These Bulgarian meat and cheese sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food. You can find many versions of these baked sandwiches on every corner in Bulgaria. These sandwiches are called “Prinzesi” in Bulgarian, which translates to princesses. These sandwiches are part of my most nostalgic memories. Bulgarians make many different kinds of Prinzesi, including baked ham and cheese, egg-feta-cheese, just cheese, and more. One thing all of these recipes have in common is that they are typically served for breakfast and are baked in the oven.
A nice strong, crusty bread is essential for supporting the weight of the ground meat. Enjoy these for breakfast with with refreshing plain yogurt, or a yogurt drink (kefir) on the side, just as us Bulgarians do!
Bulgarian Meat and Cheese Sandwiches
You can find these sandwiches on every corner in Bulgaria. If you love cheesy meatballs or cheesy burgers, these will hit the spot as this delicious meat gets spread onto bread and baked in the oven to perfection.
Ingredients
- 450 grams (1 pound) ground meat of choice we like pork
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup freshly grated Kashkaval cheese or mozzarella (any cheese that melts well will work)
- Two 9-inch baguettes, cut in half or rye bread
- butter
- hot pepper oil, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- In a large bowl, add the ground meat, egg, salt, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, and cheese. Don't forget to measure with your heart, adding more or less of each ingredient, as desired.
- Use your hands to mix everything really well (don't be afraid to get messy).
- Take each piece of baguette and lay it flat onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread on a thin layer of butter and scoop 4 to 5 heaping tablespoons of the meat filling onto each slice. You can distribute it evenly, pressing down with the back of a fork or even use your hands.
- Make sure that each piece has an even layer of meat on it so that it cooks evenly.
- Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked. We like to put the top broiler on for the last 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese and top gets golden but keep a close eye on it if you do.
- Enjoy with hot pepper oil on top, with a green salad on the side, or you can try the Bulgarian way which is with refreshing plain yogurt, or a yogurt drink (kefir) on the side.
Video
Notes
SOFT white bread like Italiano, Villagio or Wonder Bread will not work for this recipe as it need to hold up the filling and not become soggy. Please use a baguette, rye, sourdough, or any firmer fresh bread.
You can also purchase a large 12-inch baguette, cut it in half lengthwise and cut those halves in half.
Keep in mind to have extra bread or sliced bread on hand as you might have more meat filling. We usually make 6 to 8 slices of rye or two larger 9-inch baguettes. You can use any fresh bread you like. Sourdough or any will work. Even English muffins cut in half will also work.
Feel free to use any ground meat you like such as ground turkey, beef, pork, or a mix of choice. We love pork but you can use any.
We like to use a Bulgarian cheese but often times use mozzarella as well if we don’t have any on hand. Use any good quality fresh cheese of choice and grate it yourself. Please don’t use pre-grated as it will alter the taste and quality.
If you don’t want to use ground meat or season it, you can actually make these using sausages and taking the meat out of the casing. Sausages already come seasoned but are typically more fatty. Feel free to make these your own!
Feel free to mix the ground meat the night before or in the morning and assemble any time you like. The raw meat filling will stay fresh in the fridge for 1-2 days.
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10 Responses
YUMMY , YUMMY , YUMMY
Glad you think so!
I’m so excited to put this on my list for dinner this week!
Omg hope you loved it
Thank you for the delicious recipe, brought back great childhood memories, my kids loved them too.
I actually used turkey mince instead of pork, and still tasted amazing ☺️
Hi Daniela,
so happy to hear that, thank you for the rating, really means a lot to me. Happy you loved it
Thank you for the delicious recipe, brought back great childhood memories, my kids loved them too.
I actually used turkey mince instead of pork, and still tasted amazing ☺️
Hi Dani 🙂 so happy to hear that it brought back such great memories. Cheers 🙂
These sandwiches are so easy and delicious! I use spicy chicken sausage and love serving them with plain yogurt. My husband and I love them!! I’ve made them 4 times now – definitely a repeat recipe!
So glad you’re enjoying this recipe Pam!