Category: Ukrainian Recipes
Ukrainian cooking is built on what the land gives and what keeps through a long winter: beets, cabbage, potatoes, buckwheat, cured pork fat, soured milk. Most of it is village food that was never written down, which is why the same dish changes its name and its method every hundred kilometres. Borscht has no single correct recipe. The Poltava version is not the Carpathian one, and neither is wrong.
The recipes here come mostly in pairs: the traditional method as it is actually cooked, and a healthy adaptation that changes what needs changing and leaves the rest alone.
Soups. Borscht is where to start, with its keto and plant-based versions, and kapusniak, the sauerkraut soup that carried households through February.
Dumplings. Varenyky, filled with potato and farmer cheese in winter and sour cherries in July.
Main dishes. Holubtsi, cabbage rolls braised until the leaves give way; banosh, the Carpathian corn porridge stirred in cream and finished with brynza; and kulish, millet cooked over a field fire.
Breakfast. Syrnyky, farmer cheese pancakes, and nalysnyky, crepes rolled around sweet or savoury fillings.
Sides. Deruny, potato pancakes fried until the edges go lacy.
Breads. Pampushky, garlic rolls that exist to be torn apart over a bowl of borscht, and paska, the tall Easter bread.
Sweet and to drink. Kutia, the wheat berry pudding that opens Christmas Eve, and uzvar, dried fruit compote served beside it.
Cooking for a holiday: Sviata Vecheria, Malanka, Maslyana, Velykden.
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~15 minutes (plus steeping) | Total time: ~4.5 hours | Serves: 8 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Rinse the dried fruit and raisins under cold water…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~40 minutes (plus overnight soaking) | Total time: ~2.5 hours | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Soak whole wheat berries overnight, then simmer them…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~40 minutes | Total time: ~6 hours (including rising and cooling) | Serves: 16 (1 loaf, 16 slices) | Difficulty: Moderate Quick Overview Use a half…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~40 minutes | Total time: ~6 hours (including rising and cooling) | Serves: 16 (1 loaf, 16 slices) | Difficulty: Moderate Quick Overview Bloom yeast in…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 50 minutes | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Swap the pork ribs for lean turkey breast, which cooks in…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Simmer pork ribs into a rich broth with onion,…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~25 minutes | Total time: ~45 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 12–14 pancakes) | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Bake or air-fry instead of pan-frying — the…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~25 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 12–14 pancakes) | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Drain fresh farmer’s cheese or cottage cheese thoroughly…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~15 minutes | Total time: ~40 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Replace most of the rendered lard with olive oil, keeping a…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~15 minutes | Total time: ~40 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Rinse millet several times until the water runs clear, which removes…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~20 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Swap most of the heavy cream and sour cream for kefir,…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~20 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy Quick Overview Warm cream and sour cream together in a heavy pot until…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~45 minutes | Total time: ~1 hour 10 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 12–14 crepes) | Difficulty: Moderate Quick overview A 50/50 blend of buckwheat and…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Traditional Ukrainian Nalysnyky Recipe: Stuffed Crepes Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Active time: ~45 minutes | Total time: ~1 hour 20 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 12–14 crepes) | Difficulty: Moderate Quick Overview…
Healthy Ukrainian Deruny: Lighter Potato Pancakes That Still Crisp Up Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Active time: ~25 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 14–16 pancakes) | Difficulty: Easy…
Traditional Ukrainian Deruny Recipe: Crispy Grated Potato Pancakes Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information On a Sunday morning in a village kitchen in Polissia, the grater rasps against a bowl long before the rest…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Prep: ~1 hour | Cooking: 1.5 hours | Serves: 6–8 | Makes: approximately 20–24 rolls | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview The cabbage preparation is identical to the traditional…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Prep: ~1 hour | Cooking: 1.5–2 hours | Serves: 6–8 | Makes: approximately 20–24 rolls | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview Blanch the whole cabbage head in boiling water,…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Dough prep: 25–30 minutes | Filling prep: 20–30 minutes | Shaping and cooking: ~1 hour | Serves: 4–6 | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview Choose your dough: whole wheat…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Dough time: 30 minutes + 20 minutes rest | Filling prep: 20–30 minutes | Shaping and boiling: ~1 hour | Serves: 4–6 | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview Make…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Total Time: 2 hours 30 min (40 min active) | Makes: 12 rolls | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview Proof yeast in warm milk with honey — 10 minutes…
Skip to main content Skip to ingredients Skip to instructions Skip to nutrition information Jump to Ingredients Jump to Instructions Jump to Recipe Card Jump to Nutrition Total Time: 2 hours 30 min (40 min active) | Makes: 12 rolls | Difficulty: Intermediate Quick Overview Proof yeast in warm milk with sugar — 10 minutes…
Lighter takes on Ukrainian borscht: a plant-based Pisnyi version and a low-carb keto adaptation, with the same deep beet-and-cabbage flavor.
Authentic Ukrainian borscht recipe with UNESCO heritage status. Master the 1,200-year-old traditional method with the sacred zazarka technique, cultural history, expert tips, and serving secrets.
