:^1,2,3,4,5 the same weights of flour, eggs, milk and cottage cheese, the same fillings and the same covered bake. The changes are explained above, each with its source. The 30-minute rest and the flour blend follow published buckwheat crepe recipes.^8,9 The extra water, the amounts of oil, butter, sugar, salt, yogurt and milk, the number of crepes, the 30–40 minute baking time and the six servings are Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimates.

Ingredients (about 12 crepes, an estimate)

Crepe batter

• 100g (about ¾ cup) buckwheat flour
• 100g (about ¾ cup) whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml (1¼ cups) low-fat milk (1–2%)
• 120–150ml (½–⅔ cup) water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, plus an oil spray or a few drops for the pan

Sweet cottage cheese filling

• 450g (1 lb) low-fat (2%) cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese, well drained
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 50g (⅓ cup) raisins (optional)
• 1–2 tablespoons poppy seeds, soaked (optional)

To bake and serve the sweet nalysnyky

• 1 tablespoon butter, for the dish and the top
• Plain Greek yogurt, with a little honey if you like, to serve

Savory filling (the Ukrainian-Canadian version)

• 450g (1 lb) low-fat (2%) cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese, well drained
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

To bake and serve the savory nalysnyky

• 1 tablespoon butter, for the dish and the top
• 3 tablespoons low-fat milk, to pour over
• Plain Greek yogurt and fresh dill, to serve

Method

1. Make the batter. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt. Whisk in both flours and about half the milk until there are no lumps, then the rest of the milk, 120ml of the water and the oil.^1,2,3 The batter should be about as thin as coffee cream;³ if it’s thicker, add the rest of the water a tablespoon at a time (an estimate). Leave it to rest for 30 minutes, then whisk again.^8,9
2. Cook the crepes. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat it once, at the start, with an oil spray or a few drops of oil.^1,8 Pour in a small ladle of batter and tilt the pan so it covers the bottom in a thin layer. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the top looks dry, then turn the crepe carefully and cook it about 30 seconds more,^1,8 or leave it on one side only and let the oven finish it.^5,9 Stack the crepes on a plate as they’re done.
3. Make the filling. For the sweet filling, mash the cottage cheese with the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt, then stir in the raisins, soaked first in boiling water if they’re dry, and the poppy seeds.^2,3 For the savory filling, mix the cottage cheese with the yolks, yogurt, dill, salt and pepper,⁵ and taste before adding more salt. Keep either filling dry, or it runs in the oven.³
4. Fill and roll. Spread about 2 tablespoons of filling over each crepe, fold in the sides so the filling stays inside, and roll the crepe into a tube.^2,5 Lightly butter a baking dish and lay the rolls in it seam side down.
5. Bake or fry. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Dot the sweet rolls with the remaining butter; for the savory ones, add the butter and pour the milk over. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30–40 minutes (an estimate), until hot through.^2,3,5 Or skip the oven and brown the rolls in a nonstick pan with a little of the butter.^2,4 Serve the sweet nalysnyky with plain yogurt and, if you like, a little honey, and the savory ones with yogurt and dill.

Kitchen Tips

Give the batter its full 30 minutes. Both published buckwheat crepe recipes this version follows rest the batter that long.^8,9 Buckwheat has no gluten,⁷ so handle the crepes gently: lift them with a thin spatula and roll them without stretching.

Drain the cottage cheese. Lower-fat cottage cheese can be wet, and a wet filling melts and leaks in the oven;³ leave it in a sieve before mixing.

Seal the foil well on the savory dish. Three tablespoons of milk is much less liquid than the cream it replaces, and a loose cover lets it cook away and dry the rolls out (an estimate).

Season the savory filling last. Cottage cheese already carries salt,^11,12 so mix everything, taste, and only then decide whether it needs more.

Nutritional Information

Per serving, one sixth of the recipe (about 2 filled crepes), before toppings.

Sweet cottage cheese nalysnyky

Savory Ukrainian-Canadian nalysnyky

Raisins and poppy seeds are not included. Two tablespoons of plain low-fat Greek yogurt add about 25 kcal; two tablespoons of sour cream add about 60 kcal and 6g of fat.

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They vary with the fat content of the cottage cheese and how much butter and oil go into the pan and the dish.

Storage and Reheating

Cooked nalysnyky keep in the refrigerator for 3–4 days and in the freezer for 3–4 months.¹⁵ Reheat them in a frying pan or in the oven until hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F) in the center.^3,15

Two recipe cards: the sweet cottage cheese nalysnyky as they are made in Ukraine, and the savory Ukrainian-Canadian version with dill.

Healthy Recipe Card

Healthy Nalysnyky with Sweet Cottage Cheese

Prep 45 minCook 30–40 minServes 6

Ingredients

Crepe batter

• 100g (about ¾ cup) buckwheat flour
• 100g (about ¾ cup) whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml (1¼ cups) low-fat milk (1–2%)
• 120–150ml (½–⅔ cup) water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, plus an oil spray or a few drops for the pan

Sweet filling

• 450g (1 lb) low-fat (2%) cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese, well drained
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 50g (⅓ cup) raisins (optional)
• 1–2 tablespoons poppy seeds, soaked (optional)

To bake and serve

• 1 tablespoon butter, for the dish and the top
• Plain Greek yogurt, with a little honey if you like, to serve

Instructions

1. Batter: Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in both flours and half the milk, then the rest of the milk, 120ml water and the oil. Add more water if thick. Rest 30 min.
2. Crepes: Coat the pan once with oil spray. Cook thin crepes 1–2 min, turn carefully and cook about 30 sec more.
3. Filling: Mash the cottage cheese with the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt; stir in the raisins and poppy seeds if using.
4. Roll: Spread about 2 tbsp filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll up. Lay seam side down in a lightly buttered dish.
5. Bake: Dot with butter, cover tightly with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30–40 min, or brown in a nonstick pan with a little butter. Serve with plain yogurt and a little honey.

More authentic heritage recipes at heritagehealthykitchen.comDownload as PDF

Healthy Recipe Card

Healthy Savory Nalysnyky with Dill (Ukrainian-Canadian)

Prep 45 minCook 30–40 minServes 6

Ingredients

Crepe batter

• 100g (about ¾ cup) buckwheat flour
• 100g (about ¾ cup) whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml (1¼ cups) low-fat milk (1–2%)
• 120–150ml (½–⅔ cup) water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, plus an oil spray or a few drops for the pan

Savory filling

• 450g (1 lb) low-fat (2%) cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese, well drained
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

To bake and serve

• 1 tablespoon butter, for the dish and the top
• 3 tablespoons low-fat milk, to pour over
• Plain Greek yogurt and fresh dill, to serve

Instructions

1. Batter: Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in both flours and half the milk, then the rest of the milk, 120ml water and the oil. Add more water if thick. Rest 30 min.
2. Crepes: Coat the pan once with oil spray. Cook thin crepes 1–2 min, then turn and cook about 30 sec more, or cook one side only.
3. Filling: Mix the cottage cheese with the yolks, yogurt, dill, salt and pepper; taste before adding more salt.
4. Roll: Spread about 2 tbsp filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll up. Lay seam side down in a lightly buttered dish.
5. Bake: Dot with butter, pour the milk over, cover tightly with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30–40 min. Serve with plain yogurt and dill.

More authentic heritage recipes at heritagehealthykitchen.comDownload as PDF

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the buckwheat crepes hold together?
Yes, with a little care. Buckwheat has no gluten,⁷ and the published buckwheat crepe recipes this version follows mix it with wheat flour and rest the batter for 30 minutes.^8,9 Lift the crepes gently and roll them without stretching.

Can I use only buckwheat flour?
Buckwheat flour has no gluten,⁷ but the published recipes this version follows use it with wheat flour,^8,9 and a crepe made only of buckwheat is not covered here. Whole wheat flour does contain gluten, so these nalysnyky are not gluten-free.

Why 2% cottage cheese and not nonfat?
Cleveland Clinic’s dietitian notes that nonfat cottage cheese has less protein and is less satisfying, while full-fat has only 1.5g more saturated fat than 2%.¹¹ Most of the saving in this version comes from the cream, butter and oil, not from the cheese.

Can I keep sour cream?
Yes, in a smaller spoonful. Two tablespoons add about 60 kcal and 6g of fat, against about 25 kcal for the same amount of plain low-fat Greek yogurt; the NHS lists sour cream among foods high in saturated fat.¹⁰

Are these nalysnyky right for Masnytsia?
Nalysnyky with cheese belong to the old Masnytsia table, according to an ethnographer quoted by Ukrainska Pravda. Meat is already off the table that week, but dairy and eggs are not.⁴ Both versions here are meatless. Our Cheese Week menu collects the dishes of the week.

How long do they keep?
3–4 days in the refrigerator and 3–4 months in the freezer. Reheat them until hot all the way through.¹⁵

Looking for the Traditional Version?

The nalysnyky this version is built on, made with white flour, cream and sour cream, along with the history of the dish and its place at Masnytsia, are in our Traditional Nalysnyky article.

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. Sources 1–5 are the published recipes behind the traditional base; the others support the swaps, the buckwheat batter and the notes on Masnytsia and storage.

1. Anastasiia Voichuk. (4 March 2024, updated 29 August 2025). Yak pryhotuvaty nalysnyky na molotsi. Retsept vid Yevhena Klopotenka [How to make nalysnyky with milk: a recipe from Yevhen Klopotenko]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe for the base: batter, resting it, oiling the pan once.
2. Yevhen Klopotenko. (17 March 2023). Ukrainska liubov! Nalysnyky z syrom vid Yevhena Klopotenka [Ukrainian love! Nalysnyky with cottage cheese]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe for the base: sweet filling, folding in the sides, baking covered or browning in butter.
3. Lesya. (Updated 4 May 2025). How to Make Ukrainian Crepes (Nalysnyky). Matusya’s Kitchen. Published recipe for the base: batter consistency, sweet filling, keeping the filling dry, baking covered.
4. Liudmyla Panasiuk. (3 March 2019). Masnytsia, a ne “Masliana”, i varenyky zamist blyniv [Masnytsia, not “Masliana”, and varenyky instead of blini]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Published Masnytsia recipe for nalysnyky with cheese by Daria Tsvek (rolls browned in butter); ethnographer Halyna Oliinyk on nalysnyky with cheese at Masnytsia.
5. Carissa. (22 February 2024). Nalysnyky (Ukrainian Crepes with Cheese and Dill). Domestic Dreamboat. Published Ukrainian-Canadian recipe for the base: savory filling with dill, crepes cooked on one side, rolls baked covered.
6. The Nutrition Source. Whole Grains. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. What refining removes from wheat; bran and fiber and blood sugar; buckwheat among whole grains.
7. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, with registered dietitian Natalie Crtalic-Lowther, RD, LD. (31 October 2025). Buckwheat: Nutrition and Health Benefits. Buckwheat’s glycemic index compared with other grains; no gluten; buckwheat flour in place of all-purpose flour in pancakes.
8. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. (20 August 2021). Recipe: Simple Buckwheat Crepes. Published buckwheat crepe recipe: one third buckwheat flour, batter rested 30 minutes, pan coated with cooking spray.
9. Tasting Table Staff, recipe adapted from Sara Forte. (21 August 2012). Buckwheat Crêpes With Smoked Salmon. Tasting Table. Published buckwheat crepe recipe: equal parts buckwheat and all-purpose flour, batter rested 30 minutes, crepes cooked on one side, cottage cheese filling.
10. NHS. (page last reviewed 19 June 2023). How to eat less saturated fat. nhs.uk. Butter, cream and sour cream as sources of saturated fat; lower-fat dairy; measuring oil or using an oil spray.
11. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, with registered dietitian Julia Zumpano, RD, LD. (23 August 2023). Why Cottage Cheese Is Good for You. Nonfat, 2% and full-fat cottage cheese; protein and saturated fat; sodium and low-sodium cottage cheese.
12. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (7 July 2023). Is cottage cheese healthy? Professors Qi Sun and Eric Rimm on the sodium and fat in cottage cheese; choosing low-fat types without added sugars.
13. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, with registered dietitian Julia Zumpano, RD, LD. (9 November 2020). Is Yogurt Good for You? Protein in Greek yogurt; swapping Greek yogurt for some of the sour cream.
14. NHS. (page last reviewed 3 October 2022). How to cut down on sugar in your diet. nhs.uk. Daily limit for added sugars, honey included; dried fruit with meals; plain lower-fat yoghurt.
15. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety. Refrigerator and freezer storage; reheating.

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.

You Might Also Like

More heritage recipes from our kitchen

Ukrainian

Traditional Nalysnyky

Jewish

Healthy Blintzes

Ukrainian

Healthy Syrnyky

Ukrainian

Traditional Deruny