Deruny – Ukrainian Potato Pancakes
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These aren’t the potato pancakes I posted earlier which used left-over mashed potatoes. These are finely grated, raw potatoes and onion. It’s a classic Ukrainian dish called Deruny. Our moms still make these regularly. This is actually Vadim’s post. He combined both our family recipes and it turned out perfect.
Ingredients for deruny:
- 5 medium size potatoes (about 1.5 lb)
- 1 onion
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp of all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp of sour cream
- 1 tsp of salt and pepper to taste
- oil (for frying)
How to Make Deruny:
1. Prep all the ingredients. Peel potatoes and onion.
2 .Take big bowl, grate potatoes and onion (on the star shaped grater), taking turns and mixing grated mixture. Onion juice will keep potatoes from browning:
3. Add flour, egg, sour cream and mix it well, than add 1tsp of salt and some black pepper, batter should be still liquid enough so you can easily ladle it:
4 .Warm up a skillet with 2-3 Tbsp of oil over medium/high heat. Add 1 heaping Tbsp of mixture at a time to the skillet fry on one side until golden brown in color, then flip to other side and fry for the same amount of time. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the batter:
5. Serve deruny warm, they are best with sour cream, enjoy.
Deruny - Ukrainian Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 5 medium size potatoes, about 1.5 lb
- 1 onion
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp of all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp of sour cream
- 1 tsp of salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking oil
Instructions
Prep all the ingredients:
- Peel potatoes and onion:
- Take big bowl, grate potatoes and onion (on the star shaped grater), taking turns and mixing grated mixture. Onion juice will keep potatoes from browning.
- Add flour, egg, sour cream and mix it well, than add 1 tsp of salt and some black pepper, batter should be still liquid enough so you can easily ladle it.
- Warm up a skillet with 2-3 Tbsp of cooking oil over medium/high heat. Add 1 heaping Tbsp of mixture at a time to the skillet fry on one side until golden brown in color, then flip to other side and fry for the same amount of time. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the batter.
Serve deruny warm, they are best with sour cream, enjoy.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hello! I just made these and they came out amazing. I do have a question, am I able to freeze them after cooking them?
Thank you for sharing, Ether. I have always made the pancakes right away and finished them, haven’t tried freezing to advise.
Hi Natasha! I would love to make these for our Passover seder to honor Ukraine. Do you know if matzo meal or matzo cake flour could work in place of the regular flour? Thank you!
Hi Jen, I honestly haven’t tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Do you think I could grate all this the night before without it being a mushy yucky mess the next day?
Hi Erica, this is best made fresh or the potatoes can brown. It’s best to cook and reheat them if you wanted to make them ahead.
Hi Natasha!
What are these traditionally served with? What do you serve them with?
Hi there, this is usually best for breakfast and best served when warm with sour cream. You can also use it as a side dish for vegetables or meat as the main dish.
Ok just made this recipe and they are amazing. As I am Lithuanian it is similar in many ways to many recipes I make. I did cheat though as I bought a machine from Lithuania that grates the potatoes perfectly getting the right texter and saving many years of my knuckles being grated. LOL I think next time I may fry in the rendered fatback. Thank you was really awesome.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hello, Natasha,
I was wondering, what if I don’t peel the potatoes (they are organic, of course). Would this make a big difference? I’d hate to lose all the vitamins in the skin. Thank you.
best,
Lisa
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried this with skin-on potatoes so I’m not sure how that would affect the texture. I imagine it might be more difficult to grate on the star grater of a box grater.
good point! Thank you!
We have them but don’t add the egg. That’s the way my tato made the. Love them with tomato ketchup.
Thank you for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha) I absolutely love all of your recipes. As far as deruny, I always grade potatoes in food processor! So much easier and less time consuming. Same consistency. I always put a pinch of baking soda, but will try w/o )) Maybe they will be crispier!
That’s a great idea! Thank you for that tip Nataliya!
We made your recipe based on servings 8-8. It ended up making 16 pancakes. In your nutrition information is it not clear what a serving size is. is it 100g or 500g of pancake. Can you please help.
Hi Kirsten, using a heaping Tbsp of the mixture, it should make about 18 pancakes. You can make them larger for fewer pancakes or smaller for more pancakes.
great how about potato sausage Lithuania Polish Slovak etc ????
Hi Joseph, I haven’t tried that product.
is lard same as pig fat ??? and need a recipe for potato kielbasa my mom made that for meatless Fridays. any one ?????
Hi Joesph, I answered this on your previous question, lard is 100% pork fat.
Joseph do you mean KISCHKA? Its a ring sausage, like a blood sausage? My mother would make it with barley and spices.
I can’t thank you enough for posting some of your delicious Ukrainian recipes. My Mama passed away years ago and I sadly never learned to cook some of these family dishes. Your other recipes are absolutely wonderful. I have a separate binder of just Natasha’s Kitchen tried & true recipes.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Solodka! ♥️
You are so welcome, Gayle. I’ll try to do more of those videos and I hope you love every recipe that you will try!
i seem to remember my mother used bacon somehow to make these. i dont know if she fried them in bacon fat or added bacon bits.ever hear of that?
Hi Walter. I think bacon works with this as a topping but I haven’t personally tried adding that in this recipe yet.
In Ukraine they fry these in melted salo (pig fat) but it is not bacon fat. Also some people add a pinch of baking soda. That causes them to rise a touch. I prefer no baking soda. I absolutely love derini. Lived in Ukraine for 11 years and was told by Ukrainians mine were better than theirs. Natasha’s recipe is exactly like mine
So nice to know that, thanks for sharing that with us Debra!
is lard same as pig fat ???
Yes, lard is 100% pork fat.
Great idea ,bacon is a topping by why not to add to a mix.Will add to mine right now.See ,it helps to read all off that, otherwise would never ever think of that
I bet it would be great mixed in also!
Could you use a food processor to prep the potatoes? Thanks!
Hi Luba, this should work great in a food processor.
Is there another condiment besides sour cream these could be served with? Like maybe some sort of gravy? Not a fan of sour cream as a condiment…TIA
Hi Shaena, I haven’t tested that with another sauce but I imagine with your idea that a nice gravy may pair well! If you experiment with one I would love to know how you like that.
When my dad became lactose intolerant, and had to cut out all dairy products, he would eat these with applesauce! Actually quite tasty.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
try apple sauce dats what my mom gave us back in da 50s and I still use it today.
applesauce is a traditional condiment for potato latkes which is this recipe without sour cream. I personally love sour cream so will be adding it to my recipe as this one reads.
I hope you love this recipe Denise!
I use a mushroom sauce with mine. Also in Ukraine, they serve derini in a small pot of meat with a gravy. They are to die for.
Apple sauce
Shaena, they are also served with apple sauce
Hi Natasha!!! I love ALL of your recipes. You are my favorite! Could this recipe be made using store bought shredded potatoes? (I know fresh is always better, but sometimes time is a factor) My grocer sells grated potatoes in the refrigerator section. They’re not frozen. Your potato/onion mixture looks slightly wet so I’m wondering if it has to be freshly grated? Or will the grated onion add the appropriate moisture? Thanks! I’m cooking my way through ALL of your recipes.
Hi Janna, this really needs to be grated either on the star grater or blended in the food processor or blender to get the right consistency or they will be more like fritters than deruny.
Thanks so much! I think I’ll try the blender method and then try grating them another time and see how they differ. Can’t wait to try these!
You’re very welcome!
Hi there ,I think people seeing this mixture get in their mind a grated potato like only on the large end of grater like on some potato pancake recipes ,how ever yours is like a batter like a pancake batter ,,,,good job did some this AM. dotted with a diced sweet pepper added before flipping do you use a russet potato ??
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I cooked this and it tastes great
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sasha! Thank you for the great review!
Hi! I made these and they were the BEST. Also, I am planning to start a little Ukrainian restaurant, how many other Ukrainian recipes do you have?
P.s. the deruny was DELICIOUS.
Hello Natasha! I love Ukrainian cooking and am happy to say that I have been fortunate enough to try it in country. I am wondering a few things, I have seen mushrooms put into the pancakes before, how does adding things like that into it affect the recipe? Also, are you familiar with a mushroom sauce that is sometimes served with them as well? Thank you and I am excited to make some of my own at home!
Hi Trisha, I haven’t seen mushrooms put into the batter, but you could probably use them in a filling. Here is the same recipe except with a filling. I’m not sure about the mushroom sauce. We have several mushroom gravy recipes that would work but not sure if that is what you are looking for.
hello natasha, is there any way to make them ahead of time? maybe the night before?
Hi Emilie, with this recipe, they are really best fresh. You can reheat leftover pancakes on a skillet the next day but the mixture is best used/cooked after it is prepared.
thisis something for you:
https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Potato-Grater/dp/B004JK8TLO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1507897659&sr=8-6&keywords=potato+grater
expensive however… it’s on my wish list:)
Is there a easier way to grate the potatoes?
Hi Lena, You might also try a blender to do the pureeing of the potato – it results in a slightly different consistency of the pancakes but we love it when we are pressed for time.
Natasha, because I live in Australia, some of the terms you use is American. We call a skillet a frypan and all-purpose flour is just plain flour. Also, I use self raising flour instead of plain flour with some extra condiments and even Russian people have praised my potato pancakes! Do you have a recipe for borscht? Thank you!
Lucie, thank you for sharing that with me and yes I have multiple borsch recipes that you can find here.
I made these the other day. After grating one potato on the star side of the grater, I gave up. It was way too time consuming and difficult to do. I instead grated it on the small grate side and I found the pancakes turned out just as well!
I did not have an onion at the time and just added a very tiny dash of onion powder for the flavour and it turned out well.
I also did not have sour cream and used a plain greek yogurt instead and it turned out very well. My husband and I ate them all at once 🙂 I used extra plain greek yogurt as a topping for mine and it was great!
Hi Faye, I love the idea of serving with Greek yogurt. You might also try a blender to do the pureeing of the potato – it results in a slightly different consistency of the pancakes but we love it when we are pressed for time.
These came out delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!
Are these supposed to be soft or crisp inside. First time makin them for a friend.
Hi Penny, they should be soft but not mushy inside and crisp on the outside but they do soften on the outside a little as they sit and cool. I hope you love them!
This is such a delicious deryni recipe. I just finished frying 2 batches and it’s already almost gone. My husband couldn’t resist, kept on eating them.
A regular deryni recipe is just potatoes, salt, and flour. The egg, onion, and sour cream in this recipe definitely makes it much yummier deryni. Thanks Natasha 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for sharing your great review 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Great recipe, one question: sour cream is smetana?
Thanks,
Ser
You are correct Sergiy 😄.
Instead of grating the potatoes and onions on a grater you can throw them into a blender in the food puree option and puree it and than add in the rest of ingredients. I scoop right from blender unto the pan. Turns out perfect and takes like a min to puree.
I’ve tried that before also and it is great when you’re in a hurry. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
thanks for the instructions I am from Ukraine.
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Hi Natasha,
These look great, I am planning to make them this week.
Do you know if you can make the batter in advance- say if I made the batter in the evening and cooked them the next morning?
Thank you!
Katie
Hi Katie, I have always made the pancakes right away and haven’t tried storing the batter overnight. The onion helps it to keep it’s color while your making the batch of pancakes but I think it would brown if left refrigerated overnight.
That’s my Baba’s Onyschuk’s recipe! (Born 1902!) She added dill as well, “fresh”, of course! (She also drained the water from the grated potatoes. Not so soupy then. (More technical Baba info – drain water from grated potatoes into a small bowl – squeeze as much as you can out. Let the water settle, you will see the potato starch settle to the bottom. Pour off water, and add starch back into potatoes. Duje Dobra!
How wonderful that these have been made for centuries! Thank you so much for sharing your story and tips with us! 🙂
What kind of potato do you use, russet potatoes or yukon potatoes?
Thank you!
I’ve done it with both and it works well with both 🙂
May I ask why you add sour cream, my mom never does and they come out delicious!
I think it makes them lighter and adds flavor. I’m not sure why else. Mom has always done it that way 🙂
I was just making these today and wanted to see what your recipe ingredients had. My aunt told me the sour cream keeps the potato mix from turning brown too fast 🙂
Ah! That does make sense! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
That’s the way we make them in Germany, too, but instead of sour cream we use Applesauce
I’ve never tried applesauce. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
These are amazing! Made them this morning for kids, and my daughter kept adding more sour cream to eat it with. She said it tastes good. Thank you!
That’s awesome!! It sounds like she’s a fan! 🙂
does it work the same if you use a food processor for the potatoes instead of grating?
You can puree the potatoes in a food processor if you have a strong processor. We’ve used our blendtec blender with good results also 🙂
I was browsing your blog for recipes to make this week, saw this, and thought to myself… I could make this right now. And so I did!
What a tasty treat! I think I may take other commenters suggestions regarding putting the potatoes and onion into a food processor. Although it may cut the prep time, it will definitely add to the ‘wash and dry everything’ time.
Thanks so much for all the recipes you post. Love this blog!
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for your nice comment. I’m so happy you are enjoying the blog and recipes. 🙂
Love your potato pancake recipe. Made it tonight. . Husband is 1/2 Ukrainian. Just like his Baba made. He loved it!! So– is Baba Grandma.and cake?! Kind of confused– your recipes are sooooooo special. Thank you , Natasha. – Carol
Thank you Carol for the great review, I love it when a recipe brings back great memories from the childhood :).
These were amazing! Thank you for posting the recipe. My grandma & mom cook things by eye & I love having actual measurements. I don’t have a kitchen aid grinder but I used the fine shredder attachment & it’s super quick & easy. They’re going to be a bit more corse but they still end up nice & soft. Also I like to add a bit of vegeta & some chopped up parsley 🙂
Thank you for the great review Nataliya and great job on improvising :).
Just made these this morning for my dads birthday. Are they supposed to be soggy when you take them off the pan? It seemed like they weren’t done but they were nice and brown. Should I have drained some of the juices? The batter did seem a bit watery!
They should be soft on the inside but definitely not soggy. You might try cooking them a little longer over lower heat so they don’t brown as quickly. I hope that helps! It’s possible your potatoes were larger and so your mixture may have been juicier. If you had juice pooling at the top (which is unusual), you’d definitely want to drain it off.
Hi Natasha!
I made these as part of a main yesterday and everyone loved them!
I have a small foodie blog and would like to make a post about these pancakes – would that be ok with you? I wouldn’t post the recipe itself, just a paragraph about it and a link to this page.
Let me know! And thanks for sharing 🙂
Kate
That would be great! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
This recipe transported me to my childhood. Thanks for sharing. They tasted just like my Baba’s, mmmmm!!
That’s music to my ears. Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
Just made these for New Years Day breakfast! They were heavenly! I’m hooked! I put the potatoes and onions in the food processor, they turned out PERFECT and very fast/easy! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your method and I’m so glad you loved the recipe 🙂
I use a kitchen aid meat grinder to grind up the potatoes. It works great and is a lot faster than doing it by hand. It ends up looking exactly like in the pictures!
That’s a great idea! Do you dice up the potatoes first? Or are they just big enough to fit through the meat grinder?
That’s a great idea! Do you dice up the potatoes first? Or are they just big enough to fit through the meat grinder?
If the potatoes are big I’ll cut them into quarters. I cut them lengthwise twice. If they’re small enough to fit as is I don’t bother cutting them at all 🙂
Awesome! Thanks! 🙂
Unfortunately, these tasted only so-so and were VERY greasy. My toddler rejected these yelling “Don’t like! Don’t like!”.
I’m sorry to hear your toddler didn’t like them. They aren’t supposed to be greasy. Did you wait until the oil was hot before adding them to the pan? Also, I like to put them on paper towels when they come out of the pan to remove any excess oil.
Thank you so much…Our side is Polish and Ukarian. My father made these only on holidays, especially good Friday, when you could not eat meat.
These are wonderful! IThey “certainly beat the ones they have on the menu of your local “Big Boys Restruarant!~laughing~
I like adding green onion to reciepe for a rerally great flavor! Especially the “green leaves”…Love topping with both sour cream and applesauce…Thank you both!
Applesauce? Hmmm that sounds interesting! That green onion does sound like a really good add-in. Thank you!
Having russian visitors for Christmas and want to make some beloved russian dishes but would rather spend the time visiting so i would like to know what you would suggest that could be made and frozen ahead of time. One of the things i am going to make is stuffed cabbage but need a few other ideas. They will be staying with me for 6 days. Thanks.
Have you tried nalesniki? They are a perfect make-ahead breakfast!
Thanks!!! I have been looking for this recipe since when I came back from Ukraine <3
You are welcome Sara, enjoy :).
Oops Мяса still getting used to my Ukrainian keyboard layout and spelling too for that matter lol 🙂
I guessed that was what you meant 😉
Hey Natasha Добрий Деньб I’m a Canadian living and teaching in Poltava for the last 3 years. Yesterday my girlfriend suggested Деруни з Мйса whilst we were having lunch in a restaurant and they were really delicious. I want to try making them this way….any suggestions as to how one might get the meat inside them???
Were you looking for something like this? https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/06/05/stuffed-potato-pancakes/
The best recipe for deruny! My 3 year old loves them! Thanks for posting
Thank you Helen, I love a good report :).
MMMM looks so good!!
They taste even better :D.
This recipe is awesome! Tried it this weekend and it turned out so good!
Thank you Julie, I hope you will find more favorites on the site :).
Hello Natasha!
I’m a Brazilian girl living in Europe, with many Russian and Ukrainian friends who introduced me to this delicious dish. This morning, my husband and I had the best breakfast at home thanks to your recipe. I’ve dared to make a big change though: as we don’t eat fried food, I’ve baked them in the oven instead of frying. I had no idea if it was going to work out, but it did! Your recipe is not only simple and authentic, but it also turns out to be very flexible. Congratulations for your work and “spasibo” for the tip!
Thank you for such a thoughtful and sweet comment, I’m glad you like the recipe :).
Thank you very much for sharing this:). My grandma used to cooked it every morning. So I was happy to find it:).
You are welcome Marina :).
Was in Lviv a few months ago and had some potato pancakes in a cafe, they were excellent and have been looking for the recipe every since. They were more coarse in texture, yellowish inside, appeared to be more of a patty in shape, (baked?) Any ideas?
I don’t have any baked potato pancakes, but I’ll ask around…
Baked is just a guess, it just appeared that they were lacking any oil from frying, I make patato pancakes from a recipe that my Polish grandmother used that are fried and the Ukranian ones were very different.
very nice. but so much better without the flour.
You think so? They don’t fall apart without it? I just haven’t tried it.
Just made some for the first time in my life. They are delicccc!!! Thank you so much for your help!
You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed them :).
Hi Natasha, I’m originally from Belarus. Draniki (we call them that way) are our national dish. So glad you posted this recipe. I usually make them without sour cream, just put a lot of it when they are ready to eat 🙂 . The biggest problem is shredding. After 5 years, I’m still in search of automated method. So far, I figured to use my juicer for this work. I was looking for food processor with the same blade as you used, but could not find any here in US. Unfortunately, my hubby doesn’t cook or help with it. Please help! If anyone have a good suggestion, I really need it.
We’ve just done it by hand. If you do find a way, please let me know.
Love this recipe, they tasted exactly like my mom’s. I omit the sour cream (mom normally doesn’t add it and I didn’t have it on hand). I used a juicer for potatoes and onion but I had to run my hands through it after it was juiced and take out any onion pieces that have made it through. Although I add most of the juice to the mixture, I don’t use all of it and I use less flour as well 1-2 Tbsp. Thanks for sharing!!!!
That’s the best when something tastes like mom’s. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Natasha, these are wonderful, made them as a surprise for my Ukrainian girlfriend and she loved them. She left Ukraine aged 11 and was made up as it is virtually impossible to find traditional food anywhere. Thanks for your blog, we will be using many more of your ideas in our home! 🙂
Hi Craig, Thanks for stopping by and letting me know 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the potato pancakes!
Absolutely delicious! Thanks for posting the recipe, used to eat these all the time as kids, but having one today made me remember those childhood memories 😉
I love comments like yours. It’s part of the reason I have this site 🙂
We also use a blender and blend all the ingrediants together. Fast, easy and still as good!
Natasha thank you for posting this recipe, mine turned out perfect according to your recipe,not like before. i use a vitamix blender it takes 30 seconds to blend everything.
Thanks Alot for posting this recipe! Svetlana
Love how Mr. Potato Head is overlooking the process of making Potato Pancakes 🙂 I think he approved because they look fantastic.
Haha thanks. Few people notice him there 🙂
Made these for breakfast yesterday for me and my man, per your recipe! Really really liked them, especially since my mom hasn’t made them in years (used to when we were kids.. dunno what happened).
I halved the recipe and it still took me like 20 minutes to grate the 2 large potatoes I used! The grater is brand new.. got it the night before (exactly like yours… did you get it at Winco?). I wish there was an easier way. I don’t have a food processor.
Whatever, it was worth it. Thank you!
(I looked at this recipe several times and JUST noticed Mr. Potato head… cute.)
My husband does that grating in our house 🙂 I’ve been looking to buy a better grater – mine is a little uncomfortable to hold. I think it did come from Winco!
I made these again today and just grated the potato in little shreds instead of on the star-shaped hole and it was much easier and the taste/texture was still great.
Yes – Mr. Potato head is Davids friend 🙂
There is an easier way! I cut up the potatoes and onions into smaller chunks, and put everything into a blender. Just put all the ingredients in at once, making sure to put the potatoes in last, and it comes out pretty much same texture as grating…just much faster. Got the idea from my mother-in-law! 🙂 Good luck! Great recipe! Thanks Natasha!
I’ll have to try that; it does sound easier! Thanks Vita!
the epitome of appetizing!:)
This blog was bound to happen, and I’m glad it did.
Thank you Sophia – I’m glad it did too 🙂 I really enjoy it!
These look so good! thanx 4 the recipe!!!!!
Love these things!
Step 4 change “flower” to “flour”
Thank you! I’ll take the blame for that one. It’s my husbands post but I did the editing 🙂
Darn it! And here I was ready to add some carnations!
ha ha ha – it would be even funnier if someone seriously asked me what kind of flowers I used.
Just made a small batch (sans carnation) YUM!
(although a touch of dried and ground carnation petals might not be bad, a kind of peppery-spicy note to them)
love these Natasha… been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. I have been using one that calls for the potatoes to be grated larger than these and it tastes good, but it doesn’t have the same texture as these. Thanks for sharing these recipes, even though your schooling is keeping you busy. You are helping me keep my Ukrainian heritage alive in my family!
The credit goes to my husband on this one. Thank you for your sweet comment 🙂