Russian Syrniki are pillowy soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. These delicious Russian fried Cottage Cheese Pancakes will soon become your new favorite breakfast or dessert. Super easy to make (under 30 minutes) and so good!
Also try this classic Russian breakfast pancakes recipe – Oladi and Vegan Gluten-Free Pancakes.
Syrniki Recipe
Although technically, cottage cheese pancakes are a popular breakfast recipe, more and more in my family I make this for dinner.
Despite that dinner is generally more of a savory type of meal, I don’t mind changing things up and making a sweet dinner recipe that is super filling, delicious and kids approved.
Russian Syrniki
Syrniki are sweet pancakes made with farmers cottage cheese. They are extremely popular in post-Soviet countries. The ingredients usually include eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and/or raisins.
When I was growing up, Russian pancakes Syrniki along with traditional Borsch and Baked Apples, were one of the most often cooked recipes in my family.
Simplicity of the preparation process and short list of ingredients made these cottage cheese fritters a favorite healthy treat of children and adults. 
Before we jump to the cooking instructions, make sure you are using Dry Curd Cottage Cheese or Farmer’s Cheese (Tvorog – in Russian).
It’s much less liquidy than regular cottage cheese therefore you’ll need to use less flour to make these Syrniki.
The farmers cheese I used in the video is Polish and while it’s not that liquidy as a regular American cottage cheese, it wasn’t very dry either, so I ended adding a few more tablespoons of flour.
Depending on what cheese you end up buying, you can regulate how much flour you add. If you’re able to form a patty without the dough leaking through your fingers, you’re good to go and no more flour is required.
Where Do I Buy Farmer’s Cheese
You can buy Farmer’s Cheese in many grocery stores, especially if you live by Ukrainian, Russian or Polish groceries.
Alternatively, you can make your own Farmer’s Cheese at home. Here’s a good recipe for that.
If you have an extra 5 minutes of time, add your cottage in a bowl of food processor and pulse it a few times to break big lumps.
This will also allow more air into the cottage cheese making your Syrniki extra pillowy and soft.
How to make Russian Syrniki
In a large bowl add farmer’s cottage cheese. Using a fork break any big limps. To the same bowl add sugar, salt, flour, baking powder and eggs. Mix everything nicely until batter is smooth.
Fill a separate shallow bowl with flour and drop about ¼ cup of batter into a flour. Using 2 forks roll the batter to coat in flour and then working with your hands shape it into the patty.
Dust off any excess flour.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet and over medium heat. Cook the fritters for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.
Tip: Make sure to wipe the skillet clean after each batch. Otherwise, the grease build-up might stick to your subsequent batches of pancakes. Don’t forget to add more oil into the pan after each batch.
What Do I Serve With Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes are best served with sour cream along with honey, your favorite fruit jam and/or fresh fruits.
Syrniki are best eaten immediately but they can keep in the fridge for one day. Make sure to reheat them in a microwave right before serving. So yummy!
Can Cottage Cheese Pancakes Be Frozen
Absolutely. There are 2 methods.
1. You can freeze them before cooking. To do that you will need to line a tray with a plastic wrap and lay each cheese pancake on a tray, making sure there is at least one inch of space between each pancake.
Place the tray in a freezer and allow 2-3 hours for Syrniki to freeze. Once frozen, remove from the freezer and stack them placing a piece of parchment paper in between each pancake. Tightly pack the stack in the airtight freezer bag and store in a freezer for up to 2 months.
You don’t need to defrost Syrniki before cooking. Just remove from the freezer bag and cook according to instructions.
2. You can also freeze Syrniki once they are cooked. First, you need to cool them to a room temperature. Then, make a stack of 5-7 pancakes, pack them in the airtight container and store in a freezer for up to 4 months. Defrost overnight in a fridge or leave on a counter for 2-4 hours.
If you love these Cottage Cheese Pancakes recipe as much as my family does, please leave me a comment below and write a five star review.
Try these Russian recipes
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Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb Farmer's Cottage Cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 c flour sifted and divided
- pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp grapeseed oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl add farmer's cottage cheese and using a fork, break any big lumps of cheese.* (See the notes)
- Add eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder and ¾ cup of flour and mix all ingredients until your batter is smooth.
- In a shallow bowl add ¼ cup of flour and drop about ¼ cup of batter into the flour.
- Using 2 forks roll the batter to coat in flour and then working with your hands shape it into the patty. Dust off any excess flour.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil in a large non-stick skillet and over a medium heat.
- Working in batches, cook the fritters for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.** (See the notes)
- Transfer cooked Cottage Cheese Pancakes on a large plate lined with a paper towel.
- Serve immediately with sour cream, honey and/or your favorite jam.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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