Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (2024)

Homemade pierogies (or vareniki as our Baba calls them) are really all about the fillings. Here are ten pierogi filling recipes that are flavor-packed and delicious! Savory or sweet, traditional or unusual. You get to choose!

In order to run this site, Fermenting For Foodies sometimes earns an affiliate commission on the sales of products we link to. We only feature items we genuinely want to share, and this is an arrangement between the retailer and Fermenting For Foodies. Readers never pay more for products. Thank you for reading!

Pierogi-making day is a winter tradition in my household. Usually once or twice a year we sit down to make a TON of pierogies, more than we could ever eat.

We freeze them on baking sheets prior to cooking, for future frozen pierogi dinners.

My kids have been forming pierogies since they were about 3 years old. While their early attempts weren’t always perfect, after a few years of practice they are pierogi-making machines!

New to making pierogies?

Probably the most difficult part is filling pierogies. If it’s your first time I recommend sticking to dry fillings, like mashed potatoes. Filling pierogies with fried mushrooms or fresh fruit is tricky.

If you need a recipe for the dough, check out Brad’s family’s traditional vareniki recipe.

Since I’m gluten-free, I developed a gluten-free pierogi recipe based on the traditional recipe.

Traditional pierogi filling Options

Here are a few fillings that come straight from Baba’s cookbook. These are the ones that my husband grew up eating and are still his favorite.

  1. Mashed Potatoes and Cheese:Make 3 cups of traditional mashed potatoes. Once the potatoes have cooled slightly, add in 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1/4 cup of chopped green onions, 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese, and 1 egg.
  2. Cottage Cheese:Mix 3 cups of dry curd cottage cheese with 2 eggs and 1 tsp salt (unless the cheese is already salted, then skip the salt).
  3. Mashed root vegetables:Steam and puree any root vegetables that you enjoy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Anything works with this pioneer recipe: turnips, rutabaga, or beets. I recommend sprucing things up by adding a bit of crumbled goat cheese. Mmm… beet and goat cheese pierogi!

A few new favourites

Here are a few pierogi fillings that my husband and I have created over the years. The first two we came across while traveling in Poland. The last two were inspired by our local hipster pierogi bar.

  1. Mushrooms:Saute 4 cups chopped mushrooms with 1/2 cup of diced onion. When the vegetables are soft, add 2 tsp dried dill and salt to taste. It can be hard to fill a pierogi with mushrooms, so feel free to thicken the mixture with a 1/2 cup of plain mashed potatoes.
  2. Sauerkraut: Drainedsauerkraut is a delicious filling. Or mix 1 cup of drained sauerkraut with 1/4 cup of potatoes for a slightly thicker filling.
  3. Refried beans: Fry 1/4 cup of diced onion and 1 tsp of garlic until soft. Mix with 1 can of refried beans and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream.
  4. Kimchi:Finely dice 1 cup of fresh kimchi. Mix it with 1/2 cup of mashed potato for a spicy pierogi.

Sweet Fillings

Fruit-filled vareniki are also one of Brad’s childhood favs. Serve sweet pierogies with whipping cream for a unique dessert!

  1. Fresh fruit:Mix 1 cup of thinly sliced fruit or whole berries and mix with 1 Tbsp of sugar, to taste. Soft fruit, like peaches, plums, and berries works better than apples, oranges, or bananas. (This is a smaller batch, for about 8 pierogies).
  2. Chocolate:Fill each pierogi with 1 square of good-quality dark chocolate, then top with a sprinkling of chopped roasted hazelnuts and 1 tsp of cream cheese.
  3. Pumpkin Pie:Mix a 14 oz can of pumpkin puree with 1 cup of soft cream cheese. Add in 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves.

Previous Post: « Do probiotics work? How do they survive digestion?

Next Post: Buttermilk, Honey, and Rye Pancakes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (4)orien major

    Can use use pie fillings (canned0 In perogies?

    Reply

    • Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (5)Emillie

      I haven’t tried it. It should work, but you’ll need to be very gentle when you form the pierogi and seal it. If there are any holes, then the pie filling will leak out.

      Reply

  2. Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (6)Brenda Lippe

    Do you have a recipe for Pierogies using cabbage and meat ( like chicken or pork)? I saw one on the Food Network but I didn’t get the recipe and of course, I cannot find it on the website

    Reply

    • Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (7)Emillie Parrish

      Sorry, I’ve never made pierogies with meat. My husband’s family (where the pierogi-making tradition comes from) is vegetarian. 🙂 Good luck in you search. Cheers, Emillie

      Reply

  3. Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (8)Amber

    My grandmother would combine mashed potatoes, ground beef, minced garlic salt and pepper and shredded cheddar cheese

    Reply

    • Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (9)Emillie Parrish

      Yum! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Pierogi Filling Recipes: Savory, Sweet, and Traditional (2024)

FAQs

What are traditional pierogies made of? ›

Pierogies are dough that's filled with either potatoes and cheese or sauerkraut. The dough is folded kind of like a dumpling, then cooked in boiling water. Last, they're pan-fried in butter and often times served alongside sour cream.

Is pierogi sweet or savory? ›

Pierogi are Eastern European stuffed dumplings that are usually boiled. As with many traditional foods, there are regional varieties with fillings ranging from sweet to savoury, meat to meatless.

What is the traditional way to serve pierogies? ›

Sour cream's tangy touch: Enjoying pierogi with a spoonful of sour cream is traditional. Its creamy consistency and tangy undertone enrich the pierogi experience. Caramelized onions: The sweetness of caramelized onions perfectly complements savory pierogi.

What is the most traditional pierogi? ›

The most famous is the Biłgoraj pierogi stuffed with buckwheat, potatoes, and cheese and then baked in the oven. Pierogi are an important part of Polish festive seasons, particularly Christmas Eve (Wigilia supper) and Christmastide.

Are traditional pierogies fried or boiled? ›

Boiling Pierogi is the most popular method of cooking Pierogi because it adds no additional calories to your meal. It also offers a soft, delicate texture which is the more traditional way of eating Polish pierogi.

What are the most popular pierogi flavors? ›

Here is a list of the most loved pierogi fillings:
  • Sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi or pierogi z kapustą i grzybami - a classic, and one you will most likely try first.
  • Sauerkraut pierogi - the most simple variation of the classic filling, also known as the ones you make when you're out of mushrooms.
Aug 1, 2021

What is the difference between Ukrainian and Polish perogies? ›

Varenyky is the more commonly used term in Ukraine, often eaten with sweet fillings, while pierogi are the national dish of Poland. Different to pelmeni as they are usually vegetarian, varenyky and pierogi can be served fried in butter, usually as an appetiser or a dessert.

What is an Amish pierogi? ›

Amish Perogies - traditional real cheese & potato. dumplings served with house-made sweet chili sour. cream.

What do Polish people eat with perogies? ›

Traditionally pierogi are served with simple toppings such as fried onions, lardons, melted butter, sour cream or pork rinds. But not everything needs to be savoury!

Are pierogies Russian or Polish? ›

pierogi, one or more dumplings of Polish origin, made of unleavened dough filled with meat, vegetables, or fruit and boiled or fried or both. In Polish pierogi is the plural form of pieróg (“dumpling”), but in English the word pierogi is usually treated as either singular or plural.

What is the difference between perogies and pierogies? ›

Also called perogi or perogy, Polish pierogi (pronounced pih-ROH-ghee) or homemade pierogies are small half-moon dumplings. They're also chock-full of fabulous fillings. Interestingly, the word pierogi is actually plural. But the singular form pieróg is hardly ever used.

What is the difference between Polish and Ukrainian perogies? ›

Varenyky is the more commonly used term in Ukraine, often eaten with sweet fillings, while pierogi are the national dish of Poland. Different to pelmeni as they are usually vegetarian, varenyky and pierogi can be served fried in butter, usually as an appetiser or a dessert.

Are perogies Ukrainian or Polish? ›

Pierogi are an important part of Polish culture and cuisine today.

What do Polish people eat with pierogies? ›

In autumn and winter a lot of Poles eat pierogi with braised sauerkraut and dried forest mushrooms. They are also part of the customary Christmas Eve dinner. Traditionally pierogi are served with simple toppings: fried onions, lardons, melted butter, sour cream or pork rinds.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Terrell Hackett

Last Updated:

Views: 5928

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Terrell Hackett

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Suite 453 459 Gibson Squares, East Adriane, AK 71925-5692

Phone: +21811810803470

Job: Chief Representative

Hobby: Board games, Rock climbing, Ghost hunting, Origami, Kabaddi, Mushroom hunting, Gaming

Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.