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Starting Monday off right with Homemade Cheddar Pierogies.
This is one of those recipes that I probably should have shared with you guys years ago, but just never got around to it. Well, the time has finally come to talk about Pierogies here on HBH, and I’m pretty happy about it.
When I was growing up, my mom used to feed my brothers and I Mrs. T’s Pierogies topped with generous amounts of extra cheddar cheese. I loved them so much. When I started cooking for my family I got into the habit of making homemade Pierogies ever few months and keeping them in the freezer for easy meals. My brother Kai loved them the most and always said the homemade Pierogies were far superior to the frozen ones from the store.
To be honest, it’s been ages since I’ve made homemade Pierogies, but when my cousin Maggie mentioned that they might be a fun recipe for December, I was sold the second I saw her text come across my phone screen. Pierogies just sounded so comforting and delicious. Plus, I loved her idea of making them for a holiday girl’s night in of cooking, Pierogi eating, and Christmas movie watching.
It sounded perfect, so I went for it, and you guys, I am not regretting it one bit.
If for some reason you’ve never had Pierogies, let me tell you about them. Pierogies are a traditional polish dumpling consisting of dough stuffed with a savory or sweet filling. I think a potato Pierogi is most common, but I know that there are many varieties. I of course love the potato cheddar Pierogi because not much beats the combo of potatoes and cheddar cheese, plus it’s what I grew up eating and loving, so it’s total childhood comfort food for me.
The dough is pretty simple. It’s your basic, flour, egg, salt, combo, but what’s unique about most Pierogi recipes is the use of sour cream in the dough. The sour cream keeps the dough moist and adds the slightest tang. Since I don’t cook with sour cream, I like to swap in plain greek yogurt, which works perfectly.
The key to a good Pierogi though is not about the dough, it’s all about the filling. Enter mashed potatoes with a little cheddar. Simplest filling ever, but so, so, so good. What’s not to love about a pasta style dough filled with cheesy mashed potatoes?
It’s the best.
The most important rule of Pierogi eating though?
Plenty of melted cheddar overtop each and every single Pierogi on your plate. I don’t know if this is how the Polish do it, but it’s how we do it in the Gerard household, and for me, nothing can beat it.
Especially when finished off with a little rosemary butter sauce. Yes, rosemary butter sauce. So. Good.
My family is in agreement that this is one of those recipes that everyone loves. Everyone from the picky eaters to the those with a more sophisticated palate. It’s just an all around favorite dish.
Homemade Cheddar Pierogies
Servings: 40 Pierogi
Calories Per Serving: 91 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup plain full fat greek yogurt
- 1 egg
Filling
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt and pepper
Rosemary Butter
- 1 stick butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced or grated (to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, butter, yogurt, and egg, and mix until combined. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Cover and let sit 30 minutes.2. To make the filling. In a large pot of cold water, bring the potatoes to a boil. Salt the water and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.3. Drain the potatoes, return the potatoes to the pot and mash over low heat, or mash in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, adding the butter and cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 4. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 3-inch circles. Spoon 2 teaspoons of filling into the center of each round. Brush the edges with water and fold half of the dough over the filling to enclose it. Press down the edges to seal, pressing out all the air. Be sure to keep the dough covered as you work work to prevent from drying out. At this point, the Pierogies can be flash frozen on a baking sheet for 30 minutes, then transferred to a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. 5. When ready too cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the Pierogies in batches for 1-2 minutes, or until they float. Drain.6. To make the butter sauce. In a large skillet, brown the butter over medium heat, stirring often until the butter is golden and toasted. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook 30 seconds to a minute or until fragrant. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. 7. Divide the Pierogies among plates and spoon the butter over the Pierogies. Top with cheddar and parsley. EAT!
What’s not to love of about a pillowy cheese filled dumpling with rosemary butter sauce, you know?
Yum, I can’t wait to make these! I grew up eating these all the time too! My mom grew up eating them since her parents were from Czechoslovakia. We always had sautéed onions in butter on top and of course we dipped them sour cream. Thank you for the recipe!
I love that you grew up eating these! I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it Thea! Thank you!
Hi there! These look so great and I’m thinking about serving them for a brunch I’m hosting in January. Could I make & boil them the day before and refrigerate overnight?
HI! Yes, you can certainly do that, but I recommend warming them before serving! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
Dough without egg is actually softer and easier to work with. Dough makes a goo pierogi in my optinion. Is it’s too hard you don’t even want to but through it to get to the stuffing. Traditional polish Pierogi are potato and pressed cottage cheese with sautéed onion! Your recipe is great through!
Thank you so much Hanna!
I’ve never tried pierogi with cheddar before – thank you for the inspiration Tieghan! You’re so creative.
Thank you Kasia! I hope you love this!
Hi! This is not how we do it in Poland, but I totally love this recipe and gonna try it as soon as I can! It looks really delicious:) I don’t know if anything can beat my mother’s pierogies with sauerkraut and mushrooms (and onion of course) which is my family’s favorite Christmas Eve dish but I think your pierogies can beat our traditional pierogies with potato and cheese filling! Also, as the biggest fan of pierogies (or dumplings, whatever), I constantly try new ones and recently ate those with baked goose, kale and dried apple and let me tell you, these was heavenly good! And beef with chanterelle..yeah, now I’m hungry.
Hugs!
Those all sound SO amazing! Wow I might have to try some new recipes with pierogies! Thank you so much Iza!
Just wondering if they have to be russet potatoes? Also if I can sub a thick kefir for the yogurt?
Thanks so much 🙂 Looking forward to making these for my husband as they’re one of his childhood favourites!
HI! You could use a yukon gold potato or russet potato. I am not familiar with using kefir, so I really cannot say. I would think it would be OK. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
My grandmother was Ukrainian, my grandfather Polish… my grandmother would make pyrohy (her spelling), mostly potato & cheese, boil them up then pan fry with butter, onions, bacon & of course sour cream which I’ve also switched to Greek yogurt now.
My favourite though were her cherry filled ones, again boiled then pan fried in a butter & brown sugar sauce. Throw a spoon of Greek yogurt on the side… OMG.
I can’t prepare my pyrohy any other way except the way she made them. Wish I could figure out how to make the cherry filled ones without the cherry filling making a mess.
um.. YUM! Those both sound so amazing Susan! Would love to try those!
How many should this recipe make?
this will make about 30-40 Pierogi. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
pierogi=dumplings just word from diff language, you wont call blue=niebieski etc
Thank you
I’m a newbie to this site but have enjoyed going through the recipes and earmarking loads of recipes to try out over the next few weeks/months. Recently I introduced Meat Free Mondays so I’ve been on the lookout for good vegetarian options that would suit the whole family and these Pierogies fitted the bill perfectly. I made them for dinner tonight and did two fillings, the potato and cheese suggested here and also the filling used in butternut ravioli. I’m delighted to report they went down a treat with everyone so I’ll definitely be making these again and next time I’ll do a double batch so I can freeze some. Can’t wait to try something else now. This is a fabulous site with great recipes and fabulous pictures. Tx
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Linda! I hope you love some of the other recipes on my blog as well!
These were INCREDIBLE! So simple and comforting. The rosemary garlic sauce was such a great touch. They took quite a while to make but were worth it. Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you liked these Anzley! Thank you!
Happy new year! As I was going thru your recipes I came acrossyour post for potatoe cheddar pierogi, and as much as the recipe sounds tasty, real
Polish potatoe and cheese piergo are made with mashed russet potstoes that are mixed with farmers cheese and onions sauteed in butter. Farmers cheese seems to be hard to come by in many states. No problem on the east coast. Just finished making 5 dozen this afternoon,.my husband loves them best when they are are fried after they have been cooked, and cooled on a cookie rack for the doug to dry, then sauteed in butter until the dough gets browned and crispy.
Hi Helena! Thank you so much for this! Happy New Year!
These look amazing! I have some really good garlic cheddar cheese in my freezer just waiting for a “purpose” 😉 I know your recipe says 6-8 servings, but I’m curious about how many pierogies the recipe actually makes. Thanks…and Happy Holidays 🙂
Hi Erin! The recipe should make around 36-40 pierogies. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s 🙂
As a Polish girl, I can tell you we typically eat them with lots of sour cream but I honestly can say your recipe comes the closest to tradition 🙂
Thank you Natala!
I would venture to say that perogies are Eastern European. I’m Ukrainian and have been eating my moms homemade perogies all my life. Potato cheese, sauerkraut, and cherry or blueberry. We eat the savory ones topped with finely chopped onion fried in butter sauce. Also try frying the perogies after they’re cooked. I can’t imagine eating perogies without a dollop of sour cream. Find an Eastern European church nearby. They all make and sell them as fundraising for the church. Approx. $6 per dozen. You should see the men there making them!
Those sound amazing Orysia! Thank you!