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Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes (Draniki)

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

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These are classic old world classic potato pancakes well loved by Slavic people. We call them draniki or deruny and they are super yummy for breakfast, lunch or even dinner. These potato pancakes are made by grating raw potatoes into the batter – weird but so good! They are a favorite in our house.

This is my Mom’s recipe and the pancakes are amazing as is but this time we added a tasty meat filling (inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Olga). The filling takes these classic potato pancakes over the top. You can get creative and sub pretty much any ground meat  for the filling; beef, chicken, turkey,..

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Watch How to Make Stuffed Potato Pancakes – Draniki:

Ingredients for Stuffed Potato Pancakes (Draniki):

1 1/2 lbs (5 medium) potatoes (we used yukon gold), peeled
1 medium onion, peeled and divided (use 3/4 for potatoes and 1/4 for meat filling)
1 large egg
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or taste
Cooking oil (we use extra light olive oil)

1/2 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp reserved grated onion (see above)
1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper, or to taste

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

How to Make Stuffed Potato Pancakes (Draniki)

1. Into a large bowl, grate potatoes on the star grater. It should be the consistency of applesauce. Use a spoon to skim off 1 Tbsp excess potato water that floats to the top.

Note: If grating by hand, protect your fingers and use safety gloves like these. Grating is the most annoying step so once you get through it, you’re golden! We’ve made these by dicing potatoes and blending in our blender or using a good food processor like this one and they tasted great, but the texture was not as authentic as grating by hand.

Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes-2 

2. Grate onion into the same bowl (reserving 1 Tbsp grated onion for the meat mixture). The onion will keep potatoes from browning.

Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes-3

3. Add 1 egg, 3 Tbsp flour, 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper and stir well.

Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes-9

4. Mix together ground pork, 1 Tbsp reserved grated onion, 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper to taste. Form into 16 skinny patties and place them on a clean surface (I put them on a cutting board lined with plastic wrap).

Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes-10

5. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 2-3 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add 1 Tbsp of the mixture at a time into the skillet, flattening it out. Top with a thin meat patty and cover the meat with another Tablespoon of potato batter. Saute until potatoes are golden brown then flip and continue sautéing until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 min per side). Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate and server warm with sour cream.

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Tip: if liquid starts to rise to the top of the potato batter, give it a quick stir – this will prevent excessive splatter when the batter goes into the skillet.

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Meat Stuffed Potato Pancakes (Draniki)

4.97 from 27 votes
Author: Natasha Kravchuk
These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
These are classic old world classic potato pancakes. They are made by grating raw potatoes into the batter - weird but so good! You can get creative and sub pretty much any ground meat.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 16 stuffed pancakes
  • 1 1/2 lbs 5 medium potatoes (we used yukon gold), peeled
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and divided (use 3/4 for potatoes and 1/4 for meat filling)
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper, or taste
  • Cooking oil, we use light olive oil
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 Tbsp reserved grated onion, see above
  • 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

  • Into a large bowl, grate potatoes on the star grater*. It should be the consistency of applesauce. Use a spoon to skim off any excess potato liquid that floats to the top. Note: If grating by hand, protect your fingers and use safety gloves.
  • Grate onion into the same bowl (reserving 1 Tbsp grated onion for meat mixture). Onion keeps potatoes from browning.
  • Add 1 egg, 3 Tbsp flour, 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper and stir well.
  • Mix together ground pork, 1 Tbsp reserved grated onion, 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper to taste. Form into 16 skinny patties and place them on a clean surface.
  • Heat large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 2-3 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add 1 Tbsp of potato mixture at a time into the skillet, flattening it out. Top with a thin meat patty and cover the meat with another Tablespoon of potato batter. Saute until potatoes are golden brown then flip and continue sautéing until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 min per side). Repeat with remaining batter**, adding more oil as needed. Remove to paper-towel lined plate and serve with sour cream.

Notes

*Shortcut: dice potatoes and puree in a blender or food processor - tastes great but the texture is not as authentic as grating by hand.
**If liquid starts to rise to the top of the potato batter between cooking batches, stir it to prevent splatter while cooking.
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine: Russian
Keyword: Stuffed Potato Pancakes
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $$
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

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These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

These are classic old world potato pancakes with a surprise inside! Mom always made these draniki growing up. Yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

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4.97 from 27 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  • Sviatlana Tsiaseika
    December 10, 2020

    Delicious! Thank you Natasha! However, draniki with meat are called “kolduny” 😉

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 10, 2020

      You’re welcome. Thanks for the info and note!

      Reply

  • Julia
    November 5, 2020

    Hello! I would like to use a food processor instead of grating. Would this recipe still work, or is the texture of shredded potatoes in a food processor completely different than what this recipe requires? (I imagine using the star grater results in MUCH more water than a food processor)

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 5, 2020

      Hi Julia, I totally forgot about the food processor! I wrote about the blender but forgot about my trusty food processor! I bet that would work!

      Reply

  • Barak
    September 8, 2020

    Absolutely incredible. I’ve used this recipe several times (because it’s that good, and everyone who I’ve served it to has agreed) and serve with the sour cream and chives in the picture, as well as fresh dill.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      September 8, 2020

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Barak! Thank you for the wonderful review!

      Reply

  • Olenka
    August 24, 2020

    Hi Natasha – made these and they were a hit! I used russet potatoes which worked well. My only concern was that the batter seemed to be quite watery and the deruny turned out more gummy. Still tasted good, but wondering if the texture should be more firm and how to do that? Thanks

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 25, 2020

      Hi Olenka, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I’m curious, was anything altered in the recipe by chance? It’s hard to say without being there but I’m happy to troubleshoot.

      Reply

    • Anna Prodayevich
      January 17, 2024

      My moms recipe is to drain the potatoes in a cheesecloth after draining. This makes the pancakes quite crunchy and you can actually see the potato stick singles when they’re fried.

      Reply

    • Anna Prodayevich
      January 17, 2024

      My moms recipe is to drain the potatoes in a cheesecloth after shredding. This makes the pancakes quite crunchy and you can actually see the potato stick singles when they’re fried.

      Reply

  • Kathy
    August 24, 2020

    Everyone loved them! Thank you!!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 25, 2020

      Thank you so much, Kathy. That is so awesome!

      Reply

  • Nancy
    August 23, 2020

    Can you use Russet Potatoes instead of Yukon Gold, as this is what I have in my pantry at the moment?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      August 24, 2020

      Hi Nancy, yes that will work. We have used them when russets are what we have on hand.

      Reply

  • Anna
    April 24, 2019

    Hi Natasha, do you think I could use ground beef for the recipe?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      April 24, 2019

      Hi Anna, you can substitute for pretty much any ground meat, just don’t use the leanest meat.

      Reply

  • Jeannie Bogan
    November 14, 2018

    I’m going to make these as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. Can I make ahead and freeze? I would quickly place under broiler to reheat. They sound really good. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 14, 2018

      Hi Jeannie! I imagine it can be done but I have not frozen these before. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!

      Reply

      • Luiza
        November 14, 2018

        I frozen them before and microwaved one a time when needed.

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          November 14, 2018

          Thank you Luiza!

          Reply

  • Sara
    November 12, 2018

    Scrumtous ! Delicious !
    *Thank you*

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 12, 2018

      You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!

      Reply

  • Jeannie Bogan
    October 30, 2018

    Natasha, these sound great and I am going to make them for an appetizer but I am going to use ground chicken. I’m a little concerned the chicken will cook in just around 4 mins inside. Is that enough time?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 30, 2018

      They cooked through just fine for us. You can always run a test run and check the meat temperature.

      Reply

  • Luiza
    September 8, 2018

    I’m originally from Belarus and draniki is our traditional food. I never made it until today, normally my mom makes them as a holiday treat. Since i’m doing Whole30 diet I omitted sour cream and used almond flour instead of regular. It turned out amazing. My oldest daughter said: Mom they are more delicious then babyshka’s.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      September 8, 2018

      Wow! Thats so great! I’m so happy this worked out of your diet! Isn’t it great when kiddos love that we moms make for them?

      Reply

  • Jennifer
    January 26, 2018

    The recipe worked perfectly! It wasn’t amazing! Almost like a dumpling, almost. We used turkey (the thigh) instead of pork and it worked perfectly, we just added a bit of flour to the meat mixture to thicken it a little bit so that we could add it to the patties and WOW this was a treat! If you’re in one of those moods when you know you’re hungry for something but you’re not sure what, try this. It’s super super easy to make And the recipe actually works and creates tasty results. We made this for dinner, made to many, reused the leftovers for breakfast with an egg on top, AMAZING!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 27, 2018

      Awesome, I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!

      Reply

  • Boris
    September 28, 2017

    Blin is this good!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 29, 2017

      I’m so glad you like the recipe! 🙂 Thanks Boris!

      Reply

  • Elena
    June 30, 2017

    I used the potatoes by suggested weight (slightly more), and there wasn’t nearly enough mixture to yield 16 – just barely managed 12. Consider increasing your potato amounts so things balance out better.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 30, 2017

      Hi Elena, it depends on how large you form the patties. There can be more or less depending on their size.

      Reply

  • Angie
    April 9, 2017

    Yum! We made this for the first time today and will definitely be making it again.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 9, 2017

      Angie, I’m so glad you liked them, thanks for sharing 😀

      Reply

  • Linda Schmidt
    March 19, 2017

    Hi Natasha,
    I love your posts, I too am Ukrainian & love the good food
    You have some really awesome recipes that bring back fond memories.
    Keep up the good work, I wish we could get a couple every week. I sure look forward to them.
    You have a lovely little family, the kids are adorable, always nice to see the updates on them too. Take care

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 20, 2017

      Thank you so much for the great compliments Linda! I’m happy to hear you’re following 🙂

      Reply

  • Galina
    March 19, 2017

    Hi Natasha, We grew up eating these all the time. I love these but HATE the grating so i never actually attempted these on my own. I have a vitamix and was wondering on what speed and is there a certain order in making the potatoes/onion mixture? Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 20, 2017

      Hi Galina, you can put the potatoes and onions together in a blender and blend until pureed. It’s not the identical texture of the classic pancakes but it’s a close second and they taste just as good 🙂

      Reply

  • Nadia
    March 5, 2017

    Hello Natasha. Can these be made simply without meat filling?

    Reply

  • Tim Clute
    February 10, 2017

    Natasha,
    I love foods from all over the world and I would love to learn more about Ukranian food and how to make it.
    Have a great day,
    Tim

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      February 10, 2017

      I hope you find my blog helpful Tim!!

      Reply

  • Leah
    January 13, 2017

    Can these be made with left over mashed potatoes?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 13, 2017

      Hi Leah, for meat-stuffed mashed potato pancakes, the meat should really be cooked. Here is an example of where I did just that 🙂 I hope that helps!

      Reply

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