Active time: ~45 minutes | Total time: ~1 hour 30 minutes | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Medium
Quick Overview
- Whisk a thin batter of eggs, flour, milk and water and let it rest 15–20 minutes
- Cook thin crepes in a lightly oiled skillet
- Mix a dry cottage cheese filling, sweet or savory
- Spread the filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll it up
- Bake the rolls covered in a buttered dish, or brown them in butter in a pan
- Serve hot with sour cream
What Nalysnyky Are
Nalysnyky are thin Ukrainian crepes rolled around a filling. The crepes on their own are mlyntsi; filled and rolled, they become nalysnyky.1 Cottage cheese, kyslomolochnyi syr, is considered the traditional filling, but stewed cabbage, minced meat fried with onion, fried mushrooms and even lightly salted fish all go in as well.1
With cheese the filling is usually sweet, with sugar and raisins, vanilla or poppy seeds. The rolls are eaten as they are, browned in butter or baked.2,3 Depending on the filling, the same dish works as a dessert, an appetizer or a main course, on an ordinary weekday or on a holiday table.1
History and Cultural Roots
Nalysnyky grew out of mlyntsi. It isn’t clear when filled mlyntsi got a name of their own.3
The dish has a place in the week before Lent, Masnytsia, also called Cheese Week. Meat is already off the table by then, but dairy, eggs and fish are not. In Ukrainska Pravda’s account of the old Masnytsia table, every house had varenyky with cheese, and people got through record amounts of butter and sour cream. An ethnographer quoted in the same article adds: “Our nalysnyky with cheese were similar to mlyntsi.” Blini, the article notes, were fried only in Slobozhanshchyna and the Chernihiv region, near the border.4 The same article prints a Masnytsia recipe for nalysnyky from a Ukrainian cook: a sweet filling of cottage cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla, with the rolls browned in butter and dusted with powdered sugar.4
Ukrainians who settled abroad kept their cooking as part of their heritage, festive dishes above all.5 One Ukrainian-Canadian family recipe makes the cheese filling savory, with dill, black pepper and a little cream, and bakes the rolls in cream. It comes from an Edmonton cook whose grandmother made nalysnyky along with perogies and cabbage rolls.6 This article gives both versions: the sweet one first, as it is made in Ukraine, then the savory Ukrainian-Canadian one.
Traditional Nalysnyky 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 150–300g of flour for a batch of crepes, with about 1½ to 2½ times that weight in milk or in milk and water, one to three eggs, and a little oil in the batter, which then rests for 15–20 minutes.1,2,3,4,6 The fillings take 250–500g of cottage cheese with one or two eggs or two yolks.2,3,4,6 Baked rolls go into the oven covered, for anything from 20 minutes at 200°C to an hour at 175°C (350°F); some cooks brown them in butter in a pan instead.2,3,4,6 The number of crepes, the 30–40 minute baking time below and the six servings are Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimates.
Ingredients (about 12 crepes, an estimate)
Crepe batter
- 200g (about 1⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml (1¼ cups) whole milk
- 120ml (½ cup) water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, plus a few drops for the pan
Sweet cottage cheese filling
- 450g (1 lb) dry cottage cheese (farmer’s cheese)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons 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
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the dish and the top
- Sour cream, honey or powdered sugar, to serve
Savory filling (the Ukrainian-Canadian version)
- 450g (1 lb) dry cottage cheese (farmer’s cheese)
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼–½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
To bake and serve the savory nalysnyky
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the dish and the top
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream, to pour over
- Sour cream and fresh dill, to serve
Method
- Make the batter. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and salt until a little foamy. Whisk in the flour and about half the milk until there are no lumps, then the rest of the milk, the water and the oil.1,2,3 The batter should be about as thin as coffee cream.3 Leave it to rest for 15–20 minutes, then whisk again.1,3
- Cook the crepes. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush it with a few drops of oil, once, at the start; the oil in the batter keeps the rest from sticking.1 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 set, then turn the crepe and cook it 30 seconds to a minute more.1,3 Stack the crepes on a plate as they’re done.
- 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, cream, dill, salt and pepper.6 Don’t add sour cream to the filling; it needs to stay dry, or it runs in the oven.3
- 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.2,6 Butter a baking dish and lay the rolls in it seam side down. Long rolls can be cut in half on the diagonal and laid in two layers.2
- 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 cream over.2,6 Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30–40 minutes (an estimate), until hot through.2,3,6 Or skip the oven and brown the rolls in butter in a frying pan.2,4 Serve the sweet nalysnyky hot with sour cream or honey, or dusted with powdered sugar,2,3,4 and the savory ones with sour cream and dill.6
Kitchen Tips
Let the batter rest. Crepes made from batter that hasn’t rested tend to tear in the pan; 15–20 minutes is enough.1,3
The first crepe often comes out thick, because the freshly oiled pan still holds extra oil. The ones after it get thinner.3 The more sugar there is in the batter, the browner the crepes turn.1
Keep the filling dry. Wet cottage cheese, or sour cream mixed into the filling, makes it melt and leak in the oven.3 If your cottage cheese is wet, drain it in a sieve before mixing.
The egg decides whether the rolls need more cooking. A filling without egg can be eaten as soon as the crepes are rolled; with egg, the rolls are browned in butter or baked.2
The Ukrainian-Canadian recipe cooks the crepes on one side only, until the top is set, and lets the oven finish them.6 The recipes from Ukraine turn them and cook both sides.1,2,3
Nutritional Information
Per serving, one sixth of the recipe (about 2 filled crepes), before toppings.
Sweet cottage cheese nalysnyky
- Calories: approximately 325–395 kcal
- Protein: 15–18g
- Total fat: 15–18g, of which saturated 5–7g
- Carbohydrates: 32–39g
- Fiber: about 1g
- Sodium: 470–575mg
Savory Ukrainian-Canadian nalysnyky
- Calories: approximately 355–435 kcal
- Protein: 15–18g
- Total fat: 20–24g, of which saturated 8–10g
- Carbohydrates: 29–35g
- Fiber: about 1g
- Sodium: 610–745mg
Raisins and poppy seeds are not included. 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 cream go into the dish.
Storage and Reheating
Cooked nalysnyky keep in the refrigerator for 3–4 days and in the freezer for 3–4 months.7 Reheat them in a frying pan or in the oven until hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F) in the center.3,7
Two recipe cards: the sweet cottage cheese nalysnyky as they are made in Ukraine, and the savory Ukrainian-Canadian version with dill.
Traditional Nalysnyky with Sweet Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
Crepe batter
- 200g (about 1⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml (1¼ cups) whole milk
- 120ml (½ cup) water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, plus a few drops for the pan
Sweet filling
- 450g (1 lb) dry cottage cheese (farmer’s cheese)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons 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
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the dish and the top
- Sour cream, honey or powdered sugar, to serve
Instructions
- Batter: Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in the flour and half the milk, then the rest of the milk, the water and the oil. Rest 15–20 min.
- Crepes: Oil the pan once. Cook thin crepes 1–2 min, turn and cook 30 sec–1 min more.
- Filling: Mash the cottage cheese with the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt; stir in the raisins and poppy seeds if using.
- Roll: Spread about 2 tbsp filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll up. Lay seam side down in a buttered dish.
- Bake: Dot with butter, cover with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30–40 min, or brown in butter in a pan. Serve hot with sour cream, honey or powdered sugar.
Savory Nalysnyky with Dill (Ukrainian-Canadian)
Ingredients
Crepe batter
- 200g (about 1⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml (1¼ cups) whole milk
- 120ml (½ cup) water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, plus a few drops for the pan
Savory filling
- 450g (1 lb) dry cottage cheese (farmer’s cheese)
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼–½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
To bake and serve
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the dish and the top
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream, to pour over
- Sour cream and fresh dill, to serve
Instructions
- Batter: Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in the flour and half the milk, then the rest of the milk, the water and the oil. Rest 15–20 min.
- Crepes: Oil the pan once. Cook thin crepes 1–2 min, turn and cook 30 sec–1 min more, or cook one side only until set.
- Filling: Mix the cottage cheese with the yolks, cream, dill, salt and pepper.
- Roll: Spread about 2 tbsp filling over each crepe, fold in the sides and roll up. Lay seam side down in a buttered dish.
- Bake: Dot with butter, pour the cream over, cover with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30–40 min. Serve with sour cream and dill.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between nalysnyky and mlyntsi?
Mlyntsi are the thin crepes themselves. Nalysnyky are mlyntsi rolled around a filling.1
Are nalysnyky sweet or savory?
Both. In Ukraine nalysnyky with cottage cheese are usually sweet, with sugar, vanilla, raisins or poppy seeds.2,3 Savory fillings include stewed cabbage, fried minced meat and mushrooms,1 and a Ukrainian-Canadian family recipe makes the cheese filling savory, with dill and pepper.6
What kind of cottage cheese should I use?
A dry, crumbly cottage cheese, sold as farmer’s cheese. It should not be wet, and sour cream does not go into the filling, so that it doesn’t run in the oven.3
Do nalysnyky have to be baked?
Not always. If the filling has no egg, the rolls can be eaten as soon as they’re made. With egg in the filling, brown them in butter in a pan or bake them.2
Are nalysnyky eaten at Masnytsia?
Yes. An ethnographer quoted by Ukrainska Pravda names nalysnyky with cheese among the dishes of the old Masnytsia table, and the same article says every house had varenyky with cheese.4 Our Cheese Week menu collects these dishes.
How long do nalysnyky keep?
3–4 days in the refrigerator and 3–4 months in the freezer. Reheat them until hot all the way through.7
Looking for a Lighter Version?
Our healthy nalysnyky make the crepes with buckwheat and whole wheat flour, use lower-fat cottage cheese and leave the cream out of the baking dish.
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.
- 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. What nalysnyky are and their usual fillings; published batter recipe; resting the batter, oiling the pan once, sugar and browning.
- Yevhen Klopotenko. (17 March 2023). Ukrainska liubov! Nalysnyky z syrom vid Yevhena Klopotenka [Ukrainian love! Nalysnyky with cottage cheese]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe: sweet cottage cheese filling with raisins, folding in the ends, baking covered at 170°C for 30 minutes or browning in butter; eating unbaked when the filling has no egg.
- Lesya. (Updated 4 May 2025). How to Make Ukrainian Crepes (Nalysnyky). Matusya’s Kitchen. Published recipes: batter, sweet cottage cheese and poppy seed fillings, baking covered at 200°C for 20 minutes; mlyntsi and mlyn; keeping the filling dry; serving with sour cream or honey.
- Liudmyla Panasiuk. (3 March 2019). Masnytsia, a ne “Masliana”, i varenyky zamist blyniv [Masnytsia, not “Masliana”, and varenyky instead of blini]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Ethnographer Halyna Oliinyk on the Masnytsia table, including nalysnyky with cheese; a Masnytsia recipe for nalysnyky with cheese by Daria Tsvek.
- S. Stechishin. Traditional foods. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Cottage cheese in Ukrainian cooking; Ukrainians in the diaspora keeping their cooking.
- Carissa. (22 February 2024). Nalysnyky (Ukrainian Crepes with Cheese and Dill). Domestic Dreamboat. Published Ukrainian-Canadian family recipe: savory cottage cheese filling with dill, crepes cooked on one side, rolls baked covered in cream at 350°F for an hour.
- 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.
Cook by Occasion
The sweet cheese nalysnyky are part of our Cheese Week table.
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