Polish Pierogi
I grew up making potato-cheese pierogi with my dad and we always had them with bacon bits and sour cream. Serve them boiled, or boil and pan fry. To save time you can make the filling in advance. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: 24 - 30
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds potatoes (2 large russets)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- 3 ounces reduced fat cream cheese (1/3 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup water
Filling:
Dough:
Instructions:
- Place peeled, quartered potatoes in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.
- Meantime, brown onions & garlic in oil on med-low for 10 min.
- Drain and mash the potatoes, adding onion & garlic, cream cheese, salt & pepper. Set aside to cool. Shape into 1-tablespoon size mounds if desired.
- Combine flour & salt in a bowl. Make a well and add sour cream, egg & water, combining with a spoon.
- Place on a well-floured board and knead for 50 turns (using a scraper if needed) until smooth. Cover with a towel or inverted bowl & let rest at least 10 minutes.
- Divide dough into thirds. Keeping extra dough covered, roll each section 1/8” thick, adding flour as needed. Cut 3-inch circles, saving leftover scraps of dough.
- Fill each circle with about one tablespoon of potatoes, fold into a half circle, and pinch edges tightly. Place apart on a towel sprinkled with flour.
- Place pierogis in boiling salted water, stirring at first to keep them separated, and cook about 3 minutes until they rise to the top, then another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove to an oiled baking sheet.
Filling:
Dough:
Note: To freeze, boil pierogi first and place in a lightly oiled freezer bag, spreading them out so they don’t touch. To serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, lightly brown pierogi in a pan on the stove in a little oil or butter.
How come you need to cook the pierogi before freezing? The store bought frozen ones seemed to be uncooked. Thanks. My good friend is from Poland so I want to learn to cook more Polish food. I love your recipes!
Wow, just made the recipe for the pierogi and for the first time my dough came out perfect!! My Mom was from a time by village in Poland and made these for special occasions, thanks! (Only has whole milk products and used the cheddar, but ooh la la !)
I meant to type , tiny village… lol!
Hi Jenny! Love your videos.
Do you ever use a pasta roller to roll the pierogi dough?
I use the pasta roller. I go to a #2 or #3. It’s a soft dough so you cannot have a longe stream of it.
I have made SEVERAL of your dishes! The pierogis are the best I’ve ever had ! I am polish American and have grown up on polish food and this is THE best! It’s the sour cream in dough! I also make your bread ALL THE TIME! My 13 yr old loves this food and I’m passing on these recipes to her! Thank you!
My sister simmers (about 8 at a time) directly from the freezer until done. She removes them with a slotted spoon, lets them drain a little into the pot, and places them in a rectangular aluminum pan that contains melted butter. As she puts them into a row, she moves each one around in the pan butter to coat it. Then very slightly overlaps them (shingling in the pan. Then she tops with buttery fried onions. She lets them cool off a little and then covers the pan with foil, and places in the fridge overnight.
The next day she removes/keeps the foil, and sprinkles a little bit of water over some of them. Puts foil back on and bakes them. They come out great, but they usually don’t brown.
This is what she does when making them for a crowd.
I grew up with the sauerkraut version of pierogi. Would really appreciate recipe for that filling. I was just a little girl when my grandmother tried to teach me. Of course there was no measuring with her instructions. Love this dish.
I actually prepared sauerkraut filling for pierogi tonight! I fry onions and garlic just like you do for this potato filling. I then add sauerkraut to the pan. No real measurement. I use between 1/2 and 2/3 of a 24 ounce jar or kraut.
I let this “fry off” in the pan until the moisture is absorbed/evaporated. Then I use a dollop or two of sour cream to bring it all together. This helps it stay together a bit.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
My mother made the most delicious sauerkraut filling! I remember that she also sauteed chopped mushroom pieces along with the butter, onions, and garlic. I don’t recall her using any sour cream to hold it all together, however. I don’t remember what else she may have used in the sauerkraut filling recipe, if anything. I would love it if Jenny published her authentic sauerkraut filling recipe and others, if she has them!
My grandma made these with sauerkraut and pork, fried in lard, served with potatoes, cabbage rolls and sliced tomatoes.
Hi, Jenny. I’m part Polish and Lithuanian, but was never taught how to make Polish dishes, so I can’t wait to try your recipe. I have a question regarding the ingredients for the dough. My husband was recently diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity. Can I make the dough using gluten-free flour in lieu of all purpose flour or do I have to make other tweaks as well for the dough to work? Gluten-free cooking is brand new to me, so I’m unfamiliar with what I have to do. Thank you so much!
I’m sorry I have no experience with gluten free flour in these kinds of recipes.
This most certainly is a Polish dish however the potato pierogies are not traditional. They do more sauerkraut pierogies than they do potato potato pierogies are actually an American dish switched up by the Americans.
Potatoes seem much more like German
My Babcia was born in Poland in 1925 and made pierogi for decades – both before and after she immigrated to the States. I can assure you that potato pierogi are, in fact, very Polish, although her recipe uses a dry curd farmers cheese instead of the sour cream in the filling.
Hi! I’d like to add that my mother also made a potato and cheese filling with the same kind of special kind of farmers cheese that she called “pot cheese.” I remember her saying it was more expensive and harder to find here in America. Potatoes were a staple food for poor Polish people so I cannot imagine them NOT having an authentic Polish filling for pierogies! She’d also make potato pancakes and something called “Kopitke” using potatoes which I loved. Pardon my spelling, please! She didn’t drive so she’d walk (miles!) to the Polish butcher shop clear on the other side of town pulling a large cart on wheels; she stock up for the month with every Polish food imaginable, including candies, dried mushrooms, poppy seed rolled pastry-like sweet bread that I won’t even attempt to try spelling! Jenny has the recipe for it, though. It was out of this world delicious with a cup of coffee! Anyway, my mother never did become “americanized” so you can believe her potato-cheese Pierogies filling was authentically Polish.. 😁
Potato pierogi were common in my Slovak immigrant family ♥️
Hi Jenny,
First wrote a comment to you in 2019..my how the years fly by! Just wanted to let you know that our family so loves your recipes ,videos and website.
This year we all got together in Woodstock, Ontario (home of both my kids and grandchildren) for Christmas and a perogy making marathon. I must have made 10 batches of your perogy dough, in the food processor. What fun we had making them and of coarse, taste testing along the way! Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes, especially for me, the rice pudding!
Thank you Jennie. When I was younger I would make pierogis all the time but as time goes…got lazy. Tried your recipe and my family told me they were the BEST!!!! Will have to start making pierogis again since my family loves them. I gave one daughter your recipe but I got a feeling they will be waiting for me to make them. (ha ha) I have 12 grandchildren and surely they will help me when I make a big batch. Dzienkuje Jennie.. Dzienkujie bardzo??????
Can the dough be mixed in a stand mixer? I’m pregnant and my belly hits the counter and I can’t knead very well right now but I’d like to make a big batch for the freezer for when we bring the baby home 🙂
Yes you can use a mixer as long as it has a dough hook. You will want to run it on a slow to med slow setting for a few minutes (3) Mine were perfect.
Hi Rachel, where there’s a will— or a belly, there’s a way to may make Pierogies dough! ❤️😁
I will definitely try this recipe. Looks very easy and tasty. Much better than the frozen product.
Thank you for this recipe! They were delicious!
I made a giant batch for my fathers memorial
His favorite foods from his childhood,I also made your stuffed cabbage and even my son who is a picky eater loved it!
Thank you!
Jenny,
I haven’t made the perogi dough but I need to make butternut squash ravioli in butter. I just had surgery on my dominant left hand so I can’t make pasta dough. Would this dough roll thin enough to sub?
Judy
Regarding not overplaying the dough by rerolling it, my mom didn’t use anything round to cut circles of dough. She rolled the dough into a large thin rectangle & cut squares out of it with a pastry cutter. After placing the filling she would stretch the dough to enclose it and seal it with a fluted sort of edge. The pierogi looked like a crescent/rectangle cross, but they were thin and tender with no heavy doughy edges. This way all the dough was used with no scraps left to reroll.
;
This sounds like a great idea. Who says pierogi have to be round? I plan to try it so thank you.
I am driving to Wisconsin (from MI) in a couple of weeks to see my friends and will surprize the with my homemade pierogi’s..your way!
Can’t wait to make them.
Thank you for the recipe and video.
😉
Hi Jenny,
Your recipes are always wonderful! I hav a Q. what I can substitute for sour cream which u asked to add to the dough? Plz do let me know. I would luv to try your recipe. As always thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you for sharing. I grew up in the US and have never made this before, I make these for my boyfriend who grew up in Ukraine and he loves them. I’ve made them probably like 10
times so far using your recipe. Thanks for sharing. I do use Farmers cheese instead of the cream cheese- you can buy it in Eastern European stores, or some health food stores like Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme Market.
Jenny,
I also grew up on pierogi…potato and cheese. We always used cheddar cheese but today I am making two batches one cream cheese and one cheddar. I love the way you set up and your process. prepping spoonfuls of filling is genius.
I love pierogies..it reminds me of my childhood yet the process can be daunting. I used to make my filling one day and then the next day make my dough and finish them up.
I decided to try it your way…and I was actually done in under 2 hours. Shocking! Normally I used to make dozens at a time though. That might have been the problem as well. Haha
I have been looking for a good recipe for perogies but was never really satisfied. These are the best I have tasted. The dough is nice a smooth easy to seal and no lumps. I love them
Loved your recipe. Our dough was a little too sticky, added more flour as we went along, probably too much sour cream….eyeball measure. Cooked the potatoes in my I pot with sauerkraut juice and some broth…added sauerkraut, no mushrooms, and cheddar cheese to potatoes. Very good taste. Will do the same again.
Love the recipe. I use Farmers cheese tho’ the dough has always been a bit of a toss up for me.Glad to have found yours!
My mother always used farmers cheese. I use it too, nothing else like it.
Love all your recipes
I am trying this next time! I’m reading your recipe after working with very springy dough that I made with milk and an additional cup of flour! I felt as though I’d never try to make it again until now…I will make your recipe next weekend and report back because I’m worn out after cooking for 3 hours! I’ve made your Cinnamon Rolls and your version of Stuffed Cabbage, both amazing. I’m kicking myself for not thinking to check your recipe against the one I had found for Ukrainian perogi. Thank you Jenny as always! I grew up watching your show with my mother and you’re a fabulous person all around who can most definitely cook!
This is a delicious recipe. Thank you for posting. My DD and I have made them and my family has eaten them right away after sautéing in butter and more onions. However, if I want to freeze these for later use, how do I go about doing this? Do you freeze them from the “raw” state (ie, after you stuff the filling into the dough and seal) or do you boil them first and then freeze? Since they stick together (both in the “raw” state and after boiling), do you add melted butter to the storage container to keep from sticking? Thank you, in advance, for your help.
Please see the Note in the recipe.
I always put the raw perogie on cookie sheet lined with parchment and “fast freeze” in freezer- By the time I am finished making another tray the ones in the freezer are frozen, bag them and put them back in freezer- never had a problem with cooking- I dont defrost – just cook them in boiling water- perfecto!!! Drizzle with fried onions and butter and savour
AND SOUR CREAM !!!!!!!!!!!
Since finding this recipe I use it religiously. This is now my recipe for the dough each and every time I make them. As others asks I freeze them basically after I make them I put them on a floured baking sheet and while I am finishing off the rest of the dough they dry a bit then I flip them over and shake the pan. They get a thin dusting of flour then into the freezer they go. Once they are solid frozen then I bagged them and they are ready whenever I want. Just boil water with salt drop in frozen and let them cook till the come to the top. I take them out with a giant slotted spoon and put them in a pan I have been melting butter and then let them get coated and we eat them just lightly butter of I brown them up further. Sometimes I will fry them up in bacon fat super delicious. Thanks again for sharing your recipe Jenny since I have been making perogies for well over 30 years this is by far the best and easiest recipe for dough. Very forgiving and I can roll it super thin so there is lots of filling and very little dough and that is what I call making it the old school way.
I am a southern girl who loves pirego Yours recipe is wonderful. You now have a new viewer.. Do you have a recipe for cabbage and pasta?
Please look under my Polish recipes.
I love your simple recipes, encouraged me to make everything what I see. I become professional home made bread maker 🙂 at list that is what I think. However, I have one issue, I am following your measurement, but comparing your video the outcome looks smaller when I made it. for example when I made Cinnamon rolls.
Do you have a recipe for Sauerkraut and mushrooms?
loved your recipe for meatloaf, cannot wait to make it, however the true recipe for Pierogi is to use Farmers cheese which my mum used all the time, also cabbage for a change. thank you so much for sharing.
Can you please show a recipe for sweet cabbage filling. And maybe cabbage and mushrooms in the pierogi. And how to make dough for at least 48 pierogi.
Polish Your Kitchen
Went blueberry picking this morning at Hazen farm’s in Michigan. 13 pounds of berries. Made a batch of pierogi using your recipe for the dough. I have been using your recipe for many years and they always come out great.
Trying to print recipe and unable to
Did you click the “print” button the top right?
Just made these and they are amazing! I’ve never tried Polish food so I was so impressed with how well and yummy they turned out ? So glad I stumbled upon your YouTube page! I used to watch you all the time in middle school, your show was my favorite ?
I tried these and they were absolutely delicious! I come from a long line of Polish people, and my family gave me the greatest compliments! My mom said it tastes like her mom’s cooking, and my sister said it tastes like Poland!
Dziękuję from California
I’m making these for dinner and serving them with a cucumber salad and your recipe for cabbage rolls, which I made yesterday. I’m an avid home cook and I enjoy the way you loving share your Polish heritage through your cooking. I only wish you had found your calling with this format many years earlier. It’s so much more personable than many celebrities on FN. Even if you forget to mention or explain something, you immediately pick up on it and follow through. So honest, because we all do that. You really know your stuff and I rank you with another of my favorite cooks, Maryanne Esposito of Ciao Italia. Thanks for bringing the fresh simplicity of home cooking to the rest of us.
Hi Jenny, I love your channel. I was wondering if the perogis can be made gluten free. Would it still come out okay? I would love to make these this evening.
Hi
Love your videos and recipes but wonder why you use low fat dairy products, especially when so little is used in recipe. The fat in dairy is not harmful, especially if organic (as we were led to believe) and helps with digestion. Sugar and flour does more damage than the fats as proven by keto diet. Everything improves on that diet, which is all types of fats, but mostly should be healthy fats, of course. Also heard Canola oil is not healthy, but maybe ok using organic or good oils, like olive, but also some are like trans fats when heated. Cholesterol is not raised by eating fats unless oxidized from sugar making it sticky and causing problems. What are your thoughts on this…
Anyway I am part polish and we did make perogies almost the same way but used drained/dry cottage cheese with potato and small amount of crumbled bacon in mix with green onions that were not cooked first, just added to mix. I will try your way later (not eating grains now) .
Great fast easy recipes. Thank you.
Thanks for this and other Polish recipies.. My Mom use to make these and stuffed cabbage.
Try them with sour cream, bacon bits (real kind!) and fried onions. Delicious!
Wow! Really great dough, I stuffed mine with shredded chicken…..delicious
Question, can I use chicken broth instead of water in the dough recipes?
Loved making this recipe! The sour cream in the dough is a great touch. I used a sweet potato for the filling and turned out great!
Cheers and thanks again!
Got to try that one!!!
Jenny,
My family and I live near Pittsburgh and they love their pierogies here. Not being from here we couldn’t understand all the fuss. I decided to give your recipe a try and they came out beautifully! I also mix them with kielbasa and sauerkraut. I am so glad I found your site and wanted to thank you for being so generous and sharing your wonderful recipes.
I made these last year for Christmas. They were so good and easy. I cheated and used instant potatoes. They came out perfect. Looking forward to making them again this weekend.
Donna what the F***. loljk love you ??????????????
My son just figured it out this weekend when he walked in while I was making them. He had no clue and always thought they were real! LOL
On date night, my wife and I of 30 yrs made this recipe. It was easy, fun to make and they’re are scrumptious!!! Delish. Will def make again with different filings. Thanks for the recipe.
Chuck
Hi, I use your Pierogi dough recipe all the time and get compliments on it! It it very stretchy and takes a while to roll out as it is so stretchy and keeps shrinking back but the dough is almost paper thin and we like it that way. Is there a fix for this or ??
Let the dough rest a little longer before you start rolling it out.
Your recipe is like my mother-in-law except I have since added sour cream. Also I have been making them in my food processor. They come out so tender. Just don’t over work. Don’t even have to knead we make about 250 at a time. Sauerkraut, cheddar cheese and farmer cheese are our favorite.
I have no idea what farmes cheese is? As a little old lady I should know but, alas! I don’t!.
Is there any way I can make the font larger? I can hardly read it so small.
I am glad to have found you?
Sincerely, Liz
Hello Liz,
I hope this will help with the font size. When you hit print, you will see the instruction box on the right side. Go to SCALE, and it is automatically set at 80. Click the up arrow to the size you want, up to 200. This increases the font size and increases the number of pages it will print out. Good Luck.
I think cottage cheese is similar or the same as the farmer cheese in this recipe.
I agree, I use dry cottage cheese as my filling
Farmer’s cheese is dry. You can put any kind of cottage in a sieve and drain all the liquid. Let cottage cheese sit in sieve a while then be sure to stir and press out fluid. I like to fork my potatoes really well instead is mashing. I like the texture with the dry cheese.
I have no idea what farmes cheese is? As a little old lady I should know but, alas! I don’t!.
Is there any way I can make the font larger? I can hardly read it so small.
I am glad to have found you?
Sincerely, Liz
Thank you for this video and recipe! Just made them and they are so delicious, can’t wait for kids to come over and eat some too! Love this ❤️❤️
My ex- mother in law was polish. Her amazing pierogies filling was cooked sauerkraut and onions, cottage cheese with egg, and mashed potatoes and sauteed onions. She would put a bit of each in the pierogie before boiling them, then frying in butter and onion until golden brown. They are intensely delicious. I like your pierogie dough better than hers, it’s much easier to work with. Hers was just flour, salt and water.
I loves this recipe! So easy and filling had a great flavor
Thank you for posting this.
I have never made these but I am definitely going to! My grandmother was from Its now Croatia and we always made homemade dumplings! Also cabbage rolls! Do you serve these with as a side or are they a main dish?
They are a main dish.
I watched your video and decided it has been years since I made home made Pierogi or Vareniki does it matter what they are called. My recipe I used for many years I lost and since then it was by memory and I do know I did not use sour cream and my recipe I doubled and it would make like 50 or more pierogies … well what can I say I followed your dough recipe and let it rest and I also did your 50 turns lord knows I don’t recall it resting but it also didn’t have sour cream. I made them with some leftover mashed potatoes and your little mounds well I made them and I freeze them so they are easier to fill the dough and will tell you this dough is very forgiving and that is my testimony to your absoloutely wonderful video now on to more pierogies and some various fillings. Dziękuję Ci bardzo Jenny
I have two questions. If I choose to use Cheddar or Colby cheese in my filling instead of cream cheese, would you recommend still adding the onions and garlic? Also, can I successfully double this recipe?
I’ve used sharp cheddar or colby in the mashed potatoes with a little onion and garlic and it is delicious.
This was my my first time making them and my whole family loved them. I love watching your videos, you make it look so easy.
Love you
Joanne S from Manitoba
Jenny always loved your talk show. I’m wondering if can give us the recipes for the other types of filling Thank you. Mary Jane
I have used taco filling and left over turkey stuffing my family loved it.
I just spent this morning making your great pierogi recipe and I have to say that in all my years, this is the best dough I have ever made. They absolutely melt in your mouth and are a breeze to roll out.
Thank you so much!
Want to try but also do you have a recipe for polish sauerkraut to put in the pierog
I just shred some cabbage and chop some onion and sauté the onions and add finely julienned cabbage and onion in bacon fat till translucent and tender. Red cabbage is great to do this with. Otherwise making sauerkraut takes almost three months within a crock. But I do this too.
omg. i’m loving your website.
i’m the jen from a few hrs ago asking about rye bread. i’m putting in the oven in about an 1 1/2 hrs and i can’t wait to see it come out of the oven. so far it has been life changing. i didn’t even get my hands dirty.
i just spotted this recipe and i’m so excited. dough again, but i’m going to try because i love these so much. my mother used to make these but we called them “varenik”. i’m crimean, so i’m guessing it’s the russian name for them. i haven’t had them in 8 yrs since she passed away. we had it with melted butter and topped with garlicky yogurt and black pepper. she never mixed cheese in the potatoes but i’m going to try your way since i love cheese.
i don’t remember how i found your website this morning but i’m so happy i did
I accidentally used Pillsbury Bread Flour instead of all purpose flour ?. The dough rolled out beautifully, but now I’m concerned about the taste and texture of the dumpling dough. Your comments on this issue would be very much appreciated.
My family is always yelling at me not to change things that aren’t broke, but this time they’re really glad I did. I can’t thank you enough.
Had a good recipe, have a great recipe now. My family is always yelling at me not to change things that aren’t broke, but this time they were really glad I did. Thank you so much, I live paycheck to paycheck and cook all my meals from scratch. This one will be handed down to my children.
Hi. I’m not a fan of sour cream. Can I eliminate it or can it b substituted for something else?
Thanks
My grandma used milk. I think back in her day sour cream was a luxury so she used what she had available. I’ve used both.
I used shredded cheddar cheese.
Actually you won’t even taste the sour cream. It takes only a small amount to make the dough pliable. The ancient way was to use some mashed potato for the same purpose. We never used potato filling…starch filled with starch. Often cabbage with onions and mushrooms. Fruit in season. Or leftover meat.
A close friend gave me her Grandmother’s Polish pierogi dough recipe:
2 Lrg. Eggs (*at room temperature, beaten).
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/3 Cup Lukewarm Water(*More as-needed).
2 Cups All Purpose Flour(*More as needed).
I hope this helps-? ?
After Pierogis are boiled can they be browned before serving?
Yes. That is indicated twice in the recipe.
My wife and I made them this year with mincemeat filling…..very tasty…..I love your site
I lived in a very polish area of Clifton NJ and rented the upper part of a two family from a very nice couple that were right off the boat so to speak. (One didn’t speak English at all) But they made the most delicious meat Pierogi’s. I think the meat was lamb and maybe a pork combo. But let me tell you they were great. Shame I haven’t been able to find a recipe for them to this day. I am going to try and play with this one to see if I can get close to what they made.
Do you have a recipe for meat pieroggis? My mom made them with pork and ham or beef with some bacon bits. After boiling them she would fry them in bacon fat which was delicious. I never did get her recipe and would like one if
you have one.
I use cooked pot roast. I chopped cooked onions Cook just till soft. Add salt and pepper and egg to hold it together. I Chop the meat in my quisinart. Normally would make pot roast for dinner and use leftovers for the pierogi. These are so delicious that my family dreams about them.
Jenny’s recipe for the dough is outstanding and easy to make.
Yes I brown them all the time
So did my mom