Homemade Runzas

There's one thing that Nebraska's got that no other state does... the Runza sandwich!

Ok, that's actually a lie because they recently started franchising in other states including Colorado, Kansas and Iowa... but stick with me here.

I have to admit, Runza makes the BEST burgers, but I'm not actually a fan of their runza sandwiches, which can be ordered at any Nebraska gaming event... but I LOVE homemade Runzas. Whenever I have some leftover cabbage this is my go to delicious treat for my born and raised Nebraska husband.


So, you may be asking yourself "but what's a runza??!!" A runza (also called a bierock) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling that consists of beef, cabbage, onions and seasoning. In Nebraska they're shaped in a rectangular shape, although depending where you are you might find them in other shapes (square, triangle, half moon, etc). Think Hot Pocket, but much yummier. Here's the recipe I use to make my Pennsylvania Runzas.


First, we need to make the dough. Sometimes I just buy Pillsbury's French Bread dough from the refrigerated section, while other times I whip up fresh dough in my bread maker. 

So, the bread dough I made this time was an Italian Bread dough from the book 'More Bread machine Magic' I used a bread maker to knead the dough, but you can also do this by hand. It makes a medium sized loaf. 


This recipe makes 8 runzas :).

Italian Bread

1 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 tbsp water

1 t. salt

3 cups bread flour

1 1/2 t active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread maker, select the dough cycle and wait :). 

For the Runza filling, I did a variation of something I found here.

Runza Filling

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 medium head cabbage, shredded

1 lb mozzarella cheese

2 teaspoons thyme

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Brown Beef and Cabbage in large skillet.

Add seasonings

Next comes the assembly. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Divide dough into 8 equal sized balls
3. Roll out dough to form a rectagle (about 4" by 7")
4. Place a spoonful of the beef/ cabbage mixture onto the center of each dough square.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top
6. Fold over the two 'long' sides and pinch together
7. Pinch the ends of the dough closed.
8. Place on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
9. Let cool and enjoy!!

Often 8 runzas are too much for just me and my  hubby. So, what I do is take half the batch and stick em' in the freezer in a freezer safe bag. They freeze great and all you have to do is thaw them before you put them in the oven :). 


The runzas are not only delicious, but they take away some of my home sickness :).