This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission.
Try my kefir pancakes if you are looking for a different recipe to up your breakfast game! Kefir makes them plump, fluffy and ridiculously delicious!
If you can’t source kefir, check our Classic Pancake Recipe for fluffy and buttery pancakes served with maple syrup.
Russia is famous for her blini, which are thin and lacy crepes served with caviar or fruit preserves. But fat and pillowy soft pancakes are little known outside of the country’s borders.
It’s a shame though because once you try my kefir pancakes aka ‘oladi‘, you will find it hard to go back to your regular recipe. It’s a promise!
What are oladi?
If I had to describe oladi, I would say they are somewhat of a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They are fried in a bit more oil than your standard pancakes, which puffs them up to almost a doughnut-like height!
The magic ingredient of course is the kefir, a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains. It has gained much popularity in recent years in the West but has been a staple in Eastern Europe for ages.
Along with plenty of nutritional benefits, kefir is a great way to add puffiness to baking like these pancakes. It also adds moisture and richness to the recipe, which is one of the secrets behind the amazing taste!
Why you’ll love them
Oladi are traditionally made with an addition of yeast, which makes them “grow’ right in front of your eyes as soon as the batter comes in contact with hot oil.
They are incredibly delicious but more time consuming, as yeasted dough takes time to prove. Not something you’d want to wait for in the morning!
So to cut corners one clever soul thought of using kefir and baking soda as raising agents instead. The rest is history.
Kefir pancakes are more common in Russia nowadays than the traditional yeasted ones. A modern woman waits for nothing, not even delicious yeasted dough!
When fried in oil, the dough puffs up a remarkable amount. They are full of flavour, soft and incredibly moist.
I hope you give these delicious kefir pancakes a go. They might look very similar to your regular pancakes but I assure you they have quite a unique taste!
How to serve
These pancakes are often served with smetana. This is a type soured cream although calling it that doesn’t do it justice.
Smetana is a sweet tasting, silky smooth sauce that does belong on desserts while sour cream is a bit too tart and thick for delicate sweet creations! I did a side by side taste comparison when I made these oladi and was astounded by the difference.
If you have an Eastern European shop nearby, I would recommend getting real smetana and seeing it for yourself!
But they are also delicious with any other pancake toppings such as syrup or jams.
Recipe tips and tricks
- If you can’t find kefir, buttermilk will work well as a substitute. You can use it in the same proportions as you would kefir.
- Let the batter stand for 15 minutes after mixing it together. This gives the baking soda time to activate, so be careful not to rush this step.
- The oil in the pan is essential to cooking these right, and results in a crispy outer crust. Keep adding oil throughout the cooking process as it will run low.
- These are best when not made too big. They will puff up quite a bit as well. A spoonful is perfect as they will almost double in size. If too big, they will burn on the outside but be uncooked on the inside.
- Oladi taste the best when eaten immediately after cooking, especially as this is when they have the best texture.
More pancake and crepe recipes
If you make any of these pancakes, I would love to see you creations! Tag @Vikalinka in your Instagram snaps!
Kefir Pancakes ‘Oladi’
Ingredients
- 500 ml /2 cups kefir, plain
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 350 g /2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix kefir, an egg, sugar and salt with a whisk.
- In a separate bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir to combine. The batter will be thick! Let it sit for 15 minutes without stirring.
- Heat a non-stick pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan up to 1 cm/1/3 inch deep. Drop kefir pancakes with a large spoon or a small ice-cream scoop into hot oil and fry on one side until golden and the batter is cooked halfway through, then flip carefully taking care not to splash hot oil. Use two spatulas if necessary. The pancakes will puff up as soon as you flip them over. Maintain medium heat to ensure each pancake is cooked all the way through as they are going to be tall. (Add oil throughout the frying process as needed.)
- Serve dusted with powdered sugar, whipped cream or smetana/creme fraiche and fresh fruit.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tested today and approved ! I halved the recipe (keeping a whole egg) and used half oat flour half regular flour for more fiber. I got 8 pancakes. They rose well. Will make again !
Aloha from Maui!
I made your oladi cakes this morning. They are delightfully puffy, with soft, slightly chewy interiors and crispy edges.
I reduced the recipe for two people and used a whole egg. We served them with maple syrup and butter (no smetana on Maui (<:) as we normally do with other pancakes. Perfect weekend breakfast!
Mahalo, Kiyo
Awesome! Very moist. Great way to use up my kefir
These were great, almost beignet like. Our kids love them and mine puff up quite a bit. We’ve eaten them with powdered sugar and I’ve even injected them with Nutella.
Thank you for a great recipe!
I love the idea of injecting them with Nutella, Sharon! You are right they do have a light doughnut/beinet like texture.
I have made these pancakes many times and they are absolutely delicious! 😋 great to use up excess kefir. Best pancakes!!
Thanks so much for your review, Monika!
My оладьи turned out really yummy, with a chewy texture. Thanks for the great recipe!
I used raspberry flavored kefir and it was yummy!
Wonderful! I used my homemade kefir and white whole wheat flour and they are sublime! I make homemade pancakes regularly (so they’re pretty good, if I do say so), but these are so unique and taste more almost like a pastry.
I am wondering about the size. I used my medium kitchen scoop, which measures two tablespoons. About how many little pancakes do you make in one batch using this recipe?
This will be a favourite way to use up extra kefir I have on hand. Plus, my Grandmother was born in the Ukraine, so it feels a bit like an old-time recipe from my history. So good!
First time making them and they were amazing (so fluffy!)!! I wasn’t expecting them to rise as much as they did without yeast. I halved the recipe for one person (but kept the full egg). I also (by mistake) used the powdered sugar in the batter (vs. regular sugar) but that just gave it a slightly sweeter taste. For frying, instead of oil, I used butter (generously covered the skillet without ‘drowning’).
So glad to hear you’ve had success with my recipe, Monika!
Is this kefir freshly strained from the grains? Or has it gone through a second fermentation? I’m so excited to try these tonight!
Hi Colleen, I usually purchase my kefir but if you make your own, strained from the grains is sufficient enough for this recipe.
I had some kefir that I didn’t know what to do with, and I found your recipe. It was delicious, I’m a fan of traditional pancakes, but these were a delightful change! The smell and taste brought back memories of time spent in the Czech Republic. Thank you for this recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed these pancakes, Michael!!
These are delicious and so easy. I had 3 but two would have been ample. I used ethrytol for sugar and put a spread of no sugar black currant jam on, next time will try lemon and sugar (ethrytol) I cooked all of them and the rest I am going to freeze. Thankyou so much for this recipe
I am so pleased to hear it, Pam!!
These are so delicious and easy to make! My husband is usually not a fan of pancakes, but really enjoys these ones.
So pleased you both loved them, Anastasya! We made them today too.
Omg these were the best pancakes I have EVER made!!! The crispy edges are everythinggggg
So glad you loved them, Anna!
Made these this morning and they were delicious! I’m normally not a fan of pancakes and had anticipated making these for my family and then having another coffee while they ate, but I couldn’t resist!
Will definitely be keeping this recipe close to make when the kefir starts to pile up. I used Emmer from a local mill and I think that really helped make it filling and fluffy.
What a great review! Thank you so much, Meg. I am so pleased you loved these. Kefir is such a magic ingredient!
Very tasty! Stumbled across your recipe because we were craving pancakes with no milk in the house and these were perfect 🙂 I’m in the US but originally from Poland and have mimicked smietanka by mixing sour cream with powdered sugar. Would you say that’s similar to the Russian smietanka taste?
Definitely! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it, Alex!
Made today with the kefir my friend gave me! Turned out fantastic, thank you!
My pleasure, Amaria!
I discovered your wonderful blog by googling on kefir pancakes. I bookmarked it and will certainly come back in the next future for other culinary discoveries.
Your blogs is beautiful and I love your enthousiasm.
The pancakes were delicious! I made them for dinner, they would probably be too heavy for me at breakfast. Or maybe I ate to much of them. 🙂
I didn’t have sour cream, so instead I used strained kefir with honey. The combination with red grapes was yummy! Thank you for your recepy.
So thrilled you enjoyed them, Angie!!
Planning to make these with my home made kefir, but the mixture maked too much for to of us! If I make the recipe and only use half, will the remainder be Ok to wait in the fridge to be used the following day?
Do you mean if kefir could be kept in a fridge, Catherine? Yes, you can store it safely for a few days. If you meant the pancake mixture, I am afraid I’ve never tried that. I think the baking soda might stop working when activated for this long. I usually fry the whole batch, then store the pancakes in the fridge rather than the batter. They reheat beautiful in the oven or microwave.
Thank you for your reply.
I was thinking of the pancake mixture, but as you say the baking sode might stop working. I will cook them all and reheat what we do not manage to eat!!
What would be the measurements if I wanted to make this with whole wheat flour?
I would use the same measurements, Dina.
How might I maintain the strongest level of flavor authenticity if I sought to yeast this dough with a sourdough starter which never touched commercial yeast? Logic tells me to substitute 1 cup of the sole large liquid apparent; I am partially very concerned about entirely wrecking the effect of kefir on the pancakes, mostly in reducing potency as a large amount of sourdough starter yields a much lower proof time, which (in turn) results in, ideally, a nearly non-existent ‘sour’ effect. And then I wonder if probiotic intent mixes with fermented sourdough starter, the modern spirit implied (where I live, anyway) in invoking kefir MIGHT be in fact carried out by this combination, despite halving the kefir and would the ‘correct’ flavor, or close enough to it, just naturally result?
Baking soda or baking power, and commercial yeast, are off the table for me. Figuratively and literally and I didn’t start out intending to end cleverly; I apologise.
You can absolutely make pancakes with a sourdough starter. I do it all the time since a portion of the starter needs to be discarded daily. It will be a different recipe but it’s nonetheless delicious. Sourdough pancakes don’t really need a long proof time. I usually let the batter sit for about 15-20 minutes before cooking.
This is hands down one of the best pancakes recipes out there! It’s so easy to make and the pancakes turn out beautifully soft and fluffy. Thank you so much for sharing this!
My pleasure, Andrea! So glad you enjoyed my recipe!
Excellent and feel great about getting kefir in my body!
That’s exactly how I look at it, Kim! Thanks for a great review!
I have had a container of Blueberry Kefir in my Frig for some time and today it occurred to me to make Pancakes with it! I Googled and found this Russian Recipe from you for, Oladi!
Reading through it, I am assured of success, and look forward to the taste! Love the simple ingredients, I may add walnuts or Macademia, cinnamon, and use Honey as the Sweetner.
Awesome the best yum
Gostaria de saber que frutinhas vermelhas são essas nas fotos
The berries are red currants.
Delicious!
I am Russian living in Australia . Hubby and young kids loved it! had some blueberry kefir to use up and it worked out very well! Ta!
Thank you for sharing this with me, Vika! Happy you enjoyed the pancakes!
Do all the ingredients need to be room temperature?
Eggs always work better when they are at room temperature but nothing else has to be at room temperature, Milana.
I discovered this product by accident a few years ago and have been using in just about everything I used to make with buttermilk. I had never heard of it. It’s a sensational product. My pancakes and biscuits have been wonderful using kefir. I’m sure we’re all healthier for drinking it every day. My pancakes turn out like yours, light and fluffy!
Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Kefir is really wonderful and so healthy! You are very welcome, Malou.
Hey Julia! Love your recipes! Just wondering…..would smetana be comparable to creme fraiche?
I am planning on making these pancakes for Easter Brunch.
Hi Leslie, yes creme fraiche is more similar to smetana than sour cream and that is why I use it. Smetana would be my first choice though! These would be perfect for an Easter brunch!
these are beautiful. I am wondering what are the berries you used in these photos? Thanks, Olga
Thanks, Olga! The berries are red currants!
Pancakes are always a delicious treat for breakfast, and incorporating new ingredients can be a fun change from the norm! I have been trying to incorporate more Kefir into my diet for digestive support, and adding it to one of my favorite breakfast treats will really help to work it into my breakfast routine. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my personal cloud, so I can quickly pull it up in the morning and get cracking on my meal! I’ll be sure to check out smetana at my local shop, too!
These are such pretty, pillowy pancakes!
Thanks so much, Laura!