Zapiekanka is Poland’s great street food: half a baguette under mushrooms and melted cheese, baked until the edges crisp, finished with a zig-zag of ketchup. It has been the taste of late nights and market squares since the 1970s, and most Polish towns have somewhere that sells it.
The one in the photograph came from a stall in Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter of Kraków, where you order by number off a board on the wall. That one had tomato sauce spread under the mushrooms and the cheese. This recipe is the classic underneath all of it, and it takes under half an hour.
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Pin itWhy You Will Love This Zapiekanka
- Fast and cheap. A baguette, a punnet of mushrooms and some cheese - ready in under 30 minutes.
- Proper comfort food. Crisp bread, savoury mushrooms and bubbling cheese - hard to beat.
- Endlessly customisable. Load it with ham, sausage or peppers, or keep it classic.
- A hit with everyone. Kids and grown-ups alike - it is basically a warm, savoury open sandwich.
What Is Zapiekanka?
Zapiekanka is a Polish street-food staple born in the 1970s, when the French baguette arrived in Poland and thrifty cooks turned half a loaf into a hot, cheesy snack. The classic version tops a split baguette with sautéed pieczarki (white button mushrooms) and grated cheese, bakes it until melted and crisp, then finishes it with ketchup and chives. It became the quintessential grab-and-go food of the communist era, and it is still sold from hatch windows across Poland today.
How a Kraków Stall Builds One
In Kazimierz you order a zapiekanka by number. The board at the stall I bought mine from runs to twenty-seven of them, and the useful thing about reading it is what they all share. Every single variety, from the plain classic at the top to the Turkish kebab at the bottom, starts with the same two words: pieczarki, ser. Mushrooms, cheese. Everything else on that list is something laid on top of those two.
Pin itThe classic is exactly that and nothing more, and it is the cheapest thing on the board. After that you are paying for what goes on top: feta, cucumber and olives for the Greek one, Kraków sausage and pickled cucumber for the one named after the city, bacon and smoked oscypek and cranberries for the highlander. Extras are priced in tiers, a few złoty for vegetables, a little more for cheese, more again for meat, and one sauce comes with it, which is where the ketchup comes in.
The line in small print at the bottom is the one that settles it: you may order without mushrooms, but you have to ask. That tells you where to put your attention when you make one at home. The mushrooms and the cheese are the recipe. Everything after that is yours to decide. Poland keeps a short list of things eaten standing up, and the other two worth knowing are placki ziemniaczane straight off a griddle and krokiety with a cup of barszcz; my guide to Polish food sets out where each of them belongs.
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
- Baguette The base. Day-old (slightly stale) baguette holds up far better under the topping than soft fresh bread. One baguette, halved lengthwise, makes two big pieces.
- Mushrooms White button mushrooms (pieczarki) are traditional. Chop them finely and cook off all their water so the zapiekanka is not soggy.
- Onion and butter The onion, softened in butter, gives the mushroom topping its savoury base.
- Melting cheese A good yellow cheese - Gouda or Edam, or a mix with mozzarella for extra stretch. Grate it yourself for the best melt.
- Marjoram, ketchup and chives Marjoram is the quiet herb that makes it taste Polish. Ketchup (a mild or garlicky one) and fresh chives are the traditional finish - not optional.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Bread - ciabatta, a demi-baguette, or a long sub/hoagie roll all work in place of a baguette.
- Mushrooms - swap button mushrooms for cremini/chestnut for a deeper, earthier flavour.
- Cheese - any good melting yellow cheese: Edam, mozzarella, Muenster or mild cheddar.
- Vegan - plant-based grated cheese plus oil instead of butter; everything else is already vegetarian.
Equipment You Will Need
How to Make Zapiekanka, Step by Step
- Cook the mushrooms right down. Melt the butter in a wide pan over a medium heat and give the onion two or three minutes to soften before the mushrooms go anywhere near it. Then add the mushrooms and keep them moving for eight to twelve minutes. They will throw out a surprising amount of water and then, once it has gone, start to catch and brown. That is the point to stop, not before. Season with salt, pepper and the marjoram, and let it cool for a few minutes off the heat. The marjoram is not optional if you want it to taste Polish rather than like cheese on toast.
- Get the bread ready. Heat the oven to 200°C and split the baguettes lengthways. Day-old bread is better than fresh here, because fresh crumb collapses under a wet topping while a slightly dry one holds its shape. If yours has gone properly hard, wet your fingers and dab the cut face, and it will come back in the oven. Then do the opposite if it is fresh: wipe a spoonful of milk over the crumb, which keeps the inside soft while the crust still crisps. Toast the halves bare, cut side up, for three or four minutes before anything goes on them.
- Load them. Spread the mushroom mixture over each half, right to the edges, then grate the cheese over the top and be generous with it. Grate it yourself from a block: ready-grated cheese is dusted with anti-caking starch, which is exactly what stops it going molten. If you are using mozzarella, use the firm block sort and not the ball sitting in water, which will flood the bread.
- Bake, and watch them. Eight to ten minutes on a middle shelf, no higher. Too near the top element and the bread colours before the cheese has melted. This is not a thing to walk away from: a minute of inattention is the difference between bubbling and burnt, and every oven runs differently. When the cheese has melted and the edges of the bread are gold, give it a final minute or two under a hot grill if you want the blistered, spotty top a street stall gets.
- Finish and eat them straight away. Zig-zag the ketchup over the top and scatter the chives. The ketchup is not a garnish you can skip: the sweet, sharp line of it against the mushrooms and cheese is the whole flavour of the thing. Then eat them. A zapiekanka is at its best in the first few minutes out of the oven, while the cheese is still moving and the bread is still crisp, and it is never quite as good again.
Recipe Card for Zapiekanka
Zapiekanka (Polish Mushroom Cheese Baguette)
Equipment:
- Frying pan for the mushrooms
- Box grater for the cheese
Ingredients:
- 2 baguettes - day-old is best; halved lengthwise = 4 pieces
- 500 g white button mushrooms (pieczarki) - finely chopped
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 2 tbsp butter - or oil
- 250 g grated cheese - Gouda/Edam, or a Gouda-mozzarella mix
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- Salt and black pepper - to taste
- Ketchup and chopped chives - to finish
Instructions:
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until soft, then add the mushrooms. Cook 8-12 minutes, stirring, until all their water has cooked off and they start to brown. Season with salt, pepper and marjoram; cool slightly.
- Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Halve the baguettes lengthwise. For a crisper base, pre-toast them bare for 3-4 minutes.
- Spread the mushroom mixture over each baguette half and top generously with the grated cheese.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the bread is crisp and golden. For extra-bubbly, spotty cheese, finish 1-2 minutes under the grill.
- Drizzle over a zig-zag of ketchup and scatter with chopped chives. Serve hot.
Notes:
Nutrition:
Variations
- Tomato base, the Kraków way - spread a thin layer of tomato sauce or purée over the bread before the mushrooms go on. It is a variety in its own right on the Kazimierz board, and two of the Polish cooks in the comments do the same thing at home, one of them mixing the tomato with garlic, oregano and a pinch of sugar first.
- Pickled cucumber - a thin slice of ogórek kiszony tucked under the ketchup. One commenter is firm that without it you do not have the taste of childhood, because that is how they were sold from the underpass bistros in the seventies and eighties.
- Loaded - add diced ham, kabanos, salami or sliced sausage to the mushrooms.
- Spicy - scatter pickled jalapeños or a pinch of chilli before baking.
- Garlic-sauce finish - drizzle a garlicky white sauce (sos czosnkowy) alongside, or instead of, the ketchup - the modern late-night favourite.
- Smoky - use a smoked cheese for a deeper, more grown-up flavour.
Storing & Reheating
Zapiekanka is best eaten fresh and hot, straight from the oven. To reheat leftovers, use an oven, toaster oven or air fryer at around 175°C (350°F) until the cheese bubbles and the bread re-crisps - avoid the microwave, which turns the bread soggy. To get ahead, make the mushroom filling in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days; assemble and bake only just before serving.
What to Serve With Zapiekanka
Zapiekanka is a complete snack or light meal on its own - proper grab-and-go, late-night, street-food fare. Round it out with a crunchy kiszone cucumber or a few pickled peppers to cut the richness, and a cold drink alongside - a soda, a glass of kompot, or a beer for the grown-up late-night version.
FAQ for Zapiekanka
Do I need to peel the mushrooms?
No - there is no need. For something that gets cooked, you can simply wipe the mushrooms clean and slice or chop them, skins and all. Peeling the caps of very large mushrooms is an old habit, but it is entirely optional; small button mushrooms just need a clean.
Can I make them ahead for lunch the next day?
Best approach: prep the parts ahead, but bake fresh. Cook the mushroom filling and grate the cheese the day before and keep them in the fridge, then assemble and bake the baguettes in the morning. Zapiekanki really are at their best straight from the oven - fully baked ones go soft and lose their crunch by the next day, though a quick blast in an oven or air fryer will revive leftovers.
Can I use pre-sliced mushrooms?
Yes - pre-sliced button mushrooms are perfectly fine. Give them a rough chop so they sit neatly on the bread, and cook them exactly the same way, driving off all their water before you assemble.
Do the mushrooms have to be cooked first?
This is the biggest argument in the Polish comments, and the honest answer is that it depends how thickly you load it. There is a well known method that skips the pan entirely: grate the raw mushrooms coarsely, mix them straight through the grated cheese, pile it on and bake. One cook made both versions side by side to settle it and reported the raw one came out perfectly well. Another, loading hers more generously, found the opposite: with a thick layer of mushrooms and cheese there is too much water and not enough time. So a thin layer of raw grated mushroom is fine, and a generous one wants the pan first. This recipe cooks them, which is the route that works either way.
Do I need a proper oven?
No, and it is worth saying because most Polish kitchens this dish came out of did not have one. A small plug-in countertop oven does the job perfectly well, which is what my mum used. So does a grill, if you keep the shelf low enough that the cheese melts before the top of the bread catches, and so does an air fryer for one or two at a time. What you are after is heat from above onto a flat piece of bread, and there are several ways to get it.
Why is my zapiekanka soggy?
Almost always because the mushrooms went on too wet. Mushrooms hold a lot of water, so keep cooking them until the pan is dry and they begin to brown before you build the zapiekanka. Using day-old bread and pre-toasting the baguette bare for a few minutes also helps keep the base crisp.
What can I do with leftover mushroom-and-cheese filling?
It is too good to waste. Toss the leftover mushroom-and-cheese mix through cooked pasta with a little tomato passata and bake it, or stir it into an omelette or a baked potato. It also freezes well on its own for the next batch of zapiekanki.
Is there any salt in it?
Only a little - the cheese and ketchup bring plenty of savouriness, and marjoram (or herbes de Provence) does most of the seasoning. Taste the mushroom filling as you go and add salt and pepper to your liking; there is no need for much.
A Few Words from the Chef
My mum used to make zapiekanki when I was a boy, in one of those old ovens you plugged into the wall. We did not have a modern one, and looking at that thing now I am amazed it was ever thought safe. It made good zapiekanki all the same, which is rather the point of them: this is not a fussy dish, and it never has been. Bread, mushrooms, cheese, and then whatever you fancy on top. Tell me in the comments how you top yours. Smacznego!
If you make a batch, tell me how you topped them in the comments below. Smacznego!
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