Reviewed: May 21, 2012

Hooray for Runza! I too grew up in Nebraska and spent my school years working for Runza.. This recipe is great! I followed the review/recommendation to make a gravy with the beef fat, flour, & stock. And it was very good. I would also suggest 1 1/2 lbs. beef, and a small head of cabbage. And to finish it off.. I was lazy so wrapped the filling in hand-made flour tortillas, placed them in a casserole, drizzled with melted butter, then put in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. And I'll do it again!

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Reviewer:

cupcake

Reviewed: May 8, 2012

I made the dough in my bread machine, by adding wet ingredients first then dry. The kids really liked it. Next time I will use pork sausage instead of beef. I also will try it with pastrami and sauerkraut with cheese.

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CREEBOO

Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2012

the only thing I liked about this is the bread - the filling is so bland and not worth all the effort.

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NambyPamby

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Mar. 17, 2012

These are awesome. The key is in rolling them THIN. (A pastry cloth and rolling pin cover REALLY helps with this.) If they are too thick, the bottom doesn't cook, and you'll have too much meat left over. I fold them in rectangles because that seems to hold more meat, waste less dough, and is just easier. Also, I reduce the sugar to 1/3c. Ketchup sets them off nicely.

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streetypie

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 16, 2012

My grandma made these(and this recipe is close to hers) and I now make them.I use frozen dinner roll dough which makes them a perfect size and saves a little bit of time.They are amazing!

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ZORITSA

Reviewed: Feb. 11, 2012

Amazing! Used 3tsp of yeast which was plenty; mixed with kitchen aid mixer first then used dough hook for last; sauteed onions seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic powder and lawry's seasoning salt. added more seasoning to ground beef. added powdered beef gravy mix to beef and onions to thicken. Divided dough and rolled into balls and filled with beef mixture and shredded cheese. Sealed and baked for 15 minutes, turned and baked for another minute. It made 10 large meat pies. These could be filled with so many things. The dough is scrumptious! It deserves its own 5 stars!

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love2cook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fairbury, Illinois, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 10, 2012

I pretty much followed this recipe but with these changes. For the dough I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 3 1/2 cups enriched all purpose flour. I also added 1 teaspoon thyme leaves and 1/2 teaspoon ground sage. For the filling I omitted 1 onion and the salt and instead added 1 package onion soup mix, 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard and 1/2 teaspoon ground sage. I didn't drain the hamburger fat, but instead left it in the pan to cook the onion. Doing this results in a more moist filling. For assembly I flattened 1 1/2cups of the dough into a circle (not triangle) and added 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cups of the filling on top of the cheese. I pulled up the "corners" of the dough, pinched them closed and formed balls and placed them pinched side down on the baking sheet. Finally I let the runzas rise in the oven for 1 1/2 hour before baking. I also serve my runzas topped with an extra sharp cheddar cheese sauce. Cut an X on top of the runzas before drizzling on the sauce. This altered recipe yeilds 8 large servings instead of the origional recipe's 12. Mom said these tasted better than her runzas. I smiled, and agreed.

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Organism

Home Town: Gardner, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Westminster, Massachusetts, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2012

Like most of the reviewers here, I have a Nebraska connection: my husband is a die-hard Cornhusker fan who LOVES his Runzas! I was so happy to find this recipe and it did NOT disappoint. I pretty much stuck exactly to the recipe for the filling except that I did take one reviewer's advice and add a bit of gravy to thicken it up. To do that, I added 1/3 cup or so of beef broth to a can of mushroom soup and added that to the ground beef/cabbage mixture. It was perfect! But the thing that really seals the deal for this recipe is the dough. It is PERFECTION! For those who use yeast in bulk like me (not the packets), 2 packets is approximately equal to 5 teaspoons (it's actually a little less but 5 tsp worked perfectly for me). The way I made my dough was to use the mixing attachment for my Kitchen Aid for the first part of the recipe. After I added the remainder of the flour, I switched the mixer blade for the bread hook and ran it on high until the dough stuck together (it didn't actually take the full 6-8 minutes). It rose beautifully, and then rose again after the runzas were filled (before baking). This dough would be fabulous as bread sticks, dinner rolls, or hamburger/hotdog buns. I plan to use it as my go-to recipe for all of those types of homemade bread. Super easy and SUPER tasty!

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Reviewer:

Melanie

Reviewed: Jan. 30, 2012

I live in Nebraska and these are the real deal! Needs more salt and pepper, and add some American cheese for a cheese Runza. They freeze well. Oh, so good! Those who don't think these are authentic must not be following the recipe correctly.

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Reviewer:

cbfoxley

Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2012

I've never heard of runza's before I made this, but now it's on my kids all-time favorite list. I leave out the cabbage and replace it with more beef (I use left over pot roast). The kiddos love it!

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