Grain-Free Syrniki (Russian Fried Cheese Pancakes)

Made from farmer’s cheese and cassava flour, and fried to a lightly-crispy goodness, grain-free syrniki are a delicious breakfast, snack, or dessert!

Way back when, my family lived in Far East Russia. And even though I grew up on a fairly “crunchy” version of American food, the food in the Far East is astronomically different than what the standard American eats. Bread was baked fresh daily at the small corner grocery store, veggies came from local farms, and fresh cheese was sold in little lumps or bricks.

When it came to cheese, it seemed like the kinds of cheese available changed weekly – and if you found the same kind it rarely seemed to taste the same twice. But one of the most common and reliable cheeses was tvorog, or farmer’s cheese. It is basically a dry curd cottage cheese (cottage cheese without the whey added back in).

The best thing to make with farmer’s cheese is syrniki. Delicious little fried cheese pancakes made from farmer’s cheese, eggs, and flour. They’re perfect topped with a dollop of sour cream, nutella, or jam. Syrniki was a staple recipe while we lived in Russia.

Grain-Free Syrniki

While the original recipe for syrniki is made with wheat flour, thankfully it is easy to convert it into a celiac-safe food.

Cheese. Most grocery stores in the northwest of the US sell farmer’s cheese (also called dry curd cottage cheese) in the cheese section. I haven’t seen it since moving down to the south, but I have been able to sub small curd cottage cheese. You just need to add more flour (more on that below). You can also make farmer’s cheese fairly easily at home (check out this how-to if you want to try).

Eggs. For all you egg-free-ers I have not tried to make syrniki egg free. Sorry. Feel free to try and let me know how it goes!

Flour. Before cutting out all grains from my life, I used to make syrniki with a homemade gluten-free flour mix. Now I just use cassava flour. It’s easy to use and does pretty much the same thing wheat flour does in these little cheese pancakes. You could probably use almond flour if you wanted, but the texture and flavor will change.

If you want to make them with gluten-free grains you can use 1/3 cup each sorghum, brown rice flour, and tapioca starch. There is no need for any gums.

Oil. Syrniki are fried to a crispy-golden perfection. And therefore you need oil. I use coconut oil to fry my syrniki, you could also use avocado oil. I would advise against using olive oil, unless you really love the taste!

Topping options. My family’s all-time favorite topping for syrniki is sour cream. But they’re also good with jam or compote on top. If you want to have them for dessert, you can eat them with my cinnamon nutella!

Making syrniki with regular cottage cheese.

If you cannot find dry curd cottage cheese at your grocery store, and you can’t make it (though I would encourage you to try!), you can make syrniki with regular cottage cheese. I find small curd cottage cheese works best.

Since regular cottage cheese has so much more liquid than dry curd, you will simply need to add about 2 cups more flour. I know, it seems like a lot – especially when you’re using precious grain-free flours! But it will be worth it in the end.

More fun fried foods.

If you’re looking for more delicious and nourishing fried foods, here are a few of my favorites.

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!