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Slovak

Bryndzové halušky

Non-vegetarian

Tiny, soft potato dumplings tossed with tangy sheep's cheese and topped with crisp bacon. Slovakia's national dish; this version uses an honest feta-and-curd stand-in for hard-to-find bryndza.

Bryndzové halušky is a Slovak dumpling dish from Slovakia, ready in about 40 minutes and made with potato, bryndza (soft sheep's cheese) and bacon. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
708

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the grated potato (opens in a new tab) with the flour and salt to a thick, sticky batter.

  2. Step 2

    Mash the bryndza (opens in a new tab) (with the sour cream (opens in a new tab) if needed) until soft and spreadable.

    • 3 min
    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Fry the bacon (opens in a new tab) until crisp and keep warm with its fat.

  4. Step 4

    Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Press the batter through a halušky grater (opens in a new tab) or a colander with large holes, or scrape small pieces off a wet board with a knife, straight into the water. Cook until the dumplings float, then 1 minute more, and drain.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Toss the hot dumplings with the cheese until coated, top with the bacon (opens in a new tab) and its fat and the chives (opens in a new tab), and serve at once.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Slovakia · Well documentedMore food from Slovakia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Dumplings · Main courses · Pasta
Cooking method
Boiled, Pan-fried
Taste
salty, tangy, smoky, creamy
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Potato · Bacon · All-purpose flour
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom bryndza (soft sheep's cheese), sour cream
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

708 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 351 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 15%
  • Carbohydrate 46%
  • Fat 39%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy708 kcal202 kcal
Protein25.8 g7.4 g
Carbohydrate81.2 g23.2 g
Net carbohydrate75.8 g21.6 g
Sugars1.7 g0.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.4 g1.5 g
Fat30.8 g8.8 g
Saturated fat14.8 g4.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol92 mg26 mg
Sodium1439 mg410 mg
Salt equivalent3.6 g1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
933 mg
Calcium
403 mg
Iron
4.9 mg
Magnesium
73 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
98 µg
Vitamin C
34 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
1.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
232 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: sour cream, chives.
  • Bryndza (soft sheep's cheese): Feta used as a stand-in; bryndza is a similar salty, crumbly-to-spreadable brined sheep's cheese.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Cook in batches so the water keeps boiling and the dumplings don't stick together.

Common mistakes

  • Grating the potato too far ahead, so the batter turns grey and watery.

Serve with

  • Slovaks drink žinčica (sheep's whey) or buttermilk alongside.

Food safety

  • Fry the bacon until crisp and cooked through.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Variations

  • Strapačky: The same dumplings tossed with sauerkraut and bacon instead of cheese.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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