These hearty, simple Polish potato dumplings (kopytka) come with a quick and easy to make mushroom sauce. This is vegetarian comfort food at its best!
These traditional Polish potato dumplings are filling, use cheap ingredients and make great healthy comfort food. So it’s no wonder they are one of the best loved and most popular dishes in Polish cuisine.
Polish potato dumplings (‘kopytka’) are a bit like Italian gnocchi, which are also potato based but, unlike ‘kopytka’, often use egg yolks. These dumplings contain one whole egg.
Equipment you’ll need for ‘kopytka’ recipe
- Kitchen scale
- Vegetable peeler, knife, potato masher and large spoon
- Pot with lid
- Frying pan and spatula for preparing the mushrooms
How to make Polish potato dumplings: step-by-step
Polish potato dumplings are very easy to make and there is not much kneading involved. They require only 4 ingredients – potato, flour, egg and seasoning!
1.Boil the potatoes in salted water, drain well and mash until smooth. Set aside to cool completely. You can do this step in advance.
2. Fill a large pot with water, add salt, cover and bring to boil. When the water starts boiling your kopytka will be ready to go in the pot. Combine the mashed potatoes with the egg, season and start adding the flour, mixing in with the back of a spoon.
3. When you’ve added most of the flour scatter the rest over your work surface and place the dough mixture on top. Knead for a few more seconds to incorporate all the flour.
4. Divide the dough into 3-4 parts (easier to work with). The dough can be a little sticky.
5. Roll each part into a long sausage shape. Cut into 2 cm thick pieces (straight or at an angle). If the dough sticks to the surface dust with a little flour (5g should be enough).
6. When the water starts to boil put the dumplings into the pot, one by one, and gently stir to prevent them sticking to the pot and each other. Once they all come up to the top boil them gently for 2 more minutes.
7. Turn off the heat, lift the dumplings out using a slotted spoon and place on a large plate. Add a knob of butter or drizzle of oil to prevent them sticking to one another. Serve immediately. See also Serving Suggestions below.
Serving suggestions
I made a healthy vegetarian mushroom sauce to go with this easy potato dumplings recipe, though you could enjoy the kopytka with any vegetable or meat sauce. Or simply serve them with some butter or olive oil and fresh herbs.
1.To make the quick mushroom sauce fry the mushrooms over a fairly high heat in 2 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dust with the flour and stir in to combine. Add the water, stir and cook until the sauce thickens (add a little more water if you prefer). 2. Remove from the heat, stir in the fromage frais and season to taste. Serve.
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You could either serve these dumplings boiled or briefly fried. If you prefer the latter simply toss the boiled dumplings in a pan with some oil or butter and fry over a medium heat until golden brown. This is also a good way of reheating leftover dumplings.
You might also like this easy low fat mushroom pasta sauce recipe!
Top tips for making Polish potato dumplings recipe
- Potatoes: Use Maris Piper, Yukon Gold or another all-rounders variety. Drain the cooked potatoes well and mash until smooth. Cool completely before making the recipe. You can boil and mash the potatoes in advance and once cooled refrigerate overnight.
- Dough: Try not to knead the dough more than is necessary. Stop kneading once all the flour has been mixed in.
- Dumpling shapes: You can cut the sausage shaped dough at an angle or straight (the photos show both methods).
- Make it vegan: Use 2 teaspoons of ground flaxseed instead of the egg. You could also omit the fromage frais in the mushroom sauce and just use a bit more water.
- Boiling the dumplings: Do not overcrowd the pot. Make the dumplings in batches if you have to (in the same water).
- Best served immediately – see post (above) for alternative serving suggestions.
- Freezing: To freeze cooked dumplings thoroughly coat in oil and freeze individual portions. To freeze raw dumplings place on a flour dusted board and freeze. Then store in a freezer bag and place back in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More easy potato dumpling recipes
Another Polish recipe involving potatoes you might also like are crispy Polish potato pancakes. Check out also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
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If you make Polish kopytka dumplings I’d love to know how they turned out for you. Questions or comments? Let me know. Thanks!
Polish Potato Kopytka Dumplings with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
For the dumplings
- 500 g potatoes peeled weight
- 125 g flour
- 1 medium egg
- salt and pepper to taste
For the mushroom sauce
- 300 g mushrooms finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fromage frais/Greek yogurt
- 1.5 tsp flour
- 4-5 tbsp water
- salt and pepper to taste
- Chives for garnish optional
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes in salted water, drain well and mash until smooth. Set aside to cool completely. You can do this step in advance. Fill a large pot with water, add salt, cover and bring to boil. When the water starts boiling your kopytka will be ready to go in the pot. Combine the mashed potatoes with the egg, season and start adding the flour, mixing in with the back of a spoon.
- When you've added most of the flour scatter the rest over your work surface and place the dough mixture on top. Knead for a few more seconds to incorporate all the flour. Divide the dough into 3-4 parts (easier to work with). The dough can be a little sticky. Roll each part into a long sausage shape. Cut into 2 cm thick pieces (straight or at an angle). If the dough sticks to the surface dust with a little flour (5 g should be enough).
- When the water starts to boil put the dumplings into the pot, one by one, and gently stir to prevent them sticking to the pot and each other. Once they all come up to the top boil them gently for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat, lift the dumplings out using a slotted spoon and place on a large plate. Add a knob of butter or drizzle of oil to prevent them sticking to one another. Serve immediately. See also Serving Suggestions in post.
- To make the quick mushroom sauce fry the mushrooms over a fairly high heat in 2 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dust with the flour and stir in to combine. Add the water, stir and cook until the sauce thickens (add a little more water if you prefer). Remove from the heat, stir in the fromage frais and season to taste. Serve with the dumplings.
Notes
- Potatoes: Use Maris Piper, Yukon Gold or another all-rounders variety. Drain the cooked potatoes well and mash until smooth. Cool completely before making the recipe. You can boil and mash the potatoes in advance and once cooled refrigerate overnight.
- Dough: Try not to knead the dough more than is necessary. Stop kneading once all the flour has been mixed in.
- Dumpling shapes: You can cut the sausage shaped dough at an angle or straight (the photos show both methods).
- Make it vegan: Use 2 teaspoons of ground flaxseed instead of the egg. You could also omit the fromage frais in the mushroom sauce and just use a bit more water.
- Boiling the dumplings: Do not overcrowd the pot. Make the dumplings in batches if you have to (in the same water).
- Best served immediately - see post (above) for alternative serving suggestions.
- Freezing: To freeze cooked dumplings thoroughly coat in oil and freeze individual portions. To freeze raw dumplings place on a flour dusted board and freeze. Then store in a freezer bag and place back in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Preparation time includes the time needed to boil and cool the potatoes.
Nutrition
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
I just saw these on Kirsty’s #CookBlogShare linkup, and they look fantastic!
I too love, gnocchi (or njoki, as they are called here in Croatia).
In Italy, gnocchi (which simply means, ‘lumps’!) aren’t always made with eggs – it really depends on the region, family tradition, and individual taste.
I’ve never made mine with eggs, and plenty of other Venetians don’t, either (although there are plenty who do!). There are loads of different ways to make them… but you make yours the same as I make mine. Yay!
Have you ever added spinach to the dough? It works really well. 🙂
Your mushroom sauce looks amazing – it’s going to have to happen in my kitchen very soon!
Thank you! How interesting, and what a small world we are living in, I knew these dumplings were popular in Eastern Europe but to hear that someone living in Croatia makes the same recipe as I do is quite amazing! I suppose people further afield make similar dumpling recipes too. No, I’never tried to add spinach to them but it sounds very appealing! Thanks for visiting my blog!
We do indeed live in a small world, Monika; I used to live in Britain but now live a nomadic existence, changing countries three times a year.
I’ve never been to Poland but I have it on good authority that some of the larger towns and cities are great for vegans now. My son worked in Warsaw for a while, 13 or 14 years ago, and had great trouble finding veggie food. Seems like things have changed though.
Do try the spinach, it’s fab! 🙂
I lived in Warsaw 13 or 14 years ago too and can confirm that veggie food wasn’t hugely popular then, I am going to visit there in a couple of weeks, I am excited to see how things have changed. I’ve not been back for a while. I will try the spinach:)
These look so delicious! Wish I had a bowl right now!! Thanks for bringing them to Fiesta Friday! 🙂
Thank you! Glad I discovered Fiesta Friday:)
Oooh the dumplings look and sound so good, they remind me of gnocchi. I really want to have a go at making them! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thank you! Yes they are a bit like gnocchi, but I made them without any eggs. Only flour and potatoes! Simple:)
Your potato dumplings looks great and sounds nice and light whilst still having that comfort food feeling, no wonder it is a favourite national dish! 🙂
Thank you! It is probably one of my favourite comfort dishes too, I couldn’t stop eating it all day yesterday! Not great for my waist…
Some things are just so delicious they have to be eaten! 🙂
We love gnocchi in our house, and these are obviously very similar. The mushroom sauce sounds great too.
Thanks! Yes, they are similar. The great thing about this type of food is that it is so versatile, perfect with literally any sauce. And the fact that it’s so moreish too…
Love the sound of these – what other veggie combinations would you serve with these? We’re not very keen on mushrooms! Thanks for adding to #CookBlogShare
Thanks Mandy! These would go with just about any sauce or steemed/boiled vegetables. People often fry them (having boiled them first) and they are nice like that too. You could even oven bake them in a sauce, just like you would gnocchi. Hope you like them if you do make them:)
They look lovely! I lived in Poland for a while and I used to love these dumplings, especially fried, but I’ve never made them myself. I’d love to have a go and bring back some memories!
Do let me know how they turned out if you make them. If you lived in Poland about 10 years ago and had a child at the British School in Warsaw (how likely is that?) maybe we knew each other?
This sounds like such a lovely recipe, and it looks so good too!!
Thank you! These dumplings are so moreish, I’ve been nibbling at them all day today!