This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Nalisniki (налесники), cheese blintzes, cheese crepes, blinchiki. This Russian dish has many names, but whatever it’s called, it has remained one of the most popular dishes with Vadim and I for breakfast, lunch or a late night snack.
There are many ways to make them and a variety of fillings; everything from cheese to fruit and even meat! Make a batch of these and have gourmet breakfasts! They seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, they are fast and easy to make.
Ingredients for crepes:
½ cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted. Plus more to sauté.
1 cup all-purpose flour (you can use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose)
2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch of Salt
Ingredients for cheese filling:
8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
16 oz small curd cottage cheese
1/4 cup sugar
¾ cup raisins
Powdered sugar for serving (optional)
Watch How To Make Crepes:
How to Make Crepes:
1. Put all of the ingredients for the crepes (in the order that they are listed) in a blender and blend until well combined.
2. Melt a dot of butter in 2 non-stick skillets over medium heat. (2 skillets make the process go faster). Pour about 2 to 3 Tablespoons of batter into the skillet. I use a 1-ounce measuring cup. As you are pouring into the skillet, swirl the batter to evenly coat the bottom. If you get any small gaps, you can fill them with more batter.
3. Once the bottom is golden, flip the crepe using a sharp edged spatula to easily get under the crepe. Let the other side get golden and plop the crepe out onto a cutting board.
Repeat with all of the batter, using a dot of butter each time. Don’t stack hot crepes on top of each other. Once they are just warm or room temp, they can be stacked.
Don’t panic, the first crepe in the pan never turns out nice!
How to make Cheese filling and complete Cheese Crepes:
1. In a colander, rinse the cottage cheese with cold water and DRAIN WELL. A cheese cloth also works well. Mash the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar with a potato masher until well combined and creamy. Cottage cheese will still be a little lumpy.
2. Using a spatula, spread 2 generous Tablespoons of cheese filling on each crepe and sprinkle with about 15 raisins.
3. Roll the crepe into a log and cut in half. Refrigerate crepes that aren’t being served. It keeps in the fridge for almost one week.
To Serve Cheese Crepes:
Melt about 1 Tablespoon of butter in a skillet and sauté the rolled cheese crepes on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. They don’t take long to sauté. Be careful not to burn them.
Dust with powered sugar (optional) and serve with sour cream or jam on the side. YUUUMMMM!
Do you put anything unusual in your Nalisniki/ Blinchiki?
Nalesniki with Cheese and Raisins (Russian Crepes)
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted. Plus more to sauté.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, you can use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- Pinch salt
Instructions
How to Make the Crepes:
- Put all of the ingredients for the crepes (in the order that they are listed) 1/2 cup warm water, 1 cup milk, 4 large eggs, 4 Tbsp melted butter, 1 cup flour, 2 Tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt in a blender and blend until well combined.
- Melt a dot of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat (2 skillets make the process go faster).
- As you are pouring into the skillet, swirl the batter to evenly coat the bottom. If you get any small gaps, you can fill them with more batter. Depending on the size of your skillet; add about 2-3 tbsp of batter. I use a small ladle.
- Once the bottom is lightly golden (about a minute or less) flip the crepe using a sharp edged spatula to easily get under the crepe. Let the other side get lightly golden and plop the crepe out onto a cutting board. Repeat with remaining batter; you may not need to dot with butter after the first time if your skillet is a good one (and remember there is butter in the batter). Don’t stack hot crepes on top of each other. Once they are just warm or room temp, they can be stacked. Don’t panic, my first crepe never turns out nice so I wolf it down to conceal the evidence!
How to make cheese filling and complete nalesniki:
- In a colander, rinse the cottage cheese with cold water and drain well. Mash the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar with a potato masher until well combined and creamy. Cottage cheese will still be a little lumpy.
- Using a spatula, spread 2 generous Tablespoons of cheese filling on each crepe and sprinkle with about 10-15 raisins.
- Roll the crepe into a log and cut in half. Refrigerate crepes that aren’t being served. It keeps in the fridge for almost one week.
To Serve:
- Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and sauté the rolled cheese crepes on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. They don't take long to sauté. Be careful not to burn them.
- Dust with powered sugar (optional) and serve with sour cream or jam on the side.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Natasha, thank you for a recipe. It is great! I’m a Ukrainian, who lives in the US. Your recipes help me to cook the way my Mom did. And it is very special. May the Lord bless you in all your projects.
Aw! I’m so happy to hear that, Tanya!
Hi Natasha! Can you freeze these? Thank you!
Hi Tatiana, I haven’t tried freezing them because they usually disappear within a few days (they definitely refrigerate well), but one of my readers, Kathy, shared her advice on freezing these cheese crepes in one of the comments: “freeze them with layers of wax paper between them in Ziplock bags. They freeze so well and defrost beautifully in the fridge for pan frying later on.”
Delicious!
I was skeptical bc the batter came out so runny but it turned out amazing. I added some vanilla as well. Thank you for this recipe!
Ps. Polish people also call these naleśniki.
Amazing recipe!! Super easy to follow and it always turns out wonderful if you follow the directions.
Amazing and just delicious! After I messed up the first crepe and made the rest of them a little thicker, I had 8 beautiful crepes! I really recommend doubling the sugar amount just because I like my crepes sweet. The filling is delicious. Recommend 100%!
I’m so happy you loved these, Iryna! That first crepe is always a dud for some reason! I’m glad the rest worked out well!
Thank you for this recipe the best crepes recipe I’ve tried different recipes and this is the Beat thank you ❤️
I’m so glad to hear that, Elizabeth!
Hi Natasha. My Polish mother-in-law taught me how to make nalesniki. Her family didn’t care for raisins, so she would spread a big tablespoon of applesauce on the crepes, add a mixture of cinnamon & sugar sprinkled on top, then roll them up. That’s how I’ve learned to make and enjoy them… Thanks for your enjoyable videos and great recipes; you’re my go-to resource every time! Bless you & your family.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Michelle! I love that we all have our own versions of these recipes! I hope you try this version soon and love it!
I grew up eating Blintzes. I think we put cottage cheese, an egg, sugar, lemon juice for filling. Made them into a square, sautéed til lightly brown, sprinkle with powdered sugar, top with sour cream & grape jelly. Hadn’t had them in many years, made them a few years ago and all my childhood memories came flooding back. They are SO good! Need to make them more often! I wondered if this is a modified version of yours. Interesting to hear the origin.
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing. There are probably as many variations of these as there are countries in Eastern Europe and beyond. We called them nalesniki.