Bulvių blynai are Lithuanian potato pancakes: grated potato, egg and onion fried crisp, served with sour cream and mushroom sauce or bacon-cracklings spirgučiai.

Potato pancakes are common across the Baltic and Eastern Europe, with each tradition holding small differences. The Lithuanian version is thicker than the Polish placki and crisper than the German Reibekuchen. Senoji Trobelė and Gusto Blynine cook the canonical Vilnius versions, and the Žemaičių blynai variant (Samogitian, mashed-potato-based) is a heartier alternative.

Where to eat Bulvių blynai in Vilnius

4 editor picks for Bulvių blynai in Vilnius, ranked by editorial score. All Vilnius signature dishes · Bulvių blynai across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 435 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 kg starchy potatoes
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • Sour cream and chopped dill to serve

Method

  1. Grate potatoes finely; grate onion. Squeeze the mixture through a cloth to remove excess liquid.
  2. Mix grated potato with eggs, flour, salt and pepper.
  3. Heat 5 mm of oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Drop heaped spoons of batter into the pan; flatten with the back of the spoon to about 8 cm rounds.
  5. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and crisp.
  6. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot with sour cream and dill, or with the mushroom-cream sauce from cepelinai.

Editor tip. Squeeze the potato dry; wet batter steams instead of crisps. Use sunflower oil; butter burns at the frying temperature.

Common allergens: Eggs.