Jewish Meat Knishes Recipe (2024)

A Jewish meat knish (kuh-NISH) is a baked dumpling filled with meat, potatoes, kasha, sauerkraut, onions or cheese (and lately spinach, sweet potatoes, and other ingredients), that is traditionally baked but sometimes fried. It's similar to a British pasty, Mexican empanada, Russian pirozhki, and an Italian calzone. Since this dough recipe is made with butter, cream cheese, and sour cream, and filled with beef, it would not be considered kosher.

The recipe for the filling was provided by Lloyd Weinstein of Benjie's Deli in Santa Ana, Calif. The knishes can be individually quick frozen on baking sheets and transferred to freezer bags for storage if desired.

Here is a potato knish recipe you might like to try.

“I thought I preferred potato knishes, but that was before I tasted this particular meat version. The addition of pastrami as one of the filling ingredients was absolutely brilliant. It kicked the flavor up to another level. I didn’t have access to a meat grinder, so I pulsed the ingredients in a food processor instead.” —Diana Andrews

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Knish Dough:

8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Meat Filling:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 poundsground beef, preferably 80/20
5 ounces pastrami, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Egg Wash:

Steps to Make It

Make the Knish Dough

Gather the ingredients.
In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream until smooth and well combined, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add flour and salt and pulse to blend.
Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap.
Using floured hands, form into a ball and wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Make the Meat Filling

Gather the ingredients.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 9 minutes.
Drain the mixture of excess fat. Add the pastrami and mix well.
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Pass meat through a grinder with the small hole setting. Alternatively, pulse then process the mixture in batches in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely chopped, taking care not to over process.
Transfer meat to a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Add the salt, garlic powder, and white pepper and mix to combine. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Add the eggs and mix well to combine.

Assemble the Knishes

Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let come to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 3-inch squares. Re-roll any dough scraps until all the dough is used.
Make the egg wash by combining the beaten egg with the water. Brush each square with the egg wash.
Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling on one of the dough squares.
Stretch the dough over the filling and fold the points to meet in the center, similar to an envelope, pinching the edges closed. Continue with the rest of the dough and filling. (You might not use all the filling.)
Place knishes on the prepared baking sheets and brush with the egg wash.
Bake until knishes are golden brown on the top and bottom, rotating the trays in the oven halfway through baking, about 30 minutes total.

Tips

Serve these meat knishes with some sharp deli-style mustard, which pairs especially well with the pastrami in the filling.
Any leftover filling can be used in omelets and stuffed baked vegetables, stirred into a chili, or eaten in a burrito or taco. Just be sure to cook the filling thoroughly again as it contains raw eggs.

Recipe Variations

Before baking, sprinkle the tops of the knishes with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or even a little flaky salt for a subtle crunch.

Eastern European Food Mains
Main Dishes
Vegetable Recipes
Cheese Recipes
Hanukkah Recipes

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
297	Calories
20g	Fat
16g	Carbs
13g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 22to 23
Amount per serving
Calories	297
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g	25%
Saturated Fat 10g	50%
Cholesterol 89mg	30%
Sodium 321mg	14%
Total Carbohydrate 16g	6%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 0mg	2%
Calcium 34mg	3%
Iron 2mg	11%
Potassium 187mg	4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

Dumplings
appetizer
eastern european
hanukkah

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FAQs

What are Jewish knishes? ›

A staple of Jewish cuisine, a knish (pronounced kuh-nish) is a hearty snack of cooked carbohydrates (usually mashed potatoes) wrapped in buttery dough. Knish were brought to the US by European immigrants in need of hearty and affordable meals in their new home.

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What is a kasha knish made of? ›

A traditional knish has a pastry covering surrounding the savory grain filling. In this simplified version, the tender grain mixture is encased in a crunchy wheat germ coating. Quarter potatoes and steam until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

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What are the different types of knishes? ›

Other varieties of fillings include beef, chicken, sweet potatoes, black beans, or spinach. Knishes may be round, rectangular, or square. They may be entirely covered in dough or some of the filling may peek out of the top. Sizes range from those that can be eaten in a single bite hors d'oeuvre to sandwich-sized.

What is a Coney Island knish? ›

A pillow of mashed potato, wrapped in dough and deep-fried.

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What is similar to a knish? ›

There are also many other types of stuffed dough dishes that are similar to knishes, such as pierogies, empanadas, and ravioli. Sure there are. Perogies, pups in a blanket, hot pockets, .. calzone if you think about it, and others I'm sure.

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Should knish be warm or cold? ›

Bake knishes until the pastry is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm with spicy brown mustard.

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What do Germans call perogies? ›

German-speaking regions

The common term Pirogge (pl. Piroggen) describes all kinds of Eastern European filled dumplings and buns, including pierogi, pirozhki and pirogs.

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What do Russians call pierogi? ›

The name differs depending on the region, with states further east such as Russia preferring the term vareniki, while those further west, such as Poland and Slovakia, use the term pierogi. Unlike pelmeni, they are usually stuffed with a vegetarian filling of potato, cabbage, cheese, or mushrooms.

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What's a knish vs potato knish? ›

What's inside a knish? Round knishes can have sweet or savory fillings — potato, kasha (buckwheat groats), mushroom, spinach, or sweet cheese with fruit fillings whereas square are generally potato, through and through, the crispy exterior a result of frying.

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What does potato knishes mean? ›

A knish is a potato mixture wrapped in delicate dough, brushed with an egg wash, and baked until golden. The inside is tender and steamy, while the outside is crisp and flaky. Carbs stuffed with more carbs, without apologies. One knish is filling!

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