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Runzas – a delicious and easy to make homemade bun stuffed with ground beef, cabbage, and cheese! It’s the original “Hot Pocket”.
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Runzas
I remember my mother making Runzas (a.k.a. Bierocks) when I was growing up. To me, these were the original “Hot Pockets”. I love the idea of everything being stuffed into a handy little buttery bun. I’m guessing these originated in Germany … but I’m so glad they made their way to the Midwest where my Mom grew up – otherwise, I may have missed out on these tasty little treats!
I know some people freak out at the thought of making their own dough. Don’t let the idea of making this dough intimidate you! I pinky promise it’s not hard! You can mix it all by hand with a large bowl and a wooden spoon. However, if you have a mixer with a dough hook, this will make quick work of the dough!
Runzas – Ingredients and Utensils Needed:
Ingredients:
FOR THE DOUGH
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. warm water (110-115 degrees F)
- 1-1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 to 2-1/4 cups bread flour
FOR THE FILLING
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
FOR THE TOP
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted
Utensils:
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
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Runzas – Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour; beat on low speed for about 3 minutes. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add cabbage, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cheese. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 5-6 in. circle. Top each circle with about 1/4 cup of the filling. Fold dough over to meet in the center and pinch edges to seal.
- Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Brush with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Runzas – Questions
- Can Runzas be made ahead and frozen?
Yes! If you’re going to freeze your Runzas, go ahead and make them all the way through baking them. Allow them to cool completely. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour before transferring them to freezer bags or containers. When ready to use, thaw and either bake or microwave until heated through. Be sure to use them up within 6 months.
- Can I substitute ground turkey for the ground beef?
Absolutely, although it will change the flavor slightly.
Other recipes you may enjoy
Runzas
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Ingredients
For the Dough
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon warm water, 110-115 degrees F
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 – 2 ¼ cups bread flour
For the Filling
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- ½ cup chopped onion
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour; beat on low speed for about 3 minutes. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add cabbage, onion, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cheese. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 5-6 inch circle. Top each circle with about 1/4 cup of the filling. Fold dough over to meet in the center and pinch edges to seal.
- Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Notes
- Use this dough to wrap around any of your favorite “hot pocket” fillings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Going to give these a try. My mother made these when I was a child. We ate them with sour cream…..I almost think she may have added a lil taco seasoning or something like that. So good!
I come from a very German family, and easy recipes are the best!
Love these. Added green chili to half and quadrupled the batch. Thanks so much!
Great recipe. I’m on my 4th dozen. The dough is very bland and not as airy as I’d like. This 4th time I have added a Mediterranean salt blend to the water and yeast. I’m also going to cut the number of portions down to 10 as opposed to 12 making the rolled out dough thicker in hopes in will produce a more fluffy bread.
I grew up on these. My grandparents immigrated from Germany, so we ate quite a bit of German food growing up. My mom came to spend a week taking care of me after an extensive surgery. She made me so many of these to put in my freezer. They are a quick, easy to go to meal and heat up fine after being frozen. I think it’s time to make more of these.
So good. I use this dough for any filling now. The dough is the best. As long as the filling is not to wet. Make a bunch and freeze. I use all purpose flour.
This dough was so easy to make and turned out so good! Light and soft, and browned so nicely when it baked. A real keeper!
Delicious
These sound amazing! I don’t have bread flour, is there a way to use regular all purpose flour?
You can use all-purpose flour as well. It will slightly change the chew and crispiness of the bread – but not so much so that it is a big deal.
My German heritage mother made these when I was growing up, although I remember the spelling as burrucks. There wasn’t cheese in them, she used garlic powder, and the cabbage and hamburger were much finer in texture than these. I used to cut them in half and put a little mayo on mine. The smell of these yeast rolls baking was heavenly!
I learned to make these from my Mom, but she used ground sausage. I will have to try yours with ground beef and cheese. They really look good.