Chag Sameach and Happy Shavuot to all of you! Continuing with our dairy theme, here is another Shavuot favorite–the blintz. A blintz is a thin crepe-like pancake filled with cheese. Blintzes are pretty easy to make, and they’re one of the most delicious things EVER (in my humble opinion). If you’ve never made a blintz, this blog will walk you through the process.
My blintz recipe includes vanilla in both the blintz and the filling, which gives it a delectable flavor and aroma. You can actually eat these blintzes without the cheese filling (if you cook them on both sides), they are pretty tasty on their own. I prefer them stuffed with cheese! For the blintz filling I use a blend of ricotta cheese and cream cheese. If you’re watching your fat intake, try subbing nonfat ricotta and Neufchatel cheese. You can also use farmer’s cheese. The blintzes are sweet, but not overly sweet. They’re perfect for breakfast or brunch, especially when served with a side of scrambled eggs.
For my Strawberry Topping recipe, click here. These blintzes are great both with topping and without. Enjoy!
Note: When I originally published this post, a reader gave me a tip to only cook the blintzes on one side before stuffing, which saves a substantial amount of prep time. I’ve been making them that way ever since! I’ve updated the blog with new photos to reflect this process. Thanks for the tip Phyllis! Also, I have added a step for draining the ricotta cheese, which helps the filling to thicken and not spread.
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Cheese Blintzes
Ingredients
Blintz Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
- Vegetable oil with a high smoke point for frying (grapeseed or peanut oil works best)
Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup lowfat ricotta cheese (you can use farmer's cheese if you prefer, which Is drier and thicker)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (1 package)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
NOTES
Instructions
- The night before: Place the ricotta cheese from the filling ingredients into a strainer lined with cheesecloth placed on top of a bowl. Let the ricotta drain overnight in the refrigerator to remove excess liquid. Note-- this step is optional, it will help the filling to thicken so it won't be quite so soft and goopy in the center. Blend all of the blintz ingredients together using a food processor, blender, immersion blender or electric hand mixer. Consistency of the batter should be smooth (no lumps). Alternatively, you can use a fork to mix all ingredients together until the batter is smooth. Make sure you get rid of all the lumps.
- Warm up a nonstick skillet on medium heat until hot. The skillet is ready when a drop of water sizzles on the surface of the pan. If the water pops or jumps out of the pan, the skillet it too hot—let it cool slightly before starting. If the water sizzles, it’s at the perfect temperature. Grease the entire surface of the hot pan generously with nonstick cooking oil spray (keep the oil spray away from gas stovetop flame).Pour the blintz batter by 1/3 cupfuls into the pan, then tilt the pan in a circular motion till the batter coats the entire bottom of the pan in a large, thin circular shape.
- Let each blintz cook for 60-75 seconds until the edges of the blintz brown and the bottom of the blintz is lightly golden. You can tell it's ready by touching the center of the pancake's surface-- it should be dry and slightly tacky to the touch. Do not flip the blintz to cook the other side. Use a spatula to take the blintz out of the pan and place it on a plate.
- Keep the blintzes separated by pieces of parchment paper, wax paper, or paper towels. This will help keep them from sticking together.When all of the blintzes are cooked, create your filling. Put all of the filling ingredients into a mixing bowl, then use a fork to mix them well. Filling should be well blended but slightly lumpy.
- Now you’re going to stuff and wrap up your blintzes! Put 3 tbsp of filling on the lower part of the blintz, about an inch from the edge.
- Fold the lower edge of the blintz up over the filling.
- Fold the sides of the blintz inward, as though you’re folding an envelope.
- Roll the blintz up and over the filling like a burrito, tucking the edges in as you roll.
- When the blintzes are stuffed and rolled, you are ready to fry them. Pour ¼ cup of vegetable oil into the skillet and heat over medium until hot. Do not let the oil turn brown or start smoking—if this happens, discard the oil and try again. Cook the blintzes in batches of 3--this will give you space to turn them easily in the pan. Carefully place the stuffed blintzes flap-side down into the hot oil. The blintzes should fry for 1 ½ to 2 minutes until they’re brown and crispy.
- Turn the blintzes carefully using a spatula and/or tongs, then fry for an additional 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Blintzes should be evenly browned on both sides.
- Serve blintzes warm. They can be served as-is or topped with fruit topping, sour cream, applesauce, whipped cream or maple syrup.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Martha Stevens says
Excellent recipe. I used Cup4Cup gluten-free flour and followed the recipe to the letter otherwise. Thank you.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Martha, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Thanks for letting us know that you had success with the gluten free flour substitute! 🙂
Jamie Levine says
Thank you so much for your easy to follow step by step directions! I had never made blintzes before and they came out perfect and so delicious! I didn’t make the topping but they didn’t need it. Will definitely make again!!
Stefka Gabrovska says
This is a wonderful recipe! I’ve made it as written a number of times, and I’ve loved it, but recently I made it with just home-made full-fat ricotta (no cream cheese), and it still worked wonderfully! Second recipe from Tori’s website that has become a staple in my house: a couple of times a month, at least! The other one being the chicken shawarma… Thanks, Tori!
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome! 🙂
Antonio says
Being Italian, I used plain whole millk riccotta plus powdered sugar, much like making cannoli’s. EXCELLENT!
In another batch I added chifonade basil, which I grow plenty of. It was a hit with my friends, Jewish and Italian.
clare says
I made your blintzes for Shavout tonight…followed it as written except substituted farmer’s cheese for the ricotta cheese….and I macerated strawberries…delicious, delicious, delicious !!!!..the first two crepes were “crappy”….tossed and I still got 8 good sized blintzes. THANK YOU !!!!
Sasha says
Will definitely make again
Ella says
Is it possible to substitute riccota cheese with farmers cheese or cottage cheese? Thanks
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Ella, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. If you’d like to make blintzes with farmers cheese I suggest checking out this recipe:
https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2013/01/ratners-cheese-blintzes/
Sasha says
Yes this is a very versatile recipe. We used farmer cheese instead of both ricotta and cream cheese, and it came out delicious. We also skipped frying it at the end.
Nancy G says
I found your recipe and looking forward to trying it. I was wondering if you could use coconut flour instead of regular flour for the blintz?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Nancy, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We have not tried this recipe with coconut flour, so unfortunately I’m not sure how it would turn out. If you decided to give it a try, please let us know how it turns out!
Patricia says
I am directing a short play this summer called “Does Mars Have Blintzes? I am not Jewish and have never had a blintz! Thanks for the recipes and comments. I better make some blintzes if I want to have any credibility with my actors!
Brian says
Love the title of the play! I was looking for recipe to coordinate with my memory. This is it minus added sugars! both sides cooked is the way to go….. no extra frying. Poor Mom couldn’t keep ’em coming fast enough for 5 kids! Still a favorite. Thanks for the recipe refresh. Yes—- I grew up under Polish parents and grand parents…… this is the real deal!
Rachel Federman says
So glad to find this. Going to make tonight for pot-luck at my son’s school. He is telling the story of my grandfather who came from Poland in 1922 at age 9 and worked on social security legislation before he died in 1944. The only thing his sister (still alive) remembers them eating at home is blintzes…so we thought that would go well with the story.
Lisa says
My mom has made these for over 40 years. She never fries them. Just cooks them in the pan and flips them over. As soon as we put the cheese filling in them is when they get eaten. So good!
paula lefkowitz says
my mom used pot cheese to fill her blintzers. do they still make that? i am trying to find a recipe that uses pot cheese to bring back some of my childhood.
Cindy says
We always called ricotta cheese “pot cheese”.
Here’s a recipe that has the cheese in it. Good Luck!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cheese-blintzes-recipe
michelle says
Pot cheese is also known now a days Farmers cheese. I found it in my local store.
Patricia Pryor says
My grandmother (I am 70) made the BEST blintzes – a recipe very similar to your own. Tip: If you put some melted butter on a paper towel and swipe the pan between crepes, they are totally non-stick.
Grandma laid out a large white terry towel on the counter. She cooked one side only of the crepe and when ready turned it out onto the towel. She continued this process and while each one cooked she overlapped the cooked ones slightly until she had about 18 crepes. They were then filled as they sat on the towel and plated when each was rolled. They never stuck together!
This seems a bunch easier than paper between each crepe… Finally, they always got fried in butter, not oil. The taste made such a big difference.
Otherwise, your recipe is nearly identical to hers and truly delicious.
Lauren B says
Hello! I just wanted to say that when I made blintzes I like to use farmers’ cheese which is drier and then you don’t have to drain it. Also, I made Bananas Foster as a topping, which went over extremely well! I’m still cook the skins on the second side for a little while so I feel secure that they will not stick together when stacked since I dislike using all that costly paper to put between them. The extra skins were chilled in the fridge and I used a pastry brush and dusted lightly with potato starch (left over from Pesach) on each side and stacked them up, wrapped in plastic twice, and they are stashed in the freezer for an emergency! Also, I used a cast iron pan and had zero sticking issues. Just added a little piece of butter before making each skin. The only negative was that it was heavy for tilting the pan to spread the batter. Our guests left happy, full, and with all the leftovers. ?
Deny B says
Lauren B.
That was exactly my thought: I don’t want to waste so much paper towel or parchment paper and farmers cheese would have been my choice as well. Great idea.
Happy cooking!
P.S Haven’t cooked them yet, but I will, as I love them when I try them at polish restaurants.
Liz says
Omg the banana foster topping sounds amazing. I’m going to try that
Marsha says
So far so good!! What do you have to say about making ahead? Like how far can I go until fry time? Wondering if I can assemble, keep in the fridge till tomorrow and then fry before shavuot event? I’m guessing I won’t hear back in time before I make decision, but I’ll put question out here anyway…
The crepes and the filling look and smell great so far! And I have to say, so grateful I own that dip and flip crepe maker!! No stress at all!!
Ellen says
My recipe calls for making batter nite before w/6 eggs no water & stick of butter. Sitting in fridge overnite let’s batter thinkin on its own. W/butter in batter no need to butter or oil pan if pan is a nonstick or iron crepe skillet. Also I use less sugar. One tablespoons is enough especially if making crepe for savory filling like chicken instead of cheese! Good luck!
Suzanne Miller says
If one is using vegetable oil in a recipe & concerned about smoking or burning, substitute coconut oil, which has a high smoke point and is healthier, but–like vegetable oil–is also flavorless.
susan says
so…i kind of did it all wrong! used crepes i had made and frozen a long time ago; didn’t read instructions for filling thoroughly so drained minus the cheesecloth; did not squeeze the ricotta dry; and mixed ingredients with electric hand mixer, not fork. filling was kind of runny (totally my fault, see above!), but i used it anyway and made it work! i did want to pass along that i had doubled filling recipe and dumped the leftover into a graham cracker crust and baked. fantastic cheesecake!
Selina says
This recipe is perfect for Mother’s Day, the thin, soft and crunchy batter and the sweet, soft and delicate filling just wants me to eat them non-stop
Ron says
I took an evening course 10,000 years ago from an aunt in Queens, New York and this is a refresher. Thanks.
Steve Senet says
I am very glad to have found your recipe. I had one that I got from a precious ricotta cheese container around 19 70 to. However, the recipe I have does not include cream cheese and so the filling is a little bit dryer then most I have tasted, and I prefer. I also lay them out on parchment in the freezer and when frozen, I store them in a ziplock to enjoy later or gift to family and friends. Many thanks!