🥙 LUNCH
Zagorski Štrukli
Thin dough parcels of cottage cheese baked under cream until golden and bubbling, a comforting Croatian classic.
Croatian · medium · serves 4
prep 40 min · cook 35 min
~949 cal · 27g protein · 56g carbs · 68g fat · 2g fiber · 7g sugars · 37g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Štrukli comes from the Zagorje region in the north, though it is loved across the country. It is a humble but deeply comforting preparation of thin dough wrapped around a cheese filling, either boiled or, in the most popular version, baked.
A stretched, paper-thin dough is spread with a filling of cottage cheese, eggs, and sour cream, then rolled and cut into pillows. Baked, the parcels are bathed in more cream and sour cream until the tops turn golden and the whole dish bubbles. Rich and soothing, it is served as a savoury main or, sweetened, as a dessert.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and 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 4
- 2 cups flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp melted butter (to drizzle)
- 2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- 1Make a soft dough with the flour, one egg, the oil, and warm water, then rest and stretch it very thin.
- 2Mix the cottage cheese with the remaining eggs and half the sour cream, and spread over the dough.✎ Chef’s noteStretch the dough until you can almost see through it. The thinner the sheet, the more delicate the finished strukli.
- 3Roll up, cut into pillows, and arrange in a buttered dish.
- 4Pour over the cream and remaining sour cream, drizzle with the melted butter, and bake at 375F (190C) until golden and bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Croatian Zagorje tradition.
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🌏 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.
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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.
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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.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Zagorski Štrukli?
Thin dough parcels of cottage cheese baked under cream until golden and bubbling, a comforting Croatian classic.
Where does Zagorski Štrukli come from?
Zagorski Štrukli is a Croatian dish from Dalmatia, Croatia.
Can Zagorski Štrukli be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Zagorski Štrukli 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 Zagorski Štrukli 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 Zagorski Štrukli take to make?
About 75 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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