🥟 Cepelinai
Cepelinai are large Lithuanian dumplings made from grated raw and boiled potato, shaped around a filling of seasoned ground pork and boiled until dense and chewy. They are named for their zeppelin-like shape and are served hot with a sauce of sour cream, crispy bacon and fried onion. The dish is rich, meaty and very filling.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 kg starchy potatoes
- 400 g ground pork
- 1 onion, finely chopped, for the filling
- 150 g bacon, diced
- 1 onion, chopped, for the sauce
- 200 g sour cream
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Boil a quarter of the potatoes and mash. Finely grate the rest, squeeze out the liquid in a cloth, and mix with the mash and salt.
- Mix the pork with the chopped onion, salt and pepper.
- Flatten a handful of potato dough, add a spoon of filling and seal into an oval dumpling.
- Simmer the dumplings in salted water for 25–30 minutes.
- Fry the bacon and onion, stir into the sour cream and spoon over the dumplings.
How to make it lighter
- One dumpling of about 250 g is a full meal — skip the second.
- Use half the bacon in the sauce, or spoon a little sour cream on without the bacon.
- Serve with a large salad of cucumber or beetroot to round out the plate.
History
Cepelinai are considered Lithuania's national dish. Potato dumplings are thought to have become common in the region as potatoes spread in the 19th century, and the name, from the German Zeppelin airship, came into use in the 20th century.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →