An easy Syrniki recipe: make these delicious, pillowy-soft, Russian cheese pancakes for a tasty breakfast treat. Serve these with syrup like traditional American pancakes, or with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a spoonful of fruit preserves.
Syrniki pancakes are one of my all time favorite things to eat... Out of ALL THE FOOD in the world.
My mom and grandma made them as a special treat when we were growing up in Ukraine and even after we moved to the US, and I had to learn how to make them myself once I moved out on my own.
More Russian breakfast recipes: Russian Blini
What are syrniki?
Syrniki are slightly sweet, cheesy Russian pancakes made from Farmer's cheese. They are a traditional Russian and Ukrainian recipe, typically served for breakfast or as a snack or light lunch. They are super soft and just slightly sweet on the inside. These pillowy pancakes of cheesy goodness are just so delicious.
'Syrniki' is pronounced SYR-nee-kee, where "y" in ''SYR" sounds like the "i" sound in ''bill." Come on, say it out loud. 🙂
(You can also spell them as "sirniki" sometimes.)
Syrniki pancakes are made from farmer's cheese, which is somewhat similar to ricotta cheese, but a little dryer and more crumbly. Farmer's cheese is perfect for combining with a little flour, sugar, and eggs to make breakfast and dessert recipes, like syrniki or zapekanka.
Related recipe: Draniki (Crispy Potato Pancakes)Where to buy farmer's cheese:
Look for farmer's cheese in the refrigerated dairy section, next to ricotta, cottage cheese, and sour cream.
Farmer's cheese is available at most major grocery stores in the US and in pretty much all Slavic/Russian/Ukrainian grocery stores.
If you don't see it, make sure to ask someone in the dairy section. And if they don't carry it, make sure you ask the store to get some farmer's cheese! Did you know a lot of stores listen to input from their customers about what items they should carry?
If you can't find farmer's cheese, you can use ricotta cheese - just drain it in a colander overnight in the fridge to get the extra liquid out, otherwise your syrniki will fall apart when you form them.
Other Eastern European recipes to try: Golubtsi (Russian Cabbage Rolls)
I remember being excited every time my grandma made sirniki when I was a kid. Sadly I just don't think to make these often enough! That has got to change now that I nailed down this recipe.
I started with asking my grandma for her recipe, and in the usual grandma fashion, the response I get was ''oh, I don't know, you need farmer's cheese, eggs, flour, a little bit of sugar... just add the flour until the texture is right, don't add too much or they'll be tough."
Well THANKS FOR NOTHING GRANDMA. Just kidding.
It took a couple of tries, but I got the recipe down. I guess years of hanging around the kitchen impatiently waiting for syrniki to be ready gave me some intuition about what looked ''right" for the batter. 🙂
Related recipe: Chocolate Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce
A few tips for making Syrniki:
- Make sure you start with a farmer's cheese that is dry and a little crumbly, it should be packed like a brick. If it is packed in water or has a texture similar to ricotta, you'll need to strain it in a fine-mesh colander until it is dry and crumbly. Otherwise, you'll need to add too much flour to the syrniki dough and it will be too doughy and not cheesy enough. If starting with ricotta, you'll need to strain it too.
- The "batter" will be much thicker than American pancake batter - it will be more like dough.
- You can add raisins to the recipe, if you like raisins. I usually skip them. Nothing against raisins, just not my thing in pancakes.
- You'll need to dredge the syrniki in flour after you form them but before you fry them. This will make sure that the syrniki don't stick to the pan.
- You'll want enough oil in the pan to coat it slightly. You can use a spoon to help you flip these pancakes easily.
- You can cook a few syrniki at a time, but don't crowd the pan!
Other Russian recipes to try: Pan fried cauliflower
What you'll need to make syrniki:
A squeeze-release ice cream scoop makes it very easy to form these pancakes and make them all a nice even size. I use this ice cream scoop for syrniki, as well as for scooping out regular pancake batter, muffin batter, and of course - ice cream.
Syrniki should not be fried in olive oil - it has too much of a strong savory smell. You'll want to use a neutral vegetable oil such as canola, or coconut oil. If you love coconut oil, then definitely make sure to get non-refined coconut oil. It will have a lovely fresh coconut smell to it.
Don't forget maple syrup or some blueberry sauce to go on top. You cannot go wrong with Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves - all their preserves are so delicious. Or you can try making your own blueberry sauce like I do in my Blueberry Greek Yogurt Pancakes recipe.
Related recipe: Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
How would you serve syrniki pancakes, you ask?
Just like traditional American pancakes, these are amazing with maple syrup on top. Or try them with homemade syrup, such as mulberry syrup (get the recipe here: mulberry syrup). If you can't find fresh mulberries, you can make the syrup with blackberries and it is SO GOOD. Syrniki are also great with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
But my favorite is the traditional Russian way: with sour cream. We Russian people put sour cream on EVERYTHING.
So I like to eat these syrniki pancakes with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of blueberry sauce or mulberry syrup. If sour cream is not your thing, try a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Either way, you've got to try this recipe and switch up your breakfast routine!!
You might also enjoy these other breakfast recipes:
- Blueberry, Oat, and Greek Yogurt Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
- Instant Pot Chocolate Cherry Steel Cut Oats
- Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes
- Pumpkin French Toast
- Veggie-Loaded No-Bake Frittata
- Breakfast Grits with Caramelized Peaches
- Breakfast Veggie Bake Surprise
If you make this recipe, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!
Don't forget to save this recipe on Pinterest and give it a rating in the recipe card below!
Syrniki Recipe (Russian Cheese Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 1 lb farmer's cheese - see notes before getting started
- 2 eggs
- ½ + ½ cup all purpose flour - or more as needed (see notes), divided
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional: ½ cup raisins
- 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, crumble the farmers cheese into little pieces with a fork (make sure to strain it first if your farmer's cheese is not crumbly! See notes).
- Add 2 eggs and mix well. Add ½ cup flour (reserve ⅓ cup for step 2), sugar, and salt. Mix well, using the fork to break apart any clumps of flour or farmer's cheese. Add raisins, if using. The 'batter' will be thick like dough, not like traditional pancake batter.
- Form the syrniki pancakes: Prepare a small bowl with about ⅓ cup flour - you will use it to dredge the pancakes. Scoop out approximately ¼ cup pancake dough at a time. (See recipe notes below). Use your hands to gently flatten the dough into a small patty. Dredge the pancake with flour on both sides. Shake off the extra flour and set aside until you are ready to cook the syrniki pancakes.
- Cook the syrniki pancakes: In a large skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and gently place the flour-dredged cheese pancakes into the pan using a spatula. Cook on medium-low heat for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until each side is golden brown. Place on a paper towel to cool. Do not crowd the pancakes - cook them in 2-3 batches if necessary.
- To serve, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or drizzle with maple syrup, honey, whipped cream. Or try these syrniki the traditional Russian way - with sour cream and your favorite fruit preserves.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you start with a farmer's cheese that is dry and a little crumbly, it should be packed like a brick. If it is packed in water or has a texture similar to ricotta, you'll need to strain it in a fine-mesh colander until it is dry and crumbly. Otherwise, you'll need to add too much flour to the syrniki dough and it will be a little too doughy and not cheesy enough.
- Add as much flour to the dough as needed to make it into a soft dough and not liquid like a batter. If your farmer's cheese is wet, you might need as much as 1 cup flour.
- Do NOT skip the dredging step! Otherwise your syrniki will stick to the pan and fall apart.
- It is easiest to scoop the syrniki dough with a ¼-cup ice cream scoop with a squeeze-release handle. Otherwise, you can use a spoon or your hands - just wet your hands in cold water so the batter doesn't stick to your hands.
- It's OK if the dredged syrniki are super soft and floppy. Just gently place them into the hot skillet and they will firm up as they cook.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
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Cookilicious
Tuesday 12th of July 2016
wow..these look great..would love to serve them for breakfast. I love pancakes and this looks super tempting. Thanks for sharing.
Larisa R
Saturday 30th of January 2016
When I have tried to make them they all fall apart when frying. Any suggestions?
Kate
Sunday 31st of January 2016
Hi Larisa! Thanks for stopping bye!
Did you dredge the syrniki in flour after forming them and before frying? I found that to be key. Without flouring the outside, they fall apart completely. If you already did that, then I would try adding a bit more flour to the batter mixture. Add one of two tablespoons, mix well, then try dredging and frying. If it doesn't get better, add another tablespoon and repeat.
Good luck!! I hope it works for you next time. Please come back and let me know.
Tania @ COOKTORIA
Thursday 7th of January 2016
These syrniki are the best, Kate! I buy farmers cheese at ShopRite and it tastes really great. It is called Friendship Farmers Cheese No Salt Added, and it could be found close to the yogurt section.
CakeSpy
Friday 26th of June 2015
OMG. Just...OMG. I need these cheesy bites. They look so puffy and satisfying!! I wasn't sure based on the first photo if they'd be sweet or savory. I'm really intrigued by this recipe.