Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Bryndzové Pirohy
Slovak dumplings filled with tangy bryndza sheep cheese and potato, boiled and showered with fried bacon and sour cream.
Slovak · medium · serves 4
prep 45 min · cook 20 min
~800 cal · 30g protein · 65g carbs · 46g fat · 4g fiber · 2g sugars · 25g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bryndzové pirohy are Slovakia's half-moon dumplings filled with bryndza, the soft, tangy sheep's-milk cheese that also gives the country its national bryndzové halušky. A soft potato-and-flour dough is rolled thin, cut into rounds or squares, filled with bryndza whipped through with a little mashed potato, and sealed into plump parcels.
Boiled until they float, they are tumbled into a bowl and finished the way Slovaks finish so many things: with škvarky, crisp fried bacon and its dripping, and a generous spoon of sour cream. Where bryndza is hard to find, a mix of feta and sour cream stands in.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut-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 all-purpose flour
2 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup bryndza sheep cheese
Hard to find? feta blended with a little sour cream - the usual stand-in outside Slovakia, since unpasteurised bryndza rarely travels
5 oz smoked bacon, diced
1/2 cup sour cream, to serve
Instructions
1
Mix the flour, mashed potato, egg and salt into a smooth, firm dough, adding a splash of water if dry. Rest 20 minutes.
2
Mash the bryndza with a little of the mashed potato into a spreadable filling.
3
Roll the dough about 3mm thin and cut into rounds or squares. Place a teaspoon of filling on each, fold over and pinch the edges firmly to seal.
✎ Chef’s note
Press the seals well and twist them: a leaky pirohy dumps its cheese into the pot.
4
Boil in batches in salted water until they float and cook 3 minutes more, then lift out with a slotted spoon.
5
Fry the diced bacon until crisp. Serve the pirohy topped with the bacon and its dripping and a spoon of sour cream.
Slovak home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bratislava. Bryndzove halusky is highland food that the capital adopted. It belongs to the shepherds' huts of central Slovakia, while Bratislava is lowland wine country, and the cheese, slovenska bryndza, holds EU protected status. The village of Turecka runs an annual world championship for making it.
🗺️
Slovakia. Bryndzove halusky is highland food, from the salas and koliba of the sheep-grazing centre of the country rather than from the cities. Slovenska bryndza, the soft sheep's cheese it depends on, holds EU protected status; the traditional drink beside it is zincica, the whey left from making that cheese; and the village of Turecka hosts an annual world championship in eating it.
🌍
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 Slovakia
Bryndzové HaluškySoft potato dumplings tossed with sharp sheep’s-milk bryndza cheese and crowned with crispy bacon, Slovakia’s national dish.
Zemiakové Placky (Potato Pancakes)Crisp, garlicky griddled pancakes of grated raw potato scented with marjoram, fried until lacy and golden.
Segedínsky GulášA tangy pork and sauerkraut goulash enriched with paprika and sour cream, served with bread dumplings.
Browse all Slovakia 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 Slovakia meal
Šúľance s MakomDessert
Segedínsky GulášLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bryndzové Pirohy?
Slovak dumplings filled with tangy bryndza sheep cheese and potato, boiled and showered with fried bacon and sour cream.
Where does Bryndzové Pirohy come from?
Bryndzové Pirohy is a Slovak dish from Bratislava, Slovakia.
Can Bryndzové Pirohy be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bryndzové Pirohy 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 Bryndzové Pirohy 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 Bryndzové Pirohy take to make?
About 65 minutes total (45 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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