This is a Czech recipe for delicious plum dumplings with poppy seed topping. Czechs most often enjoy them as a sweet lunch. Curious? Let's make the dumplings together!
These plum dumplings are made with soft potato cheese dough. Inside comes a pitted fresh plum. The dumplings are boiled in water, cut in half on a plate, and sprinkled with ground poppy seeds mixed with icing sugar. As a final touch, the butter poured over the dumplings enhances their divine flavor.
➤ In the Czech language, plum dumplings are called "švestkové knedlíky".
Czechs most often make these dumplings during the plum season, which begins in August and peaks at the end of October.
MY TIP: Also try these strawberry dumplings made with cheese dough (they taste fantastic!)
➜ Ingredients
For plum dumplings, you'll need:
DOUGH:
- Potatoes; boiled in their skin on, ideally a day ahead. To prepare the dough, the potatoes must be thoroughly cooled.
- Cream cheese; use any neutral-tasting cream cheese with a higher fat content (do not use the light version).
- All-purpose flour; I give approximate quantities in the recipe card. The exact amount will always depend on the creaminess of the cheese used.
- Egg
- Salt
POPPYSEED TOPPING:
- Poppy seeds; ground. The poppy seeds can easily be ground in a clean coffee grinder. Grind the poppy seeds briefly and in smaller batches.
- Icing sugar
- Unsalted butter; melted in a small pot or in a microwave
You also need smaller, fresh plums, preferably of the Italian type.
✅ See the recipe below with step-by-step photos and many helpful tips. Scroll down for the full printable recipe in both US cups and metric measurements.
➜ Kitchen Equipment
I cooked the dumplings in an 11-inch (28 cm) pan with a lowered rim. You will also need a hand grater to grate the cooked potatoes and a flat slotted spoon to remove the boiled dumplings from the water.
➜ Instructions with Photos
MAKE AHEAD: First, boil the potatoes in their skins in advance. Let them cool completely.
STEP 1: Peel the cooked, cooled potatoes and grate them finely.
STEP 2: Add the flour, eggs, cream cheese, and a pinch of salt to the bowl.
STEP 3: Work into a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add a little flour if necessary.
STEP 4: Shape the dough into a cylinder and cut it into equal-sized pieces on a floured surface.
STEP 5: Lightly press each piece of dough into the flour on both cut sides and shape it into a patty.
STEP 6: Wrap the halved plum in the dough and shape it into a round dumpling.
STEP 7: Cook the plum dumplings in gently boiling water for 8-10 minutes. There is no need to flip the dumplings while cooking them.
➜ Serving
Serve the dumplings warm; cut them in half on the plate. Sprinkle with ground poppy seeds mixed with icing sugar and top with melted butter.
Do you like plums? Try out these Czech plum kolaches!
➜ Useful Tips
- The exact amount of flour in the dough depends on the consistency of the cream cheese. Thinner, creamier cheese will need more flour and vice versa.
- The plums need to be perfectly dry when processing the dumplings, as do your hands. Water causes erosion of the dough, it will fall apart, and you won't be able to close the dumplings.
- Halve the plums for the dumplings. If they are sour, add a little granulated sugar between the plum halves.
TIP: If the dumplings stick to the bottom while cooking, loosen them with a fork so they can float to the surface.
More Czech dumplings:
- Fruit dumplings - made with yeast dough
- Potato dumplings - a perfect side for roasted meat
- Bread dumplings - ideal for sauces
- Cherry dumplings - třešňové knedlíky
- Plum compote - Czech klevela recipe
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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📖 Recipe
Plum dumplings with poppyseed topping
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3 medium potatoes e. g., Yukon Gold
- 7 ounces cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Poppyseed topping:
- 4 Tablespoons ground poppy seeds
- 4 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Next, you need:
- 12 pieces fresh plums preferably Italian plums
Instructions
- Before you start cooking: First, boil 3 medium potatoes in their skins ahead of time. Allow them to cool completely before using. Clean 12 pieces fresh plums, pat them dry, then halve and pit them.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and finely grate them. In a bowl, combine the grated potatoes with 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 egg, 7 ounces cream cheese, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Knead the mixture into a smooth, non-sticky dough. If needed, add a little more flour to achieve the right consistency.
- Shape the dough into a cylinder and cut it into equal-sized pieces on a floured surface.
- Lightly press each piece of dough into the flour on both cut sides and shape it into a flat patty.
- Wrap a halved plum in each piece of dough, shaping it into a round dumpling.
- Cook the plum dumplings in gently boiling, salted water for 8-10 minutes. There is no need to flip them during cooking.
- Serve the plum dumplings sprinkled with ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar. As a final step, drizzle melted butter over the top.
Notes
- SERVING: Serve the dumplings warm, cutting them in half on the plate. Sprinkle with ground poppy seeds mixed with powdered sugar, and top with melted butter.
- The exact amount of flour needed for the dough depends on the consistency of the cream cheese. Thinner, creamier cheese will require more flour, while thicker cheese will need less.
- Ensure the plums have a perfectly dry surface when preparing the dumplings, and make sure your hands are dry as well. Any moisture can cause the dough to erode, making it fall apart and difficult to seal the dumplings properly.
- Halve the plums for the dumplings. If they are sour, add a little granulated sugar between the plum halves.
- If the dumplings stick to the bottom while cooking, gently loosen them with a fork so they can float up to the surface.
Jane Borecky says
My mother-in-law made this recipe except that she grated some kind of a firm white cheese and spread it over the cooked dumplings, then sprinkled sugar on top, and then drizzled with melted butter. I’ve never been able to figure out what kind of cheese that was.
Petra Kupská says
Jane, it must have been Czech Tvaroh cheese! You could find my recipe here: https://www.cooklikeczechs.com/how-to-make-tvaroh/ To get a firm version of the cheese, let it drain overnight in a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Fingers crossed!
Frank Miller says
My mother used to make these, but they were served with melted butter, buttered fried bread crumbs, and cinnamon sugar on top, and swimming in cream.
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
It is another version, that can be done. Personally I prefer poppy seeds, but I have no doubt that bread crumbs and cinnamon on top would be delicious.
Debra Nelson says
We are Croatian and we, too, used bread crumbs. However, we added sugar and cinnamon to the buttered crumbs which we heated in a fry pan. My tastes of heaven on earth!!!
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
It’s amazing how similar ingredients can create so many unique and tasty recipes across cultures!
Traci says
It's been 40 plus years since my last plum dumpling and these were pretty close. I overcooked the first batch. Thank you for the great memories!
Thomas Smejkal says
This brings back so many happy memories growing up when I saw this recipe this morning.
My mother used to make these every year when the plums were in season for a meatless Friday treat. She paired them with corn on the cob to get a perfect sweet and salty contrast.
One of her best Czech dishes.
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
It’s wonderful how these traditional recipes bring back such special moments from childhood. You’re right, a perfect sweet and salty combo!
It’s beautiful to hear how these dishes continue to be cherished across generations, even when separated by borders.
Peggy Kremer says
I just saw the plums in the grocery store yesterday, and my thoughts turned to these! Maybe the Slovak recipe is slightly different, because my Mom never used cheese in her dough. She also didn't grate the potato, but mashed it (without milk or butter). She didn't cut the plums, just used them whole - by counting the pits, we'd know who ate the most! After they had all risen to the top, she'd drain them, and then use the same pot to melt butter and add some sugar and either ground poppy seeds or unseasoned bread crumbs. When that was all combined, the dumplings would be returned to the pot, and they'd get coated with the mixture. I love them and will make them very soon!
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
Thank you so much for sharing! You had a fun family-friendly competition then. 🙂 I love hearing how every family has their own version of these traditional dishes. Your mom’s method sounds delicious, especially coating the dumplings in butter with sugar and either poppy seeds or breadcrumbs, so simple and so comforting.
I hope you get to make them soon and enjoy every bite.
Deborah says
We also used the same dough like your Slovak version and I continue using our family recipe. We didn’t use poppy seeds, we topped them up at the table with graham cracker crumbs,butter, cottage cheese and sugar. I stock up on prune plums in season, freeze them pitted and make my dumplings without thawing the plums first. I will have to try them with poppy seeds, they sound wonderful!
Alex Shupka says
Must have been a Slovak thing. We did the same. I could eat a dozen. Never realized how much work my appetite created until I made them myself. And she made them without a Kitchenaid. Sadly the plums are available for such a short window. And leftover dough was made into nochki with fried onions. Yum!
Bobbie says
My dad made us peach dumplings. It was a Lenten season meal. This recipe brought back memories of those peachy dumplings.!!
Petra Kupská | Cook Like Czechs says
I am so glad this recipe brought those lovely memories back for you!
Mary Clare Bataglia says
My grandmother and great-aunt brought a plum dumpling recipe with them to the US in 1909. We had several plum trees in the yard and I still remember eating plums off the tree, warmed by the sun. Plum dumplings are a family favorite still made 3 generations later. Our recipe is different in that we don't use potatoes or cream cheese in the dough, but use mashed cottage cheese and a little milk or cream instead. We always top our dumplings with sugar, cinnamon, and lots of melted butter.
Mo Ronan says
I make these every week during plum season. Baba’s recipe didn’t have cheese in the dough, the plums were left whole and the topping was sugar and heavy cream. I drive 90 minutes to the orchard to find fresh Italian plums here in VT. I find it so interesting that the recipes I find here are so like my grandmother’s with a little tweak here and there and sometimes a different name but always delicious. Thank you for helping me recover some recipes I thought were lost to me forever!