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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.
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.
I just used my Vitamix to grind 5# of poppy seed. I have usually done it using the wet blade, after cooking the poppy seed that is well-drained, but still wet. That worked well, but it was slow, and the wet poppy seed diminished the cohesiveness of the filling and made it less sweet. Today I used the dry blades, with poppy seed I dried out using my dehydrator. It broke the seeds down very quickly (2 cups at a time), and I’m really looking forward to the result after I make hamantaschen.
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.
we always used milk when making the poppyseed filling — ratio of 1/2 c milk to 2 cups/1/2 lb poppyseed. We added 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Brought ingredients to a boil on medium heat. Not sure length of time it cooked. This makes a perfect consistency for spreading.
I’m confused about your measure of poppy seed to milk..it’s it 2.5 of poopy seed or 1/2 a lb?
Sorry..poppy seed
Hi Joan, please see this on the ingredient list “1 cup dry poppy seeds”.
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!) 🙂
So it’s not reduce bitterness? First thought that came to mind was making malt (starch to sugar conversion) to use in beer making
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
Though poppy seeds go through a thorough cleaning before being processed for consumer use for baking and cooking, they may still contain trace amounts of opiate residue.
The concentration isn’t enough to give you any of the effects of opioids, but it can be enough to produce false positive drug tests.
The opium is in the pollen. Very little in seeds. There is some though. That said, eat too many and is does aid in stool softening.
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!
basically you need a burr grinder – it crushes the seeds in an even manner.
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! 🙂