Russian blini are crepe-like traditional Slavic pancakes and they are absolutely delicious and irresistible! Fill them up with fruits, preserves, savory meats, cheeses, or just sprinkle with powdered sugar!
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I am so excited to share this incredible recipe with you today! It’s one of my favorite Slavic dishes and an absolute treasure. I think it will become yours as well!
Growing up, I loved watching and helping my mom make these. Before she was done, me and my sister would already be eating them – they are so delicious! Making these as a family was a very special tradition, and I definitely hope to teach my little girl, Svetlana, how to make blini as well.
What are Blini?
Blini are quite a big part of the Russian culture! During the Eastern Slavic folk holiday, Maslenitsa, they are eaten in large quantities, shared with friends, and generally take the center stage during the merrymaking. It’s a celebration that has a long history and takes place at the end of winter, the week before Eastern Orthodox Lent.
Russian blini are incredibly versatile, too. You can really fill them up with anything you desire – it’s like a clean slate. Russians make a ton of them at a time too, so you can share them with the whole family, fill them up with творог (tvorog, this is Russian Farmer’s cheese), top them with preserves, and have some the next day since they reheat so beautifully. Let’s face it though, there’s probably not going to be any left!
Ingredients you will need
You will need a few common staples you probably already have in your kitchen, a ladle, and a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet with a heavy bottom. To measure, these are my favorite measuring cups!
- Eggs
- Cane Sugar
- All-purpose flour: I use White Lilly winter wheat all-purpose flour, and I find this one works very well
- Milk: any dairy milk, such as 2%. Non-dairy milk does not work well, unfortunately
- Sea Salt
- Butter: carefully melted in microwave
- Vegetable oil: such as avocado oil
Making the blini step by step
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, cane sugar, and salt. Then, mix a bit with a whisk.
Measure out the flour correctly by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling it off or using a kitchen scale. For the most accurate measurements, I really recommend using a scale – it has really simplified everything since we got one. Start sifting the flour into the egg mixture a little bit at a time and whisk. You want to prevent any clumps in the batter by adding slowly and whisking…
Important tip: if you do end up having clumps even after sifting and whisking, you can still salvage it!! Just pour batter through a mesh strainer. No need to start over 🙂
Done! Now check the consistency… It should be quite runny to make thin Blini (close to heavy cream consistency). You can now let the batter rest a bit – 15 minutes should do.
Pour melted butter into the mixing bowl and give it a quick stir. Heat your pan to medium heat (every stove is different so adjust as needed after the first one) and let your pan get ALL the way heated up. Drizzle some oil and scoop some batter… I take about half of a ladle (1/4 cup or so), but you may need more or less depending on your pan size. Pour it and very quickly tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter spreads evenly along the bottom. This is an art, I’m sure of it…
It might not be pretty. Don’t worry if you mess it up at first. It took me quite a few tries, or years of tries haha! As they say in Russia – первый блин комом or “the first blin is a clump.”
Once the batter hits the pan, give it about 30 seconds… Once the top is set and doesn’t look wet, that means it’s ready to flip. Flip it carefully.
Beautiful!!! Wait about 30 more seconds, more or less depending on how hot your pan is… All done!
Mmmm… It really doesn’t matter how many times I made them this week, I want more! You can never have too many blinchiki (this is the affectionate way to say blini in Russian ❤).
Drizzle some oil to keep the next one from sticking and keep on making ’em ’till you’ve got a nice hefty stack. Priyatnovo Apetita!
Important tips for success
- Do not use non dairy milk – I’ve tested them with almond milk but they did not turn out nearly as well. I usually use 2%.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the flour accurately. If you don’t have a scale make sure you spoon flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife.
- The first few may stick and be clumpy – this is normal. Once you’ve made a few and your pan has a chance to heat up nicely and it’s well greased, the blini should start getting more color and not stick. Give it some time if you’re having trouble.
- Once the batter hits the pan, the blin needs to be spread around VERY fast as it starts cooking. Pick up the pan and use a tilting motion with your wrist and arm. Don’t worry – it takes a bit of practice!
- You may need to lower the heat if the blini start looking quite dark and are cooking quite quickly. Every stove is different so you will just need to find the right temperature on yours. I set my electric stove to 4.
- If they look very pale, you may need to add a bit more oil to the pan, increase the heat, or just keep them on there a few seconds longer.
- If the blini come out quite thick, you may need to either reduce the amount of batter you pour or make the batter slightly thinner with more milk.
- You can strain the batter through a mesh strainer, if you end up with a lot of clumps.
Tips on how to serve them
The beautiful thing about blinchiki is that they are incredibly versitile. Make them sweet, make them savory, have them just as they are. It’s what I do when I can’t wait…
Some yummy suggestions are:
- Tvorog (Farmer’s Cheese) – Add a bit of sugar and tvorog together. It’s a classic Russian filling, but unfortunately hard to find here in the States. If I get some requests, I may do a post in the future about homemade tvorog.
- Sweetened condensed milk – drizzle on… This is an incredibly delicious combination, also very Russian.
- Sauteed mushrooms and meat – can you ever go wrong with mushrooms?
- Strawberries, blueberries, banana – any fruits you like!
- Nutella – Yum! Always a good idea.
- Powdered sugar – I love the strawberries and powdered sugar combo.
- Red currant preserves – red currant is very popular in Russia, but really any type of preserves are delicious!
How to store and reheat
Place in a Tupperware or Pyrex type of container and seal tightly to store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Ours usually disappears on the first day.
They are super easy to reheat: heat the pan to medium/low heat and place blini one at a time on the hot pan. After a 30 seconds, flip and cook on the other side until hot. Repeat with the rest of them. You can do the same if you filled them up with meat, cheese, etc.
Do you want to try making Blinchiki? If you made them – how did they come out? What did you serve them with? Let me know below in the comments! I can’t wait to hear from you 🙂
Recipe Updated January 13, 2023
Russian Blini (Crepes) – Блины
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 20 blini 1x
Description
Russian Blini are crepe-like traditional Slavic pancakes and they are absolutely delicious and irresistible! Fill them up with fruits, preserves, savory meats, cheeses, or just sprinkle with powdered sugar!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp granulated cane sugar
- 2 1/2 cups milk, 2% or whole
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 255 grams (such as White Lilly)
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp avocado, or other vegetable oil for the skillet
Instructions
- Combine the eggs, sugar, milk, and salt in a large bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Sift in the flour mixture slowly, 1/3 cup at a time, continuously whisking to prevent clumps from forming. Once all flour has been incorporated, check the batter consistency – it should be similar to heavy cream.
- Let rest for 15 min. Add melted butter to the batter and give it a stir.
- Heat a large skillet (cast iron works great) to medium heat. Once all the way heated up, add a drizzle of oil and coat the bottom of pan. Pour about half a ladle of batter on to the pan (roughly 1/4 cup) and immediately and quickly tilt the pan in a circular motion. Wait roughly 30 seconds or until no longer raw on top and flip with a spatula.
- After 30 seconds or so, check that the other side is done and carefully move to a plate. Drizzle a bit of oil between every 1 or 2 blini.
- Continue making blini until all batter is used up. Serve right away topped with preserves or filled with your choice of filling. Priyatnovo Apetita!
Notes
- Don’t use non dairy milk – only dairy milk works for this recipe.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the flour correctly. If you don’t have a kitchen scale make sure you spoon flour into your measuring cup and then leveling off the top with a knife. Don’t just scoop flour with your measuring cup because that will compact it and will result in thick blini.
- If you’re having trouble with clumps in the batter – try straining your batter through a mesh strainer
- The first few may stick and be clumpy – this is normal. Once you’ve made a few and your pan has a chance to heat up nicely and it’s well greased, the blini should start getting more color and not stick.
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days in an airtight container. You can freeze blini for up to 3 months. Simply stack them with parchment paper between each blin and place in a freezer bag. Then seal tightly making sure you squeeze out any air out of the bag.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Appetizers
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Russian
Can’t wait to try these! Your pictures are amazing and the directions are so easy to follow.
Thank you very much for the kind words, Charlotte! I am glad you like them and hope they turn out well for you. Let me know if you have any questions 😊
Delicious! Made these for dinner tonight and stuffed them with shredded chicken, mushrooms, and havarti cheese. So yummy. Surprisingly no leftover blini here either! Priyatnovo Apetita!
Thank you so much! 😊 I will have to try making blini that way too.. that sounds amazing!
I love this recipe. And I love serving crepes. I often make them a day ahead, separate them with parchment paper, and they are just as fresh as when made. Thanks for your diligence in putting this “cookbook” blog together. I am sure it takes lots of diligence, time, and work. I am enjoying it.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Paulette! I appreciate it 😊 It certainly has been lots of work with the blog, but has given me lots of joy.
I love the idea of making crepes ahead this way, that’s a great tip!!