Homemade Pierogi
So just about everyone that reads my blog is pretty aware of my much-talked-about Italian heritage. Well, I also have a *smidgen* of Polish in me, and this meal pays homage to that blood. Homemade pierogi made it onto my Top 100 list, so when Annie asked if I would be interested in making them together, I jumped at the opportunity. Truth be told, I’ve never eaten a homemade pierogi in my life. Mrs. T’s all the way for me! Traditionally, the only time we really ever ate pierogi growing up was during Lent – mostly because they were an easy no-meat alternative on Fridays. And if we’re being honest, the suckers are really good! Who can resist a half-moon of dough filled with potato and cheese, fried in butter and onions?
I was a rebel this time and chose a different recipe from Annie, because I’m still a little afraid of using recipes without quantities. I know, I’m a big ol’ baby, but what can I say? For as far as I’ve progressed, I’m still very much learning! Plus when I saw a recipe pop up in my Google Reader for Pittsburgh Pierogies, well what can I say? I just HAD to make those, it is my hometown, after all! In fact, the Food Network recently featured the pierogies served at a diner in Pittsburgh not 15 minutes from where I grew up. How fun!
These were a little time consuming, but you could easily make the dough one day and then the filling and assembly the following day. I was lucky – none of my filling leaked out during boiling, so I consider these a success! I would have maybe browned them a little more when frying with the onions, but we were getting so hungry that I just wanted to finish and eat! These were really, really good.
Homemade Pittsburgh Pierogies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (115 ml) sour cream
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- Butter and onions for sauteing
- Ingredients for filling of your choice, Potato & Cheese filling recipe below
For the Potato Cheese & Onion Filling:
- 1 lb (453.59 g) red potatoes
- ¼ (0.25) of a large onion, finely chopped
- 2 oz. (56.7 g) cheddar cheese, finely grated
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- 1. To prepare the Pierogi Dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the ½ cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- 2. To make the Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling: Peel and boil potatoes until soft. While the potatoes are boiling, saute onion in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and grated cheddar cheese, adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1″ balls.
- 3. To prepare the Pierogies: Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/16″ thick. Cut circles of dough (2″ for small pierogies and 3-3½″ for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.
- 4. Boil the pierogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.
- 5. Saute sliced onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy.
- Homemade Pierogi Tips:
- If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help get a good seal.
- If you don't want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
My family’s most requested dinner. I add sautéed onions to the filling and always make a triple batch for a quick delicious dinner right out of the freezer.  Thank you Â
Absolutely love pierogies! I have made Mrs. T’s for several years. Typically I thaw them and as they are thawing I caramelize a big onion in butter and take out of pawn-add more butter then lightly brown the pierogies. To serve place pierogies in a polish pottery serving dish, top with the onions then have a dish of sour cream to dollop on top if one wants it. Now with this recipe (thanks) I see how easy they are to make so off I go…
We make hundreds of pierogi every Christmas. Typically we do potato, sauerkraut (previously cooked) and meat. After I boil them, I put the ones that I am not going to use immediately on a cookie sheet with parchment paper under them and freeze. When they are frozen, I put them in Food Saver bag and they last a very long time without freezer burn. Also, a great tip – if you have a pasta machine it will roll the dough to the same thickness every time without all the work!
These look great and easy to make! I can’t wait to try them. I love that they’re Pittsburgh pierogies too, as I am also from Pittsburgh. It will be like a little taste of home. Thanks for sharing!
Perogies are our yearly Christmas tradition. We gather as a family and make 4-500 and split them. We have a dough recipe that is softer and easier to roll and doesn’t retract as much. Filling looks ok but we like to add carameized onions for more flavour. Cook them in the bacon fat too. Add lots of bacon and use sharp cheese. The cheese gives more flavour without making it a glue consistency.
Serve the perogies with sourt cream and a little salt n pepper. Even sauteed onions if you like them as much as we do.
Try different fillings like sauer krout and sausage or cottage cheese in the potato filling.
Would you mind sharing your dough recipe? Our Aunt used to make the best Pierogis, but never followed a recipe and unfortunately has passed away.
My family and I went to a Pierogi Festival today and now my kids want me to make our own! I love your recipe for the dough…it is so easy to work with and makes a tender pierogi. Looks like we’ll be making a batch in the morning! My son loves Potato and my daughter and I love fruit pierogi. I usually use the Solo brand of fillings when I make fruit as I can’t seem to find many recipes for using fresh furits. My mom always made sauerkraut, prune and apricot pierogi! Thanks for a great recipe!
I made these last night and they are wonderful! They tasted just like the ones my mother used to make. The dough was so easy and pliable to stuff the potatoes into. They sealed very well and did not break open or leak out during the boiling process. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
You did a great job on your first try. I married my Polish husband 44 years ago and have been making Pierogi every year since. We do a mashed potato with no cheese in it and then a sauerkraut with onions and buckwheat groats (Kasha). I currently have 8 dozen in my freezer and we have been known to eat them at midnight. We love them boiled and then coated in butter. We do fry them in butter if there are any left over. I serve them with fried onions and mushrooms. My recipe is similar to yours but not quite the same. Thanks for sharing this.
I have tried so many recipes , with eggs without eggs and always the same result til I came across yours , they are the best I ever had , thank you so much for sharing this recipe . I just love them. I make sauerkraut ones too and I brown the sauerkraut a little which gives it a really nice flavor. I made your pierogies 2 days in a row so now my freezer is all stocked up. The dough is so easy to work with . Thanks again.
Betty
I have been prepared it just now. Yammy Yammy Yammy…
I suggested to my mother that we finally make pierogi. Having Polish roots, it’s embarassing to say that we have never made pierogi from scratch!
The dough itself was unlike anything I have ever had before. Even the fresh pierogi from the Polish place near my house didn’t come close to this stuff.
These were such a success that we decided to make them for Thanksgiving. I want to play around and use different fillings next time, but the red potato, onions and cheedar cheese is truly Heaven. Thank you so much for this recipe, I just adore this blog!
I have been making these for about 6 months. I had to use up the frozen boxed ones first. Since then only homemade! I do add bacon bits to potatoes and use a variety of cheese flavors. Every batch is different in flavor but taste wonderful.
Made these and they were excellent! Love the dough! I added a couple of tablespoons of sour cream to the filling and think that the next time I will add garlic and more onions.
Hi There!
I just happened upon this site today! I am formerly from Wpg, now living in Bismarck, ND.
Anyway, my Mother used to make perogies (brought up German Mennonite). She made either COTTAGE CHEESE PEROGIES (dry curd cottage cheese w/eggs & S&P). We would pour melted butter over the perogies on our plates! How sinful is that, eh?!
The other kind she made were BLIND PEROGIES (just plain dough boiled – then she would cut up some blue plums and cook them on the stove w/sugar). On our plates, we would cut up our blind perogies, put the plum mixture on top of the perogies, and then add some whipping cream (not whipped cream).
Oh, soooooo many calories BUT soooooo GOOD !!!
Darlene…..I LOVE the cottage cheese ones….could you email me with the recipe??? Thanks!
thank you, thank you, My grandma used to make them with stewed prunes stuffed in the middle. I have looked for years for someone who has had them with plums or stewed prunes. My grandma forgot how to speak English she spoke though food and she knew I loved these, again thank you I’m not the only one who has had this polish dish.
I made this dish tonight for dinner. It took about 2 hours from when I started until we were eating dinner. I had english peas, so I added those to the onions that were sauted in butter, along with some white wine to serve over the pirogues. I did learn that the underside of the cut pasta is the most moist, so it worked better to use that side to put in the filling as the edges sealed better. My husband and teenage daughter loved the pierogies. My husband said his Ukrainian grandmother’s had twice the fat and were garlicky. Mine were better, of course.
Greetings from Poland! :D
Thanks for sharing the link! This recipe is originally mine on About.com, then was copied to Columbus Foodie, and then here (where even the attribution was lost).
This EXACT recipe can also be found on About.com – http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/recipes/r/pierogies.htm
I made these tonight…great recipe! I changed the filling a bit, using a quick mashed potato mix, cheddar and pepper jack cheese and bacon. They were delicious!! My 3 1/2 year old said they were his favorite.
Love the addition of pepper jack and bacon in the filling! Thanks for sharing your feedback, great to hear how much you enjoyed them!
After the Pierogi is done can you put them in a crockpot to keep warm? I would like to take them to the office to share as the vice president of the company I work for is from Pittsburg.
Hi Trimble,
I am unaware of a good substitute for the egg in this dough recipe, as it acts as a binder. I have never used ground flaxseed in a dough so I wouldn’t be able to say how it would work. If you do try it though, I would be interested in hearing about the results.
My son is allergic to eggs so I frequently substitute ground flaxseed. Do you know if this recipe would work without the egg?
Trisha, how much cream cheese do you yeild for the cream cheese and potato pierogis??
i cant believe some of you have never had pierogis… i have had pierogis since i was a little girl and there are absolutly no polish ancestory in my family! I am kind of in shock right.
So these pierogis are like the ones that I made a few months ago for the first time. Just a smaller batch and the recpie is exactly the same. They are great, infact they are so good that my family asked me to make them again for christmas dinner.
I always beg my mom to make these! My parents are both immigrants from Poland, so pierogis were a staple. We made “Ruski” pierogis with cream cheese and potatoes, instead of cheddar. I highly recommend trying the cream cheese instead of the cheddar, they’re delectable!
SID — It’s the Moon Dog Cafe in Blawnox. Have a few for me! :)
What was the name of the restaurant in Blawnox featuring pierogi’s as shown recently on the Food Network. My wife saw it and now, of course, I have to take here there.
kudos for making something new! i’ve never had pierogis before…
I can’t tell you what good memories this brings back. My grandmother’s recipe (which I never learned, shamefully) is a little different – farmer cheese – but I would love to try this version. Thanks!
YUM! I LOOOOVE pierogi! I need to get in on these awesome cooking challenges. :)
Oh my gosh, these look delicious! Your blog is fantastic!
I grew up outside of Pittsburgh too! And these look scrumptious!
ohhh i love pierogi! these are beautiful shots! they look delicious with the onions on top, and the dough looks so moist and light!
I live in Chicago, a city full of Polish people, but I have yet to try pierogi. They sound sooooo good, though! I do think I need to eat them at least once before I try to make my own, so maybe this post will motivate me to go out to eat some polish food :)
Those look wonderful — I can’t wait to try the recipe!
If you want to try something a little different, try using Cooper Sharp American cheese in the filling. Those are “Scranton Pierogis” — we use Cooper cheese in everything around here. :-)
I’ve never had a homemade perogi either but I love the frozen ones. I want to make these, they look so good !
Looks great, Chelle! Yay for you for crossing another item off your 100!
You’ve made me hungry for pierogi. Thankfully, I have about 2 dozen from my grandmother sitting in my freezer :-) Yours look great!
So wonderful. Congrats to both you and Anna!
I’ve only had pierogis out of box but i still loved them. I would love to try homemade ones!
wow Chelle. i don’t think i’ve ever eaten a pierogi before. but i definitely want to try to make these! they look wonderful!
I love Pierogi! I have never made my own, but yours look delicious!
They look great! I am so proud of us for making these, I feel very accomplished :)
These look faaaabulous. Growing up outside of Pittsburgh my best friend’s mom was a lovely polish woman who married into a large Italian family. She made the most phenomenal pierogies but also spaghetti!
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you return! :)
Wow. These look like heaven! I don’t know that I have ever had a Pierogi…. I think I may have had some frozen thing from Trader Joes or something.
Very nice blog. This is my first visit! Where have I been?