What Is a Runza Sandwich?

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What is a runza? It sounds like some exotic plant or a Dr. Suess word. Surely it must be a food from some far away, little known region. Nope. It’s actually a sandwich from Nebraska. But the story of the runza sandwich is actually pretty interesting and goes back decades. So, what is a runza sandwich? How do you make runzas? What is in a runza sandwich? And once you have a runza, what do you serve with it? Let’s have some funza learning about runzas.

What is a runza sandwich?

A runza is a pocket sandwich filled with ground beef and cabbage. It’s like a classier Hot Pocket. Runzas are the kings of the Nebraska sandwich world. They’re a go-to at Nebraska football games and are so popular that they have their own fast food restaurant dedicated just to them. Unsurprisingly, it’s called Runza. In the same way, kolaches came to Texas, runza sandwiches started in the central and eastern European communities of Nebraska. 

It all started with a pirog, which is a baked dough stuffed with a savory or sweet filling. A little version of a pirog is a pirozhok. Volga German immigrants turned the pirozhok into a bierock, a yeast dough pocket sandwich. The bierock came to the central plains of the U.S. and remained relatively unchanged in places like Kansas. But that bierock became a runza in Nebraska, thanks to Sally Everett who opened Runza, the fast food chain, in the late 1940s. As the chain spread across Nebraska, so did the word “runza.”

What’s in a runza?

Runzas traditionally are filled with seasoned ground beef, onions, and cabbage or sauerkraut. You can of course add some cheese in there. The Runza fast food chain has a pretty vast array of runza options, including mushroom Swiss, spicy jack, Southwestern, and cheeseburger runzas. The original runzas were filled with beef and sauerkraut. But most of the runzas you’ll find today have just straight up cabbage rather than its fermented cousin.

How do you make runzas?

Runzas are definitely one of those things that, sure, you could make your own, but it’s just so much easier to order one. If you’re set on making a homemade runza sandwich, you’re going to have to make some dough. Once you make a nice dough out of flour, water, butter, salt, and yeast, roll it out. Saute some ground beef, onions, and cabbage with salt and pepper. Fill some dough squares with your filling and then bake. While you were doing that, I ordered and ate six runzas.

What do you serve with runzas?

Think of a runza as any other sandwich or burger. They go great with a side of chips, fries, or onion rings. Eat a runza alongside a potato salad. A lot of people eat their runzas with ketchup or mustard. You could be one of those ranch people and throw some ranch on there. The only side I need for my runza is another runza. And onion rings. I love onion rings.