Cooking Czech food at home is easier than it looks: knedlíky (recipe below), svíčková na smetaně, goulash, bramborák and řízek all come together with ingredients from any supermarket. This guide walks you through five tried-and-tested recipes step by step, with ingredient lists in Czech and tips on where to buy everything for less.
All recipes serve 4. Treat the quantities as a starting point — Czech home cooks routinely adjust the amount of flour or onion "by eye," and that's perfectly normal. Start with the basic version, then tweak it to your taste.
What to Buy and Where: Ingredients for Czech Cooking
Almost everything you need is sold at Kaufland, Lidl, Albert, Billa, Tesco and Globus. Specialty items like fresh yeast, lard and breadcrumbs sit right alongside everyday products — you just need to know their Czech names. Our breakdown of Czech supermarket labels will help you make sense of packaging, and our guide on where groceries are cheaper in Czechia makes it easy to compare prices across chains. Don't feel like a store run? Order delivery through Rohlik.cz or Košík.cz (details in our article on grocery delivery).
Key ingredients and their Czech names:
- Coarse-ground flour — hrubá mouka (for knedlíky and boiled doughs), polohrubá — for yeast doughs, hladká — for breading and thickening.
- Fresh yeast — čerstvé droždí (a 42 g cube in the refrigerated section).
- Lard — sádlo (used for frying and braising the Czech way).
- Breadcrumbs — strouhanka.
- Marjoram — majoránka, caraway — kmín, sweet paprika — sladká mletá paprika.
- Whipping cream — smetana ke šlehání (31–33%), lingonberries — brusinky.
These spice names will come in handy both at the store and in the kitchen — keep our roundup of essential Czech phrases close at hand. Looking for familiar Eastern European staples? Check Russian and Ukrainian shops in Prague. Still finding your feet in the country and sorting out everyday life? Take a look at our life-in-Czechia services section.
Houskové Knedlíky: Step-by-Step Bread Dumpling Recipe
The classic Czech side dish for sauces and braised meats. The secret is using hrubou mouku — it holds together in water and turns out light and fluffy, while regular fine flour produces a dense, "rubbery" loaf.
Ingredients
- 500 g flour (ideally hrubá or polohrubá)
- 250 ml warm milk (40–50°C, not hot)
- 20 g fresh yeast (about half a cube)
- 1 egg, 1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of sugar
- 2 rolls (rohlík or houska), cut into cubes
Method
- Pour the flour into a bowl. Add salt to one side and, on the other, crumble in the yeast with the sugar and a bit of the warm milk. Make sure the salt doesn't touch the yeast.
- Pour in the remaining milk and the egg, then knead into a smooth dough. Fold in the bread cubes, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot for 30–45 minutes.
- Shape into 2 logs (válce) and let them rest for another 15–20 minutes.
- Lower into a large pot of boiling salted water, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through.
- As soon as they're done, prick each dumpling with a fork to release the steam — otherwise it will collapse. Slice with thread or a thin knife.
Tip. Don't lift the lid during the first 10 minutes of cooking, and never cut a hot dumpling with a regular knife — use thread only, so you don't squash the crumb.
Svíčková na Smetaně: Creamy Sauce for Dumplings
A festive classic: beef in a thick root-vegetable-and-cream sauce, served with lingonberries and whipped cream. It takes a long time to cook, but needs very little hands-on effort.
Ingredients
- 800 g beef (zadní or kližka cuts), 100 g lard for larding
- 2 carrots, 1 parsley root, a piece of celery root, 2 onions
- 50 g butter, spices: bobkový list (bay leaf), nové koření (allspice), black pepper, thyme
- 250 ml 33% cream, 1 tablespoon hladké mouky, a tablespoon of vinegar or the juice of half a lemon
- To serve: brusinky, a lemon slice, a dollop of whipped cream
Method
- Lard the meat with strips of fat. Grate the root vegetables and onion coarsely.
- Place the meat on top of the vegetables in a roasting dish, add the spices and butter, and refrigerate for at least overnight.
- Roast covered at 160°C for about 2–2.5 hours, adding a splash of water or stock as needed.
- Remove the meat and discard the whole spices, then blend the vegetables. Whisk the flour into the cream, stir into the sauce, and simmer briefly.
- Season to taste with salt, vinegar, or lemon. Serve with houskové knedlíky, lingonberries, and whipped cream.
Hovězí Guláš: Czech Goulash
The key to a good goulash is a dark, slow-cooked onion base and patient braising. The amount of onion used is nearly equal to the amount of meat.
Ingredients and Steps
- 1 kg beef kližka, 700–900 g onions, 3 tablespoons sádla
- 2–3 tablespoons sladké mleté papriky, kmín, majoránka, 3 garlic cloves, salt, pepper
- Fry the sliced onions in lard over low heat for 15–20 minutes, until deep golden-brown.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the paprika (so it doesn't turn bitter), then immediately add the meat and a little water.
- Braise covered at 160°C, or on the stovetop, for about 3 hours, adding water as needed.
- Add the garlic and marjoram half an hour before the end. Serve with dumplings or bread.
Bramborák: Czech Potato Pancakes
Fragrant potato pancakes with garlic and marjoram — a quick dinner made from what you already have at home.
Ingredients and Steps
- 1 kg potatoes, 1–2 eggs, 3 tablespoons hladké mouky, a splash of milk
- 3 garlic cloves, majoránka, salt, pepper, kmín (optional)
- Grate the potatoes coarsely and squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Add the eggs, flour, milk, crushed garlic, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Salt right before frying.
- Spoon the batter onto hot oil or lard, spread it out, and fry until golden-brown on both sides.
Smažený Řízek: Czech Schnitzel
The classic řízek in a triple breading (trojobal), traditionally served with potatoes or potato salad.
Ingredients and Steps
- 4 pork cutlets (kotleta or kýta), salt, pepper
- Flour (hladká), 2 eggs, strouhanka, oil or sádlo for frying
- Pound the meat through plastic wrap, then season with salt and pepper.
- Coat in flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs on lightly.
- Fry right away in a generous layer of hot fat, 3–5 minutes per side, until golden. Don't pierce the meat — the juices will run out.
What Ingredients Cost in 2026
Rough supermarket prices as of mid-2026. These vary considerably depending on promotions, brand, and store, so treat them only as a ballpark figure — check Kupi.cz and Kimbino.cz for current deals at your store of choice.
| Product (Czech name) | Approx. price, Kč |
|---|
| Beef kližka, 1 kg | around 250–350 (on sale from ~250) |
| Flour, hrubá/polohrubá, 1 kg | around 18–30 (on sale from ~10) |
| Fresh yeast, droždí, 42 g | around 4–8 (on sale from ~4) |
| Lard, sádlo, per pack | around 30–50 |
| Cream, smetana ke šlehání 31–33%, 250 ml | around 20–35 |
For the bigger picture on food and living costs, see our guide to the cost of living in Prague.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of flour do I need for knedlíky?
For houskové knedlíky, use hrubou mouku — it keeps the dough from falling apart in the water. Hladká mouka produces a dense, "rubbery" dumpling.
How long do you boil knedlíky?
Boil the logs in salted, boiling water, covered, for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through. Steamed versions (Karlovarský and houskové) take 25–30 minutes.
Why does the dumpling collapse after cooking?
This usually happens because of a sudden release of steam combined with a temperature shock. As soon as it's cooked, prick the dumpling with a fork to let the steam escape, avoid lifting the lid during the first 10 minutes of cooking, and don't cut a hot dumpling with a regular knife — use thread instead.
What can I use instead of fresh yeast?
Dry yeast (sušené droždí) works fine: about 7 g of dry yeast per 20–25 g of fresh. Dissolve it in warm, not hot, milk.
Can knedlíky be steamed?
Yes. Karlovarský and many houskové knedlíky steam beautifully in 25–30 minutes — this way they don't soak up excess water.
What can I serve instead of knedlíky?
Goulash and svíčková are traditionally served with dumplings, but rice, bread, or boiled potatoes work well too.
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