Homemade Pierogi are stuffed with a flavorful potato and cheese mixture, boiled, and fried up in melted butter for a delicious, indulgent, total comfort food dinner.
Pierogies are a classic Polish comfort food dish. In this recipe I’ve taken all of the elements of a classic pierogi and simplified them for the average home cook. While this dish takes time to make, it is overall fairly simple. A quick homemade dough requires some rolling out which is where most of your time will be spent, but it’s fairly simple and a good item to make with children, or as a family. Many hands make light work.
Pierogi can be filled with various fillings, but tradition is a potato and cheese curd mixture. In this recipe we use mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese. Feel free to experiment and use your favorite cheese. Leftover mashed potatoes work really well in this recipe, but you can always make them from scratch specifically for filling. Most grocery stores carry frozen or refrigerated mashed potatoes or you can buy them at the deli counter if you are short on time.
What is good to eat with pierogies?
A simple, traditional topping is simple sour cream and maybe some chopped chives. You can also serve pierogies up topped with caramelized onions, paprika, fried sage, or Polish sausage.
What kind of sauce goes on pierogies?
For classic potato filled pierogi, a simple sauce of melted or browned butter is the sauce of choice. If you choose other filling options in your pierogi, like spinach, a light garlic yogurt sauce pairs well.
What do you serve with pierogies?
Roasted vegetables are always a great option to serve with pierogies. You could try some roasted broccoli or serve them up with some roasted simple honey roasted brussel sprouts. You also can’t go wrong with some simple green beans.
Can I freeze these?
Yes! You can freeze these pierogies after they have been assembled. And boil them from frozen when you are ready to eat. To freeze, simply place your pierogies in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure they aren’t touching so that they don’t stick together. Once frozen, remove from the freezer and transfer to a resealable plastic bag for long term storage.
PRO TIP: The key to homemade pierogi is to be sure to seal it shut so that none of the stuffing comes out during cooking. Don’t let any of the filling get in between the dough edges or you won’t be able to get a good seal. Pinch the dough shut with your fingers and then press with the tongs of a fork to further seal and give a decorative edge.
Watch the video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual and I’ve got you covered, including how to roll, stuff, and seal your pierogi. You can find my full collection of video recipes on YouTube.
I made these today, but made a few changes. I used X-tra sharp white cheddar, skipped the onion powder and put in 1/2 cup chopped onion. The dough weighed 30 oz. so I rolled 30 1 oz.s balls. The filling in this recipe only filled 21 pierogis so I had to make another 1/2 batch. The only other thing I will change next time is to put more cheese in them. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll never buy store bought again!
How many does this recipe make? It looks great. I have not made them in 30 years. Also do you think gluten free all purpose flour would work? Thank you
It makes 24-36 depending on how big you make them. Gluten free all purpose flour is worth a try, but each mix is a little different so it’s hard to say if it will work or not.
If I were going to make & freeze, would I freeze after boiling? Or would I freeze after frying? After frozen how would I thaw to prepare? The ones I’ve purchased premade I boiled to thaw and then fried in pan with butter.
Many thanks!
You’d freeze before boiling so it ends up just like the instructions for pre-made frozen.
after boiling dip i butter so they don’t stick together, then freeze
just a bit if Polish…pierogi is plural, pierog is singular
Who in the world would make one “pierog” Even spell check doesn’t agree 😉
I’ve sprayed mine with a butter spray, it works fine.
While you may make more than one, you put one pierog at a time into the water.
First time trying! Made more than other recipes. Can’t wait for supper!
I am going to make them and brown them with onions and butter. Serving them with sautéed mushrooms, crispy bacon and sour cream.
Sounds amazing!
What time is dinner? lol
Hi Rachel, I made these last night and today (filling and dough yesterday, boiling and frying today). My husband gave them two thumbs-up and I love them, too! I’m Polish and have never made pierogis before. I really appreciate your detailed recipe and instructions. I also made your “The Creamist Mashed Potatoes” for the filling. Awesome! Thanks so much!
This recipe is modified version of Polish pierogi dish. Authentic Polish pierogi dough is made only from flour, water, butter and pinch of salt (1 egg is optional) and filling has mashed potatoes and farmer cheese in 1:1 ratio, fried onion, salt and pepper. Pierogi are served with melted butter and onion or bacon. No sausage or veggies.
My mom used only the egg yolk……the white makes the dough “tough”. The rolled out the dough and cut out “circles” with a aluminum measuring container that made the perfect size Pierogi. Best Pierogi dough ever!
we did it that way too.. we would often make a day of it and have a Perogie making party .. one person rolling .. another cutting, another stuffing and pinching and another loading them onto trays and putting them in the freezer , we would ofter make about twenty dozen , everybody got four or five dozen to take home..
Karolina, That’s the way I make mine too! They are sooooo good!
Adding sour cream (or similar dairy products) to the dough is a old-fashioned alternative that my family has used for generations. And the idea that only one filling is legitimate is laughable. Polish pierogi come with a diverse variety of fillings: sauerkraut, meat, fruit, dessert, etc.
Signed, my Polish family
Same here, mom did mashed potatoes with drained cottage cheese and some with fried shredded cabbage and onions and dessert ones with Apple slices or plums
After you boil them fry in salt potl
My most popular pierogi recipe is my mushroom filling. I add red pepper flakes to give it a little kick which is what makes it so popular with my family.
Matthew, Would you mind sharing the recipe for your mushroom filling? Many thanks in advance.
Really good with a mixed mushroom filling topped with a bacon cream sauce. So Dee-lish
Need your recipe Please for the filling and bacon cream sauce
Thanks so much
Can I get your mushroom bacon gravy mix
We haven’t made pierogies in ages. In fact, that was BB (before blogging). They are so good and we were going overboard. We added sauerkraut to our pierogies — Honey is German and he likes his cabbage. You’ve put me in the mood for pierogies.
I married into a family who always had these at Christmas. They stuffed them with Mashed Potatoes and cheese, some with sauerkraut and some with lechtvar (prunes). Oh my goodness, they were incredible. Going to try and make them myself now that I have the receipe!!
When frying these I use a lot of onions also, really taste great together
Onions and mushrooms for me!
Yes, must have onions fried in butter with these. Vidailias are the best.
Absolutely!! Totally our method, too!
I use sautéed onions in the filling too.
Oh definitely, cook with onions caramelized, then serve with sour cream, yum!!!!