Cheese Blintz Recipe (2024)

A Cheese Blintzis one of my favorite breakfasts to enjoy. These thin pancakes are similar to crepes, except for they are stuffed with this incredible filling made with two different types of cheeses sweetened with sugar.

If that sounds as amazing to you as it does to me, I’ve got a few other recipes you’ll love too! Try these Crepes with Raspberry and Strawberry Sauce, this fantastic Nutella Crepe Recipe, and this gorgeous Choux Pastry Buttermilk Crepes. Seriously, you’ve got to pop over and look at that last one at least—it’s stunning!

What is a Blintz?

If you were simply lured here by the yummy photos and have no idea what a blintz is, that’s totally okay!

A blintz is a Russian or Jewish crepe that is very popular in both Russia and Ukraine. Essentially, it’s a crepe with a sweetened farmer’s cheese filling. Because farmer’s cheese (click the link for a simple 2 ingredient recipe) is harder to come by outside of Russia and Ukraine, it is often replaced with ricotta or rinsed cottage cheese. While not the same, it’s a good replacement.

What is the Difference Between a Crepe and a Blintz?

A crepe and a blintz are a variation of very thin pancakes. Crepes have French origin and blintz have a Jewish or Russian origin. Both are thin and, but Blintz is always filled and rolled while crepes can be served with fillings on the side.

Crepes can be filled with a variety of either sweet or savory fillings. Blintz, on the other hand, is almost always filled with sweetened cheese. Crepes are typically cooked once, while blintz is almost always cooked twice, once when the crepe-like pancake is made and the second time fried in butter with the filling.

Cheese Blintz Recipe Filling

As mentioned above, the traditional cheese blintz recipe is made with a cheese filling. This recipe has two different kinds of cheese inside—farmer’s cheese and cream cheese. The cheeses are mixed together with sugar and a bit of vanilla for an airy, creamy cheese blintz recipe filling.

How to Make Cheese Blintz

*For detailed recipe instructions see the recipe card bottom of the post.

If you’ve never made a blintz before, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do it. Like anything, it may take a bit of practice, but the reward is very much worth it!

Ingredients for the Cheese Blintz:

Flour, eggs, milk, and butter are your typical blintz ingredients, salt and sugar are added to enhance the flavor. The only difference in my recipe is that I use hot milk.

Using hot, instead of cold milk speeds up the gluten formation in the batter. Gluten formation is important since it builds a strong network of proteins that prevent the crepe from tearing as you try to flip it or remove it from the pan. So, heating the milk allows you to skip the 30 to 60 minute wait time that is usually needed to strengthen the gluten.

Start with the Blintz batter:

• In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, flour, salt, and sugar until combined and somewhat smooth.
• Add milk in 3 additions, whisking thoroughly after each until you have smooth and runny batter. Run it through a fine-mesh sieve if it still has clumps of flour.
• Add melted butter and whisk again for about 30 seconds to a minute until the butter is well incorporated and doesn’t float to the top.

• Fill a bowl with 1 inch tall sides with the blintz batter.
• Preheat the electric crepe maker (THIS is the one I use) and dip the skillet side into it for a couple of seconds. Invert the back and cook for about a minute or until you’re able to gently peel off the sides of the crepe with a spatula.
• Then, either transfer the crepe with a spatula onto a dining plate, or flip the blintz onto the dinner plate by inverting the crepe maker swiftly over a plate.

If you’d rather use a regular nonstick 8-inch skillet, just preheat it over medium heat, spray with nonstick spray or brush with butter, then pour 1/4 cups of batter and swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Cook until the top is no longer wet. Remove to a plate.

Repeat with the rest of the batter.

How to make the Cheese Blintz Filling:

• Mix the sugar, vanilla and cream cheese until creamy.
• Add the farmer’s cheese or rinsed and thoroughly drained cottage cheese and mix or whip until combined. If the mixture is too dry, add a tablespoon of milk at a time until the mixture is spreadable.

• Flip the stack of crepes brown side up.
• Add a medium ice cream scoop full of cheese blintz filling to the middle of the crepe and spread it around slightly.
• Fold the right and left side of the crepe towards the middle until the ends touch. Then make a couple of folds away from yourself until you have a rolled crepe.
• Add a pat of butter to a skillet and preheat it over medium heat.
  Add the crepes and cook on both sides until slightly browned and crispy and the middle is heated through.

Transfer to a serving platter or serve it right away.

Here are some good topping options: