How to Make Poppy Seed Filling
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Poppyseed cake and pastry filling is a staple in Russian and Ukrainian kitchens. The good news: it’s not difficult or time consuming to master and you can pre-make it even a week in advance. I just can’t guarantee someone won’t break into your fridge and sneak bites of it during the week. I love that there are just 2 ingredients.
You can find good poppy seeds at Whole Foods and Fred Meyer in the bin/bulk food sections. Most stores carry them but it’s worthwhile to pay a little more for a higher grade poppy seed that tastes sweeter. The cheaper poppy seeds have a slight bitterness to them. Store-bought pre-made poppyseed fillings can’t touch this. It’s wonderful in the poppyseed roulade that I posted awhile back and the recipe that I’ll be posting next (stay tuned!).
Ingredients for Poppyseed filling:
1 cup dry poppy seeds
8 to 10 oz sweetened condensed milk (about 2/3 of a 14 oz can)
Optional Add-ins:
Raisins (white or brown)
Finely chopped walnuts
Tools you’ll need:
A meat/food grinder (preferred method)
– OR – a clean coffee grinder (can be milled in small batches).
Prepping the Poppy Seeds while dough is rising:
1. Rinse poppy seeds thoroughly in a fine mesh colander, then drain them and transfer to a medium sauce pan.
2. Add 3 cups water to the pot. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. (Don’t boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 minutes. Return to a simmer (don’t boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes.
3. Drain poppy seeds well through a colander or by keeping lid on and placing several layers of cheese cloth over lid to catch stray poppy seeds. Life is just easier when you use a fine mesh sieve like this OXO Strainer
4. Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder, using the fine grinding plate. I use my KitchenAid food grinder attachment
5. Mix 8-10 ounces of sweetened condensed milk into ground poppy seeds. I like to add 10 oz because I’m wild like that ;). Add raisins if desired (depending on the recipe you’re making). Store in tupperware and refrigerate until ready to use.
How to Make PoppySeed Filling (2 ways)
Ingredients
For the PoppySeed Filling:
- 1 cup dry poppy seeds
- 8 to 10 oz sweetened condensed milk about 2/3 of a 14 oz can
Optional Add-ins:
- Raisins white or brown
- Finely chopped walnuts
Tools you'll need:
- A meat/food grinder preferred method
- - OR - a clean coffee grinder can be milled in small batches.
Instructions
-
Rinse poppy seeds thoroughly in a fine mesh colander, then drain them and transfer to a medium sauce pan.
-
Add 3 cups water to the pot. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. (Don’t boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 minutes. Return to a simmer (don’t boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes.
-
Drain poppy seeds well through a colander or by keeping lid on and placing several layers of cheese cloth on lid to catch stray poppy seeds. Life is just easier when you use a fine mesh sieve.
-
Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder, using the fine grinding plate. I use my KitchenAid food grinder attachment for my stand mixer. You can also use a coffee grinder and do it in smaller batches. Note: If using a meat grinder, you need to push firmly. The seeds won’t grind well unless they are under pressure. P.S. I’ve tried putting them through a food processor and it did not work. Drain off excess liquid if any has accumulated in the bowl.
-
Mix 8-10 ounces of sweetened condensed milk into ground poppy seeds. I like to add 10 oz. Add raisins if desired (depending on the recipe you're making). Store in tupperware and refrigerate until ready to use.
Natasha Kravchuk
Russian Cake Truffles Recipe 
Kutia Recipe (Sweet Wheat Berry Pudding) 
Mom’s Poppy Seed Roll (Roulette) Recipe 
Poppy Seed Sour Cream Cake with Custard Cream 
Russian Korolevsky Cake (King’s Cake) 
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (VIDEO) 
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Does the bullet work to grind them?
Hi Rose, I know for sure it doesn’t work in a cheaper blender, but I think it would be worth a shot. If it doesn’t work; you could always scrape it out and use another method. The seeds need to be split or crushed. If you try your Magic Bullet, please report back and let me know how it went.
Hi Natasha, what store ready made dough would be suitable for poppy seed roulade?
Hi Angela, I haven’t tested with a store-bought dough so I can’t speak to that.
Can you freeze the poppyseed filling and if so for how long?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried freezing it but I imagine it would freeze well in a freezer-safe container for at least a month.
Hi Natasha. Thanks for the recipe – it is exactly what I’ve been looking for and brings back great memories.
I have both a question and a request, please:
Question: As someone who lives outside the US (the US is the only country who still uses the old measurements) and the child of chefs (who often weigh ingredients that home cooks would measure in cups), I am always unsure about recipes that call for ‘ounces’ of an ingredient that is obviously a liquid. Do you mean fluid ounces or weight ounces? The same goes for a 14oz can. We don’t have those. Do you mean 14 oz or 14 fl oz? How do you tell which one a recipe calls for? Fillings, for example, could be measured as either. Please advise which you mean and if there is a general rule as to how to tell which is meant.
Request: Also as a reader from outside the US, is it possible for you to also offer metric ingredients or indicate which kind of ounce you mean on any new recipes you post? Thanks
Thanks!
Hi Charlie, thank you so much for that suggestion. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
Thank you for the tips. I have to use a mortar and pestle for my poppy, but otherwise the seeds are great! Your tips certainly helped 🙂
Great to hear that, Donna. Thank you for the update!
Hi Natasha. I just made a poppy seed bars with the struecel on top..I’m just crushed, cuz I didn’t wash the Poppyseed as your receipe says to do & ur right there is a bitter after taste..Even though, I used my food processor. the texture is grainy..Dble darn!. I appreciate anything u can suggest..My great great grandma was in Russia..Wahoo, small world!
Hi Iris, the food processor doesn’t cut the seeds properly or I should say crush them. I have tested that through and it did not work well in my food processor although it was a high powered one. A meat grinder works best here. Rinsing helps with the taste as well as grinding them.
Thanks for the recipe Natasha! I just made a batch last night and it turned out to be super tasty in the family kolache recipe my wife and I used. If you are in Austin today I can give you a sample…
One modification I made was to add about 1 cup of minced pecans and it turned out very well.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Tristan! I hope Austin is warmer than Idaho today!
Natasha, have you (or any readers) tried using your Vitamix (dry blades?) for grinding poppyseeds or a Nutribullet. Does it work well?
Hi Cindy, I haven’t tried that but a couple of readers reported great results using their Vitamix.
Hi Cindy – I used my Blendtec with Twister jar. Just google it… It requires a set of ear protectors though since you need both hands to operate “twist” the jar. It would be a lot less drama using a grinder but it worked well enough for a cup or two.
Thnx kindly. I have found a couple of folk who think the vitamix will work fine. I do anticipate it being noisy. I can see why shops like BoosterJuice (in Canada) and Starbucks put these inside a device to decrease noise.
Hi, love your recipes. I am wondering if it has to be condensed milk or can you use regular milk with sweetener?
Hi Rob, the filling would be too thin with regular milk and sweetener.
Hi, Natasha! Wanted to know, will mortar and pestle work better than anything else for crushing the poppy seeds or will it make it too crushed? I am trying to get a feel of what consistency should I be looking for.
Hi Chris, a mortar and pestle would work fine. As long as most of them are getting crushed like in a meat grinder, it will work. A meat grinder works because they crush under pressure and you could achieve the same thing with a mortar and pestle. They don’t have to be so crushed that they turn into a paste though 🙂
I have the KA grinder but I’m wondering if a Bullet grinder would work since it is more compact than a food processor.
Hi Bill, I know for sure it doesn’t work in a cheaper blender, but I think it would be worth a shot. If it doesn’t work; you could always scrape it out and use another method. The seeds need to be split or crushed. If you try your Magic Bullet, please report back and let me know how it went.
How long will the poppy seeds from the store last prior to using them? Could they be purchased in a larger batched and stored some how for use at a later time? I don’t live near either one of those stores. Also was wondering if the poppy seeds in the grocery spice area would work.
Hi Becky, properly stored, poppy seed will generally stay at best quality for about 3 to 4 years. Keeping them in an airtight container will do the trick!
Freezing them will probbably help preserve them as well.
I grind the poppy seeds using a coffee grinder after soaking them in boiled water for 30 min. Then I mix in honey (instead of condensed mix) to get the sweetness I want.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Mary! Happy New Year!
FYI, it’s also a staple in Polish households! My mom was 100% Polish and we had stuff with poppyseeds in it all the time. I admit I’ve never made my own, I just buy the canned. I’ll have to try this. Kolackys were my mom’s specialty every Christmas and my favorites were always the Poppyseed ones. I still make them and I can founder on them. Nothing better than himeade poppyseed bread! Yum!
I love that so many holiday traditions and memories center around food. Thanks for sharing that iwht us!
Is the rinsing and bringing the poppy seeds to simmer multiple times to remove the opiates(morphine and codeine)? And if so, does it remove all of them to make the poppy seeds safe to consume in unlimited quantities?
Hi Andrea, I am honestly not sure. I figure if grocery stores sell poppyseeds, they are safe for consumption 😉
Is there a specific reason why poppy seeds need to simmer multiple times and then strained?
Hi Andrea, it helps to soften the poppyseeds so they mill more readily. It is very difficult to grind uncooked poppyseeds (I have tried!) 🙂
I don’t think it removes it, but it’s still safe. I make makowiec (Polish poppyseed roll) and my friends in Poland have told me that if you have a drug test done after eating it, you’ll test positive (even though it’s not functioning as a drug in your body). One year at Christmas when I’d made a few makowiec, my husband and I were traveling and had to go through border control. A drug sniffing dog indicated our car was a problem. I told the officers what it was and they looked at it and were fine with it. But apparently the dog could pick up on it.
lol..cute story and yes i also have heard it will test in your system as a drug..so don’t eat before applying for jobs that require a drug test..or your prole officer..lol
Hi, Natasha: Have you tried a Vitamix to grind the poppyseed? Just received one and would like to try if it’s a viable option but don’t want to waste poppyseed if it is not!
Hi Sue, I haven’t tried that but a couple of readers reported great results using their Vitamix.
How long can this filling stay in the fridge if I want to make it ahead of time?
And also do u think I can freeze baked rogaliki with poppy seed filling?
Hi Alina, you could easily store this filling up to a week in the refrigerator. Yes, you can store the rolls with poppyseed filling. We do this all the time. If you freeze them once they reach room temperature, when you thaw them they will taste pretty close to the way they did when they were right out of the oven. The fresher they are when they go into the freezer, the fresher they will come out. I hope you love the recipes!
Ok great. Thank u so much. Yea I love this recipe. I thought I would never do filling myself but it’s actually easy and yummy. Thanks again- just make rolls- so so good- using ur recipe
And planning on making rogaliki and freezing some 🙂
My pleasure Alina!
Hi Natasha! I so want to try making my own poppyseed filling, but I only have a blender and a Magic Bullet. Do you think either of these will do the trick? Thanks so much!!
Sue, to be honest, I haven’t tried it in my blender. I know for sure it doesn’t work in a a cheaper blender, but I think it would be worth a shot. If it doesn’t work; you could always scrape it out and use another method. The seeds need to be split or crushed. If you try your Magic Bullet, please report back and let me know how it went.
Hi Natasha!
I just have to send you a huge thanks! Every year around Christmas, I make makowiec (my husband is Polish) and I can’t tell you how many coffee grinders I’ve gone through. I was looking for something better than a coffee grinder, but less expensive than a real poppy seed grinder…and I found this post where you used a KA food grinder. My search is over! Thanks a million. Also, I really enjoy the recipes you have here.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
My pleasure Katie! I’m glad you found the post so helpful. Merry Christmas to you!
Natasha,
You were asking about poppy seed grinders earlier in this thread. You can get them from California. These are specifically for poppy seeds.
http://www.hungariandeli.com/Cookware.htm
Cheers,
Kal
Thanks for sharing Kal!
Hi there! I didn’t have a grinder, so I added my cooked poppy seeds and the condensed milk to my Vitamix and blended them together for a few minutes. It came together pretty well in a pinch!
Great suggestion Grace! Thanks for sharing your tip with other readers!
Just made this- used a coffee/spice grinder from Amazon, it’s on sale now and worked great. Made with 2 cups of seeds and 14 oz of condensed milk. I am like you, I love it and would like to add those extra 6 oz of milk, but I am afraid the mixture will become too runny.. Love the taste of this poppy seed filling! Making piroshki tomorrow!
I just love it too. I could sit and eat it with a spoon! 🙂
My Czech Grandmother made Kolachy frequently, and I especially loved the beautiful golden oval buns filled with poppy seeds. They were never too sweet and had a great sponge plus the slight taste of the yeast was great _ BUT, the best part were the filling. I have a Czech poppy seed grinder, just had to brag.
Oh how neat! What does a Czech poppy seed grinder look like and are they only available out of the country?
Would the texture be okay if the poppy seeds aren’t ground?
Hi Alina, it won’t work if they aren’t ground. The mixture won’t stay together and it will just be wet poppy seeds rather than the mixture coming together if they are ground.
I have been too lazy to grind and it works. But I do add finely ground walnuts, so that helps keep the goo together. I will try to work this method into my Kolach experiments.
Thank you for sharing! I’ll have to try that with ground walnuts 🙂
Crushing poppy seeds releases their oil and therefore wonderful flavor. At my church (https://saindy.com/bake-goods/) we make hundreds of poppy seed rolls throughout the year. Since 2008 we’ve been using this grinder : https://pleasanthillgrain.com/grain-mill-kitchenaid-mixer
I highly recommend it. Consider adding some lemon juice and/or zest to your recipe.
Can I please have your recipe
I come from a Slovak family which uses poppyseeds for a lot of recipes. One of which is Kolachky. My great-grandmother always made her own poppyseed filling. In addition to your ingredients, she would add just a pinch of ground cinnamon, honey to sweeten & ground raisins. I’ve used Bakers poppyseed filling in a jar (not the canned stuff) & it isn’t bad, but, nothing beats homemade. My Slovak cookbook calls for reg milk rather than sweetened condensed, but I like the sound of the your recipe.
Thank you for sharing your Grandmother’s add-ins! I love to hear how different people make theirs and those sound really nice! 🙂
Have you ever heard of anyone using a Vitamix whole grains grinder for the grinding step with the poppy seeds?
I haven’t heard of anyone trying that and I have no experience with that attachment so I can’t say for sure. If you try it out, let me know how it works. I have used a coffee grinder and a meat grinder and they both work well.
I just used the dry Vitamix container and it looks like it worked really well in just a few seconds.
That’s awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
How long can u keep this filing in the fridge before using it?
Thank you
I usually use it pretty soon after it is made but I think it would be fine for about a week or so covered and refrigerated.
If you have a grinder that’s strong enough to grind the seeds, do you still need to cook them first?
Hi Lisa, yes you do need to cook them since they need to soften to become sweeter and tastier. What exactly do you use that is strong enough to grind the seeds? I’ve never been successful with anything just grinding them raw. I’m curious!
i have a grain grinder for my stand mixer which i bought just to grind poppy seeds and it does work. grinder is costly but will last 10 lifetimes, maybe moreL
That is good to know, I should look in to that 😀.
I use a small Krups coffee grinder to grind them when they’re raw for German poppyseed cake.
We’ve been using our coffee grinder for smaller batches as well but after 3 rounds, my coffee grinder starts to get hot. It is really fast and convenient to use the coffee grinder. I love it! 🙂
I use a Capresso Coffee/Spice grinder and it works well for grinding raw/uncooked poppy seeds.
Great tip Michael! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Natasha! I love that you added the sgushyunka 🙂 So much better than plain sugar!
I agree! Thanks Mila 🙂
Hi
With Vitimix its so much easier
but you have to be careful because this machine is very strong
first time I made it and I have over beaten my poppy seeds and people who tried it didn’t really like it
so next time I did it again
I just went for shorter time and it was really nice
That’s great to know! thank you so much for sharing that!
Hi , how many minutes did you grind with the vitamix. Thanks
Natasha I have purchased pre-ground poppy seeds from my deli. Should I still cook them or what do you suggest for making the filling?
Hi Gloria, I’ve never purchased pre-ground poppy seeds. Do you mean they are already turned into a filling i.e. ground and sweetened? If they are already ground, I don’t think you should cook them or you’ll never be able to strain them properly. Are they pre-cooked?
I dont have any kind of grinder….is there an economical one i can buy ??
I use the meat grinder attachment on my kitchenaid. Without doing alot of price comparison shopping, I can’t really say for certain. I would recommend going by the Amazon reviews. I do alot of my shopping that way :). Do you have a good coffee grinder? You can put small batches in a coffee grinder just be careful that it doesn’t get overheated.
How long can I store poppyseed that’s been prepared in the refrigerator?
Pat, I never tested max amount of time, but imagine it would be good for up to a week, maybe longer :).
Hi Natasha,
I love the recipes you post!! Only problem for me is that recently I started a vegan diet and really wanted to make this recipe, is there anything you can recommend for substituting the condensed milk?
To be honest I haven’t tried any substitutes for the condensed milk… I guess you could omit it and use a little almond milk or coconut milk and honey for sweetness?? I haven’t tested those combinations yet, but if you do, let me know how it goes and don’t add too much liquid so it doesn’t become watery.
Very nice recipe. Where do you get you’re dried poppy pods? Thank you in advance.
My mom had them growing in her yard several years ago and she just saved these and dried them she keeps them in an artificial flower arrangement that looks pretty cool. I borrowed them from her. 🙂 if you could if you plant a few poppies in your yard, you can dry them and do the same thing
lol you drained the goodies 😀
What are you referring to? 🙂
Hello Natasha, thanks so much for the recipe! I have a question regarding the grinding: if I decide to use a coffee grinder, wouldn’t be easier to grind the dry poppy seeds first and then cook them in milk or even watter until I get a paste? I’m afraid the wet, boilded composition will not go well in coffee grinder.
As long as you drain the poppyseeds well, it should be fine in the coffee grinder. The seeds should no longer be hot when they go into the grinder and you will have to do it in batches. Not all coffee grinders are created equal, so if your coffee grinder starts feeling too warm, take a break and finish up after the coffee grinder cools down a bit. I hope that helps. I haven’t tried doing it the other way. I think you really need to cook the seeds in order to be able to grind them. The cooking process softens them up.
Thank you Natasha! There is a Hungarian similar recipe called : “Beigli” where the poppy seeds are first grinded and then boiled in milk to make a paste, cool and fill the roll.Same idea with with walnut. I’ll try cooking the poppy seeds powder in condensed milk.
Oh now I’m intrigued! How do you grind the poppy seeds initially? Do you use a meat grinder?
I ussualy grind it using a coffee grinder, like I’m doing with caster sugar or spices. You get a fine powder and cook it in a little bit of milk, sugar and vanilla until it’s loke a paste. Cool it and fill the beigli roll.
That sounds very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing your method!
So how come you don’t boil the poppy seeds? Is there something behind keeping below the boiling point?
I’m not sure of the science behind it, but the goal is not to “cook” the poppyseed, but to soften it. I think you possibly might lose the natural oils from the poppyseeds when boiling them too long.
This is totally off the subject of poppyseeds. you should do a recipe on how to smoke fish.
I don’t have a recipe. My parents always do the fish smoking in our family and they built their own smoker. It would be a good tutorial to do one day, but unfortunately I don’t have one posted. Sorry 🙁
What do you think about using a VitaMix instead of food grinder? I have both, but the VitaMix is much easier to get to.
Thank You
You know, to be honest, I haven’t tried it in my Blendtec. I know for sure it doesn’t work in a a cheaper blender, but I think it would be worth a shot. If it doesn’t work; you could always scrape it out and use another method. The seeds need to be split or crushed and I know a food processor doesn’t cut it (even a really good one!). If you try your VitaMix, please report back and let me know how it went. Thanks DeNise 🙂
where do u buy poppy seeds?
I detailed it in the first paragraph 🙂
Sorry sweetie didn’t catch that. I rushed down to get the recipe:)thanks can’t wait to make roulettik!!!!!!
No problem. Hope it’s helpful 🙂
Hey Nstasha, I have a question I am too lazy to make yeast dough. Have you ever tried to make mini roulades with russian store bought puff pastry and this yummy filling?
I haven’t tried it with poppyseed filling. It might be a good experiment, but I just haven’t see it done or tried it myself. You’d end up with something completely different from the traditional roulade.
Natasha, for how long can it be stored in the refrigerator? Also do you think I could freeze it and just defrost when I need to use it?
I think it would work to freeze it. I’ve kept it in the fridge up to a week. I haven’t tested it longer than that so I can’t say with certainty.
My favorite filling, going to try!
Enjoy! My husbands favorite too. He inhaled the pirohi I made with this filling 🙂
Just two ingredients? That’s perfect!!! Your mom grows poppy seeds? I like the poppy seed heads.
Don’t you love that?! She grew them a few years back and kept some of the poppyseed heads for decoration. She is going to plant them again next year. I am so excited about that!