Russian Crepes with Cheese (Video)
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We’ve been eating crepes for the past 2 weeks for breakfast and I’m pretty sure I’ll never grow tired of them. These Russian crepes with cheese are our favorite breakfast and I love that they can be prepared ahead of time; making it the ideal breakfast dish for company.
I had fun making this video and my husband decided to keep it “uncensored” and include the embarrassing footage; he thought it would be more entertaining. In the end, I hope you are inspired to go on and become a crepe-making ninja.
Watch How To Make Russian Crepes:
In unrelated, but good news: last night was my final night shift; no more flipping back and forth torture and constantly thinking about my sleep schedule. I start the day shift on Monday. I’m so excited to get my normal energy and spunk back. After all, I need that energy to keep up with things like cooking, blogging… and a gazillion other things. The Mr. and I are celebrating my transition to days with our usual (and favorite) salsa; ceviche.
P.S. I have some variations of crepes posted on the blog including: Crepes with Meat and Mushrooms, and Crepes with Cheese and Pineapple . You can find the original recipe by clicking here.
Nalesniki with Cheese and Raisins (Russian Crepes)
Ingredients
For the Crepes 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:
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Put all of the ingredients for the crepes (in the order that they are listed) in a blender and blend until well combined: 1/2 cup lukwarm water, 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, 4 tbsp melted butter (or olive oil), 1 cup flour.
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Melt a dot of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat (2 skillets make the process go faster).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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In a colander, rinse the cottage cheese with cold water and drain well.
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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.
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Using a spatula, spread 2 generous Tbsp of cheese filling on each crepe.
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Sprinkle with about 15 raisins.
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Roll the crepe into a log and cut in half.
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Refrigerate crepes that aren’t being served. It keeps in the fridge for almost one week.
To Serve:
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Melt about 1 Tbsp 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.
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Dust with powered sugar (optional) and serve with sour cream or jam on the side.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha. Thanks for your delicious recipes. Btw, I like your old videos much more than the new ones. You were acting much more sophisticated and simple, more in a Christian kind of way not only my opinion
Made these tonight and they are fire! Thank you for sharing the best recipes!! (I have 5 Natasha’s Kitchen recipes on my meal plan just this week)
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I was wondering if I can heat them up in the oven after rolling them instead of on the skillet, because I want to do 2 batches. Would you happen to know what’s the best temperature and how long to leave in oven?
Hi Anna, you can bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (if they are cold from the fridge, do 45 minutes, if room temp, bake 30 minutes). Generously brush all sides and bottom of a pyrex dish with unsalted butter. Lay down your first layer of crepes and brush generously with melted unsalted butter, brush the top layer with butter. Cover with foil and bake. You should have no more than 2 layers when its done. I still feel the best way is to saute them on a skillet with butter – they cook very fast and turn out perfect
Thank you so much Natasha for posting the Nalesniki with Cottage Cheese and Cream Cheese filling! My mom made these the same way back when I was a kid and never had the recipe. We are Polish and we called them the same, and it was a treat to have them for breakfast. Sometimes she omitted the raisins and put some cinnamon for flavour. Thanks again… now I can pass the recipe on to my children
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
Dear Natasha, I just made these for breakfast this morning. The ease of the crepe recipe was wonderful. Would you share a recipe that is whole wheat/buckwheats as well? Thank you for all your recipes and inspiration!
I’m so glad you loved the crepes! Thank you for the wonderful review and request. If I come up with something great, I will be sure to share it.
Trying to learn making these from a Russian mother is impossible because eyeball is not a quantity I understand. These are my #1 most favorite food ever and this recipe is so delicious and easy. I can now continue the tradition of weekend blinchiki with my kids who love them as much as I do. Thank you!
That is so popular amongst Russian mothers, everything is measured by the eye! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha
I love your presentation. What did you put underneath the crepe
Hi Irene, a little jam should do the trick 🙂
Hello Natasha I would like to say big thank you for this receipe . I tried so many and never was able to make them . But with this receipe I finally was able to make them and hasle free ! Also I would like to mention I use coconut oil instead of butter and they turn out so good ! It’s 1 to 1 so I just used 4 tbs of coconut oil maybe it will help someone if they run out of butter or trying to make this dish a bit healther.
Hello Lily! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
Is there anything that I can substitute for the cottage cheese?
Hi Zena, you might try this Greek yogurt filling instead 🙂
Do you think I can prepare them in advance and freeze them?
Hi Oksana, I do think that would work fine. You might want to put layers of wax or parchment or plastic wrap between layers of cheese crepes so they don’t stick to each other when they thaw.
I love you crepe recipe! So easy and always perfect.
Although I have another question: I’d like to make then tomorrow (Wednesday) for Saturday breakfast. Should put them in the freezer and thaw the night over? Can I also bake them a little? Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you:)
You can fully make them, place them in glass pyrex, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. They stay good at least a week in the fridge.
You are a natural in front of the camera. It would be nice for you to have your own cooking show. Why not submit a video to Food Network or other network.
Love your recipes and videos. : )
You are so nice, seriously!! Thank you so much 🙂
I love you recipe and I love the creeps but I put on my club soda and lemon zest Romania recipes
Wow club soda and lemon zest sound interesting! I’ve never tried that before. Do you omit the water and add club soda instead?
Hi Natasha!
How many days can ahead can I make the crepes without the filling?
They would last 2-3 days pretty well but I would recommend layering them with ceran wrap or parchment or wax paper so they don’t start sticking to each other.
I made these twice already! And my familly loved them:)
Keeping the recepie! Thank you so much😄
I’m so happy you like the recipe! These are definitely our favorite make-ahead breakfast. I could eat them for weeks on end and never get tired of them 🙂 Such a treat!
Hubby made four batches of these for Easter dinner. He definitely impressed the guests! They’re great reheated as leftovers as well.
4 batches – that’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear you all liked the crepes :). Thanks for sharing that with us!
Thanks for recipe, I made them with gluten free flour and it was still amazing. Just needs more flour 1 1/4. taste really good..
Thank you so much for sharing that!! I’ve been curious about whether or not this would work with GF flour! What brand do you use?
Is using regular cottage cheese okay?
Yes 🙂
Made these yesterday. They are delish. I doubled the recipe. I also topped them off with your blueberry cheesecake topping. The only thing I did different is I used half blueberry and half black current. And I finished them off with dollop of sweetened sour cream. Yum Yum.
Oh wow I imagine the black current was delicious over these! Yum!!
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if any of the ingredients have to be at room temperature? After I’m done mixing it, it gets really crystallized. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong? Thanks
Hi Yana, if your water is lukewarm and butter is melted, the other ingredients do not need to be at room temperature. Also, what do you mean by crystalized? Are you seeing flecks of butter? Did you use a blender to mix it?
this is amazing video, video is so much better, definitely not the same as pictures, Love, love, love your videos, keep them coming, I know it’s hard, but i think it’s fun also :-)) I always ended up with messed up nalisniki, I even gave up for a while, but seeing this video it encourages me and planing to make it tomorrow, thank you for all your hard work.
Thank you so much for the video making motivation! My husband is always pushing me to make more videos, but I agree with you; although it is fun, it’s also hard work! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you love the nalesniki. This is our go-to recipe and it’s so easy 🙂
LOVE YOUR COOKING OMG GIRL
Penolape, thank you so much for your sweet comment, have a great New Year! 🙂
Made these today!! Love them!! I’ve made them before with some other recipes and they just weren’t so good but these I will be remaking over and over. Btw, do u have a recopy of how to make tvorog from bad milk?.. Thanks so much for all that you do!!
Thanks Erica! Here is the recipe you’re looking for
I have made this Nalistniki twice this week my family of 7 loved them so much. They ate faster then I cooked them, LOL!
Thank you Natasha so much for an amazing site. God Bless your family!!!
That’s fantastic!! These are definitely a favorite in our home too!
You are really so amazing. I love your blog and your recipes so much. I am not sure if you take the pictures but even the pictures are amazing and so helpful. You are really talented.
Margaret, thank you so much for your sweet words. We both take the photos (my hubby and I) 🙂
Awesome video 😉 Thank you.
You’re so sweet. I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Awesome, will try them tomorrow. I especially loved the mask:))
Ha ha thanks.
Love it! I also love to add Pumpkin Pie Spice as a nice variation for Autumn!
Oh my goodness, yum! Do you add it to the batter?
Natasha, I love your website! Great job
Thank you Vita and welcome to the site :).
I have tried many times to make blinchiki. They were tossed in the garbage before anybody found out I’ve made them.
I’ve followed your recipe and these blinchiki were happy sitting in our tummies =D
Awesome :), I’m glad you like the recipe Vera :).
Natasha,
WOW, The Russian Crepes with cheese are great ! Was fun to make also, and as you mentioned the first one might not turn out looking perfect. So as you suggested, I ate the evidence and while it didn’t look pretty it still tasted great.
I did save back a few Crepes and will fill them with a meat paste as I had some London Broil left over from last nights supper.
This was my first time cooking Crepes and your recipe and video made it easy. Sure would like your permission to add it to my own cooking website, but I always ask first and wouldn’t add it without your permission.
Best Wishes,
Bill (aka)“ArizonaBill”
That would be ok with me as long as you credit the recipe and photos to my site and link back. I also ask that the recipe not be copied word for word since Google will ding you for “duplicate content”. Thanks for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Will follow your instruction, and will for sure give You Credit and a link back to your site. Actually I think I’ve told more people about your site than my little one.
Ended making these again for a friend, they thought I was a master chef. But I did take them online and introduced them to your website and recipe, that way they knew you were the Chef and I was just the cook, lol
Thanks,
Bill
Thank you for spreading the word Bill :).
Made these today and they were DELICIOUS! I followed the instructions exactly (including the blender!) and they turned out perfect. We really enjoyed them, gonna keep this recipe for sure 😉 I used to have trouble flipping crepes but with a new non-stick skillet, by crepe #3 I had it under control. haha. Keep us the hard work, it’s definitely appreciated!
That’s Julia for the inspiration and encouragement 🙂 It really means a lot to me. I love putting my time into this blog for you all and I’m so glad you find it useful.
I use a crepe maker ($20 from bed bath & beyond) to make my crepes and it speeds things up so much!! No need for butter either. It’s so much simpler, cleaner, and easier to use than a skillet!! You should give it a try, I’m sure once you start using a crepe maker you will never go back to a skillet! 🙂
You’re not the first perso to say so; there must be something to it! 🙂
I loved the idea of using a blender! I usually use my KitchenAid mixer for that. Also you actually can skip a spoon and just pour batter from a blender. It’s easier and less clean up 🙂
Crepes were wonderful! Enjoyed making them with my 3 year old!
That’s true but I can never pour the right amount that way so I cheat and use a little ladle. 🙂
Hi Natasha! I am a big fan of nalisniki and I tried so much different recipes. I have my own recipe that I created a while back, but I have to be honest after I tried your recipe its the best I ever tried. The mixture is do smoth and fun to make. I had to make 4 batches for a baby shower and guess what? I had to share the recipe with couple of ladies. They were gone the first thing. I warm them up in the oven for 25 min before serving so we serve them hot. I layer them in a pyrex dish and brush the layers with butter. The best crepes I ever made. Only one thing that I was upset it didn’t work for the crepe maker. I guess because the recipe has butter but its owesome for the skillet. Can’t wait till Saturday to make more!
Thank you so much for sharing great recipes!
Wow, thank you so much for such a great review and for sharing it with your friends. I’m so happy that the recipe was a hit :).
This is the best recipe for nalisniki. Thank you so much!
This is my new favorite cooking blog.
Natasha, you are so beautiful and talented! God bless you and your family!
Thank you for such a sweet comment Maya, I hope that you will find many new favorites :).
Natasha,
Recently I found your blog. Thank you for such amazing and simple receipts! I was wondering what is the brand/where can I buy those scoops for various flour/sugar (solids!) amounts. It is so easy to fill 1 of ur scoops for 1 cup! I have plain basic glass measuring cup that I use for liquid/solids but constantly have to bend to make sure the amount is correct, or raise it up…. Then subtract etc. it’s our utensils look very handy!
I also like your spatulas.
Please advise.
Thank you again
Alla
Welcome to the site Alla :). I’m using Progressive and Trudeau kitchen tools. I have them listed on my shop page.
Some thing is wrong with ur ingredient list. I didn’t see the video, just printed the receipe and 1st thing u say is “put all the ingredients to make crepes (in order they are on list)…. Is it weird that ur crepe recipe calls for cream cheese?
Oh my gosh, you’re right!! I fixed it and yes it is weird to have cottage cheese and cream cheese in the batter!! It’s much clearer now. Thank you so much Tanya for bringing this to my attention.
I’ve been making these 3 weeks in a row now…I can’t get enough. And cranberries are such a great idea 🙂 Wonderful recipe! Natasha thank you so much for your hard work. Love your website.
Thank you so much Lena :). I just had some crepes for breakfast this morning.
Also, I want to share with you guys how to make a Belgian crepes. Probably, many of you know, but any ways… At the middle of a warm crepe put one tea spoon of hot nutella or caramel, spread it on a crepe, add sliced strawberries, rolled up, let it warm a little bit ( spreading staff is hot and we don’t need to give whip to melt) then put nicely whip cream on a top and decorate with few raspberries an blueberries. Also, instead of strawberries you can put blueberries , raspberries or kiwi inside. It looks very fancy and soooo yumi!
That sounds fancy and very tasty! Thanks for sharing!
These nalisniki are so good!!! So Yumi! and supper easy to do! The most I loved an idea to mix everything in a blender. Also, I like to rinse a cottage cheese and adding butter instead of oil what I used to do for more then ten years. Thanks again for the best ever recipe of Russian crepes.
I think you were ahead of your time with the oil. I just discovered it! I tried it with olive oil today and it was great! The results were equally good and it was healthier! 🙂
BTW loved the recipe … and crandberries where a great idea 🙂
Thank you so much Lena! 🙂
I use crepe maker instead a skillet. It’s faster. I bought mine at bed bath and beyond store.
Thanks for the tip; someone else mentioned it too. Maybe I should put it on my wish list 🙂
Yes I did. It freezes well.
I have a few questions. 😀
Could I use a regular hand mixer rather than a blender? or would that splash all over my kitchen?
Also do you think frozen raspberries would work well with farmers cheese inside the crepes?! I just happen to have some in the freezer 😀
Thank you! I look forward to your response.
If you use a deep enough bowl, it shouldn’t splash. You could even whisk it together by hand! 🙂 You might want to thaw the raspberries and then place a few over the top of the cheese just like you would with raisins and roll it. Raspberries sound really good! I’ve tried it with pieces of peaches and pineapple; both had great results!
Hi Natasha! I am new to your site and already tried some of your recipes. I love your Web site. It’s easy to follow the directions . I made crepes with pineapple from your site and I used peaches the second time because i forgot to buy pineapple.was delicious. My 3 year old son loves them. I have a recipe for blini with evaporated milk instead of regular milk. It’s delicious as well. I make a big batch of crepes and freeze half . Whenever I have family or friends over I just pop them in the oven for an hour or more.
That’s so smart to freeze them. I wonder if this recipe freezes well. Have you tried freezing this recipe too?
Natasha, I’ve trying my hand at blinchiki ever since I got married (5yrs ago). I could never get it right. This recipe is amazing. Works EVERY TIME!!! Thank you so much. My hubby loves blinchiki and now when he gets hom ethis weekend I will make some for him 🙂
Music to my ears 😉 that’s awesome!
Those crapes are soo good! Love the video 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I made this today they are delicious!! Thank you for your recipe:)
Awesome; glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Wow, beyond amazing!
Natasha you are bomb! You should do more videos!!!!!!!
Thank you so much fall all your time. God bless you!
bomb huh? lol. Thanks Olga 🙂
Did you say this makes 2 servings?….well, that’s what it came to and now we are ready for a nap! Delicious…bet you can’t eat just ONE! This is so easy and so satisfying. I actually rolled mine like a blintz/eggroll. Slathered with sour cream and dusted with power sugar, we will definitely be eating these again and again. Thank you again and again for sharing your delicious recipes.
I’m glad you like them Zina, you are welcome :).
Mmmmm yum! I just made this recipe and it’s delicious!
I’m glad you like the recipe 🙂
Ok… these are the BEST blinchiki I’ve made! I have tried several recipes from several other Russian websites, but often they seemed to just fall apart when I tried to turn them over. These all turned out beautiful (minus the first one, but hey… pervii blin komom, right?). Thank you for your recipe! I often turn to your website when I want to try something new 🙂
Thank you for such a sweet comment, I’m glad you like the recipe :).
thanks for the great video and recipe, I just wanted to share for the girls that have a hard time flipping the crepes without ripping (meaning me, which by the way took forever for me to learn lol) I started using a rubber spatula to flip even the thinest crepes without ripping!It really helps! Yum now I want some Crepes!
Tanya; thanks for the tip! 🙂
Natasha, great video and recipe! Very professional video! I can tell you put a lot of time and work into it! Good idea on rinsing cottage cheese, never thought of that. I always just drained it but I like rinsing as it washes the sodium away. And the recipe is adapted using local ingredients. Very smart! Also, I have the same green spatula and thin black spatula. Where do you shop?:)
I actually bought the spatula at Ross; it’s an OXO so I’d call it a lucky find :); washing it also ensures that it won’t be too runny or juicy. The green spatula was sent to me to test out by Trudeau and they also sponsored a giveaway for it on my blog recently. I do love my spatula very much too! 😉
You can find some nice things at Ross, that’s true. I usually shop at HomeSense – a Canadian hybrid of American Ross and Marshalls.:) Love Trudeau products! Unfortunately I cut a little piece off of that green spatula by accident but it still works. Good quality stuff.:)
BEAUTIFUL!
I love this recipe. Ive tried it wit pineapple also very delicious. But ive bin mixing the raisins and pineapple chunks in the cream cheese filling, it didnt really mix well. Will have to try to just top it after spreading the cheese. Tanx for the video. Very funny crepe mask. Lol
Haha thanks 😉 and yes it’s definitely easier to sprinkle the raisins over the top 🙂
I love your videos, they’re fun to watch .
Crepes are a big hit in our family as well and I love making them after dinner as a light snack for the kids (never had them for breakfast and I don’t know why…??? lol ) I will be making them for breakfast soon and I love the fact that you can heat them up a bit before serving.
Thanks for posting and sharring this recipe/video with us 🙂
P.s. I have heard of crepes being served for breakfast , stuffed with scrambled eggs…. I think I might try that sometime soon too, sounds delicious 🙂 Have you ever had them ?
I haven’t tried that but it does sound really good and fancy!
Are you serious? Using a blender? That’s easier than assembling the stand mixer that is kept in the cabinet!…
And I also loved the filling idea. I usually make them with cream cheese. 2 packages of cream cheese and one can of raw condensed milk.
Blessings!
🙂
I know, right?! It’s just the touch of a button 🙂 I’ve been making them this way for years!
Have you ever tried to add some vanilla to actual crepes butter
the aroma is amazing! 😉
Oh I love that idea. Thanks Lina!
Great video…. especially loved the presentation of the crepes with the blueberries and the powdered sugar falling like snow…. Beautiful!!!
Thanks Lena 🙂 It was all Vadim (the Mr.:)
Talented Hubby you have 🙂 thats wonderful!!! Blessings to your family!!!!!
Yeah, he’s a keeper 😉 and I’m so proud of him. Blessings to you as well Lena!
Love the video. Thank you so much for all your work 🙂 Looking forward to more great videos.
Thanks Sarah for the encouragement 🙂 Putting videos out there is a hard thing to do; it seems so much more “vulnerable” than posting a picture. It’s like whoa that’s me talking there. It’s kinda strange. But thanks 🙂
Great video:) My husband, daughter, and I love blini 🙂 Will make some soon 🙂
Thanks Oksana 🙂 I’m itching to make another batch too; maybe Monday!
In our house crepes barely make it to the table. Sometimes I gotta make them when the kids are asleep and then they have a yummy surprise in the morning:)
Natasha, have you tried baking stuffed crepes in heavy whipping cream? It’s delicious!
That sounds delicious! How long and at what temp do you bake them?
350F for about 30+ min or untill they are nice golden color. I stuff them with farmers cheese(sweetened with sugar) and roll them like a tuny burrito. Arrange them in one layer in glass Pyrex dish, pour heavy whipping cream so it would cover crepes, sprinkle with sugar.
Oh yumm; thank you! 🙂
We do it the same way! love crepes. Anyway you make them they are just delicious. Nothing can beat this simple but yet such elegant yumm dish :))
One thing that we do different is instead of sugar for the filling, we use condensed milk and some vanilla. yummy:))
I should try your variation next time, can’t go wrong with condensed milk :). What are the amounts that you use?
My mom makes them this way. Yum! My Canadian friends can’t get enough of them.:)
Blini Yum! One of my favorite things to eat!
You have good taste! 😉