Gluten-Free Strukli Recipe - Croatian Cheese Pastry

What’s going to make this strukli recipe even better for the holidays is that it’s going to be gluten-free and lactose-free. It’s always no fun when someone misses out on a delicious dish. I can say it from personal experience that it’s just as bad for the person who made a dish to not see everyone enjoy as it is for the person with the dietary restriction!

This post will show you how to prepare this Croatian pastry with cheese from scratch, in addition to tips and tricks for success and how to store extras (if there are any!) Whether you're an experienced cook or just starting out, I hope this strukli recipe inspires you to explore new cuisines and bring the taste of Croatia to your kitchen as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! This time of year is truly amazing to try new creations in the kitchen since you’ve got the incentive to cook up dishes that will “wow!” people, so there’s no time like the present to get started on your cooking journey! Simply sign up to my email newsletter to get the challenge today, plus you’ll receive all of my latest recipes directly to your inbox so you’ve always got new kitchen inspiration!

To see how we make the pastry and cheese filling and assemble it all together, then be sure to follow along with the video! If you’re not already, it would mean a lot to me if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel! Don’t forget to press the bell button to be notified when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get cooking!

The method of preparation has been passed down through generations, where children would learn by observation the techniques of kneading, stretching, spreading, and rolling the dough, then practicing themselves. Since we’re all about learning new skills on this platform, I’m all for it! While certainly not with this dish, I was in the kitchen quite young fully engrossed in my family preparing food!

You can think of strukli as a lasagna, but instead of pasta noodles as the base, it will be a pastry. Strukli can be prepared two ways:

• Boiled: Gently cook the filled pastry in salted water or broth to achieve pieces similar to a dumpling. Then, top these with fried breadcrumbs or serve them in a soup.
• Baked: Arrange the filled pastry in a casserole dish and top with a cream mixture, then bake until the pastry is completely cooked and the top is golden brown.

The recipe I’ll be sharing today will show how to make the baked version. This dish sure is an indulgent treat, and it’s commonly served at such as weddings, Christmas, family celebrations, food festivals, and even for Sunday meals. However, Croatians like to enjoy this as an everyday dish as well because it’s just such a staple to the culture! After making this dish, I would totally love to travel to Croatia to try it out by the pros!

Why You’ll Love This Strukli!

• Cheesy delight: Cheese lovers, this one is for you! Who doesn’t love a plate of molten and flavorful cheese with pastry? You can’t go wrong with this!
• Amazing for the holidays: The holidays is a time to get people together and to celebrate the small things in life. As we saw earlier, the strukli is indeed a dish that brings everyone together, no matter the occasion! Your Christmas table will certainly be made extra special by celebrating Croatia with this irresistible cheesy pastry.
• Dietary friendly: This Strukli recipe is unlike any other because it’s both gluten-free and lactose-free! This means that this recipe is accessible to those with various food intolerances so that there’s no reason to miss out from this delicious Croatian delight! When we’re thinking of a holiday meal, we don’t want people to feel they can’t be part of the celebration! Therefore, it was my goal to make this accessible to as many folks as possible despite dietary restrictions! Although it needed a bit of strategy, the pastry and cheese filling worked out perfectly being gluten-free and lactose-free. Furthermore, strukli is packed with high quality protein from the cottage cheese and eggs. In addition, the dairy here provides plenty of calcium to support strong bones and teeth, as well as vitamin D, vitamin B12 and vitamin A.

Equipment Needed to Make This Gluten-Free Strukli

• Kitchen scale
• Gloves
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Cheese grater
• Salt crock
• Butter block
• Rolling pin
• Mixing bowl
• Casserole
• Basting brush

What Is This Strukli Recipe Made Of?

Scroll to the bottom of this page for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card or press the “Jump to Recipe” button for all ingredients and their quantities and to save the recipe for later. The recipe card can also help you scale the recipe based on how large your casserole dish is so that you know the right amount of pastry and cheese filling to make! The default recipe will give quantities for enough cheese filling and pastry for a 8 inch by 8 inch casserole, which will yield about 8 slices.

For the Dough

• 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Flour: This is the best alternative to regular wheat flour in terms of cooking properties and flavor.
• Water: I notice that even with the gluten-free flour I’m using it’s still not an exact replacement for all purpose flour. We’ll need a bit extra water to combine with the flour, so add water as required.
• Butter: For some additional flavor in the pastry, I’m using garlic butter! Feel free to use plain butter or even chilli butter if you would like.
• Eggs: 1 large egg.
• Salt: Just a pinch to season the pastry dough.

For the Cheese Filling

• Cream: Typically, you would use half and half cream, also known as 10% cream. However, I’m using heavy cream because that’s what I could find that is lactose-free! For some reason, you can only buy a 1 L carton of lactose-free half and half, and I didn’t need all that! So, I’m using heavy whipping cream (35%) cream in this recipe. Of course we’ll use less since this cream is much richer, so don’t worry about that!
• Cheddar: This is 3 year old white cheddar. You can use any cheddar of your choice, but the traditional choice is white cheddar. The wonderful flavor of the aged cheese is excellent here!
• Cottage cheese: I’m using 2% lactose-free cottage cheese. You can use a higher fat cottage cheese if you’d like.
• Sour cream: Full fat sour cream will make the filling really rich and luxurious.
• Egg: A second large egg to bind all the ingredients together.
• Seasonings: Dried thyme, garlic powder, ground nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Bomba: This is Calabrian chilli paste. Of course this ingredient is not authentic at all, but I wanted a little bit of heat added here, and now we’ve got an Italian flair to our dish! We’ll brush some on top once the strukli has finished baking.

How to Make Cheesy Croatian Strukli

For the Dough

Make the dough by combining the gluten free flour and salt in a bowl.

Add the egg, melted butter, and water, and mix until the dough forms. Add a little more water if it feels dry.

Rest the dough 15 to 20 minutes to hydrate fully.

Roll the dough between parchment sheets into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

For the Filling

Make the filling by mixing together the cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, shredded cheddar, nutmeg, garlic powder, thyme, salt, and pepper until smooth.

To Assemble and Cook

Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge.

Use the parchment to roll the dough into a tight log. Cut into pieces about 2 to 3 inches wide.

Transfer to a buttered baking dish.

Pour the heavy cream and water over the top. Brush over Calabrian chili pepper and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheddar.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Let rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle with Calabrian chili oil before serving.

Tips for the Best Croatian Strukli Recipe

• If using half and half cream, add more of it for the topping and skip the step of diluting it with water. If using heavy cream, mix it with a little water so it coats without greasiness and absorbs evenly
• If using regular all-purpose flour, bring a pot of salted water to a gentle boil and simmer the pieces for 5 to 6 minutes until they float and firm slightly. Simmer gently, not at a rolling boil; the pieces are ready when they float and feel slightly firm
• The dough must be soft and well-rested; wheat dough needs time to relax to stretch thin, gluten-free dough should be rolled thicker and never pulled.
• Drain the cottage cheese very well and season the filling slightly more than usual, since dough and cream mute flavor.
• Spread the filling thinly and evenly, leaving a clear border so the roll seals without tearing.
• Roll the dough gently using parchment or cloth and let the log rest a few minutes before slicing to keep the filling in place.
• Traditional variations of strukli using wheat flour will brown faster than gluten-free. If the top is bubbling but pale, finish the strukli on the top rack or briefly broil it.

Serving Suggestions

Strukli can be served in a number of ways! Here is how strukli can be enjoyed depending on the situation and perhaps your hunger!

• Snack: Have a single piece of boiled strukli and top it with molten butter or breadcrumbs. This way you can enjoy the taste of strukli when you’re feeling a bit peckish!
• Appetizer: Having a small piece of strukli can be an excellent starter prior to a traditional Croatian meal.
• Dinner: This is how I intended this recipe to be served as, and it will truly be a memorable meal! For a main dish, 2 to 4 pieces of strukli will really be special. You can enjoy it on its own or pair it with a light salad, such as my Arugula Salad
• Dessert: You can lightly sweeten the cheese filling and add a touch of vanilla extract to transform this into a dessert. Of course, I’d suggest not to use garlic butter for the pastry and don’t top the casserole with bomba!

How to Store Strukli

Storing Dough

• If you’ve made too much strukli dough, then cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Make sure to use the dough within 2-3 days because the longer the dough stays in the fridge, the darker and harder it becomes.

Storing Extra Cheese Filling

• If you follow the recipe, you should have the perfect amount of cheese mixture for the dish. However, if you do have extra or you just want to make this in advance, transfer the contents into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. The cheese filling should stay good in the fridge for about 4 days.

Storing Cooked Strukli

• Transfer any leftovers into an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days due to the dairy.
• You can reheat the strukli in the oven or the air fryer.

Freezing Cooked Strukli

• You can certainly freeze strukli if you can’t finish this within 4 days. To store in the freezer, ensure to tightly wrap them in aluminum foil, and place in a large Ziploc bag. I would not keep this in the freezer for longer than 4 months because the risk of freezer burn increases.

More Delicious Cheesy Casseroles!

• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
• 4 Cheese Lasagna
• Ultimate Creamy Mac and Cheese