Learn how to make homemade poppy seed filling for kolache, kolacky cookies, buchty buns, or yeast breads! These are all traditional Czech pastries that traditionally call for poppy seeds. Let's dive into the recipe!
Czechs are the world's largest producers of poppies, so it is not surprising that poppyseeds have become a staple of Czech cuisine. The Czech name for the filling made with poppyseed is "makova napln".
The poppy seed filling is based on ground poppy seeds cooked in milk. It is sweetened with sugar and flavored with various ingredients. Here are some of them: spicy jam, freshly grated lemon zest, spiced rum, or perhaps crushed cloves.
MY TIP: Try this poppy seed roll (it tastes fantastic!)
➜ How to grind poppy seeds
In the Czech Republic, we buy blue poppies either whole or already ground.
If you are based in the US, you can get poppies in European deli stores (Polish, German). The downside is that you can only get whole poppy seeds, which you need to grind before making the filling.
The first way to grind poppy seeds is with a special manual poppy seed grinder. It's available on Amazon in the US if you want one (I saw a few when I did some quick research).
The other method uses a clean coffee grinder and grinds the poppyseed in small batches.
I recently debated whether poppy seeds could be crushed in a food processor. Unfortunately, the results of those who tried it indicate that a food processor is not an appropriate tool for grinding poppy seeds.
➜ Ingredients
To make poppy seed filling from scratch, you'll need:
- Poppyseed, ground in a mill or coffee grinder
- Whole milk, avoid using low-fat milk because there is no further fat added in this filling, and this is not a low-calorie recipe 🙂
- Granulated sugar
- Jam, the best variant is prune jam (Czech favorite); however, grab any solid jam you'll find in your pantry
- Lemon zest, freshly ground
✅ You'll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Combine ground poppyseed and milk in a medium saucepan.
STEP 2: Bring the milk mixture to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent the hot milk and poppy seeds from burning. Add sugar, jam, and lemon zest.
STEP 3: Set the stove on medium-low heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the poppy seeds soften; it takes about 10 minutes. Don't forget to stir.
STEP 4: When finished, transfer the poppy seed filling to a bowl, set it aside, and allow it to cool down completely:
Important: This poppy seed filling thickens while cooling down. Make sure it's cold before using it.
➜ Useful Tips
- Add a few biscuit crumbs and stir if the filling is too thin.
- If the filling is too thick, add a spoon or two of milk.
- Let the filling cool down before using it!
More poppy seed recipes:
- Kolache - authentic recipe for Czech kolace
- Škubánky s mákem - sweet treat with poppy seed topping
- Makovec - poppy seed coffee cake
- Poppy seed bundt cake - Czech makova babovka
- Poppy seed kolache - makové koláče
Get more ideas in this category with poppy seed recipes.
FAQs
A simple way to grind poppy seeds is by using a particular mill. It's a mainstay in Czech kitchens; try to find one from Tescoma (a Czech brand). Another method is to grind poppy seeds in a clean coffee grinder.
Add some vanilla, crushed cloves (spice), rum-soaked raisins, or a tablespoon of spiced rum to the cooled filling for more flavor.
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Maková náplň - Czech Poppyseed Filling
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
- 2 cups poppy seeds whole
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup jam any solid jam: eg, plum, strawberry, apricot
- ½ Tablespoon lemon zest freshly ground
Instructions
- Grind 2 cups poppy seeds.
- In a thick bottomed sauce pan, combine ground poppy seeds and 1 cup milk.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent milk from burning. Add ½ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup jam, and ½ Tablespoon lemon zest.
- Lower the heat and cook until the poppyseeds soften; it takes about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- When finished, transfer the poppyseed filling to a bowl, set it aside, and allow it to cool down completely.
Notes
- Makes about 1 ¾ cup of filling.
- If you are filling smaller spaces (for instance Czech kolache or kolacky), put the filling in a decorating bag first and spray it over the pastry.
- Make sure the filling cools down completely before using it.
David says
Poppies are really hard to get here (Michigan), so I got to make this only once when my cousin sent a packet full of poppy seeds from the Czech Republic. Even then, this tasted fantastic! I think that poppies are really underrated in the US.
Petra Kupská says
Ahoj David, poppy seeds are one of the most commonly used ingredients in the Czech Republic when it comes to making filling for kolache and buchty buns. Always a great choice!
Marlyss says
FYI, canned poppyseed filling is available in grocery stores. Is on the baking isle with pie filling.
jesk says
Be forewarned, store-bought canned filling is hardly worth it; it's overly sweet and lacks a depth of flavor. Once, my grandma switched to canned in a pinch and that batch lost a certain specialness of homemade. It's worth it to go homemade, since you're already fussing with kolacy or buchty anyway.
Petra Kupská says
I couldn't agree with you more! However, I also take into account that poppy seeds are not as widely available around the world as they are in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, there is the issue of how to grind it.
Michelle says
What about added chocolate to the poppy? What would you say would be the amount to add to give it the perfect mixture of poppy and chocolate? Would you still add the jam and sugar?
Thank you
Cm says
Not on Oahu right now!!
Ruth Kraus says
lucky you! Unavailable in UK
Jean Luby says
You are absolutely right about being underrated. Here in Canada I buy it at the Bulk Barn in large quantity. The cashier at the time asked me what I was going to do with all the poppy seed. Unfortunately my problem is the grinding. I do use a spice grinder that works on maximum 4 TBS at a time. We use to have a proper Czech grinder used or grinding nuts and poppy see which made it much faster.
Dejan Igyidov says
I have good results in poppy seed grinding with a simple small electric coffee grinder. You should grind it only for the recipe you will make because poppy seeds tend to quickly spoil (go rancid) after grinding. Ground poppy seeds will spoil even in the freezer.
Kenneth says
This sounds great but I have a couple questions. Thank you.
What is the purpose of the milk and what does it do? Why can't we just use water?
What is the purpose of the jam?
Diana Chandler says
If I were to make a big batch of this.. what is your recommendation for storing leftovers? Fridge? Freezer? Canning?
Thanks!
Petra Kupská says
Ahoj Diana,
I usually only make the amount I use. Maybe it's because poppy seeds are widely available in the Czech Republic, both whole and ground. If you make a big batch of poppy seed filling, probably the easiest way to preserve it is to divide the chilled filling into smaller portions and freeze it. Hope it helps at least a bit!
Best wishes, Petra
Bonbon says
Why do you add jam? I've never heard of doing this. Wouldn't it take away the taste from the poppy seed?
Petra Kupská says
I add jam to the poppy seed filling to make it juicier, if I may say so. In the Czech Republic, we usually add plum jam (povidla), but I know that's not as easily available in the US.
jesk says
My Czech grandma occasionally used to put some cut-up prune plums for flavor, too. Or, also, often raisins.
Petra Kupská says
Yes, the Czechs often add raisins to poppy seed filling! Sometimes I add a little jam to make the filling juicier.
Sheila Keim says
Love these recipes!
Petra Kupská says
Thank you very much for your nice words, Sheila!
StillLostThanks says
I seen a bunch on amazon too but which ones are good, you sounded like you had some insight, what a waste of time.
Ulrike says
I order mine online from Nuts.com comes in a pound bag when I order seeds for rye breads and other grain breads . Usually get 2 and toss one in the freezer. Fresh products no matter what I order
Jody Gallup says
This sounds like a recipe like my Grandma used to make delicious kolaché. I will try this recipe.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you for your comment, Jody. Please, let me know how the recipe turned out afterwards!
Best of luck!
Anne P Strong says
My Czech Grandma always made the tied Kolache...little packages, she called them!! She also made an apricot filling and a prune filling both she cooked fresh fruit to make. Never got those recipes from her before she passed . Thank you for this recipe. I enjoy your site very much.
Petra Kupská says
Thank you, Anne, for your kind comment! You can try this recipe of mine for tied Kolache, hopefully they will taste close to the ones your grandmother used to make!
Sarah says
I ground 2 cups of poppy seeds and added 1 cup of milk, and the poppy seeds completely absorbed the milk. The recipe says to bring this to a boil, but when I stir it, there is no liquid in the bottom of the pot--it seems like it will just burn. What am I doing wrong here?
Petra | Cook Like Czechs says
Hi Sarah,
It sounds like the poppy seeds absorbed all the milk too quickly, which can happen if the seeds are finely ground and/or if the milk gets too hot. If the mixture is too thick and dry, you can add more milk, a little at a time, to loosen it up.
Suzanne RN says
This is an excellent recipe for fleshly made poppyseed filling! I made it sugar free and it tasted wonderful in my poppyseed strudel and solace!
Andrea says
Thank you so much for posting the Slovak poppy seed recipes. Would always have opekance and Kolache on Christmas Eve.
All the best.
G says
Thank you. When I was a child, my grandmother made both walnut and poppy seed loaves at Christmas, but only her walnut filling was passed down. I don't know if hers was like this or not, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first attempt at a poppy seed filling and will try again.
Petra Kupská says
I am glad that the walnut filling stayed in the family, and that poppy seed filling gave you a chance to try something new while still feeling connected to your grandmother’s baking. Wishing you many more happy experiments.
Ivana says
My mother used to add red currant jam (not available in the US) instead of prune butter; the sour note added freshness to the filling. The closest I come in the US is using organic seedless raspberry jam form a brand that uses less sugar than the more commercial brands. Note of caution: the seeds have to be fresh, otherwise they turn bitter! I get poppy seed from Penzeys and freeze the unused portion, unground. Left too long, however, even in the freezer, can turn them bitter. Re. the canned stuff, don't bother, it's full of sugar and starch, and I think the seeds are not ground. Happy baking!
Petra Kupská says
The red currant jam that tart note must balance the filling beautifully. Raspberry jam with less sugar sounds like a wonderful substitute when currants aren’t available. Thank you for the note about the poppy seeds. Once they turn bitter, there’s no saving the dish! The canned fillings don’t compare to freshly ground seeds, that is true. But if people don't have and access then this is probably the next best thing. Thank you for taking the time to share such helpful tips, this will benefit many readers. Happy baking to you as well!
Luanne says
My Dad was Bohemian, and through him we had a poppy seed grinder when I was growing up, and we raised our own seed. Then I moved away. I can get poppy seed from a bulk store, but I didn't have a grinder, and I didn't want to settle. Then I found a grinder on a garage sale! I grabbed it fast. The people holding the sale asked me if I knew what it was, and were surprised that I did. Now I have a grinder too. As for the recipe, we never added jam or zest. We just used ground seed, milk, and sugar, though we would fill kolache with this and fruit cooked separately.
Petra Kupská says
That’s amazing, you even found a grinder at a garage sale! It is a great find.