Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Ovocné Knedlíky
Soft dumplings wrapped around whole plums or apricots, boiled and rolled in butter, curd, and sugar, a Czech summer treat.
Czech · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 15 min
~693 cal · 23g protein · 75g carbs · 33g fat · 2g fiber · 26g sugars · 20g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ovocné knedlíky, fruit dumplings, are a cherished Czech dessert that blurs the line between sweet and savoury, and can even be a whole meal. They appear in summer when the plums and apricots ripen, and are the taste of a Bohemian childhood.
A soft dough, often made with quark or potato, is wrapped around a whole piece of fruit and boiled until tender. Split open, the fruit inside is hot and jammy. The dumplings are then rolled in melted butter and showered with sweet curd cheese, ground poppy seed, or sugar.
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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
1 cup quark or curd cheese
2 cups flour
1 egg
12 small plums or apricots
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar and extra curd, to finish
2 tbsp ground poppy seeds, to finish
Instructions
1
Mix the quark, flour, egg, and a pinch of salt into a soft dough and rest briefly.
2
Wrap a piece of dough fully around each whole fruit, sealing well.
✎ Chef’s note
Seal the dough all the way around with no gaps, or the boiling water gets in and the dumpling falls apart.
3
Boil the dumplings gently until they float and the dough is cooked, about 8 minutes.
4
Roll the hot dumplings in melted butter and dust with sugar, grated curd cheese, and ground poppy seeds.
Bohemian summer tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bohemia. Bohemia, around Prague, cooks for its world-famous beer, roast pork, bread dumplings, and sauerkraut (vepřo-knedlo-zelo). Hearty and unapologetic, it centers the Czech pub and Sunday table.
🗺️
Czechia. Czech cooking is built for its beer, all roast pork, bread dumplings, sauerkraut, and rich gravies. Hearty, Central European, and unapologetically comforting, it centers the pub and the Sunday table.
🌍
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 Czechia
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KoláčeSoft sweet buns with a dimple of fruit, poppy seed, or sweet cheese filling.
Smažený SýrA thick slab of breaded, deep-fried cheese served with tartar sauce and potatoes, a Czech pub lunch.
Browse all Czechia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
Make it a Czechia meal
Bramboráky (Potato Pancakes)Dinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Ovocné Knedlíky?
Soft dumplings wrapped around whole plums or apricots, boiled and rolled in butter, curd, and sugar, a Czech summer treat.
Where does Ovocné Knedlíky come from?
Ovocné Knedlíky is a Czech dish from Bohemia, Czechia.
Can Ovocné Knedlíky be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ovocné Knedlíky 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 Ovocné Knedlíky 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 Ovocné Knedlíky take to make?
About 45 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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