21 Food From Belarus Choices For Easy Recipes (2024)

The traditional recipes and food from Belarus have developed over many decades. Some of the hallmarks of Belarusian food include an emphasis on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients and an unconventional approach to preparation.

Belarusians today still eat a lot of their traditional Belarusian food. Popular dishes include cold sorrel soup, mushroom soup, babka (baked grated potato pie), kolduny (dumplings), draniki (thick potato pancakes), kolduny, kletski (dumplings), babka (thick potato pancakes).

Traditional Belarusian food is served in restaurants that feature both the simple fare of rural peasants and the more elaborate meals enjoyed by Belarusian oligarchs.

Farmsteads serve traditional fare that is typically only found in a specific region, and is typically prepared using only locally grown ingredients.

Here, they make bread using traditional methods, as well as meat specialties, cheese from cow or goat’s milk, and sweets with honey, apples, and cranberries.

Visitors to Belarus are increasingly interested in trying out both the recipes and food from Belarus, many of which have been passed down through the generations.

21 Traditional Recipes and Food From Belarus To Make at Home

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1. Zhur from Kashewar

Zhur – national dish of Belarusian cuisine. A great food from Belarus for a healthy diet. The basis of this dish is strained infusion of oatmeal.

2. Byelorussian Kolduny (Potato Pancakes Stuffed with Ground Meat) from The Chicken Website

The recipe Byelorussian Kolduny (Potato Pancakes Stuffed with Ground Meat) is ready in approximately 25 minutes and is definitely a spectacular dairy free option food from Belarus for lovers of Jewish food. This recipe serves 3 and costs 68 cents per serving.

This Belarus food side dish has 374 calories, 11g of protein, and 25g of fat per serving. If you have salt, round tablespoons flour, ground pepper, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. 38 people were impressed by this recipe. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Hanukkah.

3. Poppy Seed Cakes from Bellyfull

Nalistniki with poppy seeds are traditionally prepared in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland. The most important thing in any patches is not even the pancakes themselves, but the filling, which can be absolutely anything – sweet or savory. By the way, nalniks should be very thin so that the filler is not “lost” in them.

Made with baking pantry staples, sour cream, and poppy seeds, this Poppy Seed Cake is light and moist, with a sweet but nutty flavor and a little bit of texture thanks to the poppy seeds. This food from Belarus classic recipe is perfect for brunch or a light dessert year round, and great for anyone celebrating the Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah.

4. Tsibriki from International Menu

Tsibriki (Tsybriki) is a national food from Belarus. Its made from grated potatoes rolled in flour and sauteed in lard. Belarusian cuisine is famous for dishes from potato and Tsibriki is one of them. This dish is similar to Tater Tot or Potato Latkes (potato pancakes), the ingredients are almost the same, but the taste is different.

Usually they’re served with sour cream and milk. I still add salt to the potatoes and a little bit garlic to the sour cream. My family loves tsibriki with fried onions and bacon – always a classic combination with any potato dish.

5. Belarusian Vereshchaka with Buckwheat Pancakes from Edunclub

Vereshchaka one of the kinds of machanka – meat sauce, which dipped pancakes. Versace is one of the most famous dishes of Belarusian cuisine, and in different localities in the traditional recipe have their own original features. This food from Belarus is boiled in a mixture of water, spices and beer and veal sausage.

Vereshchaka and served with pancakes or hash Browns. How it all came together in this recipe: sausages and beer for her husband, who is not holding post; buckwheat pancakes for me. The pancakes I got lean and I filed them with lean chocolate sauce. It was very tasty! I hope that this recipe will love it!

6. Beet Salad with Herring from Kashewar

Beet Salad with Herring is for me the best Belarusian food – the recipe for this Belarusian salad is very simple, mayonnaise can be replaced with sour cream.

7. Korovai from My Whisk

Korovai is a traditional Ukrainian bread baked for weddings and anniversaries and has become a popular Belarus food as well. Like in many other Eastern-European cuisines, it symbolizes family union. The recipes and decorations vary from region to region and depend on the occasion.

Some of the decorative symbols that can be used for this food from Belarus: Triangle: the Trinity / Fish: Christ, the fisherman / Sun: life, growth, and good fortune / Flowers: love, charity, and goodwill / Wheat: good health and wishes for a good harvest / Evergreens: health and eternal youth / Cross: the death and the resurrection of Christ.

8. Sbiten (Russian Hot Honey Beverage) from The Spruce Eats

Sbiten is a Belarus food traditional. It is a wintertime honey-based beverage popular in Russia that has been around since the 12th century. It was served from copper samovars by the sbitenshchik or sbiten makers, who brewed it on street corners and sold it to the eager and frostbitten public. Sbiten fell out of favor with the advent of tea and coffee in the 19th century, but a renewed interest in this old-time drink is taking place now.

Like mead and medovukha (a cheaper, faster version of mead), ​sbiten is made with honey, water, spices, and jam. The key to excellent sbiten is good-quality honey and spices. As you might expect, the ratios of these ingredients depend on the family making the drink.

9. Draniki or Deruny (Potato Pancakes Recipe) from Nomad Paradise

Our Draniki (Deruny) food from Belarus recipe gives you everything you need to bring this Eastern European favorite to life in your home kitchen. These flavorful potato pancakes are starchy and crispy, and will have you saying ‘just one more’ over and over again!

Belarus food is renowned for its filling, comforting dishes, and draniki is no different. You’ve got crispiness and softness, warmth and crunch, starchy potato and tangy onion, all in the same mouthful.

This Eastern European staple is incredibly diverse and can be served and enjoyed in so many ways. It’s stomach-filling, heartwarming food at its purest!

10. Delicious Pelmeni with Turkey and Onions from Yummy Temple

In this food from Belarus recipe, the dough for pelmeni is made with boiling hot water and oil rather than cold. This makes the dough super elastic and very easy to knead. The filling is made from ground turkey and onions, seasoned with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg, giving it a zesty nutmeg flavor. The pelmeni with minced turkey taste very juicy, particularly delicious and are served as a main course with various sauces, sour cream or melted butter.

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11. Potato Vareniki from Smitten Kitchen

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like two Belarus food choices for pelmeni and Vareniki — only people that have been unlucky not to have tried them yet. They use the same dough, but pelmeni are generally filled with meat (I have a recipe for Siberian Pelmeni in Smitten Kitchen Every Day); Vareniki with vegetables, fruit, or cheese. Vareniki are often a little larger, but I prefer the one-bite-perfection of pelmeni, and make them the same size.

Most Belarusians I know (and the one I’m married to) keep bags of this food from Belarus in their freezer for quick meals, and while they’re often quite good, nothing compares to making them at home. Manufactured dumplings require a dough stiff enough for machines and to hold up to shipping. Homemade doughs are much more tender and delicate.

12. Grechanyky from Unimeal

Grechanyky is an ancient Ukrainian dish popular as a Belarus food now as well. They are fried, stewed in a frying pan, or baked in the oven. Stewed or baked in sauce, they turn out softer and juicier. The proportions of minced meat and buckwheat vary depending on personal preferences. People prepare them with pork, turkey, veal, and liver. There are even meatless variations, cooked with mushrooms.

But we will tell you how to cook this unusual dish with minced chicken. The plate will have a pleasant and incredible taste. Besides, it suits any weight loss menu due to its amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals. So, let’s try right now!

13. Belarusian Potato Babka from Olga’s Flavor Factory

This hearty food from Belarus called potato babka is made from grated potatoes, flavored with bacon bits or salt pork and sautéed onions. It’s usually baked into a type of casserole until it’s golden on top and creamy and fluffy in the center.

Potato Babka is very similar in taste to Potato Pancakes, but cooked in a different way. The Belarusian food recipe for potatoes are creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Using raw grated potatoes makes the texture so unique. Just like potato pancakes, it is delicious served with sour cream.

14. Belarusian Smazhenka from Zernograd

Casserole: tender potato dough, natural tomato puree, homemade whole milk cottage cheese, sour cream and eggs. Potato is the main ingredient of traditional dishes of the Republic of Belarus. Side dishes and main courses, first and second salads… Wizards, potato pancakes, casseroles, dumplings, buttercreams.

Cottage cheese will be a couple for the great potato today. Perhaps, today the inhabitants of the South of Russia have no doubts that the Belarusian fermented milk products are one of the best. Many of us prefer butter, sour cream, cheeses made in Belarus.

The tradition of preparing fermented milk products is still maintained and a popular Belarusian food. Cottage cheese and hard cheeses, sour cream, kefir, fermented baked milk, curdled milk, cottage cheese are amazingly prepared by Belarusians at home in rural conditions according to old recipes.

15. Olivier Salad (Belarusian Style) from The Minty Tomato

Olivier Salad – Food From Belarus, is a traditional potato salad that is wildly popular in Eastern-European countries. In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and their ex-pat communities worldwide, this salad has become one of the main dishes during family gatherings and holiday celebrations. It’s an easy-to-make dish and a great ‘make-in-advance’ option for which the flavors will intensify and taste even better the next day.

There are numerous variants of Olivier Salad in every country and even within families. For instance, my Mom’s Olivier Salad tastes different from mine due to substitutes based on personal preferences. Despite all the different variations the main ingredients usually include potatoes, carrots, eggs, pickles, peas, onions, bologna sausage or ham or chicken breast, all mixed with mayo.

16. Potato Kletski from My Whisk

Kletski is a soft dumpling without filling that’s originally from Poland, where it doesn’t have a trace of potato in it. That changed when the dish made it to Belarus. Potatoes replaced flour, and the Belarusian food called Kletski was born. Typically, the Belarusian food version of this dish consists of small potato balls boiled in water or milk, and some recipes include meat and onions. Kletski can be served as soup, eaten on its own, or served with sour cream on top.

17. Sorrel Soup from The Spruce Eats

This Belarusian food for the Polish sorrel soup or zupa szczawiowa (ZOO-pah shchtah-vee-YOH-vah) can be made in many different ways. This is just one variation. Fresh parsley adds extra flavor, potatoes give the soup some heft, and sour cream adds delicious creaminess and a slight tang.

Throughout Eastern Europe, sorrel is both domesticated and grown wild, and spring is the best time to pick the young tender leaves. Sorrel finds its way into soups, sauces (especially with salmon), stuffings, and, when young and tender, it is eaten raw in salads similar to baby spinach.​

18. Chocolate Babka from Preppy Kitchen

Rich and decadent, this Babka Belarusian food is a delicious fluffy bread that has ribbons of chocolate running throughout it. This visually stunning chocolate babka is perfect for any occasion and any meal. Enjoy both loaves immediately, or freeze one for later!

If you’ve never had chocolate babka before, then all you need to know is that it’s half bread, half cake, and 100% delicious! This yeast-based dough is sweet, soft, and buttery, making it hard to have just one slice. I also love how beautiful each slice is thanks to the layers of chocolate throughout the babka bread.

19. Syrniki Recipe (Cottage Cheese Pancakes) from She Said She Said

One Belarusian food that inspired a bit of a journey was Syrniki, which I was introduced to by two co-workers – one is from Ukraine and the other from Belarus. I was convinced that there was ricotta cheese in it but they assured me it was cottage cheese.

And the cream on the side, whipped cream right? Nope, sour cream. My last question – how hard is this to make (because I refuse to live the rest of my life not eating this)? They smiled and said, it’s simple. So simple that even they can make it. So they had to make it for me.

20. Kholodets (Pork Aspic) from Chefs Pencil

Kholodets is a Belarusian food loved by many generations in Russia, Belarus and several other Eastern European countries, even though it takes over a day to prepare!

Kholodets is a jellied meat dish. To make true kholodets, your jelly should be based solely on greasy pork broth, without using gelatin. Fill the bottom of a bowl with chopped pork meat and pour the broth over it.

After 24 hours in the fridge, your flavorful meat jelly is ready to be served!

21. Belarusian Machanka with Yeast Crepes from My Delicious Meals

Machanka is a traditional Belarusian food and Ukranian dish. There are many variations of this dish, but here I share a recipe of machanka (sauce) made with pork sausages, beer, onion and sour cream. It’s usually served with crepes. Enjoy!

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