Home » Recipes » Breakfast » Blini (Thin Russian Pancake)
posted by Katyaon Mar 12, 2021 (updated Dec 31, 2022) 37 comments »
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12 reviewsTraditional Russian blini are thin, pan-sized pancakes, made from unleavened batter, similar to crepes. Crepes are slightly larger in size and thinner than Russian blini.
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- You will love these Russian Pancakes!
- What is a Blini?
- Blini Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Blinis
- Blini Toppings
- How to Store Leftover Blinchiki
- Russian Pancake Tips
- Blinchiki FAQs
- You May Also Like
- Blini (or Blinchiki)
You will love these Russian Pancakes!
Growing up in Russia and having learned firsthand how to make Russian blini, I inherited this cherished recipe from my mother. It’s a family secret passed down through generations, perfected by my mother over many years. I always eagerly anticipated the moments when she’d prepare these pancakes, and now, as a parent myself, I continue the tradition with my own children nearly every Saturday morning.
This fail-proof recipe, composed of basic ingredients, has been tested countless times and is guaranteed to yield perfect results if you follow my proven tips and tricks. With its ability to store well as leftovers, you can confidently prepare a large batch over the weekend and savor it for days to come. This will undoubtedly become your go-to recipe for delicious blini.
What is a Blini?
Blini or blinchiki are thin pan-sized Russian pancakes. They are much thinner and widerthan American-style pancakes but not as thin and wide as crepes.
They are tasty and versatile. Oftenserved with sour cream and jam. Or stuffed with a sweet or a savory filling.
Today, I’m sharing a family-favorite sweet blini recipe. These are lightly sweetened, soft, and very delicate. We often enjoy them with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or a dollop of sour cream.
Blini Recipe Ingredients
Blinis are made of very basic ingredients. For this Russian blini recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Eggs
- Milk, whole or 2%
- Cane sugar, or honey
- Kosher salt
- Baking soda
- Light olive oil, or refined coconut oil
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Vanilla extract
You will also need a 10-inch non-stick skillet or a crepe pan and a flexible rubber turner. It makes flipping blini so easy!
How to Make Blinis
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and then add in the milk.
- Add sugar, salt, baking soda, olive oil, and butter. Whisk to combine. Gradually whisk in the flour.
- Continue to whisk until the flour is fully incorporated and no lumps are visible. Lastly, add in the vanilla extract. The batter should feel heavy and thick, similar to heavy cream.
- Heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet or a crepe pan over medium heat. Spray the pan lightly with non-stick oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and swirl the pan to spread evenly.
- Cook for 30 seconds or until the edges are visible golden and lacy looking. Gently flip and cook for another 20 seconds or until the batter is set. Remove to a platter and repeat.
Blini Toppings
Blini are normally served immediately or at room temperature.
In our household, we enjoy them like American pancakes — with maple syrup and fresh fruit. But you can also enjoy blini with a variety of toppings, such as:
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Sour cream
- Jam
- Honey
- Whipped cream
- Drizzle of chocolate
- Nut butter
How to Store Leftover Blinchiki
Leftover blini without any toppings will last in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Keep them covered.
Reheattheblini, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are warm. Or reheat in a microwave for a few minutes until warmed through.
Russian Pancake Tips
- Cook the blini on medium heat and adjust as needed later. If the heat is too high the blini will burn around the edges before they set on top. If the heat is too low then they are more prone to sticking.
- When you first pour the blini batter, it will be wet in the skillet but gradually the edges will set and bubbles will be forming in the middle and the blini will start to get dry. When no liquid batter is visible – it’s time to flip. If you flip too early, the blini will break.
- To flip the blini without breaking, loosen the edges with a rubber turner. Lift an edge with your finger as you glide the turner towards the center. Gently flip in one swift motion.
Blinchiki FAQs
What’s the difference between pancakes and blinis?
Blinis are small, savory pancake that is made with batter containing yeast and wheat or buckwheat flour, usually about 2-4 inches wide. They can also be made without yeast and instead eggs and soured milk, such as buttermilk. Meanwhile, regular pancakes are made with all-purpose flour and baking powder. As a result, blinis have a softer, more delicate texture and a slightly nuttier flavor.
What is the difference between Russian blini and crepes?
Traditional Russian blini are thin, pan-sized pancakes, made from unleavened batter, similar to crepes. Crepes are slightly larger in size and thinner than Russian blini. Both version are very similar though.
You May Also Like
If you try Blini Recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how you like the recipe in the comments below.
Blini (or Blinchiki)
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 12 reviews
- Author: Katya
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Russian
Description
These Russian crepes are so delicious and delicate! Learn how to master this family favorite recipe step by step.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk, microwaved for 1 minute (you want the milk to be lukewarm)
- 1 Tbsp. cane sugar or honey
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbsp. light olive oil or refined coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Non-stick cooking spray
Tools
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and then add milk.
- Add sugar, salt, baking soda, oil, and butter. Whisk to combine.
- Gradually whisk in the flour, and then the vanilla extract. The batter should be smooth without any visible lumps. It will feel heavy and thick, close to the consistency of heavy cream.
- Heat a crepe pan or a 10-inch non-stick pan over medium heat. Lightly coat with a non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and quickly swirl to spread evenly.
- Cook for 30 seconds or until the edges are visibly golden and lacy looking. The top will be dry without any visible liquid batter. Flip and cook for another 2o seconds or until just set. Remove to a platter. Continue making blini with the rest of the batter, adding more non-stick spray to the pan as needed to keep the blini from sticking. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, reduce the heat. Don’t worry, if the first blin is not the prettiest –it happens to all of us. You should get around 14 blinis.
Notes
- Oil: Make sure to use a neutral-tasting oil, such as light olive oil (not extra-virgin) or refined coconut oil. Refined coconut oil has no distinct coconut taste or aroma, whereas, virgin or unrefined does.
- Leftovers: Leftover blini without any toppings will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Enjoy them cold, at room temperature, or lightly warmed in a microwave. You can also warm the blini in the oven at low temperature, which is a great option if you have a lot of leftovers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2-3
- Calories: 225
- Sugar: 7.3 g
- Sodium: 224.9 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 82.3 mg
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Breakfast Recipes Season Spring
originally published on Mar 12, 2021 (last updated Dec 31, 2022)
37 comments Leave a comment »
About the author
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
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37 comments on “Blini (Thin Russian Pancake)”
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Dan — Reply
These tasted great! The instructions were clear and while I faced some limitations in the execution of them, that was my own short coming. My wife has an autoimmune disorder so I used King Arthur Gluten free flour, full fat coconut milk, and a plant based butter substitute and they still turned out great.
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Katya — Reply
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Dan! Thank you for feedback.
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Luba Titorov Davis — Reply
Thank you so much for the Blini recipe. I love to eat them with sour cream. Luba
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Olga — Reply
I use gluten-free flour and make no other adjustments and these turn out perfectly. Thank you!
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Katya — Reply
That’s great to know! Thanks for the feedback.
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Lana — Reply
Please let me know the brend of GF flours.
I tried so many GF.. none works for crepes ..
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Natalia Timoshin — Reply
This is a recipe for blinchiki, not blini. Blini is a yeast-based dough, blinchiki have no yeast. Blini are traditionally made for Maslenitsa before Russian Orthodox Great Lent.
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Ami Zahajko — Reply
Makes perfect Blini! Almost fool proof! Thank you for this amazing recipe and the tricks and tips. I enjoyed eating blini when I lived in Estonia and Latvia and when I visited Russia. We had ours with Mornay sauce flavored with Gruyere, garlic, mined white onion, nutmeg and dill. (Next time we’re going to put a little smoke salmon on top of that one!) Then we made homemade apple cider syrup with whipped topping and blackberries for the sweet ones. Absolute heaven! Thank you again.
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Blossom Smith — Reply
Loved this recipe easy and tastes amazing
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Katya — Reply
thank you!
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Alan Gregory — Reply
Can they be made without eggs?
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Katya — Reply
You need eggs for these to work.
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ashok — Reply
My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
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Katya — Reply
Thank you for sharing the recipe. The crepes taste yummy but I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to flip the crepes because I am struggling with it and when I flip they break. Also – do you spray cooking oil before each crepe?
Thank you.
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Katya — Reply
A really thin spatula works the best for flipping.
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Bavisha Mistry — Reply
Hi there, how much milk is in the recipe? 2 or 2,5 cups of milk? Also hard to understand for the 2 and 3 times the recipe.
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Katya — Reply
There’s 2 1/2 cups of milk
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Hannah — Reply
This was absolutely delicious, and super easy! Russian boyfriend requested blini, and it’s now going into our Sunday morning breakfast rotation as a staple. He got sweetened condensed milk and lingonberry jam to go with it 🙂
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Katya — Reply
Awesome! Sweetened condensed milk is definitely a Russian thing 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
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Ma Baker — Reply
Hey Katya, nice recipe. Could i leave batter in the fridge over the course of like 5 days? I wanna make em fresh every time.
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Katya — Reply
Hi: I’m not sure how the batter will do over the course of 5 days but it should be okay overnight.
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Veronika — Reply
Love this recipe
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Christina — Reply
Oh my goodness, these were so good! Once we got the hang of making them, they looked beautiful and tasted amazing! Thank you for sharing!
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Katya — Reply
Thank you!!
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Linda — Reply
Can you put fruit on them before folding so they are sort of “stuffed”?
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Katya — Reply
You certainly can.
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Olga Porterfield — Reply
wow. I am 60+, raised in Moscow, American for 40 years, and had never dared making it myself, not being an accomplished cook. Each recipe looked harder the one before, but this – a miracle! Thank you!
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Kira — Reply
My batter looks liquadey! Should I add more flower??
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Katya — Reply
It should be pretty liquidy. What type of milk did you use?
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Olga — Reply
Im a sucker for crepes and this is a wonderful recipe!
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Ester Mullokandova — Reply
I follow this recipe all the time. However I have stopped eating this because I’m diagnosed with diabetes and don’t know the nutrition facts for your recipe. What’s the calorie/carb content of this one crepe?
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Katya — Reply
Thank you so much Sandra! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
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John and Kathryn Damron — Reply
the recipe does not say whether you flip them over? unless I missed something
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Katya — Reply
In step #5 you’ll want to flip the crepes.
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olga — Reply
that looks sooo good!! you make me hungry!
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Katya — Reply
Olga you will enjoy these! I promise. We have them almost every weekend 🙂
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