Hortobagyi Palacsinta are savoury minced meat stuffed crepes from Hungary.
Our Hungarian Stuffed Crepes recipe features thin French-style pancakes filled with a meat and vegetable stew.
The crepes are wrapped into parcels, lined in a casserole dish and topped with a decadent paprika and cream sauce.
Traditional Hortobágyi Palacsinta are served as an appetizer with a dollop of sour cream and freshly chopped dill or parsley.
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What Is Hortobagyi Palacsinta?
Hortobágyi Palacsinta is a savoury Hungarian crêpe dish. Authentic recipes are made by taking thin pancakes and stuffing them with a minced meat stew.
The meat is traditionally prepared as a stew with beef or veal, onions, and tomatoes then seasoned with paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. The crêpes are filled with the stew, tucking in the ends to create small parcels that are assembled in a casserole dish.
The sauce created from the stew is drained and stirred together with cream to produce a decadent pink coloured sauce that is generously spooned over the crepes.
In Hungary the dish is often listed as an appetizer on restaurant menus but can be served as a main course accompanied with fresh salads and soup.
FUN FACT: Hortobagyi Palacsinta was invented by a Hungarian chef for the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. It quickly became a beloved national dish due to it’s mouth-watering taste and ease of preparation. The meat stuffed crepes are now considered a classic Hungarian comfort food.
Ingredients
This easy Hungarian recipe is prepared with affordable ingredients that are easy to find at your local grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need on your grocery list:
Crepes
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1/4 cup Melted Butter
Filling
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Large Vidalia Onion finely chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper cored, seeded, finely chopped
- 1.25 lb Ground Veal or Beef
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1.5 tbsp Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley chopped
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 3 tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/3 cup Sour Cream
- Chopped Fresh DIll garnish
Recipe Instructions
Follow our detailed Hortobágyi Palacsinta recipe card below for easy step-by-step instructions.
Hungarian Crepes are fun to make with your hands so we encourage you to prepare this recipewith kids to teach them new cooking skills. It’s tasty fun for the whole family!
Crepes
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs and salt. Gradually add flour, alternating with milk, beating with a whisk until smooth. Slowly stir in melted butter.
- Refrigerate crepe batter for at least 1 hour.
- Cook on upside-down crepe griddle or traditional crepe pan. Makes around 12 crepes. Let cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
Filling
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the meat and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Stir in the paprika, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat. Set a sieve over a medium bowl and spoon the meat mixture into the sieve. Press on the meat firmly with a wooden spoon to release as much sauce as possible. Reserve.
Sauce
- In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the butter and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the flour has lost its raw flavour. Slowly add the reserved sauce, whisking well to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream. Set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350 F with a rack in the centre. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
- To assemble the dish, spoon a few ladlefuls of the sauce into the prepared pan and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. Place a crepe on a clean work surface. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into the centre, fold over the two opposite sides to encase the filling, and then roll up the crepe. Place the crepe in the pan, seam side down then repeat with remaining crepes and filling. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top of the crepes.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbling, 18-20 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream and chopped dill.
Hortobagyi Palacsinta Cooking Tips
This delicious Hungarian Stuffed Crepes recipe is fun to make at home. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started:
- You will need a crepe pan to prepare thin pancakes. You can use a classic pan over a stove (pictured above) or a modern electric crepe pan.
- We’ve used sweet Vidalia onion in the filling but you can substitute with white onions or Spanish (yellow onions) if you prefer.
- We used ground beef in this recipe but you can also use minced veal, chicken or turkey. Some recipes also use finely chopped Hungarian sausages.
- We’ve used tangy sour cream in the sauce but you can use whipping cream as a substitute.
- We’ve garnished the dish with finely chopped dill but you can substitute with parsley.
Hortobagyi Palacsinta Serving Suggestions
In Hungary Hortobagyi Palacsinta is typically served on local restaurant menus as an appetizer.
You can easily serve 2-3 meat stuffed crepes as a main course alongside fresh salads and soup.
We love to serve this crepe recipe with other Hungarian dishes like Hungarian Paprikash Chicken Paprika Soup, Lecho Hungarian Tomato Red Pepper Stew, Pogacsa Hungarian Caraway Cheese Biscuits, Csipetke Hungarian Pinched Noodles, Korozott Hungarian Cottage Cheese Spread, and Paprikas Csirke Hungarian Chicken Paprikash.
If you’re hosting a Eastern European-inspired potluck or dinner party you may also like to make these popular recipes:
- Kotlet z Indyka Polish Breaded Turkey Escalope
- Ogorkowa Zupa Creamy Polish Dill Pickle Soup
- Polish Sour Rye Zurek Soup
- Mizeria Creamy Polish Cucumber Salad
- Cheese & Potato Pierogies
- Nakladany Hermelin Czech Marinated Camembert Cheese
- Hovezi Gulas Traditional Czech Beef Goulash Stew
- Nudle S Makem Czech Poppy Seed Pasta Noodles
- Czech Dukatove Buchticky Yeast Buns With Vanilla Sauce
Storage & Reheating
If you have leftover stuffed crepes store them in an air-tight container in your fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in a microwave for 2-3 minutes or in the oven in a baking pan covered in tin foil.
We often like to double the recipe so we can prepare 2 casserole dishes, one to eat now and another to cover in tin foil and freeze to enjoy at a later date.
You can freeze the stuffed crepes for 3-4 months. To reheat, remove from the freezer and let thaw overnight in your fridge. When ready to eat follow the cooking instructions in the recipe card below.
You May Also Enjoy These Beef Recipes…
- Traditional Catalan Cannelloni Pasta
- Spicy Indian Beef Kebab Rolls
- Daging Rendang Indonesian Beef Stew
- Cheesy Egyptian Macarona Bechamel
- Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Keftedakia Roasted Greek Meatballs
- Italian Veal Piccatina al Limone
- Filipino Beef & Pork Meatloaf Embutido
- Hovezi Gulas Traditional Czech Beef Goulash Stew
- Kuru Fasulye Turkish Beans With Beef
Health Benefits
This homemade Hortobagyi Palacsinta recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Eggs contain two vital nutrients that are not present in many foods: iodine and vitamin D. Eggs are also rich in tissue-building protein and vitamin B12, which helps your body manufacture blood cells.
Consuming dairy products (such as milk and cheese) provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Dairy foods provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Olive Oil is ranked as one of the healthiest fats and is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. It contains vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
Onions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Bell Peppers are an incredible source of vitamins C and A, which support your skin and immune system. They also provide beneficial carotenoid compounds such as beta-carotene, which has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Beef is a great source of protein and minerals like iron as well as an excellent source of the amino acid L-caine. Beef also features antioxidant glutathione known for its anti-aging benefits.
Rich in a group of phytochemicals called carotenoids, tomatoes may help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and provide protection against cancer. Tomatoes are also a good source of immune-boosting vitamin C.
Paprika is rich in vitamin A, capsaicin, and carotenoid antioxidants. These substances may help prevent inflammation and improve your cholesterol, eye health and blood sugar levels.
An excellent source of vitamin K, as well as vitamin C, folate, and iron, parsley helps keep your bones and blood healthy, and protects your skin from damage by free radicals.
Dill is packed with micronutrients such as Vitamin A and C, responsible for healthy vision, skin and immune function.
How To Make Hortobágyi Palacsinta Hungarian Stuffed Crepes
Hortobágyi Palacsinta Hungarian Stuffed Crepes
Equipment
- French knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Crepe Pan
- Casserole dish
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Mixing bowls
- Large Skillet
- Medium Pot
Ingredients
Crepes
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1/4 cup Melted Butter
Filling
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Large Vidalia Onion finely chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper cored, seeded, finely chopped
- 1.25 lb Ground Veal or Beef
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1.5 tbsp Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley chopped
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 3 tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/3 cup Sour Cream
- Chopped Fresh DIll garnish
Instructions
Crepes
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs and salt. Gradually add flour, alternating with milk, beating with a whisk until smooth. Slowly stir in melted butter.
- Refrigerate crepe batter for at least 1 hour.
- Cook on upside-down crepe griddle or traditional crepe pan. Makes around 12 crepes. Let cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
Hortobágyi Palacsinta Filling
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the meat and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Stir in the paprika, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat. Set a sieve over a medium bowl and spoon the meat mixture into the sieve. Press on the meat firmly with a wooden spoon to release as much sauce as possible. Reserve.
Sauce
- In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the butter and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the flour has lost its raw flavour. Slowly add the reserved sauce, whisking well to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream. Set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350 F with a rack in the centre. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
- To assemble the dish, spoon a few ladlefuls of the sauce into the prepared pan and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. Place a crepe on a clean work surface. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into the centre, fold over the two opposite sides to encase the filling, and then roll up the crepe. Place the crepe in the pan, seam side down then repeat with remaining crepes and filling. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top of the crepes.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbling, 18-20 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream and chopped dill.
Nutrition
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