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Tender dumplings filled with cheesy potato filling then topped with buttery sautéed onions, this is the comfort food of my childhood. The Best Potato Pierogi recipe is passed down from my grandfather and made completely from scratch.
A Family Heirloom for Decades
I’m so excited to share these Homemade Pierogies with you! They are a staple at many of my families’ holiday gatherings and, seriously, make all the feelings well up inside whenever we serve them.
My grandfather was off the boat polish. Like literally, he packed up his wife and kids….sailed across the pond (my grandmother was British) and settled here in this great melting pot of a county I now have the pleasure of growing old in.
And with him (other than his family) he brought a bunch of authentic Polish recipes I was, kinda, forced to learn. Homemade Potato Pierogies were one of the things on that lesson plan. And it was a big, huge deal…the whole pierogi process so when you knew he was about to make them, you knew you were in for some hard child labor.
At least that’s how I looked at it when I was a kid. And for that….NOW….I’m so ever grateful because that’s how I came to create the Very BEST Potato Pierogi Recipe of all time. AND…..they’re really not as hard as I remembered them to be during those marathon Pierogi making sessions.
How To Make Pierogi
You can use any type of cheese you like but we fill our pierogi with a potato and cottage cheese filling much like vareniki fillings.
And unlike my family recipe, I add cream cheese to my potatoes….and sour cream to my dough. I like the dough to have a bit of tangy flavor, less like a dumpling and more like a…well, a pierogi. And I love my mashed potato recipe so I kinda took a page from that recipe and added the cream cheese.
How to make Pierogi Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, blend together the flour and salt on low speed.
- Whisk together the milk, egg and sour cream. Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour in a steady stream.
- Continue to blend the flour mixture together until a shaggy dough forms and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- I love how easy and soft this pierogi dough recipe is….the stand mixer makes it come together so quickly but you can totally do this by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.
How to make Pierogi Filling
- Add the potatoes to a pot and fill with water to just cover the potatoes. Stir in the salt and bring the potatoes to a boil.
- Turn the heat to low and continue cooking the potatoes until fork tender, approximately 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions to the pan. Cook until caramelized and golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the onions, cottage cheese and cream cheese to the potatoes. Mash using a potato masher until well blended
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
This pierogi filling recipe is so simple and sooooo addicting. It’s really hard not to eat all of it before assembling the pierogies! If you want to make this step even easier, you can definitely use leftover mashed potatoes for the filling.
We love this Biscuit Cutter set because the variety of sizes provides more options from cutting Pierogi Dough to shaping cookies.
How to Cook Pierogi
- To cook your Homemade Potato Pierogi, you have a few options. We like to pop out pierogi into a pot of salted boiling water and cook them until they float to the top. When they float, they’re done.
- Or you can simply pan fry your potato piergies in a skillet with caramelized onions and lots of butter. The onion butter is a great sauce for your potato pierogi!
- OR you can do both….boil then pan fry for pierogi heaven on a plate.
How to cook Frozen Pierogi
No need to thaw your frozen potato pierogi….simply cook them in a skillet with a bit of water until soft, then add butter and pan fry your pierogi until lightly brown on the outside and warmed through on the inside.
What is a Pierogi?
Pierogi are filled dumplings of central and eastern European descent made with unleavened dough then filled with either a savory or sweet stuffing before being boiled or pan fried.
This Easy Pierogi recipe is made in two parts to simplify the process even more. Both steps can be made in advance.
Kellie’s Tips and Substitutions
- Be sure you don’t overwork your dough. The gluten in the flour tends to get tough when it’s over rolled, over kneaded, over handled. When it starts to look shaggy in the mixer bowl and pulls away from the sides….stop and let it rest for a good hour before rolling out.
- Cook those onions until they’re good and caramelized. That adds so much needed flavor that will be missed if you don’t let them get golden brown. It’s what I love most about this recipe.
- Don’t think the cottage cheese is weird….it’s not and adds some great texture to the filling. If you can find large curd cottage cheese do buy it and use it, the small curd tends to disappear into the filling a bit. Farmer’s cheese is authentic to pierogis but it’s sometimes hard to find.
- Don’t overfill. Because pierogi will bust open like a pair of skinny jeans on Thanksgiving while they’re boiling. And that’s not good eats. I know it’s tempting to go big or go home but keep things light in there and you will be rewarded.
- Don’t over boil….once your pierogi float to the top, scoop them out. You can eat them as is or save for later, then fry up in some butter with onions for a truly amazing experience.
- Never…ever…buy frozen pierogies again. Just kidding, but you will now know the difference and they just don’t compare. 🙂
What to Serve with Pierogi
Our favorite things to serve with this easy Potato Pierogi recipe are:
- Super easy Fried Cabbage…my personal favorite
- Quick Kielbasa and Cabbage
- Easy Kielbasa and Potatoes with Onions
- Simple Stewed Tomatoes
- Bourbon Honey Baked Ham
- Easy Stuffed Cabbage recipe
Or just serve with sour cream….it’s seriously simple and delish!
More Easy Pierogi Recipes
- Macarogies and Cheese.…a fun twist on mac and cheese
- Spicy Szechuan Style Pierogies
- If you love loaded baked potatoes, you will flip over these LOADED POTATO PIEROGI!
And if you bought too many potatoes to make The Very Best Potato Pierogi recipe…never fear, you can use those up in this easy Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup or this spectacularly amazing Potato Gratin. Or go easy and stuff a baked potato with broccoli and cheese.
For more easy recipes and simple dinner inspiration, follow us over on Instagram!
Potato Pierogi Recipe
Equipment
- 1 biscuit cutter or large glass for cutting
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 dutch oven optional
Ingredients
For the Pierogi dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup sour cream
For the Pierogi Filling
- 5 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 large vidalia onions, diced
- 1 1/2 cups large curd cottage cheese
- 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, blend together the flour and salt on low speed.
- Whisk together the milk, egg and sour cream. Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour in a steady stream.
- Continue to blend the flour mixture together until a shaggy dough forms and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- Add the potatoes to a pot and fill with water to just cover the potatoes. Stir in the salt and bring the potatoes to a boil.
- Turn the heat to low and continue cooking the potatoes until fork tender, approximately 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions to the pan. Cook until caramelized and golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the onions, cottage cheese and cream cheese to the potatoes. Mash using a potato masher until well blended.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 3/4-inch cutter. Place on a baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap.
- Using your hands, lightly flatten the dough disk to stretch it out a bit.
- Place approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons potato filling in the center of the dough and fold the top half down over filling, gently pressing to squeeze out any air and seal by pinched the seam together.
- Return to baking sheet and cover.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 4 dumplings. Cook, stirring gently to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot, until dumplings rise to the surface, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, and pat dry. Transfer to a serving platter, and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Repeat with remaining pierogies.
- Serve with melted butter, caramelized onions and sour cream, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kellie your story is so great and heartwarming!!
I know these pierogi will be phenomenal ❤️
Awww, thank you so much! I have a deep love for my pierogi. 🙂
Easy to follow recipe! They turned out delicious and I’ll definitely be making again. At first it didn’t look like a lot of dough but it did make almost 2 dozen.
I’m so happy you love them! Thanks for your comment!
How many pierogi does this recipe make
Depending on the size you make them, it yields between 24 and 36. Sometimes less if we make them really big!
do you have receipes for Farmers cheese or sauerkraut ones?
Not yet! But I do have them coming soon! We love the sauerkraut pierogi.
The taste of the dough is very good, but it is not easy to work with. It keeps shrinking. I am measuring accurately (fluff the flour, spoon into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife) and it had over an hour of rest. I did put it in the fridge for an hour or so after the initial rest – could that be the problem? Also, are you suppose to knead it for a bit, before rolling it out?
Hi! I’m sorry you had some difficulty working with the dough. Yes, the refrigerator could definitely tightened things up a bit and made it more elastic. Usually a rest to room temperature will help it become more workable. You can knead it a bit but, again, if you overwork the dough….it will become tough once it’s cooked. Dough is a finicky thing….but it’s definitely worth the work. thank you for your comment!
Kellie, thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! My filling didn’t seem dry enough, so I added a bit of garlic powder, hoping that the recipe police wouldn’t come after me– or that it wasn’t huge mistake.
I didn’t hear any sirens, and when I made these, they were just amazing. Thank you again.
I’m so glad you loved it! Every recipe is open to your own special touches….feel free to experiment!
Hi Kellie,
I grew up with my grandmother making homemade pierogies, so these gave me such a good dose of nostalgia! I am going to make them again soon for sure. I think I’ll also try your kielbasa and cabbage for a Polish feast! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them. They are the ultimate comfort food. Thank you for your comment!
These did not turn out well for me. I did follow the directions and yet the dough was thick and not ok. The filling was delicious.
The dough is definitely pretty thick but it should be soft and pliable. If you over mix the dough, it will become tough and difficult to work with. I hope you give them another try. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.
Hi Kellie Thanks for the recipe. Delicious After boiling pierogi, I put them in a colander to drain, but of course they stuck together. We eat them boiled, but any advice on whether you rinse them or how to stop them sticking please? Irena
Hi Irene, we don’t leave them in the colander. I scoop them out of the water and arrange them on a baking sheet in a single layer to prevent sticking.
Both my grandparents came from Poland. My grandmother used a filling of dry cottage cheese, 1 egg per 8 oz. carton of cheese, green onions (sautéed, set aside to cool and added to the filling); salt and pepper. I grate Farmers Cheese in place of the dry cottage cheese. It works well. Have been making these for years. We always fry them in butter.
They’re our favorite….I’ll have to try the dry cottage cheese next time!
My mum used to make cottage cheese ones. These are my favourite. The cottage cheese was mixed with an egg yolk and a little sugar. The served with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar.