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This cheese blintz recipe starts with crêpes that are rolled up with a sweet cheese filling, then pan-fried until crispy and served topped with fresh raspberry sauce. It’s perfect for birthday breakfast, or a holiday or a special-occasion brunch!
Blintzes make a perfect weekend brunch. Imagine this; it’s Saturday morning, you’re slowly waking up to the sunlight streaming in your window and the birds chirping. You get up and brew your coffee (what’s better than the smell of coffee brewing in the morning?). Your stomach starts to growl, leaving you wondering what to eat.
Since it’s a little too late for breakfast (it’s Saturday, you’re entitled to sleep in!) and too early for lunch you decide to have brunch. Luckily, this recipe is easy to make!
What is a Blintz?
Originating from the Ashkenazi Jewish population in Eastern Europe, blintz is a thin, delicate pancake similar to a French crêpe that’s filled, rolled up, and then baked in the oven or pan-fried in a skillet. Traditionally, blintzes contain a sweet cheese filling, frequently with raisins. However, you can also find blintzes with a savory filling.
The word blintz stems from the Yiddish word blintse, which is derived from the Slavic word blin, meaning pancake. (You can read more about this on Wikipedia.)
Instead of a sweet cheese and raisin filling, here we’re making a velvety-smooth cheese filling that tastes like cheesecake, and a quick and easy fresh raspberry topping.
Dairy on Shavuot
Cheese blintzes are a common food for Shavuot, which is a Jewish holiday in late spring that starts on the fiftieth day after the second day of Passover. Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.
It’s customary to eat dairy on this holiday for a variety of reasons. If you’re interested, you can read more about the reasons behind eating dairy on Shavuot on Chabad and My Jewish Learning.
Along with dairy-rich foods like cheesecake and cheesy casseroles, cheese blintz is traditionally served on Shavuot.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Crêpes Ingredients
- Milk – I like to use whole milk for the rich flavor, but you can use any kind of milk you like.
- Water – To thin out the batter to the right consistency.
- Eggs – Make sure they’re at room temperature.
- Flour – Use all-purpose flour.
- Sugar – We use just a little bit of granulated white sugar to sweeten our crêpes.
- Salt – Salt makes sure this dish isn’t bland.
- Unsalted butter – Butter adds delicious rich flavor.
Cheese Filling Ingredients
- Ricotta cheese – We use a blend of ricotta cheese and cream cheese for a filling that tastes like creamy cheesecake. Another option is to use cottage cheese. Just make sure to strain the ricotta or cottage cheese overnight so your filling isn’t too runny. Alternatively, you can omit the ricotta cheese and cream cheese, and instead use 16 ounces of farmers cheese with no need to strain it.
- Cream cheese – Used in combination with ricotta, cream cheese thickens up the filling a little bit and creates a flavor similar to classic cheesecake.
- Egg yolk – This adds richness, but is optional. (If you use farmers cheese instead of ricotta + cream cheese, don’t skip the egg yolk because farmers cheese is quite a bit drier.)
- Unsalted butter – For rich flavor.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor and aroma.
- Almond extract – This is optional, but adds another layer of flavor to the cheese filling.
- Sugar – We use a little sugar to sweeten the filling.
Raspberry Topping Ingredients
- Red raspberries – You can use fresh or frozen raspberries, just thaw them if frozen.
- Sugar – We sweeten the raspberry sauce with a bit of sugar. However, you can use any sugar alternative (or granulated keto sweetener) you like.
- Salt – Salt pulls out the natural sweetness of the berries.
Other Ingredients
- Coconut oil – For cooking the crêpes and then frying (or baking) the blintzes. Instead of coconut oil, you can use vegetable oil, ghee, or regular butter.
Instructions
This recipe is easy to make, just be sure to read through the whole thing before starting because there are several parts to it.
Strain the Ricotta the Night Before
If you’re using ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, you’ll need to strain it. (Another option is to use 16 ounces of farmers cheese – and omit both the ricotta and cream cheeses – so you don’t have to strain it.)
To do so, put the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Cover the ricotta with plastic wrap, place something heavy on top to press the cheese, and then refrigerate overnight.
Make the Crêpe Batter
Add all ingredients to a blender in the order listed and process until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. Chill the batter 20 minutes in the fridge.
Make the Cheese Filling
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Cover the bowl and chill 1 hour in the fridge or 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer. While the cheese filling chills, make the raspberry topping and cook the crêpes.
Make the Fresh Raspberry Sauce Topping
Add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Use a fork to lightly mash the berries and combine everything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cook the Crêpes
Preheat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, brush it with coconut oil or ghee.
Add about 1/4 cup of crêpe batter and immediately swirl the pan so the batter covers the bottom. Cook until the crêpe is set and golden on the bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the crêpe over (either using a spatula or by jerking the pan à la Julia Child) and cook until the second side has light golden brown spots, about 10 to 20 seconds. Use a spatula to remove the crêpe (or just slide it out of the pan) and onto a wire rack or plate to cool.
Continue cooking the batter until all the crêpes are cooked (you should get 12).
Fill Each Crêpe and Roll Into a Blintz
Lay 1 crêpe out on a flat surface. Place about 3 tablespoons (I used 2 scoops of 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop) of chilled cheese filling in a line across the bottom 1/3 of the crêpe, leaving about 1 inch from the sides. Fold the sides over, then fold the bottom 1/3 of the crêpe up over the filling and continue rolling. (They will look like little burritos.)
Continue until all the blintzes are assembled.
Cook the Blintzes
Preheat the same nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, brush the skillet with coconut oil or ghee. Place 3 or 4 blintzes in the pan at a time (seam-side-down), and cook until lightly browned on both sides, flipping once halfway through (about 2 minutes per side).
Storage
You can store cooked cheese blintzes covered in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheating
You can reheat cooked blintzes in a few different ways (if they were frozen, thaw them first):
- Microwave – In 45-second intervals until warm.
- Oven – In a greased baking dish at 350F until warm.
- Stovetop – In a pan with a little butter (or fat of your choice) over medium-low heat until warm.
Make Ahead
Once they’re stuffed but before they’re cooked a second time, you can keep blintzes in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month before frying or baking.
When you want to eat them, you can fry or bake them from frozen. It’s best not to thaw them in this case because the crêpes are more delicate after freezing before they’ve been cooked a second time.
To fry them from frozen, heat a pan over low heat, add the fat of your choice (vegetable oil, coconut oil, ghee, etc.), and add the frozen blintzes. Cook (covered) over low heat until they’re golden outside and the filling is warm, about 10 to 15 minutes, flipping once. Remove the lid and cook them uncovered during the last couple minutes so they crisp nicely.
To bake them from frozen, preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the tops of the frozen blintzes with melted butter. Bake until they’re warm throughout and starting to turn golden on top, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Cook’s Tips
- To make sure your filling isn’t too runny, take the time to strain the ricotta cheese overnight.
- Once the crêpes are filled and rolled into blintzes, you can bake them in the oven instead of pan-frying them on the stovetop. To do so, preheat the oven to 375F and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Line the blintzes in the prepared dish and brush the tops with butter. Bake until the filling is hot, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Cheese Blintz Recipe FAQs
Yes and no. Both blintzes and crêpes can be served sweet or savory, but the difference between them lies in the cooking method.
A blintz starts out as a crêpe. It’s made from a very thin, delicate pancake that’s filled with cheese (or other sweet or savory fillings). After that, it’s cooked again to crisp the outside and heat the filling. On the other hand, crêpes are not cooked a second time.
That depends on the filling! You can top sweet cheese blintzes with fruit sauce (like this raspberry topping), jam, pie filling, applesauce, sour cream, honey, or powdered sugar.
In this recipe, we use a combination of ricotta cheese and cream cheese. The end result tastes like cheesecake, but with a creamier, runnier texture.
Traditionally, the filling has a farmers cheese base, which is firmer. Farmers cheese is usually available near cottage cheese in the regular grocery store. You can also use dry cottage cheese with no need to strain it (or if you can’t find dry cottage cheese, strain regular cottage cheese overnight the same way as ricotta).
If You Like Sweet Cheese Recipes You’ll Love These
- Protein Cheesecake Recipe
- Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese Smoothies (Healthy Raspberry Cheesecake Milkshakes)
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Cheese Blintz Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
Crêpes:
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Cheese Filling:
- 12 ounces ricotta cheese at room temperature (see Notes)
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 5 tablespoons granulated white sugar
Raspberry Topping:
- 3 ounces red raspberries
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
Other:
- Coconut oil or ghee (for the pan)
Instructions
Strain the Ricotta the Night Before:
- Put the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Cover the ricotta with plastic wrap, place something heavy on top to press the cheese, and then refrigerate overnight.
- Another option is to use 16 ounces of farmers cheese (and omit the ricotta and cream cheeses) so you don't have to strain it.
Make the Crêpe Batter:
- Add all ingredients to a blender in the order listed and process until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
- Chill the batter 20 minutes in the fridge.
Make the Cheese Filling:
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Cover the bowl and chill 1 hour in the fridge or 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer. While the cheese filling chills, make the raspberry topping and cook the crêpes.
Make the Raspberry Topping:
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Use a fork to lightly mash the berries and combine everything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cook the Crêpes:
- Preheat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, brush it with coconut oil or ghee.
- Add about 1/4 cup of crêpe batter and immediately swirl the pan so the batter covers the bottom. Cook until the crêpe is set and golden on the bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the crêpe over (either using a spatula or by jerking the pan à la Julia Child) and cook until the second side has light golden brown spots, about 10 to 20 seconds. Use a spatula to remove the crêpe (or just slide it out of the pan) and onto a wire rack or plate to cool.
- Continue cooking the batter until all the crêpes are cooked (you should get 12).
Assemble the Blintzes:
- Lay 1 crêpe out on a flat surface. Place about 3 tablespoons (I used 2 scoops of 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop) of chilled cheese filling in a line across the bottom 1/3 of the crêpe, leaving about 1 inch from the sides. Fold the sides over, then fold the bottom 1/3 of the crêpe up over the filling and continue rolling. (They will look like little burritos.)
- Continue until all the blintzes are assembled.
Cook the Blintzes:
- Preheat the same nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, brush the skillet with coconut oil or ghee. Place 3 or 4 blintzes in the pan at a time (seam-side-down), and cook until lightly browned on both sides, flipping once halfway through (about 2 minutes per side).
Video
Notes
- Ricotta: We use both ricotta cheese and cream cheese for a filling that tastes like creamy cheesecake. Another option is to use cottage cheese. Just make sure to strain the ricotta or cottage cheese overnight so your filling isn’t too runny. Alternatively, you can omit the ricotta cheese and cream cheese, and instead use 16 ounces of farmers cheese with no need to strain it.
- Instead of Pan-Frying the Blintzes: Once the crêpes are filled and rolled into blintzes, you can bake them in the oven instead of pan-frying them on the stovetop. To do so, preheat the oven to 375F and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Line the blintzes in the prepared dish and brush the tops with butter. Bake until the filling is hot, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes 12 blintzes for a total of 6 (2-blintz) servings.
- Storage: You can store cooked cheese blintzes covered in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Reheating: You can reheat cooked blintzes in a few different ways (if they were frozen, thaw them first):
- Microwave – In 45-second intervals until warm.
- Oven – In a greased baking dish at 350F until warm.
- Stovetop – In a pan with a little butter (or fat of your choice) over medium-low heat until warm.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on June 12, 2009 and updated on June 5, 2024.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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