Traditional Syrnyky Recipe: Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Active time: ~30 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 (about 12 pancakes) | Difficulty: Easy

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Quick Overview

1. Drain or sieve the farmer’s cheese if it is wet or grainy
2. Mash it with the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt, then work in the flour
3. Shape small thick rounds with oiled hands and roll them in flour
4. Fry over medium heat until golden on both sides
5. Serve warm with sour cream, jam or honey

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What Syrnyky Are

Syrnyky are small, thick Ukrainian pancakes made from syr, the soft farmer’s cheese, bound with an egg, a little sugar and flour and fried until golden.¹ The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen, a 2024 cookbook, says that if Ukrainians ever voted on their favorite breakfast, syrnyky would be the clear winner.²

The cheese itself turns up all over Ukrainian cooking. It is eaten with sour cream and goes into varenyky, nalysnyky and pyrizhky.^3,4

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History and Cultural Roots

Nobody has pinned down where syrnyky were first made; a 2023 essay in TASTE calls their origins inconclusive.⁵ In a 2022 interview with Babel, given after borshch entered the UNESCO list, a Ukrainian chef named cabbage rolls and syrnyky among the Ukrainian dishes he expected to become known abroad next.⁶

In Ukraine syrnyky can be found anywhere from a gas station to the fanciest restaurants,⁵ and every region makes them its own way.⁷

On the Masnytsia Table

Syrnyky belong to Masnytsia, the week before Great Lent, when meat is already set aside but dairy is still eaten. Ukrainska Pravda’s account of the old Masnytsia table puts varenyky with cheese in every house, and an ethnographer quoted in the same article lists syrnyky among the dairy dishes of that week, along with milk porridges and noodle bakes: “everything except meat.”⁸ The recipe is part of our Maslyana table.

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Traditional Syrnyky 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.

The published recipes use 400–600g of farmer’s cheese, most of them with one egg, and 1–3 tablespoons of sugar, usually with a little vanilla sugar.^1,2,7,9 The flour ranges from none in the dough at all, with the rounds only rolled in flour, to three heaped or four level tablespoons.^2,1,7 One recipe uses semolina instead,⁹ and one, at the far end of the range, takes four eggs, more flour and baking soda.¹⁰ All of them fry the syrnyky over medium heat, 2–4 minutes a side.^1,2,10 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The lower flour weight, the flour for dredging, the number of pancakes and servings and the storage time in the refrigerator are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients (serves 4, about 12 pancakes)

• 500g (about 2 cups) farmer’s cheese (syr), 5–9% fat
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 10g vanilla sugar, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 3 heaped tablespoons all-purpose flour (60–100g, depending on how moist the cheese is), plus about 3 tablespoons for dredging
• 30g (about 3 tablespoons) raisins (optional)
• 3–4 tablespoons sunflower oil, for frying

To serve

• Sour cream, or jam, honey or powdered sugar

Method

1. Prepare the cheese. If the cheese is wet, drain it in a cheesecloth-lined sieve and press out the liquid.^2,1 If it is grainy, press it through a sieve.⁷
2. Mix the dough. Mash the cheese with the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt with a fork or potato masher until fairly smooth. Add the flour and mix into a soft dough that holds together; moist cheese may need an extra spoonful.¹ Stir in the raisins, if using.
3. Shape. With lightly oiled hands, take 50–60g of dough at a time and shape rounds about 4cm (1½ inches) wide and 2cm (¾ inch) high. Roll each one in flour on all sides so it keeps its shape.¹
4. Fry. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the syrnyky in batches until golden on both sides, 2–3 minutes a side.^1,2 If they brown too fast, turn the heat down: an overheated pan burns them before the middle cooks.¹
5. Serve. Drain on paper towel and serve warm with sour cream,¹ or with jam, honey or a dusting of powdered sugar.^2,9

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Kitchen Tips

The cheese decides most of the result. Farmer’s cheese of 5–9% fat is the most versatile.^7,9 Cheese that is too dry will not hold together, and cheese full of whey makes the dough spread, so drain it first rather than adding flour until the dough firms up; more flour makes syrnyky less tender.^2,1 Outside Ukraine the same cheese can be hard to find,⁴ so look for farmer’s cheese or a dry, well-drained cottage cheese.

Keep the sugar modest. A lot of sugar in the dough caramelizes quickly, so the syrnyky burn and can spread in the pan; sweeten them at the table instead.^1,9

Semolina is a common alternative to flour. It gives a springier texture¹ and, unlike flour, leaves no raw-dough taste. Use 2 tablespoons for 500g of cheese and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes so the semolina swells. The mixture can even be made the evening before and fried in the morning.⁹

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Nutritional Information

Per serving (one quarter of the recipe, about 3 pancakes, with raisins, without toppings):

• Calories: approximately 359–438 kcal
• Protein: 17–20g
• Total fat: 17–21g, of which saturated 6–8g
• Carbohydrates: 34–42g
• Fiber: about 1g
• Sodium: up to about 510mg

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They vary with the fat content of the cheese and how much oil the pancakes take up. Without raisins a serving has about 20 kcal less; 2 tablespoons of sour cream add about 60 kcal.

Most of the sodium comes from the cheese. Packaged cottage cheese can carry more sodium and fat than people expect, so it is worth checking the label.¹¹

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Storage and Reheating

Shaped, uncooked syrnyky freeze well. Set them apart on a floured board until firm, then move them to a freezer bag and use within two weeks.¹ Fry them straight from the freezer, covered, over moderate heat, 5–7 minutes a side.¹²

Cooked syrnyky keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; warm them in a dry frying pan over low heat. These two figures are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How are syrnyky different from blintzes?
Blintzes are thin crepes wrapped around a cheese filling. Syrnyky have no crepe: the cheese itself, bound with egg and a little flour, is shaped into small thick rounds and fried.

Why do syrnyky fall apart or spread in the pan?
Usually the cheese is too wet or there is too much sugar in the dough.^9,1 Drain the cheese first; adding extra flour holds the dough together but makes the pancakes less tender.¹

Why do syrnyky burn on the outside and stay raw inside?
Sugar caramelizes fast, and a pan that is too hot browns the crust before the middle cooks. Keep the sugar modest and fry over medium heat.¹

Can I use semolina instead of flour?
Yes. Use about 2 tablespoons of semolina for 500g of cheese and let the mixture rest 15 minutes before shaping.⁹

Can syrnyky be frozen?
Yes, shaped and uncooked. Freeze them apart until firm, then bag them; fry from frozen, covered, over moderate heat.^1,12

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Looking for a Lighter Version?

Oven-baked syrnyky with lower-fat cheese, whole wheat flour and less sugar are in our companion article, Healthy Syrnyky.

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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. Yevhen Klopotenko. (26 April 2023, updated 9 September 2026). Retsept syrnykiv [Syrnyky recipe]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe (2 servings: 400–500g of 9% farmer’s cheese, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons sugar, 10g vanilla sugar, a pinch of salt, 3 heaped tablespoons, or 100g, of flour plus more for dredging, 3–4 tablespoons sunflower oil; 50–60g portions shaped 4cm wide and 2cm high, fried over medium heat about 2 minutes a side, drained on paper towel, served with sour cream); a little extra flour for moist cheese; 30g raisins as an add-in; too much sugar and an overheated pan make syrnyky burn; shaped syrnyky frozen and kept up to two weeks.
2. Yevhen Klopotenko. Syrnyky (Farmer Cheese Pancakes), excerpted from The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen (Voracious, 2024). The Splendid Table, 13 September 2024. Syrnyky as Ukrainians’ favorite breakfast dish; farmer’s cheese neither too dry nor too watery, strained through cheesecloth if wet; published recipe (450g farmer’s cheese, 1 egg, 36g sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, flour for coating only, 3–4 tablespoons sunflower oil, about 3 minutes a side over medium heat); traditionally served with sour cream or jam.
3. S. Stechishin. Traditional foods. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Cottage cheese eaten with sour cream, as a filling for varenyky and pyrizhky, with noodles, dumplings, potatoes and kasha, and baked into cheesecake.
4. Matusya’s Kitchen. (29 July 2023). A Guide to the Essential Ingredients in Ukrainian Cuisine. Ukrainian cottage cheese used for syrnyky and as a filling for nalysnyky, varenyky and hand pies; the same kind of cheese is hard to find in Canada or America.
5. Flora Tsapovsky. (7 November 2023). These Light Ukrainian Cheese Pancakes Carry a Heavy Load. TASTE. The historic origins of syrnyky are “inconclusive”; in Ukraine they can be found “from a gas station to the fanciest restaurants.”
6. Maria Zhartovska. (9 July 2022). Interview with Yevhen Klopotenko. Babel. After borshch was added to the UNESCO list, Klopotenko names cabbage rolls and syrnyky (translated as “cheesecakes”) among the Ukrainian dishes that should gain recognition next.
7. Yevhen Klopotenko. (13 December 2024). Zapecheni syrnyky u makitri [Syrnyky baked in a clay pot]. klopotenko.com. Every region of Ukraine makes syrnyky its own way; farmer’s cheese of 5–9% fat is the most versatile, grainy cheese pressed through a sieve; published recipe (600g of 9% cheese, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, 65–70g portions, fried, then baked under sour cream).
8. Liudmyla Panasiuk. (3 March 2019, updated 24 February 2025). Masnytsia, a ne “Masliana”, i varenyky zamist blyniv [Masnytsia, not “Masliana”, and varenyky instead of blini]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Ethnographer Halyna Oliinyk lists syrnyky among the dairy dishes of Masnytsia, the week before Lent: “everything except meat.”
9. Yuliia Skoryk. (19 June 2026). Syrnyky bez nerviv! Yak yikh hotuvaty i shcho oboviazkovo dodaty [Syrnyky without the stress: how to make them]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Published recipe (500g of 9% farmer’s cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons semolina, 10g vanilla sugar, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, flour for coating; the mixture rests 15 minutes so the semolina swells; fried over medium heat in a little oil); cheese of 5–9% fat; too much sugar makes syrnyky spread and burn; semolina instead of flour; served with powdered sugar, honey, sour cream or jam.
10. Natasha Kravchuk. (16 February 2012). Ukrainian Syrniki Recipe (Cheese Pancakes). Natasha’s Kitchen. Published recipe at the far end of the range (15oz farmer’s cheese, 4 eggs, ¾ cup flour in the dough, baking soda, raisins; 3–4 minutes a side over medium heat).
11. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (7 July 2023). Is cottage cheese healthy? Cottage cheese may contain high levels of sodium and fat; choose lower-fat types without added sugar.
12. Yana Sulyma. (4 May 2026). Yak pravylno smazhyty zamorozheni syrnyky [How to fry frozen syrnyky]. klopotenko.com. Frozen syrnyky go into the pan without thawing, covered, 5–7 minutes a side over moderate heat.

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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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