A classic potato knish is a must have nosh, where a flavored potato mixture is encased in a delicate, flaky pastry. Beautifully golden on the outside, and tender on the inside. Enjoy this knish recipe warm, room temperature, or even cold!
Like so many Jewish foods, potato knishes have a rich backstory. We’re talking about that today, along with the recipe that includes step-by-step photos and a video tutorial.
Potato Knishes
If you’ve ever wondered how to make New York knish, today is your lucky day! Finding recipes for potato knishes is few and far between, and the ones available seem very…unreliable. So I’ve really been experimenting to get this one right – I’ve made so many batches of homemade potato knish, it’s slightly obscene. The good news is, I perfected it for all of you, so you don’t need to spend days and weeks searching, and I provide step by step photos and a video tutorial. Huzzah!
Full disclosure: Making potato knishes is not quick. Between the dough, the potato mixture, sautéing the onions, forming them, and baking, plan on spending a couple hours. But it’s worth it! The best part is knishes can be enjoyed warm, room temperature, and even cold. They’re a great on-the-go bite or picnic food.
What is a Knish?
Nobody knows exactly when the first knish was created, but in 1910, Yonah Schimmel’s opened a knishery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, offering it up as street food from a pushcart. Old school! And it has been loosely accredited to him. Like many Jewish Eastern European immigrants, he knew how to create food when ingredients and money were lean. Since then, the knish is a staple at Jewish delicatessens. They’ve also been very Americanized and mass produced, with many different variations. There’s nothing like a classic knish, though.
A knish is a potato mixture wrapped in delicate dough, brushed with an egg wash, and baked until golden. The inside is tender and steamy, while the outside is crisp and flaky. Carbs stuffed with more carbs, without apologies. One knish is filling!
Traditionally, a knish is round, not square, baked, not deep fried, and always made with homemade dough, not puff pastry. The filling can include caramelized onions or even chopped up meat (like leftover corned beef – yum!), but the main ingredient is potato. And while it’s definitely considered a Jewish “nosh” you don’t need to be Jewish to enjoy them. I mean, who doesn’t love flaky pastry and flavored potatoes?!
Potato Knish Recipe Ingredients
For my knish recipe, I went the traditional route with homemade dough and a potato-onion filling.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Knish dough. There is nothing fancy or unusual about any of the dough ingredients – mostly pantry staples like flour, eggs, oil, white vinegar, baking powder, and kosher salt – with the one exception of schmaltz, which is rendered chicken fat and has so much great flavor. This is very common addition in Jewish food. You can usually find a jar of it near the oils. If not, use bacon grease.
- Knish filling. As for the filling, you’ll need Yukon gold potatoes, diced onion, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, butter, kosher salt, pepper, and more schmaltz.
How to Make Knish
As mentioned above, making knishes is not difficult, but is sort of an all day thing, so plan your time accordingly. It’s done in a few steps: 1) making the dough 2) making the filling 3) forming them, and 4) baking. Here’s a brief summary:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
Knish Dough. Making knish dough is similar to making a pie crust. Mix together the dry ingredients, make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients, then combine, mixing by hand until the dough pulls together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth, and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the filling.
Knish Filling. The filling is a combination of seasoned mashed potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and sautéed diced onions. The filling should be room temperature or slightly warm. If it’s hot, it will melt the dough.
Assembly. The dough gets divided in half and rolled out into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. The filling is then divided in half and placed over the long end of the dough, leaving a little bit uncovered on all sides to brush with egg wash. The dough is stretched over the filling and rolled up, pressed to seal, and ends trimmed.
Forming the knish. Using a bench scraper, mark (but do not cut) dough into 8 equal pieces. Flour the side of your hand and press into the marks. Rub back and forth against the counter to separate each piece. Position each piece with one cut end facing down and the other facing up. Squish down the top and tuck everything into the center to form a round knish.
Bake. Brush bottoms with olive oil and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush egg wash on top. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.
What to Eat with Potato Knishes
Knish can certainly be enjoyed all on their own, but serving them with your favorite mustard, horseradish, or sauerkraut is popular and recommended. Knish are great warm, at room temperature, or even cold – they’re great picnic or lunchbox food.
How to Store Potato Knishes
- Make the dough ahead. You can make the knish dough and use it right away or keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If it’s chilled, let stand at room temp for a bit to soften before trying to roll it out.
- Leftovers. Wrap any extra baked knishes in foil or an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. They will keep up to 5 days.
- Freeze. I like to make a double batch of potato knishes and freeze a bunch for later! Let cool completely, then place on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and place in the freezer until solid. Then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag. They will keep frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat. If you prefer them warm, gently reheat the knish in the oven at 350F for about 10-15 minutes until warmed through. Or you can pop them in the microwave for 1-3 minutes or until the center is hot (but the dough won’t be crisp.)
More Jewish Food:
- Challah Bread
- Matzo Ball Soup
- Potato Latkes
- Rugelach
- Charoset
- Kugel
- Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts)
- Cheese Blintz
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Potato Knish
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or more as needed), spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) – SEE NOTE
- 1/2 cup warm water
FOR THE POTATOES
- 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes , peeled and quartered (about 6 medium/large)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper , to taste
FOR THE ONIONS
- 1/4 cup butter , sliced
- 3 cups diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons schmaltz
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- salt and ground black pepper , to taste
EGG WASH
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons water , or as needed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , or as needed
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGH
- Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add beaten egg, vinegar, canola oil, schmaltz, and warm water. Mix by hand until dough pulls together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth, and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the filling (or place in the fridge for up to 3 days.)
MAKE THE MASHED POTATOES
- Place the potatoes in a large pot with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (not table salt) and enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 1-inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add in the sour cream, shredded cheese, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste, and mash (but leaving some texture, since you’ll mash again with the onion mixture. You don’t want them gummy.)
SAUTE THE ONIONS
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, schmaltz, and kosher salt; cook and stir until onions are soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to the bowl with the warmed mashed potatoes. Season with a touch more salt and pepper. Mash until combined and let cool to room temperature.
ASSEMBLE THE KNISH
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Divide dough in half; flatten one half into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a larger rectangle about 1/8-inch thick, pulling the corners as needed.
- Place half of the filling over one long end, about 3 inches away from the edges. Beat egg with water and brush over the opposite end and a little on the sides. Stretch the dough to cover the filling, then roll up toward the egg-washed side. Fold the last 3 or 4 inches over the top, then press in the seam to seal roll over so seam-side is on the bottom. Trim off excess dough from the ends.
- Using a bench scraper, mark (but do not cut) dough into 8 equal pieces. Flour the side of your hand and press into the marks. Rub back and forth against the counter to separate each piece. Position each piece with one cut end facing down and the other facing up. Squish down the top and tuck everything into the center to form a round knish.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Brush bottoms with olive oil and place on the prepared baking sheets. Brush leftover egg wash on top.
BAKE
- Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden-brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool until just warm or room-temperature.Serve with your favorite mustard, horseradish, or sauerkraut.
I just wanted you to know that I have looked at LOTS of recipes in blogs/online over the years… and the way you have organized and laid out this recipe is perfection! Breaking it into the 4 parts is super smart and shows you are writing for the reader and not yourself — which is paramount in writing!
Also, the way you have the photos for each step in each stage together is excellent. No endless scrolling back and forth to see what is supposed to be happening. It’s right there in front of you to see and not try to imagine it with photos that are harder to decipher and don’t necessarily tell you what you want to know.
Anyway, I just thought it would be nice to know someone noticed that effort and skill and appreciated it.
I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season.
My grandson loves these kanish. In place of making the pastry I’ve used crescent roll sheets and they work well. Thank you
Every weekend I try to find a different recipe “project” to do with my daughter. Usually it’s a baked good like cake, but this past weekend I chose this knish. Thank you for the detailed instructions and tips – they came out GREAT and we loved them.
Finding a good homemade knish recipe is virtually impossible, thanks for doing the work. These came out PERFECT!!
Hello,
I made this recipe today, exactly as written but the bottoms of my knish were burnt after 15 minutes in the oven. I used parchment paper. Should I have brushed the bottom of the knish with vegetable oil instead of olive oil? I don’t know what happened.
My family and I loved this knish recipe. The recipe was easy to follow and the video was so helpful when it came time to form the knishes.
Delish! These were a huge hit. Thank you
Great tasting knish! Someone posted it on Reddit with a picture they took. I wasn’t going to use all the onion, but I’m glad I did for the flavor payoff. I don’t eat meat so I used butter Crisco in place of schmaltz in the pastry; ghee and vegetarian chicken bouillon in the onions. I also used half mozzarella and half unsmoked Gouda cheese. We’ve only ever eaten the rectangle shaped off the cart, but these are definitely up there especially since it’s homemade. Took quite a bit of time like others said, but really worth it.
These came out GREAT! The pastry was so light and flaky and the filling had wonderful flavor. As mentioned, in the article these are not quick, but I do think they’re fairly easy. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and including so many tips and visuals.
Made these and loved them! I used duck fat instead of schmaltz, and it worked out beautifully. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
What a great recipe! I’ve never made them before and they’re different than what I grew up with and I really loved these! I wasn’t looking to recreate something from my past but just wanted a great knish recipe. I modified this slightly in that I had way too much leftover mashed potatoes (russet) from thanksgiving. So I eyeballed the amount and kept the onion amount the same. Used ghee in place of schmaltz. I split the potato onion mixture in half and did one half w no cheese and leftover sautéed garlic greens also from thanksgiving. The other batch I just grated a bunch of cheddar and did some greens in half that other batch. Love this!! Thank you. Gonna make extra mashed potatoes from now on so I can do this and freeze them. :)
Can I use a pre-made pie dough to make the knish?
Hi Jane! I’m sure you can, but I can’t advise on what kind or how much, or results, since I’ve only tested this recipe using the dough recipe included in the instructions.
Is there a nonanimal substitute for chix fat or bacon grease? Thank you.
Melted butter or ghee. As a last resort, you could use vegetable oil although it won’t contribute any flavor.
Hi Amy, do you have a recipe also for mushroom knish? If so, could you please post it here. Thanks Sandy
Hi Amy- I want to make these for Rosh Hashana next weekend. Can I make them without the egg wash, freeze, thaw overnight in fridge and then bake? Or are they better baked first and then frozen? Thanks.
Hi Jane! You can do either, but my preference would be to form them and freeze before baking, then thaw and proceed with the written recipe. I would also recommend if you’re omitting the egg wash to consider basting the tops with a bit of milk so they still get a bit of a golden hue. Watch them carefully and if they start to over-brown, loosely tent with foil. Enjoy!
These came out wonderful!! First time making knish and it definitely was a process but so worth it. Thanks for sharing this recipe – I haven’t seen anything else available with this much detail. Appreciated the video, too!
These tasted great. It was my first attempt, but I did the first half according to the instructions. The 2nd half I divided everything into 8. 8 pieces of dough. 8 blobs of filling. Roll out your pieces, or roll it all out and cut 8 pieces. My knishes turned out perfectly! Easy, and no mess.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! There used to be a street cart vender in Chicago near my work who sold them, but I haven’t seen him in years. These were as close to his as it gets. Great recipe!!
I made these tonight and they were delicious! Definitely not as pretty as yours because mine spilled over a little, but I’m 100% using this recipe again!
This has been the best filling ever. Made both round and squares. Love it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!! It’s near impossible to find a recipe for homemade knish. The dough was flaky and the filling was delicious.
So excited to try this recipe! I’ve been hankering for knishes since I moved out west. Is there a way to make them square?
I can’t wait to bake and try to make this delicate and very awesome and great recipe
This recipe was such a treat!! They reminded me of the knish I used to get at the afternoon food cart where I worked many years ago. I’ve always wanted to make them, but could never find a proper recipe. This one nailed it. Not quick and easy – more suited for a lazy weekend or snow day – but so worth the time. They were terrific. Thanks for all the step by step photos, tips, additional info, video, etc. Very helpful!
Never had a knish, but glad I tried this recipe. It halved fine. I skimped on the salt, and they were a little bland. Stick to the salt called for in the recipe.
I was so excited to find this recipe. I used to live in Chicago where we’d get knish all the time. Now I’m living in the country and can’t get them anywhere. So worth the time to make them and they freeze great. Thanks for sharing this!!
Funny, I’ve been meaning to ask my mom if we have a knish recipe. I remember knishes filled with kasha. And, where do you get schmaltz in the oil section in Sacramento???? I cannot find it in the foothills and I’d drive down to Sac to find it ;) I was lucky and found cake meal (we use it for Sponge cake and mondelbrot) for Passover at the Savemart on Fair Oaks.
My local Nugget and Safeway both carry schmaltz in the condiment aisle near the oils (which makes sense.) Although, the brand is labeled “rendered chicken fat” not schmaltz.
Love this recipe so much! I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and one of my friend’s moms used to make these. I lost touch with them and always wanted to know how to make them. Thank you for sharing!!
I am so excited! I used to drive from Virginia to NYC several times a year, and I always brought a dozen knishes back with me to freeze and then savor from time to time. I’ve sought recipes over the years, but I never found one that looked so promising as yours … especially with the added bonus of the video! Thank you so much.
So happy to hear this, Russ – this is what I was aiming for!
Excellent information, instruction, and recipe!
I’m so glad you found it helpful, Barb!