Strukli Recipe

The first time I tried Croatian Strukli, I completely fell in love, and I’ve been hooked on this comforting dish ever since! I make it with buttery, tender dough wrapped around a rich cheese filling that tastes almost like a delicious cross between dumplings and lasagna. Although homemade strukli looks impressive, I’ve found it’s surprisingly simple to make once you get the hang of the dough.

Several years ago I spent a couple of weeks in Croatia, driving down the coast, checking natural wonders off my bucket list, and sampling delectable regional dishes and wines. The Croatian cuisine is rustic yet elegant, and packed with local ingredients that make dishes like this Croatian chicken recipe taste so very comforting. One dish I could net get enough of though is called Strukli, and it’s basically a crossover between white lasagna and thick dumpling noodles. It’s made with tender buttery dough that’s filled with cottage cheese, tangy sour cream, herbs and a splash of half and half that give the filling its creamy texture. When I got home from Croatia I started to crave strukli a lot, so I ventured into the kitchen and after testing the recipe over and over again, I finally perfected it! This hot dish is SO GOOD that it’s become a family favorite, especially on wintry days when we’re craving something comforting and seriously cheesy.

Jennifer – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I also made this for the 2018 World Cup honoring Croatia. It came out fabulous. The dough was challenging to roll out, but well worth the arm muscle! Received lots of compliments. Thanks for the recipe!

Sommer’s Recipe Highlights

Rich and Comforting – In my humble opinion, strukli joins a long list of favorite comforting recipes that I’ve acquired from my travels abroad. Like my Greek lasagna recipe, this is a dish that everyone will love, including the pickiest eaters. It’s made with warm, buttery dough and a creamy cheesy filling that’s all baked together until it’s perfectly golden and bubbly.

Simple Ingredients – One of the things I love about European recipes is that they use fresh and simple ingredients. If you’ve made my rustic Croatian bread then you know what I mean. You don’t need anything fancy to make this Croatian strukli, just some staple flour, eggs, butter, cheese and a touch of aromatics.

Perfect for Sharing – This is one of those recipes that I enjoy making when I’m entertaining family and friends. I serve it warm and fresh out of the oven, and paired with a simple green salad, it makes an entire meal on its own!

Key Ingredients and Tips

• For the homemade dough – To make this really simple and buttery homemade dough, I use a combination of classic all-purpose flour, some eggs, unsalted butter and a splash of water.
• Cottage cheese – To make the base of the rich cheesy filling, use fresh cottage cheese which adds the perfect amount of moisture.
• Sour cream – A dollop of good old sour cream makes the filling creamy, and the tanginess balances out the bold flavors from the cheddar.
• White cheddar – I like to add shredded sharp white cheddar because it adds a ton of flavor and it keeps the color composition of the filling white.
• Thyme – Just a smidge of dried thyme adds earthiness to every bite.
• Nutmeg – This is kind of unexpected, but a touch of ground nutmeg creates those cozy and comforting flavors that have made this dish a favorite of mine.
• Half and half – A splash of half and half helps to keep the dough moist, and it helps to prevent it from becoming rubbery.

How to Make

Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.

Prep – To start off this cheese strukli, I preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and I grease a baking dish with some melted unsalted butter.

Make the dough – Then, I move onto the dough. I mix up flour, a pinch of salt, an egg, a little bit of melted butter and almost a cup of water. I beat this all up on low until the dough looks like a smooth ball. If the dough comes out too dry, I add in a drop or two of water. Once the dough is ready, I brush it all around with some more melted butter and I cover it up with plastic. I let the dough rest for a couple of minutes so I can move onto the filling.

Get the filling going – Then, I toss the cottage cheese, a serious dollop of sour cream, some shredded white cheddar, a few eggs, thyme, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper into a bowl and I mix it all up.

Divide and roll – After the dough has rested, I cut it up into four equal pieces. Then, I get to rolling! You actually don’t need to flour a surface to roll out the dough. I roll it out until it’s almost paper thin, kind of like a phyllo dough. If it breaks in certain areas, it’s okay, since you are rolling it up at the end. Then, I add some of that cheese filling onto it, and I roll it carefully until it resembles a log. I very, very carefully lift up the dough cheese log and lay it down into that greased baking dish.

Repeat and pour – I repeat that last step until all the logs are rolled, and then I top them off with half and half and some more shredded cheese.

Bake – I pop the tray into the oven for about 50 minutes, until the strukli is gorgeously puffy, golden and bubbly!

Recipe Variations

• Lasagna noodles – Although Croatian cheese strukli is best when made with fresh dough, in a pinch, you can add dried lasagna noodles for a quickie-version. No need to boil the noodles, since they will cook in the added liquid in the oven.
• Spinach – For a veggie packed twist on this cheesy favorite, you can add in some baby spinach leaves.
• Sweet – If you want to make a sweeter version of this traditional Croatian recipe, you can either mix some sugar into the cheese filling or drizzle some honey over a plated piece. Top it off with a pinch of ground cinnamon! The tangy cheesy and sweet honey combo is seriously delicious!
• Ham – You can also mix some chopped ham into the cheese filling for a meaty flavored twist.
• Caramelized onion – Another variation you can try is to stir some caramelized onion into the cheese filling. It will give every bite a more savory flavor.

Serving Suggestions

I love to eat this comforting skrukli on its own, and straight out of the oven if I can be honest. It’s also delicious at room temperature, and makes a wonderful grab-and-go snack the next day! However, when I’m entertaining guests, I love to pair it with a light rosé wine and some of these sides:

• Raw Beet and Sweet Potato Salad
• Artichoke White Bean Salad
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
• A simple green salad
• For a sweet twist, drizzle some honey on top

Storing

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days! Simply reheat in the microwave until heated through, or for even better results, heat it up in the oven for a couple of minutes.

You can also freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Wrap individual pieces tightly in some saran wrap and store them in a freezer-safe container.

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Strukli Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

The first time I tried this comforting Croatian strukli recipe, I fell in total love. Every bite is packed with the most delicious buttery tender dough and a rich cheese filling, that tastes like a cross between dumplings and lasagna!

Servings: 16 pieces

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs divided
• 3 1/2 tablespoons melted butter divided
• 2/3 cup water
• 24 ounces cottage cheese
• 1 1/4 cup sour cream
• 10 ounces aged white cheddar shredded and divided
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• Pour flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 1 1/2 tablespoon melted butter, and 2/3 cup water in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the bread hook and mix on low for 5 minutes, until the ingredients come together into a smooth tacky ball. Let the mixer run another 2-3 minute to knead the dough. If it seems too dry (not sticky) add 1-2 additional tablespoons of water. Brush the remaining butter around the dough ball and on the sides of the bowl. Then cover with plastic and let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar, 4 eggs, thyme, garlic powder, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper together.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Lay one piece at a time on a clean work surface. Roll and stretch the dough into a 9 X 13 inch rectangle. (No need to flour the surface.) The dough should be thin enough to see light through it. Spread one-quarter of the cheese mixture over the dough. Then starting on a short end, gently fold the dough over 1 1/2 – 2 inches at a time, until it’s rolled into a loose log. Carefully lift the log by the ends and lay it in the prepared baking dish.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese mixture. Once four logs are arranged in the baking dish, gently cut each log into 4 equal pieces. Pour half-and-half over the top and sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheddar.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the tops are puffy and golden, even in the center of the pan. Cut and serve!

Notes

Don’t have time to make your dough from scratch? Guess what, you can use lasagna noodles in this recipe. The texture isn’t quite the same, but the flavor and cozy appeal is all there! Simple lay dried lasagna noodles in between 4 layers of the cheese mixture. Pour in the half-and-half, top with shredded cheese, and bake as directed.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days! Simply reheat in the microwave until heated through, or for even better results, heat it up in the oven for a couple of minutes.

You can also freeze leftover baked strukli for up to 2 months. Wrap individual pieces tightly in some saran wrap and store them in a freezer-safe container.

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece, Calories: 282kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 92mg, Sodium: 321mg, Potassium: 133mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 500IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 196mg, Iron: 1.7mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Croatian

Author: Sommer Collier

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