• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Peter's Food Adventures
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • recipes
  • about
  • travel
  • Follow and Share!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • recipes
    • about
    • travel
  • Follow and Share!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Russian Recipes

    Chebureki (Чебуреки)

    Author: Peter Kolesnichenko · Published: Aug 25, 2022

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Authentic Chebureki, just like babushka made! Crispy yet soft, with the trademark bubbles on the dough. The meat filling is super juicy when you bite into it, the broth spills out (slurp carefully!). A perfect snack food that every Russian, Ukrainian and Central Asian loves!

    plate of chebureki, cut in half
    placing filling on chebureki
    fork pressing edges of Cheburek

    I remember my mom and babushka making these as after school snacks. Who doesn't love crispy fried foods? It was one of the first recipes I learned to make. Popular in every culture, these are an Eastern European favorite. Sometimes they are known as Chiburekki.

    What are Chebureki?

    Chebureki are a fried turnover, filled with ground beef and onions. They also taste great with ground lamb. Chebureki are a classic Crimean, Caucasus and Turkic street food snack, popular across Russia and the former Soviet Union. The dough is rolled out and folded in the shape of a half moon crescent. They are meant to be larger in size, not small hand pies Fried Piroshki.

    Chebureki Shortcut

    If you're reading this from Russia, American Russians have started to use Tortillas for this recipe. Don't worry, this is an authentic Chebureki recipe, not a Tortilla in sight. That makes them closer to empanadas! It just doesn't seem right to make Russian Chebureki with Mexican Tortillas.

    If you want to use Tortillas, it only works with uncooked or raw Tortillas that are made with wheat not corn. Follow the recipe, just skip the dough part. Many countries around the world don't even easily sell those. Most supermarkets sell ready to serve tortillas and that won't work for that recipe. My advice, stick to a tried and true, traditional Chebureki recipe.

    Chebureki Dough

    Making dough scares people, but this recipe is so easy. Chebureki dough only has 5 ingredients. It's very easy to make this dough, unleavened and yeast free. Just knead, rest, and roll. It's impossible to screw this up!

    • Flour
    • Water
    • Salt
    • Oil
    • Vodka
    uncooked chebureki on the countertop
    frying chebureki in oil

    Chebureki Meat Filling

    Meat filling is super easy to make, all you need is a bowl and your hands to mix! Made with ground beef, but sometimes we make Chebureki filling with ground lamb. An easy mixture that's made extra juicy by adding water, don't skip that step!

    • Ground Beef
    • 2 small onions
    • Salt and Pepper
    • Water
    • Fresh Parsley

    How to Make Chebureki without Vodka

    Traditionally, it's believed that a splash of vodka into the dough is what makes the Chebureki crispy. Nothing beats that crunch. However, you might not have Vodka, and you only need a tiny bit. It isn't necessary to add vodka, and you can skip this step if you don't have Vodka.

    mand and woman holding plate of chebureki

    How to Make Chebureki

    • Prepare the dough by kneading until smooth and elastic. Allow to rest for 1 hour.
    • Combine the meat filling ingredients, and you're ready to start.
    • Pinch of cut a piece of dough, smaller than a tennis ball, bigger than a golf ball.
    • Roll out into a thin circle, 6-8" round
    • Place a heaping tablespoon over ½ of the dough, evenly spread. Leave ½" clean border around the edge of the meat.
    • Fold the dough over the meat, forming half a moon. Press and seal the edges. Use a for the press a pattern around the edges of the seal.
    • Heat ½" oil into a frying pan until hot. Fry 2 Chebureki meat pies at a time for 3-4 minutes, carefully turning over each side when golden brown.
    • Remove to a paper towel lined plate to soak up the excess oil. Serve immediately.

    Sauces for Chebureki

    • Ketchup - my favorite way to eat Chebureki, Ketchup goes with everything
    • Smetana Sour Cream - more traditional, we love our sour cream!
    • Tzatziki Sauce - completely not traditional, but tastes really great
    • Sriracha Mayo - Russians definitely love mayo, and this spicy mayo is perfect
    plate of chebureki, cut in half

    Russian Recipes You'll Love

    • Pork Shashlik - flavor filled and juicy meat skewers
    • Farmer's Style Stuffed Blini - a Teremok favorite, stuffed with potatoes and bacon
    • Veal Orloff Casserole - meat and potato casserole with... mayo!
    • Salmon Kulebyaka - a rustic fish pie like babushka made

    I loved eating Chebureki in Sochi with a cold glass of Kvas in the summer along the beach. The perfect street food combo for me! Crispy outside, juicy inside, so easy to make, an authentic recipe! Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!

    chebureki on a plate, with filling exposed

    Chebureki (Чебуреки)

    Chebureki are a classic Crimean, Russian and Turkic street food snack, popular across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Crispy outside, juicy inside, so easy to make, an authentic recipe! Chebureki (Чебуреки)
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Resting time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Snack
    Cuisine: Crimean, Russian, Soviet, Ukrainian
    Keyword: Chebureki
    Servings: 4 people

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for dough

    • 4 cups flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1½ cups water
    • 4 tablespoons oil
    • 2 tablespoons vodka

    Ingredients for filling

    • 1¼ lbs /600g ground beef
    • 2 small onions finely diced
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 cup water
    • ½ bunch parsley finely chopped
    • oil for frying

    Instructions

    Chebureki Dough

    • To prepare the dough, place flour, salt, water and oil into a bowl. Mix together to make dough ball.
    • Lightly sprinkle flour on working surface and knead the dough. Add more flour if necessary until dough is smooth, elastic and non-tacky. Flip a bowl over the dough and allow to rest for an hour.

    Meat Filling

    • In a bowl, add ground beef, diced onions, salt and pepper, water and parsley.
    • Using your hands, mix together ingredients until combined.

    Making Chebureki

    • Pinch small pieces of dough, slightly smaller than a tennis ball, and roll out thinly. Alternatively, roll the dough into a baton, and cut dough pieces.
    • Roll the dough pieces into thin circles, about 6-8" round.
    • Place a heaping tablespoon of meat over ½ of the dough, spreading evenly. Leave a ½" clean border around the meat.
    • Fold the dough over the meat, forming a half moon. Press the edges to seal the Chebureki. Use a fork to press a pattern around the cheburek.

    Frying Chebureki

    • Heat a generous ½" oil into a frying pan until hot. Fry the chebureki, 2 at at time ,for 3-4 minutes. Carefully turn over each side when golden brown. If oil isn't hot enough, it will absorb into the cheburek and tasty oily.
    • Remove to a paper towel lined plate to soak up the excess oil. Serve immediately.

    Video

    Tried this recipe?Mention @petersfoodadventures or tag #petersfoodadventures!

    ©PetersFoodAdventures.com

    crispy chebureki on a plate
    Chebureki (Чебуреки) on a plate

    More Russian Recipes

    • Vegetarian Cabbage Soup
    • Pryaniki - Honey Cookies
    • Blueberry Vodka
    • Sugared Cranberries

    Primary Sidebar

    Peter's Food Adventures - where you'll find Russian recipes, Slavic and International favorites with some fun travel and cooking videos. A Russian Food Blogger.

    Hi, I'm Peter!

    Are you looking for a little inspiration in the kitchen? Let me show you how to create tasty meals for your family!

    Food is the ingredient that brings people together. I love authentic foods, and have a very multicultural food background. I am genuinely happy to share the recipes of foods that make me and my family happy. And hopefully yours too. 

    Learn more about me →

    As Featured On

    As Featured On various magazine brands

    Popular Recipes

    • Crispy Asian Potatoes
    • Hungarian Stuffed Peppers (töltött paprika)
    • Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
    • Mango Sauce

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Intellectual Property

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Peter's Food Adventures

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    2937 shares
    • 254