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This is a variation of my Mom’s classic draniki recipe. Draniki (also known as deruny), are unusual but tasty Russian stuffed potato pancakes made with ground potatoes.
These are stuffed and cooked with a juicy meat patty inside. It is a delicious surprise! This recipe starts with raw potatoes so the texture is nothing like the mashed potato pancakes we posted earlier.
It’s difficult to improve on this classic, but wow these are sure delicious!
Watch How to Make Stuffed Potato Pancakes – Draniki:
These are made on the star grater of a box grater. Be sure to use safety gloves for the process – these gloves (affiliate link) have saved my fingers countless times, especially with mandolin slicing. The potatoes can be diced and pureed in a food processor or blender to speed up the process and they will still be super tasty, but for the most authentic draniki texture, the box grater works best.
One of the things I love most about the Russian and Ukrainian cuisine is the use of basic, inexpensive ingredients to make foods that are truly delicious.
⬇Print-Friendly Recipe for Stuffed Potato Pancakes:
Stuffed Potato Pancakes - Draniki (VIDEO)

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled, (5 to 6 medium potatoes)
- 1 medium onion, peeled
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp sour cream, plus more to serve
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil, (or other cooking oil)
- 1/2 lb ground pork, (or ground chicken or turkey)
- 1/4 tsp salt and pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Into a large bowl, grate all of your peeled potatoes using the star grater side of a box grater (protect your hands with safety gloves!) Use a spoon to skim off and discard any excess liquid at the top (I removed about 1/3 cup).
- In the same bowl, grate the medium onion on the same star-grater side of the box grater (no need to wash the grater). Reserve and set aside 1 Tbsp of the grated onion for your meat mixture.
- Into the potato and onion mix, add 1 large egg, 3 Tbsp flour, 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 lb ground meat, 1/4 tsp salt, pinch of black pepper and reserved 1 Tbsp grated onion. Mix just until well combined. Divide the meat into 16 thin patties, each about 2" wide and set aside.
- Heat a large non-stick pan* over medium heat with 2-3 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add potato mixture 1 Tbsp at a time, flattening out the top with the back of your spoon. Immediately top each pancake with a meat patty and cover each one with another Tablespoon of potato mixture**. Saute 4 minutes per side or until cooked through and golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and serve right away. Repeat with remaining ingredients, adding more oil as needed.
Notes
**If liquid starts to rise to the top of the potato mixture, give it a quick stir to incorporate it back into the batter. I typically stir between each batch.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
These are tasty as is, but we love these best served with sour cream. They are a real treat any time of day!
Did you also grow up eating draniki? Have you tried stuffing them yet?
Great recipe, I love potato pancakes but have never been able to get them to hold together. I had some leftover colcannon and some ham that I diced up and mix that with your proportion of egg, flour and sour cream. Fry them in butter and yay they held together and we’re delicious. Cooked them slowly at medium heat. I now know that I’ll be enjoying potato pancakes more often in the future. Thank you Natasha
Hi Natasha!
These look great, i can’t wait to try them. I just wanted to know if they freeze/reheat well?
Thanks!
Hi Ashley, these pancakes freeze well. I would recommend freezing them on the baking sheet that has been covered with plastic wrap. After pancakes freeze, remove them from the baking pan and store them in freezer-friendly plastic bags.
I couldn’t get mine to cook the potato thoroughly. I removed the excess water at the beginning like you said. I even tried to make them without the meat and they still felt raw inside. One tablespoon for bottom and top and I spread them flat. Any suggestions???
Hi AJ, if the heat is too high, they can brown too quickly without cooking through fully. Also, with these types of potato pancakes, the potato texture is different than mashed potatoes – the key is to make sure the meat center is fully cooked through and at that point, the rest of pancake is done. I do make those patties inside very thin.
Hi Natasha just stared following, all your recipes look amazing.
I’m greek so i cant wait to try this recipe with some tzatziki
I hope you love this recipe Theoni!
Hi, Natasha.
Love your recipes.
Will try to make your Draniki recipe. The only thing Draniki or deruni, a potato pancakes. The meat stuffed potatoes are zrazi.
Looking forward for more appetizers recipes.
Thank you
Eugenia
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha, thank you for sharing and reminding of this delicious recipe. My mom used to cook Draniki a lot, but she used to grate potatoes using the shredding grater (the side with the biggest holes), making them both stuffed with ground meat and plain and serving with plenty of sour cream. This way, dranikis get very crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, can’t tell how good they are 🙂
We love Mr. Bean! *in voice* BEAN! lol
I love that Sarah!
Absolutely delicious!!
Hi Melissa! I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!