Ukrainian Stuffed Buns (Pyrizhky)

For most of the Ukrainians, pyrizhky are a favorite childhood dish that our grandmothers used to treat us with. Just the thought of Ukrainian stuffed buns brings up a lot of memories of grandma and her apron stained with flour. About the sound and smell of frying in a pan. The hot filling that burns your tongue. About cold milk with hot buns. About the summer house, the mowed grass, the crowing of roosters, and bare feet all summer long.

Pyrizhky are a traditional Ukrainian dish. We cook them often, all year round, with different seasonal fillings. We can cook them on a regular day or on a holiday. Furthermore, we often cook pyrizhky when we are going on a picnic or traveling somewhere, because it is nutritious and convenient food.

The pyrizhky recipe is passed down from generation to generation, and each family has its own special and favorite.

One day I asked my Instagram followers what fillings their grandmothers used to make pyrizhky with, and together we collected more than forty (!!!) different fillings. From ordinary mashed potatoes and stewed cabbage to sorrel with sugar, just imagine. So, in addition to the recipe for buns dough, you’ll find here a bunch of ideas for pyrizhky fillings.

Dough for Ukrainian stuffed buns

The dough for pyrizhky is of great importance. It determines the flavor, shelf life, how hard the buns will be the day after cooking, and how well the filling will hold inside.

As I said, we have a lot of recipes for Ukrainian stuffed buns, including dough recipes. The pyrizhky dough can be made with or without yeast, with milk or water, with or without eggs. Also, Ukrainian stuffed buns can be fried in a pan or baked in the oven. It mainly depends on the cooking traditions of each family and each region of Ukraine.

I also have a family recipe for Ukrainian stuffed buns that my grandmother used to make. These are pyrizhky made from dough without eggs and with buttermilk, and we like pan-fried buns because, in my opinion, they are more juicy and tasty. Of course, this is not a healthy dish for every day, but sometimes we can treat ourselves to food from our childhood.

What can I use instead of buttermilk?

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute low-fat unsweetened yogurt or sour cream. Alternatively, you can make homemade buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk (the amount of milk is equal to the amount of buttermilk in the recipe).

Ingredients:

buttermilk
salt
sugar
baking soda
all-purpose flour

1. Mix the buttermilk with sugar and salt.
2. Add ⅔ of the flour and all baking soda.
3. Knead the dough, adding flour as needed. The dough should stop sticking to your hands and be fairly elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave on the table for half an hour.
4. Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces. Form the buns: roll each piece of dough into a 0.2-0.3 mm thick circle, put the filling in the center and pinch the edges of the dough. Place the bun seam side down, press down slightly to make the bun flatter.
5. Fry the buns in a preheated frying pan with vegetable oil for 1–2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Start frying from the side with the seam.
6. Transfer the buns from the pan to a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Ideas for pyrizhky fillings

And now the 40+ pyrizhky fillings that we collected together with my subscribers:

1. Mashed potatoes
2. Mashed potatoes with fried mushrooms
3. Mashed potatoes with stewed meat
4. Mashed potatoes with stewed liver
5. Mashed potatoes + grated cheese
6. Mashed potatoes + lungs and liver
7. Stewed Liver + boiled rice
8. Lungs + liver + heart
9. Liver + mushrooms + sour cream
10. Raw grated potatoes + chopped onions + salt, pepper
11. Stewed cabbage (my favorite)
12. Sauerkraut (sour cabbage)
13. Stewed cabbage with mushrooms
14. Green onion + boiled egg
15. Boiled rice + fresh greens + boiled egg
16. Stewed meat + boiled rice
17. Stewed meat with onion
18. Soft cheese with a mixture of different greens
19. Soft cheese + dill
20. Soft cheese + spinach
21. Cheese (hard or panir/brynza)
22. Hard cheese + mixed greens
23. Hard cheese + spinach
24. Salmon + boiled egg + herbs
25. Stewed meat + onions + pumpkin
26. Apples
27. Apples + cinnamon + walnuts
28. Apples + pears
29. Grated apple + lemon zest + sugar and cornstarch
30. Strawberry
31. Cherry
32. Sweet cherry
33. Mulberry or blueberry
34. Plums
35. Apricots
36. Any jam
37. Cottage cheese + raisins
38. Soft cheese + dried apricots
39. Banana
40. Banana + chocolate
41. Sorrel with sugar 
42. Black and red currants

If you have any questions about this recipe or how to prepare any of these fillings, please feel free to write me in the comment box below.

Enjoy!

What do you think about this Ukrainian stuffed buns recipe? Did you like it? I am happy to share my experience with you and waiting for your feedback!

More recipes for traditional Ukrainian food