Makes around 30 pierogi
This is originally from Vegan Brunch. For some reason I love to make pierogi during Easter. I can’t be alone in that, so I’m publishing this recipe now to give you plenty of planning time.
This is everyone’s favorite Polish dumpling. Toothsome, warm, soft and smothered in caramelized onions – yep, that’s the stuff! In NYC, pierogis are a brunch staple. Polish diners are a disappearing breed, but you can live the life in your own kitchen.
This is one of those time-consuming recipes that will change your life. If you make them once and know what to expect, the next time you make them won’t be such a big deal. Because the ingredients are so simple and unadulterated, choose good quality, organic potatoes whose flavor packs the most punch.
Make filling and dough a night in advance, then all you have to do in the morning is boil pierogis and make the caramelized onions.
For the Caramelized Onions:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 lbs sweet onions (Vidalia or Walla Walla), diced medium
For the Dough:
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour (plus a little extra for sprinkling)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1/4 cup canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoons salt
To serve:
Applesauce
To make the caramelized onions:
This is kind of an art, so don’t rush it! Since they onions can be left alone for intervals, start them before starting the dough, then take breaks from kneading the dough to stir the onions. The basic idea here is to sweat the onions, which means you’ll be gently cooking them, covered over low heat, and a lot of the cooking will be done from the steam as the moisture is released. You’re coaxing the sweetness out of them and locking it in. It looks like a lot of onion, and it is, but everything will cook down to manageable proportions, I promise. If you’ve never tasted caramelized onions, you might be surprised that an onion is even capable of this deep, sweet complexity, and with only two ingredients flavor.
Preheat a heavy bottomed skillet, preferably cast iron, skillet over low heat. Add the oil and the onions and toss the onions to coat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, leaving a little gap for steam to escape. Stir occasionally, every 5 minutes or so. Onions should turn a nice mellow amber, but not burn, although a couple of darker spots are fine.
Remove the cover and turn the heat up just a bit, to a medium setting. Stir often for 10 more minutes. Onions should become a darker amber, and some of the moisture should evaporate.
Make the filling:
In a medium sized pot, cover potatoes in water. Place a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cook for about 15 more minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a large pan, sautée the onions in oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes. Turn the heat off but stir occasionally even when the heat is turned off because they could still burn from the hot pan. When the potatoes are done boiling, drain them well and add them to the pan with the onions. Just mashed them right in there with a potato masher, that way you are sure to get all the flavor. Add the salt and pepper. Make sure potatoes are mashed well and fluffy. Set aside to cool a bit.
To make the dough:
If you’re like me, you have limited counter space and so rolling out dough can be a hassle. I make the dough last because the mess becomes much more manageable when you don’t have to prep on the counter afterwards. It also gives your filling some time to cool. So make sure you clean up after your filling making and get someone to do the dishes for you. I find that a serene counter makes all the difference in dough making.
Pour the water and oil into a large bowl. Add 2 cups of flour and the salt, keeping one cup aside. Use a fork to stir the flour in, and as it starts to come together, use your hands to knead until a loose dough forms (about 3 minutes.)
Sprinkle your counter with flour, then turn the dough out onto it and knead. Add the reserved cup of flour a little bit at a time, working it into the dough, until it is very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If it’s too sticky, you can add a little bit more flour and knead it in, sometimes up to 1/4 cup extra. Conversely, if you get a good- feeling, smooth, elastic dough that isn’t tacky with less less than the extra cup of flour, then that’s okay, too.
Now we roll the dough out, and also bring a salted pot of water to boil—, the largest pot you’ve got—, for boiling the pierogis.
Divide the dough in half and make sure your counter is clean and sprinkled with a dusting of flour to prevent sticking. Roll half the dough out to about 1/16 of an inch thick, which is to say, very thin but not see through. I rolled it into an 18- by- 10 inch rectangle, but as long as you have the thinness going, the shape doesn’t matter so much. Sprinkle the top with a light dusting of flour.
Now we’re going to make circles. I use the top of a glass that is 3 1/2 inches, but somewhere between 3 1/2 and 4 inches is perfect. Use a glass or a cookie cutter. Have ready a lightly floured plate to place the finished circles on, and go ahead and firmly press your glass or cookie cutter into the dough, as close together as you can. Pull the excess dough up and set aside. Place circles on the floured plate and transfer to the fridge while you repeat with the other half of the dough. Combine the excess doughs and see if you can get a few more wrappers out of the deal.
Pulling up excess dough and having fun
NOTE: If it’s very hot in your kitchen there’s a chance that the circles will stick together. Sprinkle them with flour and make sure they don’t get wet to prevent sticking. If they do stick, you can roll them out and try again.
Now we’re ready to boil some pierogi! Make sure your water is rapidly boiling. The filling should be room temp or colder. Have a small bowl of water for wetting the edges of the wrappers. Place about a tablespoon of filling into the center of a circle and dab water around the circumference of the circle. Fold the edges of the wrapper over filling and pinch in the middle to hold together. Pinch down the sides so that you have a sealed half moon. Don’t be shy with the pinching, and don’t try to make it look like perfect pinches. The most important thing is that you are getting them sealed, so use pressure and really seal them up. I think it looks really cool when the pinches aren’t perfectly spaced, it gives them a beautiful homemade rustic look and let’s you know that it came from a person, not a robot.
Pinching pierogi
If some of the filling is sneaking its way out, then use a little less filling with the next one. Once you get the amount of dough down, you can do a few at a time in assembly line style. I usually do six, lay out the circles, add the filling, pinch them closed. This works out perfectly if you time it with the boiling.
To boil, gently lower pierogis in to the water with a slotted spoon. Boil about six at a time. When they float they are ready. If for some reason they aren’t floating, it takes about 4 minutes for them to cook. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a plate as you prepare the rest. Cover finished ones lightly with tin foil to keep warm. Proceed until all pierogi are boiled.
If you’d like to fry instead: Preheat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, add a thin layer of canola oil, and fry pierogi on each side until golden brown (probably 3 minutes on one side and a minute on the next.) I personally prefer them boiled.
I really like to serve the pierogi in an oversized bowl, sprinkle amply with salt and smother in lots and lots of caramelized onions.
What do you recommend for freezing boil first or no??
No, freeze with raw dough.
I was looking for something to use up some caramalized onions I had left over. I have never tried to make pierogi before but these look so good I will have a go.
Being of Czech descent and growing up eating pierogie, gnocchi and haluski, I can tell you without a doubt that you boil them first (they will float when then are done). I can also tell you that after eating them my entire life, they are still something that I look forward too every single time. They are amazing!! 🙂
LOVE this recipe! When I was pregnant I lived off of pierogies, never imagined that they could be vegan (or that I’d be mostly vegan in three years) LOL a lot can change when you have a kid! I want to make like a thousand of these and freeze them so I can have an easy go-to snack. I didn’t have a onion so I used green onions and broccoli …. also they taste ridiculously awesome with this ranch http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saladdressings/r/veganranch.htm#
I’m Polish. I love the fact that you don’t translate ” pierogi” as dumplings. And the form “pierogis” looks so cute even if it it a little weird for me – seeing it like this, since “pierogi” is already a plural form:)
Has anyone tried to make these gluten- free? I grew up on pierogies and have missed them greatly since being diagnosed celiac.
I made these on Christmas from Vegan Brunch. I made both the potato and mushroom fillings and put half of each filling in each pierogi. This was my first time ever eating pierogies and they really are life changing. SO good. Thank you for this recipe.
i made these as a surprise for my girlfriend this valentines day and we both loved them! i tried to follow the recipe to a t because i’m a very inexperienced cook and i ended up with 43 pierogi (including two heart-shaped ones) out of this but i’m not complaining 🙂 we ate till we were stuffed and there’s at least two more meals worth in my freezer for later. will definitely make again, thanks!
This is amazing! My husband and I have recently added more vegan recipes into our already vegetarian lifestyle and I cannot wait to make these (and keep exploring your fantastic site!) Is there a point in the recipe that they can be frozen and made at a later date? How would you recommend doing that? Thanks!
I made these for the first time ever today and Dayum they’re good. I needed to use up a load of onions and potatoes and these did the job much better than I had hoped. Am going to freeze the rest as I have no one to share them all with. 😛
I made your pierogi just as stated in your recipe. Used a food processor to make the dough. They were great. The dough was nice and tender and the filling was delicious. I used to make potato and cottage cheese pierogi, but these are every bit as good, maybe even more flavourful. Boiled them, and then tossed them in carmelized onion. Yum!
I’ve never made them by hand (or if I did, they probably didn’t turn out good enough for me to remember). But I love buying them ready made in Polish delis in NJ. I’ll be trying them for sure soon. I’m also posting a link to your recipe on my site – as this is such a great holiday dish.
These were absolutely delicious. I became a vegan in September of 2012, and I have never felt better. I am Polish also and every year on Good Friday my family and I make pierogi. I did tweak the dough part of the recipe, and used 1 1/cups of white flour and 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. They turned out great and my family ended up liking the whole wheat version better. I made the potato and onion as seen in the recipe and also I made up a mushroom, spinach, and roasted garlic pierogi-everyone raved about the mushroom ones too! YUMMY!!!!
Just made these…..delicious! I added Daiya cheddar, but to be honest I would almost prefer them without. Just as good as any non-vegan pierogi I’ve had.
I just made these and they are FANTASTIC! Thanks so much for the recipe! Totally going to make these again, maybe experiment with adding some garlic/herbs, maybe mushrooms to the potato mixture. Again, THANKS!
yum!! made these yesterday for myself and the bf and we both loved them. definitely a time consuming task, but i think i’ll get faster at the process the more i make them. i did a potato and mushroom filling this time but would probably just stick to the potato filling and have the mushrooms on top with the onions next time.
Ah, pierogies, a big bowl of haluski & kapusta, along with a kielbasa and a steaming dish of halupki right out of the oven. A dinner straight from heaven guaranteed to raise your cholesterol level to dangerous enough levels to send you there too. But well worth it. 🙂
My family and I are new to veganism and it been a challenge to find things everyone will eat. I tried these today and the whole family loved them. I will make them again, but i am wanting a healthier flour. Do you think it will be ok if I use gluten free all purpose flour.
my husband just texted me from work commenting on great this was. I will definitely add this to my menu
a friend once taught me how to make varenyky (ukrainian pirogi) as taught to him by his babushka. i was super proud to have boiled the potatoes in advance, but was derided for having not saved the water when i drained them.
apparently, using the water in the dough and when moistening the dough to close it helps keep it stickier and lets you put some of those great vitamins lost in the water back into the food.
waste not, want not!
I made your version of dough for my granddaughter, she is allergic to eggs, and was pleasantly surprised how great the dough turned out. I will be using your recipe from now on. Thank you for so many other great recipes. I already love your cupcakes and cookies, now I am a fan of you completely, Thanks again.
I live in northeastern Pennsylvania, which is a very Polish area. I’m also part Lithuanian, marrying a man who is part Polish, and I’ve never made homemade pierogi before (blasphemy!). As inexperienced as I was, making these were a breeze. I have a Cut-N-Seal from Pampered Chef that worked perfectly for pinching the pierogi shut. Made the assembly process a thousand times faster. They looked pretty, too. I have around 14 remaining pierogi that I threw in the freezer, but they’ll probably be gone by tomorrow night. They are SO good!! I’ll definitely be making them again. I can’t wait to start bringing trays of these for the future in-laws during their summer potlucks. They’ll be thrilled.
The dough from this recipe is perfect, and I can’t wait to experiment with some other fillings. Besides potato, a mixture of sauerkraut, mushrooms, and onions is a popular pierogi filling around here. Worth trying!
These are AMAZING! A bit time consuming but totally worth the time. Been craving these for a while since I went vegan 2 years ago. this is a keeper recipe. I tossed about 1/2 bag of Daiya mozza shreds into the filling and it was very creamy and nice. Be patient with the onions, when they caramelize at last it’s a glorious thing. lol
I’ve made these a few times now. Not having the benefit of a Polish mother to have taught me, it took a couple times to figure out how to get the dough to just the right thickness, but they were perfect this last time. I served them for Christmas dinner last night with some homemade cashew sour cream from Miyoko Schinner’s Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook. My Lithuanian brother-in-law said they were as good as any his mother ever made. That’s about the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.
I’d like to make these for an upcoming gathering. Could I prep the stuffing and make raw pierogis the night before and set them in fridge without them getting messed up? I was thinking I can save time by prepping in advance and then cooking at event. Thanks
Thank you so much for making your dough vegan. I started baking vegan due to my grand daughter’s allergy to milk and eggs and now I use your cook books for so many other dishes. This recipe is so much better without the eggs and everyone tells me how awesome my pierogies taste. Thank you again and look forward to making more recipes from your books. Just wondering, do you know how I could make this dough glutton free, I have a son-in-law that can longer do glutton? Thanks again.
I just married into a family that is Polish and Mexican. We have tamales on Christmas Eve and pierogis on Christmas, haha its bizarre but delicious. Anyways, I needed a dough recipe so I came here. Thank you! I make my vegan pierogis with potato and sauerkraut inside. They are amazing. So much so that all the no-vegans like mine better. Win! I am here right now because I decided to start my own tradition, making pierogis half way between Christmas’! Thanks again PPK for another great recipe.
Can you freeze these?
The mere idea of making pierogi from scratch was insane because it’s really not like me to be ambitious with cooking. Your post was an immense help. I had something to be proud of at my company’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you!
Just cooked this tonight! Although I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian, I wanted to make this for a traditional meat-less Christmas Eve dinner. Very simple, but very delicious! I cheated and used Chinese dumpling wrappers and ate the pierogi with sour cream. Yum!
has anyone used gluten free flour to make this recipe? if so, how did they turn out and what flour did you use?
Was a pretty great recipe but I found the filling needed some more seasoning will make again just add extra salt pepper and maybe some sautéd mushrooms 🙂 I fried them without boiling ,I don’t have luck boiling them 🙁 , but I think I might try it next time with this recipe Ty
SOOOO good <3. i add dill
This is definitely my favourite Polish food! There are also other goods things such as Bigos but this is the best. Greetings
You can also freeze these before boiling. Just place them on a baking sheet, freeze, then when they are all individually frozen you can bag them. This makes boiling a bit easier in my opinion as they don’t cook so fast. Nutritional yeast and a little cashew cream added to the filling makes them a little tastier and reminds me of the cheddar cheese ones I grew up on.
Before making these I have to master making knishes.
I just ate 6 perogies, and they tasted awesome. Made them for the first time tonight. I made the caramelized onions along with a heaping plate of delicious perogies as written in the recipe (boiled not fried). I would SO recommend this recipe to everyone. My dad just ate one (non-veg) and he loved it too! Also, hi Isa! I have really loved trying your recipes over the past 10 years! All of my favourite recipes are from PPK or your blog, nowhere else. Favs are: your pesto, latkes, matzoh ball soup, mac & shews, pancakes, maple/dijon potatoes and beans, chocolate raspperry ganche cake, orange glazed tofu.. those are just a few favourites.. Thanks for all of the great dishes. Two questions: What are your favourite recipes on your site? Do you have a recipe for cabbage rolls? If so, this is an official request! <3 <3 <3
Pierogi is actually a plural form, so pierogis or pierogies is, well, too much ;). And most basic dough has always been vegan: all purpose flour with pinch of salt mixed with slowly poured in freshly boiled water, use spoon for mixing before it cools enough to use hands.
My go-to recipe for ~50 pierogi is:
300 grams of flour
roughly 1 tbsp of any fat – oil, olive etc.
250 mililitres of very hot water
pinch of salt
Shouldn’t the pierogies be boiled prior to frying? I fried them and they came out nice but more dim sum-like, not the same “leather-y” texture that I expected that would make them seem distinctly a pasta/dumpling kind of dough wrapper instead of a samosa-like crunchy bready wrapper.
This was AMAZING!!!! I made this as a special dinner tonight and they were a huge success! I did add some vegan “cheese” to the filling, but it was fantastic!! Hubby loved them!! Thank you for this recipe!!
thanks, u r nice
i like it