This traditional Polish street food called Zapiekanki is a toasted sandwich that takes three simple ingredients and turns them into something resembling a pizza.
Zapiekanki are sometimes referred to as the Polish pizza likely due to its similarities. They both have dough, or bread base, melty cheese and a tomato sauce…if you can call ketchup that. They are a very popular Polish street food that can be found all across the country.
If you’re thinking that these are missing some kind of sauce, I assure you they are not! The mushrooms cook for just long enough to keep their moisture giving these sandwiches the perfect texture.
There is something about a hot sandwich that makes your lunch better somehow, so these zapiekanki are the perfect addition to your menu. They are easy to make, use only three simple ingredients and are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.
You can add any toppings that you like to make these truly your own, we just provided the base recipe for you to build on. Traditionally ham is a popular extra ingredient.
I’d love to hear how you make these your own. Tell us your favourite additions in the comments below or tag us on social media #houseofgandkrecipes.
Preparing Polish Pizzas/Zapiekanki
Ingredients
Button mushrooms: Button mushrooms are immature fungi that come in two colours – white and brown. These mushrooms are one of the most popular mushrooms around the world and as such have many different names. Button white and cremini are the names I’ve come across most often here in Canada.
Havarti cheese: Havarti cheese is a semi-hard cheese made of cow’s milk. It’s almost creamy in texture despite looking like a hard cheese. It has a mild but distinct flavour, a soft yellow-cream colour and small eyes throughout.
Sub buns: These are white wheat buns that are roughly 8”-9” inches long and about 2” wide. They are soft to the touch inside and out, meaning that the crust doesn’t have a different density than the inside of the bun. They toast to the perfect crispness.
Ketchup: Ketchup is the default condiment in America but variations are seen all over the world. It actually has roots in Chinese cooking where tomatoes were not even an ingredient. Over the years, it has morphed into what we know today to be a red, sweet and slightly tangy sauce or dip. We actually use a Polish variety when we make Zapiekanki. It’s mush more flavourful, flavoured with added herbs and spices.
How to Make Polish Pizzas/Zapiekanki
Preparation
This recipe is very very simple. The most complicated part is washing and slicing the mushrooms.
But before you get to that, turn on your oven first. Preheat it to 350°F.
Now you can wash and slice the mushrooms. You should slice them relatively thin because you want to make sure you have enough to cover all the buns.
Next, cut the buns in half length-wise.
If you are using sliced cheese then cut the slices to fit the buns. My slices
were square and wider than the buns to I cut them in half and used one slice per bun. See the substitutions section below if you would like to use a different kind of cheese.Assembly
Now it’s time to assemble the pizzas/zapiekanki.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Place the buns on the parchment paper cut side up. You may need multiple cookie sheets if you don’t have a large one to fit the buns.
On each bun half, lay out the sliced mushrooms in a single layer then top with a slice of cheese.
Yup! That’s it. Now, bake and serve.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and serve.
Substitutions
Submarine buns: The buns are super important. You get the wrong bun and you’ll have a tough and dense piece of bread that’s hard to chew through. Or you’ll have a sandwich that is falling apart in your hand. I have tried many, many different types of buns when making Zapiekanki and I believe the best ones are traditional sub buns.
Havarti Cheese: Though this is a really great option because of its mild taste and great meltability – if that’s even a word – there are a few alternatives if you don’t have it on hand. You can use provolone which will melt even more than Havarti or mozzarella which will give your zapiekanki an added stringy effect and make them even more like a pizza.
Serving Zapiekanki or Polish Pizzas
Zapiekanki are a great vegetarian lunch. They are very filling and full of flavour. Top them with some ketchup to keep with the Polish tradition. If you like a little spice add a hot sauce to add some heat.
Like any sandwich, zapiekanki are great served with a side salad.
Try them with our simple spinach salad, butter lettuce salad or Caesar salad.
Though these Polish Pizzas are a hearty meal, they easily become a delicious appetizer if you just cut each one into smaller pieces.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for side dish ideas? Check out our recipes:
Polish Pizza (Zapiekanki) Recipe
Equipment
- Large cookie sheet or two small/medium
- Baking mat or parchment paper
- Knife and cutting board
Ingredients
- 247 g button mushrooms
- 275 g of Havarti cheese see substitutions section for more options
- 4 submarine buns
- Ketchup for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Wash and slice the mushrooms and cut the buns in half length-wise, and cut the cheese, if necessary.247 g button mushrooms, 4 submarine buns
- On each bun half, lay out the sliced mushrooms in a single layer then top with a slice of cheese.275 g of Havarti cheese
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Serve topped with ketchup and your favourite side salad.Ketchup for serving
