Cepelinai

{{short description|Lithuanian potato dish}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Cepelinai

| image = Cepelinai 2, Vilnius, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Cepelinai served with sour cream sauce and bacon bits

| country = Lithuania

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Dumpling

| served =

| main_ingredient = Potatoes, ground meat or dry cottage cheese (curd) or mushrooms

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Cepelinai{{cite book | last1=Jacob | first1=J. | last2=Ashkenazi | first2=M. | title=The World Cookbook: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe, 2nd Edition [4 Volumes]: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe | publisher=ABC-CLIO | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-61069-469-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GmqEAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA793 | access-date=November 5, 2016 | pages=793–794}} ({{abbrlink|lit.|literal translation}} "zeppelins"; singular: cepelinas) are potato dumplings made from grated potatoes and stuffed with ground meat or dry curd cheese, or liver, or mushrooms. It has been described as a national dish of Lithuania,{{cite book | last=Albala | first=K. | title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia | publisher=Greenwood | issue=v. 1 | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-313-37626-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTo6c_PJWRgC&pg=RA3-PA226 | access-date=November 5, 2016 | page=3-PA226}}{{cite book | last=McLachlan | first=G. | title=Lithuania | publisher=Bradt Travel Guides | series=Bradt Guides | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-84162-228-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDdqGoXvSvYC&pg=PA61 | access-date=November 5, 2016 | page=61}} and is typically served as a main dish.

Originally called didžkukuliai, or dumb-bells, they were renamed rather modishly in honour of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, pioneer of the rigid airship, in 1900. Cepelinai shape resembles of a Zeppelin airship,. Cepelinai are typically around 10–30 cm long, although the size depends on where they are made: in the western counties of Lithuania cepelinai are made bigger than in the east.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}} In Samogitia cepelinai are called cepelinā.

After boiling, the cepelinai are often served with sour cream sauce and bacon bits or pork rinds.

In the Suwałki Region, Podlachia, Warmia and Masuria, it is known as kartacz ({{abbrlink|pol.|literal translation}}: grapeshot). It is a part of the cuisine of north-eastern Poland.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

Similar dishes include Polish pyzy, Swedish kroppkaka, Acadian poutine râpée, Norwegian raspeball, German Kartoffelklöße and Italian canederli.

File:Cepelinai 2, Vilnius, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg|Cepelinai with ground meat cut open

File:Karmėlavos Cepelinas.JPG|Large cepelinas served with pork rinds