Lena’s Chebureki Recipe
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Lena, thank you so much for this amazing recipe. We loved it and so did the guys at our church construction site (see more about that below). They were easy and tasted amazing!
I ended up grinding my own pork and beef but you may use pre-ground. I prefer ground chuck or ground sirloin (“beef” sounds like mystery meat to me!). This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Ingredients for Chebureki:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
½ medium bunch of cilantro, chopped
½ medium bunch of parsley, chopped
1 large bunch of green onion (1 cup chopped)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp milk
15 raw tortillas
How to Make the Meat Mix for Chebureki:
1. I ground my own meat with the KitchenAid attachment. I used boneless pork top loin and boneless beef country store ribs, Fresh is best and there’s no mystery about what’s in it. Mix ground pork and ground beef together (I use my KitchenAid with my paddle attachment to spare my fingers from freezing).
2.Stir in the cilantro, parsley and green onion. Add salt, ground pepper and milk.
Assembling Lena’s Amazing Cherubeki:
1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add enough canola to cover bottom of pan. Use two skillets to speed up the process.
2. Place a heaping tablespoon over 1/2 of the tortilla.
Spread the meat over 1/2 of the tortilla, leaving about a 1-inch border.
3. Brush water on the entire border of the tortilla; enough so you can see that it’s wet, otherwise it won’t seal.
4. Press the sides together and seal with a fork. Flip the tortilla over and seal the other side with the fork as well to make sure they don’t open while frying.
This is the result of little fingers that really, really wanted to help (and mom turning away for a split second).
5. Saute 3 minutes on each side over medium heat. You may need to adjust your heat settings (not all ranges are created equal), but they do need about 3 minutes per side to cook through. Place them between paper towels when done.
They can get a little juicy inside so be careful that you don’t get a lap-full of juice when taking a bite.
I took a double batch of these to our construction site (we are building a church you know) and the guys loved ’em! They gobbled them up so fast, with ooh’s and ahh’s galore. I only wish I had made more! I love this picture; it looks like my Dad is running to get some chebureky.
Lena's Chebureki Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ medium bunch of cilantro, chopped
- ½ medium bunch of parsley, chopped
- 1 large bunch of green onion, 1 cup chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 15 raw tortillas
Instructions
- Mix ground pork and ground beef together using Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment or by hand.
- Stir in the cilantro, parsley and green onion. Add salt, ground pepper and milk.
Assembling Cherubeki:
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add enough canola to cover bottom of pan. Use two skillets to speed up the process.
- Place a heaping tablespoon over 1/2 of the tortilla. Spread the meat over 1/2 of the tortilla, leaving about a 1-inch border.
- Brush water on the entire border of the tortilla; enough so you can see that it's wet, otherwise it won't seal.
- Press the sides together and seal with a fork. Flip the tortilla over and seal the other side with the fork as well to make sure they don't open while frying.
- Saute 3 minutes on each side over medium heat. You may need to adjust your heat settings (not all ranges are created equal), but they do need about 3 minutes per side to cook through. Place them between paper towels when done.
- They can get a little juicy inside so be careful that you don't get a lap-full of juice when taking a bite.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Thank you very much for the recipe! How do you prevent hot oil from splattering all over the oven top?
Hi Nellie! You could use a deeper pan with taller edges or look into getting a splatter guard. That may help.
Would these pair well with one of your borscht recipes for a soup and sandwich-type meal?
Hi Karen, I think these can be paired with any soup! I hope you love it.
Hi Natasha,
We really love all of your recipes. They always turn out so fine dining and impress my whole family. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks,
Rachel
You’re very welcome, Rachel! Thank you for the wonderful feedback. I’m glad you enjoy my recipes.
thank you for your detailed step-by-step, with pictures recipes! I’m a big fan of yours!
You’re welcome, Natalie. Glad you appreciate that!
Can I precook the beef mixture, cool and stuff. I am sure these are delicious.
Thank you.
Hi Tish, I think that will work just fine.
These were very good! I did add a couple more ingredients that made it so flavorful! 1 grated onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, some garlic powder, and an additional half tsp salt as we like it a little more salty. Delicious!
Nice to hear that, Victoria. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi. What’s your suggestion for keeping them warm for transport, like u did when you brought them to the church for example.. how did u keep them warm? I want to make them as an appetizer for a small get together, but want them to keep their crispiness and warmth. Suggestions? Thanks
Hi EP! You may try wrapping them in a warm clean towel and then in foil. You can also wrap them in a towel and transport them in crock pot or disposable foil tin. The towel will help absorb the moisture. They also reheat great in the oven on a baking sheet, or on a skillet over the stovetop, or even an air fryer would work great. I hope that helps! Let us know how it works. 🙂
Has anyone tried to cook these in an air fryer? Just wondering what settings to use, temperature and time-wise..
Hi Esther, I think it will work but I haven’t personally tested it yet to advise of the temperature and timing.
I only cook mine in an air fryer! Typically I’ll do 350 degrees for 15(ish) minutes.
The real trick is to keep an eye on them and flip them when the top starts to get golden brown throughout. Should take 7-8 minutes. That way you don’t burn the top trying to cook the bottom.
Natasha,
I’ve searched through the comments, but couldn’t find answers- perhaps you could help?
1) is there a non-dairy milk substitute that would work?
2) any update on freezing these raw? Cooked?
3) I will have to make them ahead of dinner; to reheat them, tray in an oven? Or maybe cookie rack in the oven?
Appreciate any help
SvetKa
Hi, I haven’t tried any non-dairy options, but coconut or almond milk may work fine. I haven’t tried freezing these so I’m not sure about that, but I think it would work to freeze raw or cooked. They would reheat great in the oven on a baking sheet, or on a skillet over the stovetop, or even an airfryer would work great.
Hi I’d like to make these for dinner, why could I serve with them? Also is there a traditional type of dip or garnish? Looking forward to trying them tonight!
This can be a nice appetizer or main dish. You can dip it in sweet & sour sauce or any sauce that you prefer.
They go great with something like tzatziki (Greek cucumber/yogurt dip!) Also love them with Hungarian style cucumber salad (thin sliced cucumbers with vinaigrette)–this seems to counteract the fried deliciousness!) Yummy!
I love your precipices, chebureki turned out really good
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Oksana!
OK, I tried this the other day. I had been asking my wife for chebureki for years. She would never make them because 1: too much work, and 2: too much fat.
This recipe addresses both of those issues. The raw tortillas are genius; I didn’t know such a thing existed!
So we got a pound of beef, and a pound of pork. Carefully carved the fat off the pork. Dug out our old Soviet meat grinder and went to town.
Results – they came out sort of dry. The cilantro taste was overpowering – didn’t taste
Russian or Georgian at all. Not squirt-out-of-your-mouth juicy like I remember them.
Just for yuks, I dug out my canonical resource for such things – the “Book of Tasty and Healthy Food”, published in 1951, with its forward praising Comrade Stalin and the success of the latest Five Year Plan.
Chebureki are on page 241. They specify 400 grams of mutton ( baranina ), and
also 100 grams of mutton-fat. Yee-hah! Going for the gusto there. Also 50 grams of boiled rice. They also advised to seal the edges with beaten egg.
We pan fried most of them – but I also made a couple in an air fryer, with a light spray of olive oil. Those came out pretty nice, and I see no reason not to do them all that way.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Jerry!
Natasha, these are SOOO good!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
And to anyone who’s been wondering if you can bake these instead, yes you can! 🙂
I used the uncooked flour tortillas from Costco. I brushed both sides with a little bit of oil right before putting them in the oven and then baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. They were absolutely delicious!!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!!
These are amazing! Just wondering if I could make in advance and leave uncooked in fridge? I want to cook them at the last minute but don’t want to make them at the last minute(I like a clean kitchen when company comes over!) Also wondering if I could freeze the raw ones so I can reheat 2 or 3 at a time?
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Hi MJ, I haven’t tried storing it uncooked in the fridge. I imagine the dough will absorb moisture and splatter all over once hitting a hot pan. Several of our readers have mentioned freezing left over raw Chebureki.
Hi natasha. I made this before per your receipe, and these are great. I want to make them again but healthier version. I was wondering what you think about me baking these? Do you know at what temperature would work best and duration? Thanks so much
Hi Anna! 🙂 I haven’t tested these in the oven and I think it might have to be a different dough for that. Has anyone else tried baking these?
Natasha in 3 minutes it cooks all the way, meat looks uncooked to me? By the way where do you live, i get my tortillas from meijer too?
Hi Holy, make sure to cook them 3 minutes per side and if they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down so they have a full 6 minutes of cooking time. The raw tortillas are thin so they allow for quick cooking of the filling, but if you find it is taking you longer to cook them (possibly you are on too low of heat?), definitely cook 1-2 minutes longer to be sure :). I purchase raw tortillas at Fred Meyer, Walmart and Costco.
I had a bit of a raw problem as well and realized I was filling them way too much. Not as much meat and lower heat definitely helped! I also love to get them more charred and crispy mmm mmm mmm! Best recipe for Chebureki for sure and so easy. Loving it!!
where did you buy the tortillas?
Hi Viktoriya, in our local stores, they are sold in Fred Meyer (refrigerator section next to the cheeses and tortellini), in Costco refrigerator section and I’ve also seen them at Walmart.
this is a good recipe.
i was wondering what do you think if i used puff pastry dough instead if the tortillas ?
I have never tried that but I suspect it might be too flaky and may absorb too much oil. Again, I haven’t tested it to say for sure.
Hello Natasha I am very pleased to have found your website. A young lady who lives in Tartarstan will be visiting me in a few weeks and I wish to serve her something other than typical American dishes at least some of the time while she is here. This will definitely be one of them. For the tortillas in this dish, I will be making my own. (The best tortillas are made with lard. 😉 )
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
You’re welcome Michael! Please let me know what you think of the recipe! 🙂
I made it twice last week, they are so good ! was not sure about cilantro in it, but decided to try your recipe as it is, Natasha. omg ! it turned out so yumi!
Anya, thank you for such a nice review on the recipe! 😁
Natasha, I love your recipes! Can you please post a recipe for homemade dough for chebureki? Thank you for amazing recipes! 😊😊😊
Hi Mohinur, we usually use the raw tortillas because it’s so much easier but I’ll see what I can do 🙂
Made an all beef version with parsley, dill and lots of minced garlic…and salt and pepper. My Moldovan husband LOVED them. These will go into the rotation.
Sarah, thank you for sharing such a nice review with us 😀. We are glad your family loves the recipe.
These were delicious. I love trying making foods from different countries. My husband and his friend gave me lots of compliments. Thank you so much for the recipe Natasha!!
Carla, That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
My Russian son found this recipe and begged me to make it. I made it “from scratch”, ground the meat myself and made the tortillas from scratch, too. They are VERY easy to make, and I think they are much more tender than store bought ones would be. Other than that, the only change I made to the recipe was to use regular onion, and a lot of it. My Russian friend instructed me that these fillings should be one-third onion and two-thirds meat. My family loves that proportion.
Wow homemade tortillas sound great! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe and yes, Russian people LOVE onions! 🙂
Great recipe! I divided each tortilla in half so, as a result, my chebureki looked like triangles. I like this size better: it’s easier to hold and again, portion control. :))
Thank you Irina and nice job improvising 😁.
My wife yelled at me saying something to the effect of: “You don’t put kinza in chebuereki!”
Hi Mike, I don’t know what kinza is but these are delicious anyways :). Did she at least try them?
“Kinza” is a Georgian word, I believe, for “cilantro”. I had my reservations about the green stuff too but actually these chebureki (turnovers) came out amazing. I ended up using Goya Empanada Discos instead of tortillas (they came in 10s and the tortillas came in 18s). http://www.goya.com/english/product_subcategory/Frozen-Foods/Discos#134 I used to love chebureki sold by street vendors in Kyiv, one of my favorite childhood treats:) I thought these came out even better.
That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear you loved the recipe! Thank you Victoria and thanks for the lesson on kinza 😉
LOL–I was shouting the same thing about the cilantro…though not in Georgia. 😉
Kinza is cilantro in Russian.
Thank you so much for the recipe. I was thinking to make chebureki having raw beef parties. I was told by coworker about using raw tortilla.
Three important things that I took from Lena’s recipe made it happen.
One that I was going to use old yellow onion, which is wrong as process to fry is quick and green onion is perfect for it; second I didn’t know that should add milk that made filling juicy; third I didn’t know that needed to brush tortilla with water to seal it. I actually brush whole tortilla before put meat.
Thank you for all the details, Natasha.
You’re welcome and I’m glad that you found the recipe useful!
After looking and looking for raw tortillas, I finally found them at my local grocery store!!! Not sure if I was looking in the wrong place and they had them all this time, or if they just started carrying it. They are soooo good! I ate them just like that kak lepeshki with kefir (love kefir)! Can’t wait to try making chebureki! Thanks for the tip!
Olga, I’m glad you found them and thank you for the great review :).
Natasha, thank you for this recipe! I was finally able to find raw/uncooked tortilla here in the Bay Area in larger Safeway 😀 I was beyond happy 🙂 I love chebyreki, and now with this recipe it is so simple to make it!
Yes!!!! I’m so happy for your find :). I was very excited when I figured out this shortcut too.
Made this 2 nights ago..I used our own farm raised beef and subbed our own lamb for the pork. Everyone loved it..even took some to work. Love being able to share these recipes with my son and husband.
Sarah, thank you for the great review, I’m very happy to hear that your family enjoyed them :D.
Hi Natasha! Am I able to sub the beef with turkey? I bought turkey on accident and don’t want it to go to waste.
Yes, I think that would work just fine 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Do you think I could substitute raw tortilla with egg roll wraps?
Thank you in advance!
Hi :). I don’t think the egg roll wrappers could adequately be sealed the same way for frying in the oil. It might be worth an experiment, but I think it would be tough to seal them.
Thank you!
I improvised and they were amazing! I used 1 lb chicken and added 3 garlic and used used diced onion instead and halfed the others 😉 DELISH! Thanks!!
You are welcome Oksana, thanks for the great review :).
Will definitely try the Chebureki, looks like a good one.
Thank you Jim! I hope you love it! 🙂
Slava Bohy Natasha,
I have a question. Did you ever try adding anions to this recipe, just like you do to the Turkey Chebureki? I think the anion gives it a better flavor. People let me know what you think. Thanks and God bless you all.
Slava Bohy Halina :). This recipe does have a very good amount of green onion so you still have the great onion flavor and it cooks better inside the tortilla rather than using raw onion. A good substitute would be to at least lightly sautee a diced yellow onion so its softer after the chebureki are cooked. Also, if you saute them a little bit, you don’t get the “onion burps” quite as badly afterwards. I’ve found the same to be true with making pelmeni :). I hope that helps.
Спасибо)
Are raw tortillas easy to find? I feel like I’ve never seen them before but then I never looked. I will take a look next time I’m at the grocery store. I definitely want to give these a try. Thanks!
Olga, it depends which grocery store you shop in. I bought them in Walmart and Costco before. I hope this helps :).
Thanks! I was not able to find actual uncooked tortillas but I did find ‘dough for pastries’ (masa para empanadas) also in the fridge of the spanish food section. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing but I got them anyway and made chebureki yesterday and they came out absolutely perfect! Saved so much too by not having to make the dough from scratch! Thanks for the tip! 🙂
It’s great to know there is yet another alternative that works! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you as always. They turned out perfect. I can’t stand anything about cilantro, so I didn’t add it and they turned out delicious. Easy and affordable.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for a great review!
I love this recipe! It’s simple, quick and delicious. I just made some on lunch break 🙂 Thank you, Natasha!
You’re quick if you got these done on your lunch break 😉 I’m so happy you loved them. Now I just have to figure out how to make them baked! 🙂
Just wanted to ask you whether it was possible to bake these. Im trying to get into the habit of making healthier foods so it wouldn’t be so hard to get back into shape after the baby but its hard finding recipes that my family likes. They loves these so I was wondering if it was at all possible. Plus I just hate frying stuff. The oil gets everything and makes my whole oven greasy and then my really teeny house smells like a fast food restaurant. 🙁
Anyways great recipe. Thanks
I agree about the frying; that’s why I wait until the weather is nice before I fry anything so I can keep all the windows open. 🙂 I haven’t tested these in the oven and I think it might have to be a different dough for that. Has anyone else tried baking these?
oooohhh… I kind of had an epiphany. So I was trying to see if there are smaller electric griddles because my kitchen is really, really, really teeny and then I thought.. “mhmmm. if i can fry eggs and bacon and pancakes and a lot of other stuff on this thing why not chebureki????” I think I’m going to try it out and hopefully it will work because it would make making chebureki so much more easy and convenient!!!”
Let me know how it goes!! I’m very curious.
Omg i can’t wait to make them!!! I love chebureki…when i went back home to russia i had them i miss russian food so I’m glad for your blog! When i want something russian i always use your site.
I hope they remind of home with every bite. 🙂 Thanks Vika. I’m so glad my blog is a useful resource for you!
Klassnaja ideja! Obezatelno poprobuju!
I hope you love it! It’s just so easy! 🙂
Hi Natasha, Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just made mine but used a different filling. See if you will like this version. I’ve used “Mission” Carb Balance Flour Tortillas with 6g. net carbs. Inside: Broiled Salmon, sautéed onions, mushrooms, peppers and Cheddar cheese). http://www.pinterest.com/pin/574349758699872170/
Oohh with salmon, that sounds wonderful. I’m bummed though that we finished our leftover salmon yesterday! 😐 I haven’t triedthe carb balance ones. Are they as tasty as the regular ones? Were they raw tortillas?
Natasha, I finally tried your (Lena’s) filling and it was GREAT! Sounds too simple to be true, but it hit the spot. Better than storebought chebureki any day. All I did for the filling was ground beef+pork, salt and pepper, milk, and green onion. I did add some jalapeno peppers the first time for my spicy-loving husband. Delicious! Now I just need to experiment with the right “shell.” So far I have tried thin lavash, with the filling pre-cooked. I was thinking of maybe making a homemade tortilla dough.
I bet a homemade tortilla dough would work well. It would probably taste even better than the store-bought ones, but the pre-made ones are so tempting because they are super easy!
Hi Natasha! I was born in Moscow and moved to the US with my parents when I was 9. I’m currently living in Brussels with my husband and all your recipes make me super happy to make because they really remind me of home and my parents back in the US. Love your website! I first found it when I needed to make pelmeni for an american friend pregnant with twins! She loved them!
Is it possible to do the chebureki without tortilla? I’m gluten intolerant so try to make most of the stuff from scratch with all purpose gluten free flour, which generally works amazingly well. You think I could make pelmeni dough for this, or something similar and then continue with the recipe?
Thanks!!
I’m not sure if the same dough would work as for pelmeni. Anyone else know the answer to that one?
I haven’t made pelmeni dough, but what about just tortilla dough, since storebought tortilla dough works well? That’s what I am going to try next. The recipe on this site just calls for flour and water, so you could probably use different kinds of flour: http://gotovim-doma.ru/view.php?r=391-recept-CHebureki-s-miasom
Do you mean a store-bought tortilla dough that you have to roll out?
My sister-in-law and I made these last night for our families (team effort here) and they were a HIT! The idea of using two skillets was also simple and blilliant! Thank you so much for this easy recipe to deliciousness 🙂
Awesome, I love to hear a good report :D.
I’m so bad with dough and that’s why I can never make some of our ultimate fav russian foods! Now with raw tortilla tip I can surprise my family with chebureky 😉
Yes! And it’s so much easier! 🙂
Flour tortillas — thank you so much for sharing this great idea! Thank you for this website! I was trying to find a new version for plov and found your beef plov first, I have printed out 27 other recipes already and I am not done yet… Thank you again! (I used spring roll wraps, large size, for chebyreki and people loved it too)
27?! Wow!! Sounds like you have a fun week planned 🙂
Dear natasha.thank you for your great recipe.I made these for today breakfast.it was so good.we never eat beef or pork.I used chicken and cheese.here in maldives we cant find flour tortillas.only can buy Indian paratas.so instead of buying them I used homemade flour tortillas.I liked them.no presevatives no chemicals.here’s the recipe…I think its realy helpful for who cant find row tortillas from market.LOVE YOUR BLOG.
2 cups all-purpose flour more for dusting
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs olive oil or canola oil or butter
1/2 cups luke warm water or milk(some times you need little bit more)
1 tsp salt
In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder,salt .add oil and mix well.then add water or milk and kneed the dough 2-3 minutes.cover the dough with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and keep 20 minutes.then divide dough in to 8 portion .on a floured surface roll the ball of dough in to tortilla using rolling pin.roll it nice and thin. then you can use for chebuki or make as reguler tortillas. this tortilla can freaze beautifuly up to 1 week in a ziplock bag.
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Hello ladies,
Please help!!! I absolutely can not find any uncooked tortillas in the NYC area. Is there anything I else I can use instead of the uncooked tortillas? Would much appreciate anyone’s ideas.
Thanks a lot.
Have you checked Costco or Walmart?
Not only those too but also all supermarket chains in the area as well as a ton of the small mom and pop shops! I even emailed the head of northeastern distribution at Costoc. He said that there was not enough demand to justify Costco shelf space.
Oh man!! 🙁 That’s surprising that they don’t have them in such a populated area… Anyone else have any ideas???
Thank you, dear Natasha, for the wonderful recipe. I , too, could not find raw tortillas ( in Texas, can you imagine? Maybe I did not look hard enough). I just used ordinary tortillas and all beef . Delicious !!!😊❤️
Great to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! I hope you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for next time.
Amazing recipe! Made these couple days ago and now they are all gone! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Would it be okay to substitute the meat with chicken and turkey or would that alter the flavor entirely?
You definitely could to make it healthier. 🙂
Best Chebureki:) Best website. My family love everything. Natasha thank you so much. God Bless your Family.
You are so sweet Inna, thank you for such a good report :).
First Russian food ive made! fed 9 people and everybody loved it!!
super easy to make, too
thankyou soo much for this recipe!
You are welcome Rahil’, I hope that you will find some more favorites :).
I just made these this morning and they turned out very nicely! Although, I bought the meat already grounded. I made the dough myself before and it actually tasted better with the tortillas!!!! They are the perfect width! We enjoyed these while in Kazakhstan so I am very happy to have found a wuicker method to make them!!!! Thank-you! I have been enjoying all the recipes on your site:-)
Thank you for such a good report, I’m glad you like them :).
Natasha, thank you for posting this recipe! i made it a few times and my family absolutely loved it. Chebureki come out just like the once you find at a local uzbek restaurant. the idea of using tortillas is ingenious to cut down on cooking time. thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you like them Nelli, thank you for your thoughtful comment :).
hello Natasha,
just as my family developed great affinity for the cheburekis, Costco stopped selling them on the East Coast. Try as it might I could not find any other place that would sell uncooked tortillas. if anyone has any suggestions of where else i can get them or what else could be used to make cheburekis without making the dough myself, i would greatly appreciate them!
Our Walmart sells them also. I hope you find them!!
You
are a genius, using tortillas!
All credit goes to my cousin Lena, but thank you 🙂
would it taste as good, if i use parsley instead of cilantro?
Yes, parsley would be great substitute :).
yes they are. Guess ill experiment it. 🙁
I accidently bought the corn tortilla. Do you think that’s still good? 🙁
I haven’t experimented with corn tortillas before, are they raw?
I made this tonight and it was yummy!
I forgot the salt/pepper and the milk (whoops!) and I used ground turkey (it’s what I had on hand) and regular tortilla’s (not raw, I couldn’t find them at Super Target or my local grocery store, I’ll check one of the other local stores for next time) and I had a little trouble keeping them closed, at the edges, but not too bad.
The whole family liked them (myself, my husband, our 6 year old and our 18 month old!) They actually reminded us of Won Ton’s (I don’t make Won Ton’s with cream cheese, instead I use a meat combo similar to this.) I dipped mine in sweet and sour sauce because I’m a sauce fan, but the rest of the family ate them plain. I also made a “special” one and added a small layer of stewed tomatoes from a can, they were good as well!
Great, I’m glad you like it Caroline :).
Natasha, is it really just 1 tsp of salt, may be 1table spoon??? I cooked 1/2 of the batch and used almost 1tsp. It is GREAT!!! LOVE IT!!! You need to seal it very tight or you’ll end up with an oil fountain (like someone mentioned), it is very juicy.
I only used 1 tsp, but I’ve been trying to decrease salt in my diet so I’ve gotten used to things being less salty. Did you like it better with 1 Tbsp?
Hey Natasha, can i use chicken insead of beef? Im just not a really beef person.
Yes you definitely can 🙂
Hello again. So I decided to improvise and use the tortillas that looked like they weren’t cooked all the way and it still tuned out amazing. My husband ate 3 of them and mom and sister stopped by on the way home from work and took a couple home. I love cooking and I have made CHEBUREKI before and they were never as good. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes.
You are welcome Olia, thank your for your sweet comments :).
Hi Natasha. I love your website, I have already made few dishes and loved them. Just like we used to make them back in Ukraine with my grandma! I live in Canada now and I have a terrible time finding raw tortillas. It is a small community and non of the stores have them. 🙂
Natasha, kak dela?
This looks very eazy to make, however where can I find an uncooked tortillas? and I see that the meat is raw as well, will it cook in 3 min inside the tortillas? will it be safe to eat ?
It does cook through perfectly because it’s 3 minutes per side. Also, you can find the raw tortillas at Winco, Walmart and Costco. 🙂
thank you so much for having this recipe! i saw someone post a pic of chebureki on fb and was craving them ever since ( i’m preggo). i never made them before so i checked out your website for the recipe and walla just like everything else you had the recipe. so i ran to the store to get the things but could not find the “uncooked” tortillas and finally i found a store with raw dough that kind of looked like tortillas and bought GOYA brand dough. they turned out great and my hubby loved them as well. but i think i need to find a different store that sells the actual uncooked tortillas. the dough that i bought might have been a little too hard : ( but they still satisfied my craving and can’t wait to try more of your recipes : ) Thank you so much!!!!!
Definitely give it a shot with the raw tortillas; they are so good! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe!
These were a hit for New Year’s Eve Russian style. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. The raw tortillas are a huge timesaver. My kids loved them too. Happy 2013!
Thanks Krista! Sounds like a fun New Year’s eve menu! 🙂
These are amazing, thanks for the recipe
You are welcome 🙂
These are the best I made them today:) Thank you Natasha:)
You’re welcome. So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Natasha, I am so excited to see this recipe on your blog. I still have memories of my mom frying chebureki when I was little. I live in London and Mexican food is not too huge here so unfortunately no uncooked tortillas to be found. Anything else I could substitute them with?
I haven’t really experimented with a dough for these since he uncooked tortillas are so easy! I’ll be on the lookout for something for you and will share it if I find a recipe.
Natasha, I looove chebureki, but I ‘m not a meat eater since last year. If I will mix greens or something else except meat, would it work? Thank you!
I never tried chebureki without meat so can’t really suggest alternatives, but they still should taste really good with mix greens. Let me know how they will turn out 🙂
I used braised cabbage and it was good, like pirogok, but with meat it would be better.
Thank you for posting this recipe! My mother and I made these for dinner tonight and everyone liked them, minus two little toddlers. 🙂 I made your Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad to go along with this dish, and it was also really good! The only difficult part in cooking the Chebureki was figuring out the right heat setting, everything else was easy!
Thanks, again! 🙂
Elizabeth
I’m glad that you enjoyed the recipes. I have found that heavy bottomed skilled is the best one for distributing the heat evenly 🙂
These are great!!
I visited the Cave city near Sevastopol and helped a Babushka carry her baskets to the top of the range. I am mid 30’s very fit and healthy and I had the same weight as her and I could not keep up!! Amazing! At the top I bought some of these off her and between the Chebureki and the Kvas she had, I ate and drank too far too much and had to have a sleep in the warm sun before I could walk back down… 😀
Sounds like quite an adventure! Thanks for sharing that story. It makes me think of my own grandparents (who are now in Heaven). Their generation astounds me. Their work ethic is just incredible!
I made these yesterday and they were gone before I finished frying them. 🙂 Everyone loved them! They were so very good! 🙂 The only difference is I omitted cilantro, as nobode in my house cares for it and since I couldn’t find raw tortillas, I used regular fajita style ones. I wasn’t able to seal the edges but chebureki still did not fall apart and retained their perfect shape and were super crunchy! I suspect there was no difference in taste using those. Natasha, where do buy raw tortillas? Just wondering. And Thank You for another wonderful recipe that is a definite keeper! 🙂
I wasn’t sure about this recipe cause the amount of cilantro and parsely
that had to be used but I made it any way cause I already had in hand ground beef ,chicken and tortilla. This recipe blew my mind how good this tastes, the onions, cilantro, and parsely tastes amazing in this. My husband is American and he LOVED it. I did ground up one pound of chicken breast and my husband requested that I add cheese and that was really good too.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I can’t wait to make it again.
I didn’t think it could get any more flavorful but chicken and cheese sound great! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe 😉
I prepared these yesterday. Taste delicious. But I would have to admit that they would have tasted better if I used beef and pork instead of chicken and turkey. Turned out kinnda dry. But next time I will definitely use the kind of meat that you used, Natasha . Thank you for posting 🙂
It’s good to know that chicken and turkey don’t work very well for this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
I don’t eat pork, what can I use instead?
You can try beef and turkey or beef and chicken. It may be a little dry compared to the pork, but it should still taste great!
Hi Natasha
So I got mission flour tortillas n they r not raw I cannot use those right? I didn’t know where to look for raw ones ;-(
Is it gonna work or no chance at all w cooked ones??Thank you
Ive heard from a couple of my readers that it doesn’t work because they burn too quickly. They are sold in winco, Walmart and Costco
Found the uncooked tortillas at Costco and am delighted to have made these. They were delicious! I made 15 and had leftovers…they reheated very well in the toaster oven….crispy and yummy!
love the picture with the little boys hands on them things. so cute!
i love ALL of your recipes on here! God bless u dearly! 🙂 Keep it up!
Thank you 🙂 he’s Mama’s little helper.
The chebureki turned out quite well. They were indeed very juicy! We really enjoyed them. I like the burst of color that the greens (parsley, cilantro, and green onions) gave to the filling.
I agree about the juicy part. First time I made them, I had some juice on the floor with the first bite!
Thanks, I will try those recipes 🙂
Yes, I am looking for a recipe for russian pancakes made with buckwheat flour and yeast. These pancakes are usually fried into a bite sized pancake and topped with sour cream & caviar. Do you have a recipe for this?
Are you talking about these, or these with apple in the batter, or might you be referring to nalesniki (crepes)?
Thanks I look forward to your homemade dough recipe.
Will you be posting a recipe soon for Blini? 🙂
What do you mean by blini. I might call them something differ and probably already posted them. Do you mean pancakes?
Hi Natasha,
I am unable to buy raw tortillas or egg roll wraps where I live, are you able to provide a recipe for the dough for the Cherubeki? Please!! I really love your food blog & recipes 🙂
I don’t have anything currently for a homemade dough. But I will let you know if I find a good recipe 🙂
Thanks for the amazing recipes! I’ve never made chebureki before, but I’m excited to taste how they’ll turn out 🙂 We’re making them right now. Thanks for the awesome detailed instuctions and the photos! Even though I’ve been cooking for many years, it still makes things easier to see pictures of the process so you know you’re “on the right track”. Thanks Natasha! God bless you. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Hope. let me know how you like them 🙂
Sorry, for so many posts, egg roll wraps work great, my mom uses them all the time for chebureki. Corn tortillas break easily, well mine did, so I gave up.
Thank you for your quick answer Natasha, I love all of your recipies, keep up the good work. God Bless.
I sent you a question about using corn tortillas, you can ignore it now – you can’t, I just tried and it didn’t work. So I am using Eggroll Wraps today, and will continue my search for proper tortillas.
Did they burn too quickly? Let me know how the eggroll wraps work out.
Can I use corn tortillas? I live in Totonto area, and cannot find raw flour tortillas anywhere 🙁
Are they raw cor tortillas? I can’t really recommend them without trying it first but you need something that won’t burn too quickly since the meat needs some time to finish cooking. You can fold the corn tortilla in half and try saute just the tortilla on both sides for the specified amount of time and see if it will burn or not. Sorry, I’m not much help 🙁
Dear Natasha!
Spasibo bol’shoe za zamichatel’nie rezhepti!!! I made this recipe and they were off the hook. I had one problem though when I used water to seal the tortillas. When I fried them, the oil splashed everywhere because of the water that i used to seal. Did you have any problems and how did you control it? Thanks again.
Try to keep the water on the inside. It might help to put the tortilla over a papertowel and then brush the edges with water, so any excess will be absorbed by the paper towel underneath. It only squirted when there was water on the outside. And, make sure your seal is tight (press with the fork on both sides).
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Oh also, I froze a bunch of them (uncooked) for later use 🙂
I haven’t tried that but it does sound like a good idea!
Hi Natasha! I ran into your blog today, and I had to go purchase all the ingredients and I just finished making these. These are amazingly yummy! Just like what I used have in my universitet’s cafeteria in Moscow 🙂
Also I used the whole wheat uncooked tortillas by Tortilla land and the only place I could find them in california bay area was Costco (I went to safeway, lucky, whole foods, and no luck there).
I wonder if the whole wheat ones might be at our Costco as well; I’ll have to check. I only remember the plain tortillas. Sonya, thank you for sharing and I’m so glad you liked the recipe and it brought back memories for you! 🙂
I just bought uncooked tortillas in Lucky’s BA , CA. Now I need meat grinder :))
These look delicious! My mom made cheburecki just like this (with the tortilla’s) when I was a little girl. This brings back really good memories. You always take amazing pictures – so mouthwatering!
Thanks Olga! I love all the Russian and Ukrainian blogs; together we are changing the way our people cook and share recipes 🙂
My mom makes these with chicken–beef & pork sounds yummy too. I need to stop browsing and go to bed–I’m getting hungry :).
I made these this week so easy and so so so good:-)
my sister also made them and froze some, few days
later she fried them and they also tasted great she said!
Thanks Natasha love your recipes:-)
Cool! I didn’t know they could be frozen! Thanks for sharing.
I have question, I have some frozen in the freezer right now and Im wondering before I cook them should I defrost or cook them frozen. Thanks!
I would cook them frozen but on the lower heat, giving them enough time to cook through.
Question! Do you know other stores except Winco that sells raw tortillas? Because our local Winco doesn’t sell them anymore ((
Walmart and Costco sell them. Costco has jumbo packages.
Mmmm these look so good! I will be making some today from Chicken, and some veggie ones for my dad. I love how you post pictures with your instructions, they really help out a lot! :))
Keep the recipes coming! 🙂
Thanks Luba! It sure takes more time, but I’m glad the photo tutorial is helpful to you! 🙂
Made them last weekend and even our American friends loved them… Easy to make because of already made tortillas but don’t try to make them with cooked tortillas – they burn and dry too fast… I did too grind my own meat so they turned out delicious!
Anna – good to know! I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Just made chebureki this weekend, very delicious! Love it. I have never thought of using uncooked tartillas before. Thanks a lot for your blog and step by step recipes with great pictures.
Do you have any yummy chicken chibureki recepies?
I haven’t tried chicken chebureki. But it sounds like a nice experiment.
Oh wow, I will have to try these! My husband likes chebureki but I hate buying them in the frozen section, you never know what they put in there!
It’s funny to see Russians making these in the U.S. because I was really missing Mexican food when I moved to Russia, and came up with a similar recipe for making Mexican chimichangas. I didn’t know about chebureki. 🙂 I agree that the flavors are a bit different, though, and no cheese like in quesadillas.
Tortillas are pretty expensive here, so I’ll have to decide if I will use them or buy something cheaper like lavash.
How much oil did you use? Could they be baked?
I haven’t tried baking them. I didn’t measure the exact amount of oil since I was adding a little between batches. I just made sure the oil covered the bottom of the pan, otherwise it won’t cook evenly.
Natasha,
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! I made them for dinner last week and my husband LOVED them! =) I also added the clear thin Chinese noodles to the meat mixture and they were amazing! Thank you again and Happy New Year! Looking forward to many more amazing recipes for this year! =) Blessings!
Oooh, yumm; an Asian twist. That does sound good! I’m glad you liked the recipe. My cousin Lena is a genius! 🙂
These were so good i enjoyed them lots!
Natasha!
I really like your blog! I do a lot of Russian recipes as well! I came across this in searching for the perfect recipe for cheboureki…this may be the one that I end up making for Stariey Nove God next week!
I will be visiting!
HI Mila! I’m looking forward to checking our your site as well 🙂
Looks delish! Thanx 4 posting ur awesome!!!
This is a great recipe and a time-saver! We used to make them with our own dough (which took forever and was a lot of work) but raw tortillas is an awesome idea! I shall try these soon!
Thanks!
Do these taste like mexican quesidilas? or more russian?
They are nothing like quesadillas. They taste pretty authentic and the guys at the construction kept telling me that these were “real chebureki”
Our youth at church sells these for fundraisers 🙂
Yours look so yummy!
Will try making my own :))
That sounds like a good idea; I know Russian and Ukrainian people cannot resist chebureki!! I know I would buy some 🙂
Thanks 4 ur recipes! My german hubby enjoys em!
You are very welcome!
Delish!
Looks good as always!
Why thank you 🙂
Cant wait to make this mouthwatering reipe!:)
Wow i can finally make these without any hesitation your directions and pictures make full sence thanks girl!
Wow these sure look delicous! I was reaaly waiting for this post and so happy to start new years with a start of chebureki! Yum Yum!!!
wow cant wait to make these thanks 4 the post your just super awesome!!! What state do you live in? me washington.
Idaho (the land of potatoes… and super awesome people apparently 🙂 Thanks Evelyn!
These look so easy and so yummy! I love easy, meaty, hearty recipes like this one! I wanted to ask where you bought your raw tortillas? Would they be in the freezer section?
Refrigerator section at Walmart and winco (both stores have them near the cream cheese) I’m pretty sure I remember seeing a big pack at Costco too.