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Traditional Ukrainian cheese dumplings (aka Lazy Vareniki) are made with Tvorog; a homemade farmers cheese. This is an even lazier (I mean easier) version. The Ricotta cheese is inexpensive and simple, but I do have the recipe for farmers cheese posted.Well, here you have it. Enjoy!
This is a modified version of SheSimmers recipe.
Ingredients for Lazy Vareniki:
15 oz Ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 Tbsp of salt for water
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour + more to dust
4 Tbsp butter, soft or melted
How to make Cheese Dumplings:
1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 3 Tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 15 oz of Ricotta cheese just until well blended.
2. Use a spatula to mix in 1 1/2 cups of flour, add more flour if needed just until you can form a ball. Don’t over-mix or dough can become tough. The less you mix the dough the softer it will be.
3. Dust a cutting board with flour and divide the dough ball into quarters and roll each section into a 1/2″ thick strip. Cut each strip into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal (only because they are prettier at an angle).
4. Bring a pot of water with 1/2 Tbsp salt to a boil. Carefully drop in the dumplings (try to keep them close to the level of the water when dropping them in or they may splash).
5. Lightly boil for about 2 minutes without stirring until dumplings float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander and lightly rinse with cold water to remove excess starch. Toss/swirl with melted or softened butter. I boiled it in two batches using the same water, but you could probably boil them all at once.
Serve with sour cream. We love to sauté dumplings; especially leftovers. Oh yum.
Cheese Dumplings Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 oz Ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 Tbsp of salt for water
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour + more to dust
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, soft or melted
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 3 Tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 15 oz of Ricotta cheese just until well blended.
- Use a spatula to mix in 1 1/2 cups of flour, add more flour if needed just until you can form a ball. Don't overmix or dough can become tough. The less you mix the dough the softer it will be.
- Dust a cutting board with flour, divide the dough ball into quarters and roll each section into a 1/2" thick strip. Cut each strip into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal (only because they are prettier at an angle).
- Bring a pot of water with 1/2 Tbsp salt to a boil. Carefully drop in the dumplings (try to keep them close to the level of the water when dropping them in or they may splash).
- Lightly boil for about 2 minutes without stirring until dumplings float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander and lightly rinse with cold water to remove excess starch. Toss/swirl with melted or softened butter. I boiled it in two batches using the same water, but you could probably boil them all at once.
- Serve with sour cream. We love to sauté dumplings afterwards until they are golden brown; especially leftovers. Oh yum.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Natasha, if I have a Russian style Tvorog should I also use 15 oz of it instead of ricotta?
Hi Kasia, I haven’t tested this with tvorog but keep in mind tovorg is more dry than ricotta so you might add it to reach your desired texture and consistency. I suspect you’ll need a little less than 15 oz.
Can’t wait to try this recipe at home. My mother used to make this a lot. It was always a favorite of mine growing up. The only thing I would substitute would be the sour cream. She used to put butter on top once they were ready. That way that made them sweeter.
I hope you love the recipe, Sabina!
These were delicious! I substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta, and served with Bulgarian-style yogurt (which is super popular where I live) and berries. I felt like it was a very Slavic meal (which is one of my faves)!!
Hi Rebecca, good to know that you loved this recipe!
when leftover (if any) i save for next day breakfast – sauteed speck- chopped and chopped onion add dumpling – crack 3-4 eggs stir well to coat all
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
My mother made the same dumplings no ricotta boiled fried with onions and covered with sour cream. My mothers mother was from Ukraine.
That’s so great and sounds delicious! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Catherine!
I made it with farmers cheese and it was so good!!! 😋 thank you for the receipt!
Glad you liked it, Inna. You are very welcome!
Hi Natasha, when does the softened or melted butter go in? I don’t see it anywhere in the instructions. Thank you!!
Hi Yana, we used it in step #5: “Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander and lightly rinse with cold water to remove excess starch. Toss/swirl with melted or softened butter.” I hope that helps.
My Lithuanian, Grandma Rose, made these for us on holidays, and then I made them for my kids. It is always a favorite with everyone! We made them with farmers cheese, and that is how I found your site. I misplaced my recipe, and needed to find one that will duplicate, my Grandma’s. I have never sauteed them. We rolled them in a ball, and before boiling, They were always baked after boiling in a big bowl of heavy cream and butter. Can’t wait to try your recipe this Thanksgiving! My daughter, Katy will be making them, since I have ti drive back to Chicago to have dinner with my family.
I love the idea of the big bowl of heavy cream and butter. Yum! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi NatAsha. Do you think I can freeze these ? If so at what step ? After you boil. Or just the raw dough cut up ?
Hi Vicky, I haven’t tried freezing the dumplings but I would probably freeze them as raw dough cut up.
Hi! Would it be possible to use half whole wheat flour? Thanks 🙂
Hi EK, I honestly have not tried that substitution so I’m not sure what it would do to the texture of these. Sorry I can’t be more help.
Yes…they taste a lot better…much more tender.Try 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour.
For anyone who has wondered in the past or will wonder in the future, I used 16 oz of Russian tvorog (farmer’s cheese) and this required 1 cup of flour (instead of 1.5 cups).
Thanks for sharing your helpful tip with other readers Polina!
Thank you!! I am just about to try these and glad I saw this post!!
I ended up using just a bit more than a cup of flour! Turned out great!
Thank you for sharing that, Nat!
I love all your recipes!! i tried a few of them already 🙂
by the way, what camera do you use? your food picture looks great!
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂 I use a canon 6d and for food I use a 100mm lens. I have more info on these in the resources section of my blog.
I like vareniki very much but I cant imagine that i can make them with Ricotta. I will try! thank you!
Hi Kristina! It does work with the right proportions. I hope you love it!
I like many of your recipes and I have made several of them and they come out perfect, but this recipe does not taste neither salt nor sugar, I add the flour content that you say taking great care of not over mix and I could form a ball, but when I had to put on the counter I need add a lot of flour in it to be able to grind it a bit .For me took more than 2 minutes to cook, ??. My question is what flavor does it have ?, I think the amount of flour in the recipe is not enough, ? what texture should it have ??
Hi Martha, these are supposed to be very mildly sweet. They are similar to the classic dough-only dumplings but adding the cheese gives them a little more flavor than just flour, milk, egg and salt. They should be boiling for 2 minutes so once you add them, bring the pot to a boil and boil 2 minutes. I hope that helps!
I made this on the weekend. Super easy and really yummy.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing 🙂