According to WikiPedia, a runza (also called a bierock) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round (bun), square, or triangle. In Nebraska, the runza is usually baked in a rectangular shape. The bierocks of Kansas, on the other hand, are generally baked in the shape of a bun.
According to my palate, I define a runza as ‘yummy goodness’ – a very technical term, you know ;)
Runza is a traditional food of the interior mid-western states; a local tradition with many different recipes, depending on the cook. Though Nebraska and Kansas are known for runza, the recipe has spread quite a bit. Runza restaurants have popped up all over Nebraska, one in Kansas, and a few in Colorado now, too.
I grew up watching my mother make these, and then waiting by the oven for them to finish baking — the smell moving through the house slowly … a tantalizing tease . Needless to say, runzas never lasted long in my house. Even now, with just the two of us, they don’t last too long.
Although I enjoy the original recipe for Runza, and do make it on occasion, I also enjoy making variations on it. I like to substitute half of the hamburger with hot Italian sausage (see recipe here) , add garlic, sometimes green peppers. Or at other times, adding cumin and ground dried chili, with jalapeno’s. There are many different ways to make Runza, though, traditionally, the recipe is as below – ‘Original Runza Recipe’.
Enjoy!
Original Runza Recipe
2 pound ground beef
1 large onion , chopped
Salt
Pepper
1 Medium Cabbage, chopped
2 batches of bread dough
Saute onion in a bit of oil until just translucent. Add hamburger and saute until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Drain away the grease, and return to the pan. Cover the mixture with the shredded cabbage and cook until the cabbage is done. Stir occasionally. This could take about 45 minutes or so.
Using an egg-dough recipe, roll small balls of dough thin to make a 5×5 square. Put about 1/2 cup of cabbage mixture in center of square and seal closed. Place seal side down on a parchment lined baking sheet (or a lightly greased sheet). Allow these to sit, covered lightly with a tea towel, for about 20 minutes – so the dough can rise for the second time.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 or until lightly golden brown.
Runza Recipe – Variation on the Original Recipe
1 pound ground beef
1 Pound hot italian sausage
1 large onion , chopped
Salt
2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
Pepper
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium Green Pepper, chopped
1 Medium Cabbage, chopped
2 batches of bread dough*
Saute garlic, onion and green pepper in a bit of oil. Add ground beef and sausage and saute until brown. Drain the oil away. Place the mixture back in the pan and cover with the shredded cabbage (it will be heaping). Cook over medium heat, mixing together the meat mixture and cabbage, and cook until the cabbage is tender and sweet.
Set aside and let cool.
Roll small balls of dough thin to make a 5×5 square. Put about 1/2 cup of cabbage mixture in center of square and seal closed. Place seal side down on a parchment lined baking sheet (or a lightly greased sheet).
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 or until lightly golden brown.
Notes:
Freezing:
Runzas freeze very well. Allow them to cool completely, uncovered. Once these are cool, wrap in aluminum foil. I usually then put 4 wrapped runzas to a gallon ziplock bag and freeze.
I’ve kept these 4-6 weeks with no problem wrapped as above. If, however, you wish to keep these longer, allow to cool completely, wrap in plastic wrap well, wrap in aluminum foil, and place in either a ziplock back or an airtight container. You can then keep these for up to 3 months.
Reheating:
If you have not frozen these, heat the oven to 400F and heat for 10-12 minutes.
If you have frozen these, heat oven to 400F, put frozen, (and still wrapped runza package) into the oven and heat for 20-25 minutes. The last 5 minutes, remove the foil.
Variation:
Add 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
OR
Add 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
Hey I was just wondering when you would be able to get the dough recipe up. I’m kind of weird in the way that i like to make everything from scratch… I love Runza, and runzas so thanks for the recipe!
Gads.. I totally forgot. I’ll get it up here this evening. Sorry for the delay.
LM
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Yummy yummy! Originally from NE, moved to MD many years ago. I had a runza party last night for 20 of my nearest and dearest and everyone loved them! I don’t think I’ve ever made runzas for anyone who didn’t go crazy over them.
Been looking for an original runza recipe to make my fiance since he moved to denver and HAS to eat them everytime he comes back to NE lol……now i can make a batch and freeze them to send with him when he goes back out to Colorado =]
Hi, I noticed the link to the bread dough was not working, could you tell me where to find the recipe?
Thanks
I moved away years ago but still love them! I had not made these in a few years and needed refreshed. Thanks for the recipe, my friends here in Maine love Runzas!
A bit of nutmeg (1/4 tsp) or allspice in the basic recipe does wonders. HAIL RUNZA!!!
Love Runzas! Discovered them from a coworker’s grandmother when she brought them to a potluck here in Sacramento.
She gave me the recipe, and I’ve made and shared them ever since!
The recipe I was given calls for the sauerkraut and cabbage to be cooked separately in half a can of beef broth to add flavor, as well as thyme and carraway.
As an alternative to homemade dough, crescent roll dough is fantastic for Runzas, being light and flaky. Just seal the perforations, and use two crescent roll triangles per Runza. Fold edges over to make a unique 6 sided shape. Brand name preferred over generics, which tend to be dry.
I’m from Nebraska, and I miss Runza restaurants terribly. However I make mine a lot like darkblades (only I bake mine in casserole form with the crescent dough on the top and bottom and filling inbetween).
My husband is from Scotland and absolutely loves them. It is very much a comfort food dish.
You’ve all got such good variations on this, I think I’ll plan to make some runza in a couple of weeks (when it is nice and cool). I’m dying to make them with crescent dough, and I think that the idea of baking this as a casserole a neat idea.
I can’t do both at once, (the two of us could never eat it all), but I’m going to do them both over the next couple of months.
My Grandparents are from NE and I have eaten runzas my whole childhood. My daughter had a project for third grade called ” State fair” and she chose to research NE. The extra credit part was to prepare a food from the state. We chose runzas.
My wife being from MI had no idea how to make them and my grandmother had lost her recipie. I used the basic recipie found here and most of my day off to make this dish. Every child that ate them loved them and every parent wanted the recipie!!!!!!! the parents also wanted to know how I got their kids to eat cabage and onions!!
The only thing I did different was to use frozen bread dough instead of fresh. It worked great!
I just found your site and was excited to make them, but the bread dough recipe is nowhere to be found. :(
That takes us up to the next level. Great potsnig.
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I always use frozen bread dough and they come out great! I let the dough soften a litle (don’t let it rise), cut off pieces, flatten and form the runzas. Let them rise and cook. Be sure to put butter on the top after you take them out of the oven. Makes them especially yummy!
Our cook in college (UNL) used to serve them with brown gravy–yum.
I’m making them tonight for a New Year’s Eve party.
Are you talking about perogi? That is dough generally filled with mashed potato and onion or mashed potato and cheese. It is a polish recipe and Martha Stewart, being polish, has an excellent one on her website.
I’ve been looking for a similar item we ate as children (in Hawaii). In my memory it was called “Peroski” or something similar … sorry not sure of the spelling. It sounds like your Runza but it had some sort of cheese in it. Have you ever used cheese or a cheese sauce in your Runza?
Thanks
I had a friend who made these a few years ago but we soon moved afterwards and I didn’t have a chance to get the recipe. I am so happy to find your site. I grew up in Iowa and since a lot of the families there are German descent I really don’t know how I never had them as a child.
Jae, my friend had mozzarella cheese in here and they were to die for!
Will you be putting the dough recipe back up?
Jae,
I think “perogies” are what you mean. They’re similar, but I think they’re boiled.
You can also use biscuits, just flatten them out and put the mixture in, add another flattened biscuit on top and seal them together with a fork.
Jae, try googling “pierogies”. That is a polish delicatessen, YUM!!
Thanks for this recipe, I need to make it for some of my Las Vegas buddies who caught wind of this on Facebook!
Lived in Nebraska for 28 years and they are hard to describe :)
My Grandmother is from Lincoln and made these all the time. Anytime any of us Grandkids would come to visit we would always ask for them. Now as an adult When the weather turns cold I find myself making a batch
I have loved Runzas all my life. 34 Years ago we moved south, So I learned how to make them. Beats going up to NE every year! Well anyway, I put sage in mine and put brown gravey over the top and they taste great! My kids and husband love them!
I was wondering if you could put theTraditional Egg Bread recipe back on here for those of us that just found your site. I haven’t been to a Runza restaurant in years, and miss them terribly. Would love to make them as close to traditional as possible.
See the latest post – http://thisfoodthing.com/2010/01/12/traditional-egg-bread-challah/
Lived in Omaha for 9 years (military), never thought I would miss a food so much, I’m making them now and was checking on what spices to add. Can’t wait for my new husband to try them.
I hope they live up to that memory!!!
I’m also from NE and sooo excited to try this recipe. Does anyone know how many runza’s this recipe makes? (with the 2 batches of dough as called for above) I’m having my 30th birthday party this weekend and a bunch of my NE people will be there.. what a treat this will be!! :)
Liz – This recipe can make anywhere from 8 to 16, depending upon the size of the rolled out dough. I often end up making these a bit large and get 10 or so. YMMV.
My dad was in the AirForce and I grew up in Omaha for 15 years. Going to the Runza Hut was a treat – almost 30 years ago! Since then I have lived from the east coast to Hawaii and now in the deep south. NO ONE has ever heard of a Runza! But no one as heard of a kolache either. I just found the web site and can’t wait to make my own and share them with everyone! Thank you.
We used to get runzas at ruth pyrtle elementary school in Lincoln in the 60′s. I became a vegitarian in 1972 but still get a hankerin for runzas 38 years down the line. I have actually succeeded in making a vegitarian version substituting prepared vegitarian burger (the best substitute is Ceadar Lake Vege burger) and can manage to keep on being a happy veg.
I am originally from Nebraska, living in Ohio now, so I also love to make homemade runzas! However, I always use frozen bread dough, and I put a combo of cheddar and American cheese in my Runzas. I also mix a can of cream of mushroom soup into the mixture. Enjoy!
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I’m ready to try this recipe. I lived in NE for a few years and loved runza’s!! Do I need to let the beef mixture cool before placing in dough pockets??
I TO AM FROM NEBRASKA AND HAVE EATEN RUNZA AND MADE RUNZA FROM SCATCH FOR MANY A YEARS, I MAKE HOME MADE BREAD, ROLL OUT AND PLACE MY COOLED HAMBURGER ONION AND CABBAGE MIXTURE. WHEN I MAKE THEM I MAKE A DOUBLE TO TRIPLE BATCH OF BREAD, 4 TO 5 LBS OF HAMBURGER AND 4 TO 5 HEADS OF CABBAGE. MAKE ABOUT 40. WHICH SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT WHEN WORD IS OUT I AM MAKING THEM FAMILY AND FRIENDS COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK.
This may be heresy, but the runza filling works real good wraped up in a whole wheat tortilla. It’s a quick way to pack my lunch in the morning.
My family loves Runza’s but not the ones from Runza. They prefer the ones I make.
I use sweet roll bread, ie: Cinnamon roll dough. I cheat on both the dough and the filling. I usually mix the dough up in the bread machine. And instead of buying cabbage and shredding it I usually just buy the shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix in the bag. The coleslaw mix works fine the only difference is you have some carrots in the mixture. I go light on the salt. When I make them I usually make a large batch so I usually buy to average size bag of cabbage/coleslaw mix and enough dough to make 24 or so cinnamon rolls. I can not stand greasy food so instead of just draining the meet I also rinse with water before I season and add the onion and cabbage mixture. The sugar needs to be stirred just before taking the mixture out of the pan.
Never rise your hamburger with water. You take all the flavor of it. I don’t like greasy food either. So I put old towels or wash cloths in a bowl and then put the hamburger, cover, press down. Grease goes into the cloths and it leaves all the flavor in the meat. Just wash the cloths in hot soapy water and they are ready for the next use.
Thank you SOOOO much for this recipe! I grew up as the grand daughter of a German immigrant and watched my grandmother make ‘bidochs’ so many times…but never took note of how she did it (I do remember that she sometimes used bacon pieces instead of hamburger). I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
I was born and raised in Kansas and never had heard of these sandwiches until I worked in dowtown Wichita and around the corner from my office was a place called Bierocks. I ate there at least once a week back in the 70′s. And as far as i know the place is still in business serving up these most delicious sandwiches. So is this the one runza restaurant you are taking about in your intro?
Thanks, I’m a kneebrasky boy and for some odd reason woke up with
a runza on the mind to make this weekend. I live overseas and they look at me
funny when I bring this kind of thing up, LOL.
Thank you!!
Danny
You have brought me back to my Nebraska roots. I miss this treat and I am glad to have found it again. Thank you.
I LOOOOOOOOVE RUNZAS!!!! It’s been 4 years since I actually did the trek from TX back home to NE and had one of these pockets of heavenly goodness! I make them at home but I use a packaged hot roll mix found in most large chain supermarkets(don’t know if I can say the name, but it’s pretty commonly found in the cake mix aisle). I have never gone by a recipe, but just winged it from memories of home as a kid in Nebraska. My mom and I both make these but I’m planning to bake them and give them to my family as gifts for Christmas… in a frozen state, of course. Gonna check out the recipe and the bread dough recipe here and possibly make them this way. I hope they’re yummy!!! :)
I am a native Nebraskan and discovered I could make Runzas at home and have now gotten it down to a painless process that does not require a lot of prep to make homemade dough. I too also used to make the dough in my bread machine but frozen dough was faster and using already pre-shaped buns meant even less time with better results! We grow cabbage in the garden and you are able to freeze shredded cabbage in plastic bags for making fresh homemade Runzas any time.
The easiest dough is to use Rhodes frozen Texas size buns – perfect size when you roll out or use your hands to make a rectangle. I place the bag of frozen buns in the fridge overnight and take out of the bag before they begin to rise and end up sticking together! Just place on a plate and leave some room between each while you make the meat mixture. Do let the hamburger, onion, cabbage mixture cool – place in the refrigerator for awhile. I usually am flattening the buns at this time (don’t use a lot of flour to roll out or the dough will not ‘seal’, in fact the dough will almost stay stuck to your cutting board until you fill and fold over without flouring it) then take cooled filling out and place about 1/4 to 1/3 cup on the center of each bun. You can add a slice of cheese at this point. Bring up the edges and make sure you seal them or you will lose the juice while they bake! Place sealed side down on a baking sheet and reshape into a rectangle if they are now more round unless that is the shape you prefer :)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Some people do butter them after removing from the oven, a personal preference but it does make the dough softer. Other people will also wrap in foil after baking which also tends to soften the crust. Enjoy eating these pockets of YUMMO!!
I was wondering if you have to bake the runza’s before you freeze them?
Can you freeze the runza’s before baking them?
Marcy — I’ve never frozen them prior to baking before. I’m not sure how that would go. I’d experiment with a few, and see what happens
I have frozen them without baking them, just get them out thaw and let rise, always turned out great and you have “fresh baked” runzas everytime.
Bless You
Grew up in NE
Love Runza’s
Have looked for years for a recipe.
Thanks
I ate my first Runza about ten years ago, now every time we drive I-80 through NB a lunch stop is always made at a Runza restaurant. About a week ago we stopped in a local American Legion in the Denver area; they were making what the call Kraut Burgers for a fund raiser. They allow my wife to peek in the kitchen, they placed the bread dough in a small coffee cup, then folded it over the contents, setting it aside to rise a second time. Enjoyed the site, thanks.
Lew — that’s a great idea — the cup. I’ll give that a try next time I make these — Thanks :)
Years ago Runza in Lincoln used to sell the frozen runza, premade, but not baked. You could buy them in the grocries stores. They were good.
Years ago runza sold premade, but not baked runza’s in the gro. stores in Lincoln
sounds absolutly delightfull. Maybe some pictures of the dish would be good, but I am definatley going to try this dish.
I’m from Iowa (1 mile from the NE border) and adding your own extras like salsa and cheddar cheese, or my favorite swiss and mushrooms also make for a very tasty Runza!!
Hi I grew up in Ne. My great-great aunt used to make theses. She was from Germany. When she passed away when I was bout 10-12 y/o, she passed the recipe on to my family. But we never made them very often. After Runza opened in Lincoln, we stopped making them all together.
I no longer have her recipe but your is the closest I have every come to hers.
When I made the dough (won’t use store bought/pre-made dough), I used 100% whole wheat flour for half of the flour. Had to use extra water to make it sticky but it turned out great.
I found another recipe for the dough but yours is like my g-g aunts. It is soooo goood!
I just use coleslaw mix (easier on me) and add Mrs. Dash instead of salt. It gives it nice flavor. I also only use cast iron skillet to cook in. Also I only cooked the cabbage and hamburger for bout 20 mins with a lid.
I grew up in Ne and now live in SD. Few years ago, we drove through NE to KS. On the way back we stopped at a “Runza” and it just didn’t taste the same as I remembered. So I got home and looked up a recipe. People round here just don’t know what runzas are and when I make them they ask me to make them some. I gave them a recipe but they don’t want to do all the hard work. LOL
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL RECIPE!
I’m so glad the recipe has that taste you remember. I have so many memories of foods that I had as a child, and cannot seem to replicate. :)
I have never heard of these until this weekend.. I am impressed. We made many variations, cooked and individually froze them as my mother is going in for surgery and will be unable to cook for a while. We also made some Au Jus to dip these in… This was amazing.
Oh, I’m glad you like these — and I hope your Mother will too — they are one of those “comfort foods” that always seem to fit the bill.