🥤 DRINK
Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur)
Young green walnuts, sugar and spice steeped in rakija on a sunny windowsill for forty days until the liqueur turns black, sweet and bittersweet.
Croatian · easy · serves 20
prep 20 min · cook 0 min · plus 6 weeks hands-off time
~207 cal · 0g protein · 25g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 25g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Every June, jars of cut green walnuts and rakija appear on windowsills across Croatia. They are orahovac in the making, a dark, thick, bittersweet liqueur and one of the most common things Croatian households make for themselves. Far more people drink a neighbour's or an aunt's homemade bottle than a bought one.
The walnuts must be picked young, in early summer, while they are still soft green balls with no shell inside: a needle or a knife should pass straight through. They are cut into quarters, packed into a big jar with sugar and a clear spirit, usually grape rakija, and left in the sun for about forty days. Within a day the liquid starts to darken, and by the end it is nearly black. Each family has its own additions, a vanilla pod, lemon or orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, a few coffee beans, and argues that its balance is the right one: not too sweet, not too spiced, not too bitter.
Once strained and bottled, it gets better with a few months in the dark, and better again after a year. It is poured in small glasses as a digestif after a big meal, and many people still keep it for its old reputation as a remedy for an upset stomach.
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 vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, 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 20
- 20 young green walnuts, picked before the shell forms
- 1 liter grape rakija (lozovača), or another clear fruit spiritHard to find? vodka - neutral, so the walnut comes through even more clearly; a little less rounded than a grape spirit
- 500 g sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 1 strip of lemon peel
Instructions
- 1Put on gloves; green walnut juice stains skin brown for days. Rinse the walnuts, pat them dry and cut each into quarters.✎ Chef’s noteThey must be young enough that a knife or needle goes through with no resistance. In most years that means June; once a hard shell starts to form inside, it is too late.
- 2Pack the walnuts into a large clean glass jar with the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel, then pour in the rakija so everything is covered.
- 3Seal the jar and stand it in a sunny spot for 40 days. Shake or stir it every day or two until the sugar has dissolved.✎ Chef’s noteThe liquid begins to darken within a day and should be close to black by the end.
- 4Strain through muslin into clean bottles and discard the walnuts and spices. Seal and keep somewhere cool and dark.✎ Chef’s noteIt is drinkable now, but a few months in the bottle round it out, and a year is better still. Taste before bottling and stir in a little more sugar if you like it sweeter.
- 5Serve at room temperature in small glasses as a digestif after a meal.
Croatian home tradition.
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
📍
Dalmatia. Peka is a way of cooking rather than a dish. Meat or octopus and vegetables go into a shallow pan under a heavy bell lid, embers are heaped over the top, and it sits for a couple of hours with the lid lifted once to turn things. It needs an open hearth, which is why it stays a home and tavern thing.
🗺️
Croatia. The country folds in the middle. The Adriatic side cooks like the northern Mediterranean, grilled fish, olive oil, capers and prsut air-dried in the wind, while the continental interior north and east cooks like Central Europe, with paprika, freshwater fish stews and roasts. Pasticada, the Dalmatian braise, has an unsettled origin, and the oldest known recipe for it comes from fifteenth-century Dubrovnik.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Croatia
Brudet (Dalmatian Fish Stew)An Adriatic stew of mixed fish simmered in a tomato, onion, garlic and white-wine base, traditionally served over soft polenta.
Dalmatinska PašticadaBeef larded and marinated in wine and vinegar, then braised a full day with prunes into a sweet-dark Adriatic feast.
PalačinkeThin crepes rolled around jam, walnut, or chocolate, a Croatian breakfast and dessert.
Browse all Croatia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Croatia meal
Crni Rižot (Black Cuttlefish Risotto)Dinner
FrituleDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
LimoncelloItaly
Borovničke (Slovenian Bilberry Liqueur)Slovenia
Beton (Becherovka and Tonic)Czechia
Advocaat (Dutch Egg Liqueur)Netherlands
Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant)Latvia
Krupnikas (Lithuanian Honey Spice Liqueur)Lithuania
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur)?
Young green walnuts, sugar and spice steeped in rakija on a sunny windowsill for forty days until the liqueur turns black, sweet and bittersweet.
Where does Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) come from?
Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) is a Croatian dish from Dalmatia, Croatia.
Can Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Orahovac (Croatian Green Walnut Liqueur) take to make?
About 6 weeks in all: 20 minutes prep and 0 minutes cooking, plus 6 weeks of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 20.
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.