Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Manna Kasha
Smooth semolina milk porridge, lump-free and lightly sweet, topped with jam or butter.
Belarusian · easy · serves 3
prep 3 min · cook 12 min
~339 cal · 10g protein · 38g carbs · 15g fat · 1g fiber · 21g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Manna kasha, porridge cooked in milk, is a deeply nostalgic breakfast across Belarus, Russia, and the whole former Soviet world, the taste of childhood mornings, of kindergartens and grandmothers' kitchens. Fine is whisked into hot milk and cooked briefly until it thickens into a smooth, soft porridge.
The great trick, and the source of much childhood memory, is avoiding lumps: the must go in a thin stream and be stirred constantly, and a properly smooth manka is a small point of pride. Lightly sweetened, it is gentle, mild, and comforting.
It is served warm with a spoon of fruit jam melting into the middle, or simply a knob of butter, and eaten slowly on a cold morning. Plain and a little old-fashioned, manna kasha is the kind of soft, sweet breakfast that many across the region remember with real fondness.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 3
3 cups milk
1/2 cup
2 tbsp sugar
a pinch a pinch of salt
2 tbsp jam or butter, to serve
Instructions
1
Warm the milk with the sugar and salt until steaming.
2
Rain in the semolina in a thin stream while whisking constantly to stay lump-free.
3
Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until thick and smooth.
4
Spoon the porridge into bowls.
5
Top with jam or a knob of butter and serve warm.
Minsk tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Minsk. Belarus is regularly ranked first in the world for potato consumption per head, at around 160 kilos a year, and more than three hundred potato dishes have been recorded. Past the potato it is rye bread, gathered mushrooms, salo, salted pork fat, and pots baked slowly in the oven.
🗺️
Belarus. Draniki simply means shredded, and the country puts more potato per head into its cooking than almost anywhere, on the order of a hundred and sixty kilos a year, with several hundred potato dishes recorded. The pancakes are fried until lacy at the edges and eaten with soured cream, and often with pork crackling.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belarus
DranikiCrisp-edged potato pancakes fried golden and served with a generous spoon of sour cream.
MachankaA rich pork and sour-cream gravy for dunking soft potato pancakes, a filling Belarusian country dish.
KulagaA thick, warm berry and rye porridge sweetened to a jammy pudding, an old Belarusian forest-berry dessert.
Browse all Belarus recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Belarus meal
KulagaDessert
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Manna Kasha?
Smooth semolina milk porridge, lump-free and lightly sweet, topped with jam or butter.
Where does Manna Kasha come from?
Manna Kasha is a Belarusian dish from Minsk, Belarus.
Can Manna Kasha be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Manna Kasha recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Manna Kasha safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Manna Kasha take to make?
About 15 minutes total (3 minutes prep, 12 minutes cooking), serving 3.
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