Pierogi Ruskie (Potato and Cheese Pierogi) Recipe (2024)

I have been making them for years usually on Christmas eve. Both daughters, now grown, have made it into a festive assembly line. One tip use Farmers Cheese, It is widely available and imparts a lovely salty, slightly sour note. We usually make 6-8 dozen and they never seem to make it to the freezer.

Coming from a Polish family here...you want to use farmers cheese for the filling, not cottage or sour cream!! Also, my family’s secret: add in some crumbled feta cheese. It adds the most incredible flavor, I promise! You will need at least two people to help move the assembly of this recipe along, if not it will take 2-3 hours

I (first gen American) learned to make pierogi from my mom. Being in Chicago, we have no problems getting ingredients so we use the "Typ 390" Polish flour (low protein, can use Italian 00 as a close sub.) Our recipe is: 1 kg flour, 1 lg egg (beaten), good pinch of salt, 2 heaping tbsp of sour cream, as much ice water as needed to form a smooth springy dough. It produces the most tender pierogi dough imaginable.

Another good filling is kapustka (sauerkraut) warmed with a little salt pork or bacon. My busia (grandmother) always, always pan-fried her pierogi. This dough is perfect. Just be sure to adjust the amount of water if you’re making the pierogi on a rainy day. Thank you for running this recipe.

Oh my god were these spectacular. What a great recipe to pop up just when I had leftover mashed potatoes! Other than that, I followed the recipe, using a mix of cottage cheese and sour cream in the filling. They turned out beautifully. The buttery onions, sour cream and chives as a garnish were SO delicious. I could eat these every day. But I won't because I HAVE SELF CONTROL...I HAVE SELF CONTROL...I HAVE SELF CONTROL...

My grandmother always used the water from cooking the potatoes to make the dough. Just saying.

Farmers' cheese is by far the best substitute for the cheese used for ruskie pierogi in Poland. Skip the egg in the dough, don't bother cubing potatoes, but instead cut them into a few pieces and once cooked put through the mincer with farmers' cheese. Roll the dough as thin as your dumpling-making skills allow - your acclaim as a pierogi maker is judged by the fineness of the wrapper - thick-doughed pierogi really don't taste right. Otherwise, I can attest this is an authentic recipe!

I make and freeze pierogi in large batches for quick dinners when I don't have much time to cook. I always cook them straight from the freezer, in a covered skillet. I brown them on both sides in a very small amount of oil, then add a bit of water to the pan and let them steam. They come out magnificently, and no need to wait for water to boil or dirty an extra pot.

I cheat a bit by cutting the dough into squares and folding into triangles-no scraps of dough. I also finish the crimp with the tines of a fork, flipping over to crimp both sides. I find the pierogi soak up less oil when frying if I let them sit for about 10-15 mins after boiling. Will 1" potato cubes really take 25 mins to cook? No wonder the directions don't explicitly say to mash them. Yes, farmers cheese is classic, but I have even used shredded cheddar. I like to dip them in Dijon mustard.

Delicious! This was my first time making pierogies and they came out great. I would triple the batch to freeze some, as it's a lot of work for such a small amount of pierogies. These took me about 3 hours to make on my own.

Majority of polish recipes do not call for any fat to be added to the dough - just flour, salt, hot (almost boiling) water and egg. You can use 1-2 tablespoons of neutral oil, but it is not necessary. I find the dough more elastic when fat is skipped.

You boil, then fry.

Side note - farmers cheese is the beat for it. I do not recommend using Cream cheese or sour cream

In step 4, you did not mention that the potatoes should be mashed. Use a ricer if you have one, it gives you a more even texture. If you use cottage cheese, it should be drained and pressed through a sieve. I am of Polish descent, and have never had a Christmas Eve without pierogi!

I highly recommend the use of a pasta machine, if you have one, to roll out the dough. I prefer thin wrappers, and the machine really helps.

I use my stand mixer to knead the dough and mash the potato mixture. The mixer kneaded the dough on low for 2-3 minutes with a dough hook. I let it rest overnight in the fridge; the dough was beautifully pliable. I rolled it out thinly by hand and I had no tears.I mashed the potatoes, 6oz feta cheese, 6oz goat cheese, caramelized onions, and salt and pepper in the mixer with the paddle attachment until evenly combined. Don't overmix or the potatoes will become gummy.

Made this for Easter dinner and they were fantastic! I mashed the potatoes and added some cheddar in addition to quark, basically did it to taste. The dough needs quite a bit of extra flour when you're kneading/rolling. Re-rolled the dough so ended up having only a little bit leftover. As others have pointed out, this is definitely more like a 3 hour recipe with help. But they were so delicious that the next time we make them we're going to double the batch and freeze half. Made ~25

Anyone try this with GF flour?

Many have noted it below, but the cheese is key here - it has to be dry (or pressed) to not make the filling soggy. Also, I have been adding a splash of pickle juice to add some tang. And finally, for the love of god, put the onions into the filling! If that's not enough put more on top, for bursts of sweetness, but they are necessary inside too. Do not skimp on salt and pepper, cheese and potatoes are mild, and they need to be brought to life with spice and sweat and sour...

Making pierogies is made much easier if you've got a pasta roller available. The dough rolled out can be cut, then the remaining dough re-rolled over and over until you've made as many as you can.

I grew up eating pierogi, and this is a good recipe. You can make the filling ahead of time and refrigerate. I boil then pan-fry, but can't resist eating one (or two) just boiled. I also make some with a sauerkraut filling.

Is it really just a 1/2 lb of potatoes? That’s like one potato… confused! Help!

My mother-in-law (RIP), a first-generation Ukrainian American in Scranton PA made at least 12 dozen of these to distribute in tin pie plates to friends and family at Christmas time. She used cream cheese (not butter)in the dough; proportions of potato/onion/cheese in the filling is honestly “to taste”. For vegan/dairy sensitives in our family what worked well: in dough replace egg/butter with SoDelicious Coconut Milk yogurt (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp); Tofutti vegan cream cheese in the filling

What exactly is "heavily salted water"?

In eastern PA deep fried pierogies are bar food. No county fair there is without a deep fried pierogi stand, run by ladies of a local church. Once a year the Ukrainian Church ladies sold them by the dozen. We always came home with at least four bags. Filling was always potato and “sharp” cheese. I’ve yet to learn what that is. I made this recipe for the first time this week. It’s excellent! Tastes like home. Fried onions in butter, browned pierogi, and added about 1/2 c water to steam. Yum!

My wife grew up near Pittsburgh and in that community pirogies were a staple and much loved. I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try for her to enjoy. Pulled it off first time so it is not that hard to do. Will still try something a little different next time. Could not find the cheese recommended so substituted mascarpone. I think a little stronger substitution would be in order. Even thinking about a little jalapeño. After the boil a browning trip in butter and garlic is in order.

Question: 1/2 lb of potatoes? Using my kitchen scale, that is exactly one potato (actually a little less than one potato). Mixed with two cups of sautéed onions seems off. Any help is appreciated.

My first time making pierogis and the recipe was wonderful! Easy to follow, easy to execute as long as you have some basic cooking experience (eg: working with dough).I added some extra flour to make it the right texture, maybe another quarter cup, but everyone's flour and environmental conditions are different.Just one note, because I was nervous, take it out soon after they start floating. I thought they looked raw still, but when I tried one it was perfect. Chewy and firm, but still soft.

Halve the potato mix or double the dough. I have a lot of potato mix left over.

Pierogi making is an annual event for a dozen plus relatives. We use Kitchen-aid lasagna roller for the dough. 500g flour, 1 cup water plus 2-3 T more, 3 T butter or oil and 1 t salt. Let dough rest 30 minutes but we usually make it the night before and wrap each ball in saran wrap and chill. Bring to room temp for use. We have tried different dough recipes over the years - with eggs, sour cream etc - this is the best. We make 70-100 dozen and using the roller makes it so much easier.