Lithuania’s giant potato dumplings, filled with pork and finished with bacon, sour cream, and absolutely no restraint.

Also called didžkukuliai, meaning “big dumplings."

Cepelinai are among Lithuania’s best-known national dishes. Named for their long oval shape, which resembles a Zeppelin airship, these oversized potato dumplings are traditionally filled with minced pork, though mushroom and curd-cheese versions are common too.

They are a labor of love, more likely to appear at a family gathering, holiday table, or traditional restaurant than as a rushed weeknight dinner. The recipe turns humble potatoes into something genuinely special by combining grated raw potato, cooked potato, and the natural starch released during grating. Once poached, the dumplings are traditionally served with sour cream and spirgučiai, a rich topping of fried bacon and onion with the rendered fat spooned over the top.

Preparation:

45 minutes

Cook Time:

30–40 minutes

Servings:

4 servings (makes 8 large dumplings)

Ingredients:

For the potato dough

• 2 pounds / 900 g russet potatoes, peeled, for grating
• 1 pound / 450 g russet potatoes, unpeeled, for boiling
• 1–2 tablespoons potato starch, only as needed
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the pork filling

• 1 pound / 450 g ground pork
• 1 medium onion, very finely grated or minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cold water

For the bacon and onion topping

• 6 ounces / 170 g bacon, diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• Sour cream, for serving
• Fresh dill, optional

Preparation

1. Cook the potatoes. Boil the unpeeled potatoes until completely tender. Drain, cool just enough to handle, peel, and rice or mash them very smoothly. Set aside to cool.
2. Make the filling. Combine the ground pork, grated onion, salt, pepper, and cold water. Mix well, then refrigerate while you make the potato dough.
3. Grate and squeeze the raw potatoes. Finely grate the raw potatoes. Transfer them to cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze firmly over a bowl, collecting the liquid.
4. Save the natural potato starch. Let the potato liquid sit undisturbed for about 10 minutes. The starch will settle at the bottom. Carefully pour off the liquid, keeping the white starch behind.
5. Make the dough. Combine the squeezed raw potato, cooked mashed potato, reserved natural starch, and salt. Mix with your hands until smooth and cohesive. It should hold when pressed together but not feel dry or floury.
6. Test the dough. Form one small test dumpling and poach it in gently simmering salted water. If it cracks or begins to fall apart, mix in 1 tablespoon of potato starch and test again.
7. Shape the cepelinai. Divide the dough into eight portions. Flatten one portion into a thick oval in your palm, place a generous spoonful of pork filling in the middle, and bring the dough around it. Seal completely, then shape into a long Zeppelin-like oval.
8. Poach gently. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, then lower it to a calm, steady simmer. Carefully add the dumplings and cook for 25–30 minutes. They will rise, but give them time to cook through after they float.
9. Make the topping. Fry the bacon until crisp. Add the onion and cook in the bacon fat until soft and golden.
10. Serve. Lift the cepelinai out with a slotted spoon. Serve hot with sour cream and a generous spoonful of bacon, onion, and rendered fat. Finish with dill if you like.

Tips

• The dough should be tested, not guessed. Potato moisture changes by variety, season, and even storage time. A single test dumpling tells you whether the dough needs more starch before the full batch goes into the pot. (If it falls apart, add way more starch than you’d suppose)
• Use a gentle simmer. A rolling boil can knock the dumplings apart, even when the dough is properly bound.

Serve & Pair:

Cepelinai are rich enough to be the whole meal. Serve them with sour cream, bacon and onion topping, and something sharp or fresh alongside, such as dill pickles, sauerkraut, or a cucumber salad. A crisp lager is a natural match. For a nonalcoholic option, sparkling water with lemon helps cut through the richness.