Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Sogan-dolma
A Sarajevo trademark: single onion layers wrapped around spiced minced beef and rice, braised soft and served with sour cream.
Bosnian · medium · serves 4
prep 40 min · cook 70 min
~751 cal · 48g protein · 33g carbs · 45g fat · 4g fiber · 10g sugars · 21g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Sogan-dolma, from the Turkish soğan for onion, is one of the trademark dishes of the Bosnian table and a Sarajevo favourite. Whole onions are boiled just until their layers loosen, then each translucent layer is peeled off and rolled around a filling of minced beef, rice and paprika.
Packed snugly into a pot, barely covered with water sharpened by a spoon of vinegar, they low and slow until the onion turns meltingly sweet and the filling plumps with the rice. Served with a spoon of sour cream or kajmak, it is patient, thrifty home cooking that turns a humble onion into something special.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, nut-, egg- 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 4
5 large onions
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1/3 cup short-grain rice
1 grated carrot
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp white vinegar
3/4 cup sour cream, to serve
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Peel the onions and boil them whole 12 to 15 minutes until the layers loosen but the onion is not falling apart. Cool, then carefully separate the layers into cups, discarding the tough outer layer.
2
Mix the ground beef with the rice, grated carrot, paprika, oil, salt and pepper.
3
Spoon a little filling into each onion cup and roll it closed. Pack the parcels snugly, seam-side down, into a deep pot.
✎ Chef’s note
Nestle them tightly so they hold their shape as the rice swells during cooking.
4
Pour in warm water to just cover, add the vinegar and a little salt, and simmer gently, covered, about 60 minutes until the rice is cooked and the onion is soft and sweet.
5
Serve warm with a spoon of sour cream over each portion.
Sarajevo family recipe.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Sarajevo. Cevapi here are beef and lamb, ground and shaped without any casing at all, and never pork. They come ten to a portion inside a round of somun still warm from the oven, with raw onion and kajmak, a soured cream skimmed thick and counted as part of the dish rather than a garnish.
🗺️
Bosnia & Herzegovina. Bosnian cevapi are beef and lamb, without pork and without a casing, grilled in fingers and counted out ten to a portion into a warm somun flatbread with raw onion and kajmak. The bread is expected to soak up the fat, and the whole thing is eaten with the hands standing at a counter as often as sitting down.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Bosnia & Herzegovina
ĆevapiHand-rolled grilled beef fingers tucked into pillowy somun with raw onion and kajmak, Sarajevo’s pride.
Uštipci with KajmakLittle fried dough balls served warm with kajmak clotted cream and soft cheese.
Begova ČorbaA rich, velvety chicken and okra soup finished with a sour cream and egg yolk liaison, the noble Bey's soup of Bosnian cuisine.
Browse all Bosnia & Herzegovina recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Bosnia & Herzegovina meal
TufahijeDessert
Begova ČorbaLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
LocroArgentina
BobotieSouth Africa
Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Hot Pot)Finland
Irish StewIreland
Kuwaiti MargoogKuwait
Njeguški StekMontenegro
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Sogan-dolma?
A Sarajevo trademark: single onion layers wrapped around spiced minced beef and rice, braised soft and served with sour cream.
Where does Sogan-dolma come from?
Sogan-dolma is a Bosnian dish from Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Can Sogan-dolma be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sogan-dolma 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 Sogan-dolma 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 Sogan-dolma take to make?
About 110 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 70 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.