Easy Homemade Nebraska Runza Sandwich Recipe

Trying to imagine a Runza?  This Easy Homemade Nebraska Runza Sandwich Recipe from my Aunt’s Nebraska farm kitchen is simply ground beef and cabbage all wrapped-up in a fresh baked bread bun. 

My version of this humble runza sandwich passed down through generations of Nebraska German/Russian farm families, includes additional seasonings and an easy-to-make sweet dough, achieving “keeper” status with our family. Although I grew up in Wisconsin, summers were spent in my grandparents’ Nebraska farm communities where family gatherings were frequent and large. 

And by large, I mean 24 people at a long meal table. I love being in the kitchen with my grandmothers, aunts, and cousins. 

There is so much joy, laughter, conversation, and incredible food.

Runza’s are as Nebraska as Cornhusker football.   The origins of this Runza recipe are remarkably humble, traced back to my family’s Central and Eastern European roots.

My Aunt's Runza Sandwich Recipe

My Aunt, a fantastic cook, loves to make meals for whoever happens to be in her kitchen. Whether the family gathers to watch Cornhusker football, for a weekend hunt or just for a big get-together, you can count on eating a Runza or two!  

It’s a true Nebraska runza sandwich recipe filled with stories spanning 3-generations which continues to be made by the next generation, many of whom are scattered across the country.

Runza Ingredients

I know, I know this looks like a lot of ingredients for a "easy" homemade Nebraska Runza sandwich recipe!  On the positive side, they are low-cost pantry items making this a budget-friendly meal. 

That said, If you are not up to making your own dough, using frozen dough such as Rhodes is a good shortcut.

But hold on.  Even though I say frozen dough is a good option,  I absolutely love this sweet dough recipe and the results are worth the little effort required to mix the ingredients.  

Trust me, you can make this dough.  I do not consider myself a baker, but this recipe has never failed to please.

As a side note, if you choose frozen dough you must still plan, thaw and wait for it to rise, so why not try making it?

For homemade runza dough

Here are the ingredients you need to make your dough for this easy homemade Nebraska Runza sandwich recipe:

• Warm water (110 degrees) – this is important to activate the yeast. Please remember not to make the water too hot.  If it’s too hot for you to touch then it is too hot for the yeast.
• Sweetened condensed milk – this is what makes the dough sweet balance nicely with the seasoned ground beef and cabbage.
• Vegetable oil, sugar, salt and egg – Another tip is to have the egg at room temperature. I picked this up from Dorie Greenspan when baking. 
• All-purpose flour
• Instant or rapid-rise yeast

Runza filling

• Lean ground beef
• Seasoning for the beef: These are my favorite seasonings and do vary from my Aunt Sherril’s recipe. Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion salt, dried oregano and dried basil
• Dash of hot sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes for an extra kick
• White onion and a small head of cabbage
• Salt and pepper
• Slices deli American cheese or pepper jack cheese.

How to make

You will find a Runza recipe in almost every Nebraska church cookbook. This version is a riff on a recipe passed down to me by my Aunt Sherril.  When our boys were home, I played around with the ingredients, landing on this version which is a keeper.

Step 1

Mix the water with sweetened condensed milk, oil, sugar, and egg in large glass measuring cup that holds 2 -4 cups of liquid 1 text

Step 2

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix flour, yeast, and salt together.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the water mixture.

Step 3

Mix until shiny and smooth! With floured hands, turn dough out onto heavily floured work surface.  Shape the dough into a ball, and place in the greased bowl and let it rise.

This may take about an hour to 90 minutes. We want it to double in size.

 In the meantime you can start on the filling.

Runza filling

1. First, melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until just beginning to brown.  Now it’s time to season the beef.
2. Stir in your choice of seasonings.  My favorites are Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes.
3. Now, let’s move to sautéing the onion.  Sometimes I will throw in red or green peppers with the onion, if I want to change it up.  Once the onion begins to soften I cook the cabbage.   I do this very quickly as I like to the cabbage to have a bit of crunch. 
4. Mix the beef, onion and cabbage together, season with hot sauce, salt and pepper and we are ready to assemble the Runza’s.

Assemble and bake

Step 1

Let the flour fly!   Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, gently forming 8 small balls. We will roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch circle – it does not have to be a perfect circle.  

Step 2

My trick to making filling the runza’s easier, is to place one dough round in a deep cereal bowl.   Place one slice of cheese on top of the dough.

Step 3

Spoon  filling over cheese and pinch edges of dough together to form bun.

Step 4

Pinch the dough together using your fingers

Step 5

Flip so that the seam side is down

Cover buns with plastic wrap or wet kitchen towel and let rise until puffed, about 20- minutes.  Now they are ready to bake.

Check out our video in the recipe card below or on YouTube to see us in the kitchen creating this tasty dish and sharing tips and tricks on how to make this for two.  Try this recipe, rate and comment.  I want to know what you think!

What to serve with homemade runzas

Ketchup!  And maybe a beer.  While the oven is hot, consider throwing (from the freezer) tater tots or French fries into the oven.  What you will find alongside my easy homemade Nebraska runza sandwich is a cup of soup.   

Make ahead and Freeze

Runza’s freeze well, making them perfect for making ahead and freezing.  Think future freezer night dinners!  Go ahead and make a batch of 8 Runza’s they will keep for up to 3 months.

A note about freezing:  I have tried freezing Runza’s, par-baked (partially baked) and fully-baked Runza’s and I recommend freezing baked Runza’s. Wrap each runza in plastic wrap and then store in an airtight container.   

When ready to eat, pull them out of the freezer, thaw in refrigerator and reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.   Simple, and so so good!

Are runzas German or Russian or Nebraskan?

Yes! The original Runza sandwich recipe came to our family from Lincoln, Nebraska’s immigrant kitchens located in the “Russian Bottoms”.  My paternal Grandfather’s niece, Bernice Wagner and her husband, lived in this community and shared the recipe with my Aunt. 

Wait!  I thought, Runzas are made in the kitchens of families from eastern and central Europe?

Researching the story of this recipe, I learned that a large majority of Lincoln’s immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century were Germans from Russia. In the late 18th century Czarist Russia had attracted many Germans to settle in its Volga region and other lightly populated areas, offering land and assurances of autonomy to retain their German language, religions, and culture.  

In the late 19th century, the Russian government attempted to assimilate these largely agricultural villagers into Russian society, prompting tens of thousands of ethnic Germans to emigrate from Russia.  

Lincoln became the largest urban settlement of these people, in the North and South Bottoms neighborhoods, and thus is the home of this runza recipe. 

Here is some more information on the “Lincoln Bottoms” from the Nebraska State Historical Society: Nebraska Historical Marker:  The North Bottoms.

Bierock vs Runza

The origins of this easy homemade Nebraska runza sandwich recipe are remarkably humble, traced back to my family’s Central and Eastern European roots.

This sandwich, also called bierocks, was first introduced to me by my father when I was a toddler. Working the Burlington Northern Lincoln rail yards, he and the crew would lunch at one of the local “Russian Bottom” eateries, and my Dad would bring home a white paper take-out bag filled with Runza’s.

The filling is virtually the same, but what makes a Runza different from a bierock is the shape. Runza’s (except for my version) are rectangular!   Oops, I guess we have been making Bierock’s all these years but we call them Aunt Sherril’s Runza’s.

They just feel homemade when they are in the shape of a bun versus the rectangle shape of a well-known frozen packaged sandwich called the “hot pocket”

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