04 September 2026
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World Kitchen Journal
Zapiekanki (Polish Pizza)
The Kitchen

Zapiekanki (Polish Pizza)

The traditional Polish street food, Zapiekanki, are reminiscent of a French bread pizza, but the toppings are what make this Polish pizza unique.

By Test Kitchen · Poland · 2 min ·
Ingredients · Servings 2
  • 1 tsp butter
  • ½ onion, (diced)
  • 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, (drained)
  • Salt and pepper ((to taste))
  • ½ French baguette, (halved lengthwise, or 4 slices of a French bread loaf)
  • 1 c mozzarella cheese, (shredded)
  • Ketchup ((to top))
Method · 17 min
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat oil. Add onions and mushrooms and sauté for 5 min, until soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Place baguette halves (or bread slices) on a baking sheet. Top with mushroom mixture and cheese.
  4. Bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
  5. Top with ketchup to serve.

Polish Pizza.. Yes It's A Thing

Zapiekanka (pronounced zah-pay-KAN-kah) (plural: Zapiekanki) comes from the Polish word zapiekać, meaning "to scorch" or "to roast."

It is a traditional Polish street food where a halved baguette is topped with mushrooms and cheese. They are then oven-toasted until crispy and topped with ketchup. Yes.

Ketchup. While you wouldn't expect to find pizza in Poland, these street food pizzas are incredibly common, and SO tasty!

Our Zapiekanki Recipe

Breaking with tradition, we used slices of French bread rather than a halved baguette for our Polish pizza recipe.

Feel free to use whichever you prefer as you make your own! The topping for this pizza re incredibly simple. Just saute some mushrooms and onions together with a little salt and pepper.

That's it! The simplicity of the mushroom and onion filling and smooth mozzarella cheese pairs surprisingly well with the ketchup that is always used as a zapiekanki topper. Seriously, these Polish pizzas might be surprising, but they make for an incredibly tasty meal and the perfect walking street food!

(If you want to check out the Zapiekanki we ate on the streets of Poland, check out our pictures on our About Us page!)

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon butter

Nutrition

Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences.

Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens.

She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.

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