Kutia – Polish Christmas Dessert

Posted on December 7, 2021
A closeup shot of Polish wheat and poppyseed dessert Kutia
AuthorChrisCategory, , DifficultyBeginner

Kutia, the Polish Christmas dessert is the dish I can't wait for every year! It's a sweet mix of boiled whole-grain wheat, poppy-seeds, honey, candied fruit, nuts, and a bit of cream. Mix it up in the proportions you like best and there you go, Polish Christmas Eve dessert ready in a jiffy.

Poppy-seeds make a showing at Polish Christmas in many forms. Poppy-seeds are called mak in Polish and many delicious things from mak are served at Christmas all across Poland. There's makowiec, makówka, makiełki, pierogi z makiem, kluski z makiem, sernik z makiem and more. My husband's side of the family comes from the east and their tradition is Kutia, the only dish I was entrusted to make in years past because really, you can't make it wrong. It's now my favorite Christmas dish and a must-have at our Wigilia (Christmas Eve Supper).

A closeup shot of Polish wheat and poppyseed dessert Kutia
Yields10 Servings
Prep Time10 minsCook Time1 hr 30 minsTotal Time1 hr 40 mins
Kutia
 500 g “kutia” wheat -whole grains (1 package)
 200 g raisins
 4 tbsp honey
 300 g nuts of your choice (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
 850 g poppy seeds (1 can prepared filling with dried fruits)
 ⅓ cup half-and-half (full fat cream from carton)
1

Soak the wheat overnight. In fresh water, boil the wheat in a large pot until it softens. Depending on the brand of wheat, it can take from 1 hour to as long as 3. Drain the wheat.

2

Mix the cooked wheat, honey (to taste), raisins, chopped nuts, poppy-seed filling, and the cream.

You can adjust any of the amounts to get a Kutia perfect for you. It can be sweeter or creamier or have less poppy-seed filling. Make it yours!

3

That's it! Smacznego to you!

Ingredients

Kutia
 500 g “kutia” wheat -whole grains (1 package)
 200 g raisins
 4 tbsp honey
 300 g nuts of your choice (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
 850 g poppy seeds (1 can prepared filling with dried fruits)
 ⅓ cup half-and-half (full fat cream from carton)

Directions

1

Soak the wheat overnight. In fresh water, boil the wheat in a large pot until it softens. Depending on the brand of wheat, it can take from 1 hour to as long as 3. Drain the wheat.

2

Mix the cooked wheat, honey (to taste), raisins, chopped nuts, poppy-seed filling, and the cream.

You can adjust any of the amounts to get a Kutia perfect for you. It can be sweeter or creamier or have less poppy-seed filling. Make it yours!

3

That's it! Smacznego to you!

Kutia – Polish Christmas Dessert
IngredientsDirections

13 Comments

  • Reply
    Lidia
    December 12, 2021 at 6:21 pm

    Kutia is not Polish , but Ukrainian and Beylarussian. It’s actually offensive to call it desert because it has spiritual meaning for Eastern right Catholics and Orthodox people. It’s not eaten as dessert but first. Even the sound is not Polish because it would be Kucia in Polish. What is the reason for this cultural appropriation?

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 13, 2021 at 6:57 am

      The reason is that I live in Poland and my Polish family (moved from Polish Lviv to Lower Silesia) has been making it for generations and continues to make it. In our family we eat it after the meal.

    • Reply
      edward
      December 13, 2021 at 6:28 pm

      “offensive to call it desert”? Lidia, one can call anything desert. Settle down now.

      • Reply
        Andy
        December 24, 2021 at 4:03 pm

        Yes , after the meal , laced with brandy my grandparents made it and it was yummy especially as a kid ..as well , half a Brit , we are used to nicking other people’s food and it doesn’t matter a jot where it comes from originally , just proves how we all like sweet things and how much we should all get along !

        • Reply
          Chris
          December 27, 2021 at 8:57 am

          I totally agree!

        • Reply
          Rita
          January 5, 2022 at 1:52 am

          Andy – I love your reply! Love the way you write(talk)…it made me howl! Thanks for the giggles! I’m 100% Polish-American and live in the southwest part of the US. I cook (very well I might add) Mexican dishes and Indian (sub-continent)…I “nick” other people’s food all the time! It adds zest to our lives! Cheers!

  • Reply
    John Rudiak
    July 26, 2023 at 3:17 pm

    I first ate kutia in Ternopil, Ukraine. My wife is from Konin in Wielkopolskie. This is in western Poland. My relatives there heard of kutia but I never had it. If not seasoned with other ingredients it tastes bland. However, add maple syrup and it tastes like Maypo. I liked it.

  • Reply
    Olga
    October 17, 2023 at 4:58 pm

    “A Ukrainian sweet grain pudding called kutia is a staple dish that is prepared several ways to mark different Orthodox Christian holy days in the month of January. Made with wheat, berries, honey or sugar, nuts, raisins and poppy seeds, kutia is typically the first food eaten during the Holy Supper on Christmas Eve—but before it’s consumed, some is first tossed to the ceiling. The number of grains that stick to the ceiling are an indicator of how prosperous the agricultural harvest will be in the coming year. Kutia is thought to be among the oldest dishes that is part of the twelve-course meal. It likely originated in Neolithic times, and the first written record of it is found in the twelfth-century Primary Chronicle written by St. Nestor the Chronicler.” quoted from Ukrainian Traditions. I am a 77 year old Czech with great grandparents, grandparents & parents who were born in Ukraine. . I have celebrated Christmas with Kutia as our 1st.course at Christmas Eve. dinner. all my life. We would always threaten my Mom that we would fillip the Kutia onto the ceiling. She would always say, “No, I don’t have a farm.” My Mom has passed, this passed Christmas so my son decided to flip the Kutia onto this ceiling. The Kutia all stuck to the ceiling; he has 5 acers of land with half an acer garden. His garden was very bountiful this year.

    • Reply
      Chris
      October 20, 2023 at 5:00 am

      Thank you for your lovely memories 🙂

    • Reply
      Alexandra Dombrowski
      December 12, 2024 at 2:52 pm

      Thankyou, Pani Olga, for your kind reply–in contrast to Pani Lydia’s hostile one. You shared some sweet memories as well. Pani Lidia didn’t even know that she spelled it wrong in Polish. So, as another gentleman here has posted in his comment, it’s a sweet food, that should remind us on this holiest day of the year, to be sweet to one another, no matter what time of day we eat it!

  • Reply
    Jacqueline
    April 12, 2024 at 3:18 am

    Thank you so much for this recipe. My Big Mother (great grandmother) came from Poland and I was lucky enough to have some of the delights of the old world. I was very small when I had this and I remember it being associated with Easter. I hope that doesn’t offend anyone. I loved it and remember it being sweetened with buckwheat honey. I also remember Big Mother’s light as air crinkle cookies tossed in icing sugar also at Easter but I guess could also have been at Christmas. I have seen many people’s versions of these and am still looking for Big Mother’s recipe. I know it’s somewhere. If anyone has one I would be grateful for a copy. I do have her handwritten recipe for traditional pierogi with potato and cheddar. I’ve seen many versions but personally I don’t take offence. I just know that my Big Mother’s recipe is THE BEST! 😉 I am so happy that although I have lost much of my Polish heritage I’m very happy that we can all share these recipes passed down from the remarkable woman of our histories.
    PS I also appreciate the spelling of kielbasa 😄

  • Reply
    Claire Pula
    December 17, 2024 at 2:36 am

    I own several Polish recipe books and kutia appears in many of them, as a Wigilia dessert. With our shared and fluid historical borders, it’s only natural that we also share many foods, although recipes and traditions may vary.

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 17, 2024 at 3:08 pm

      well said 🙂

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