Cheese Blintz Recipe

This cheese blintz recipe starts by rolling up crêpes with a sweet cheesecake-like filling, and then pan-frying them until crispy. We make a quick and easy fresh raspberry sauce for topping, but they’re also delicious with jam and/or sour cream!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine Jewish Russian

Keyword Blintz, Blintz Recipe, Blintzes Recipe, Cheese Blintz, Cheese Blintz Recipe, Cheese Blintzes, Chese Blintzes Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Other Time: 20

Servings servings

Calories 497kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Equipment

10-inch nonstick skillet

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)

US Customary - Metric

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