These homemade Pierogi filled with cheesy potatoes, tossed with crisp bacon and melted butter, and served with sour cream is the ultimate comfort food. They can be served as the main dish or as an irresistible side.
Pierogi are as classic to Eastern European cuisine as Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Piroshki, and Schnitzel. They will never go out of style. Watch the video tutorial and you’ll be enjoying pierogi in no time.

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What Are Pierogi?
Pierogi are dumplings with a tender dough and savory or sweet fillings, similar to ravioli. They are boiled in water and tossed in butter to serve. Pierogi are a staple in Eastern European countries, especially Poland, where they are the national food, but we grew up eating them in Ukraine, and they are well-loved throughout the world.
Most Americans know them as Polish pierogi and buy “Mrs. T Pierogies” (a sad store-bought version), but my homemade pierogi (or Ukrainian “Vareniki”) will blow the frozen ones out of the water!
Pierogi Recipe Video
See how easy it is to make homemade pierogi with Natasha’s classic recipe! Be sure to note her tip on how to make the pretty fluted edge and easy stuffing using her favorite mini-scoop to add the potato filling. Now gather some friends, and let’s get rolling!
*Note that we updated the recipe in 2024 to include more oil for a softer and more tender dough and knead the dough for less time.
The Best Pierogi Recipe
If you haven’t tried pierogi before, you’re about to fall in love. These are the best of a warm, cheesy loaded baked potato in a bite-sized dumpling. This pierogi recipe makes 50-60 perfect dumplings, enough to freeze for later or serve a large crowd.
Growing up, this potato pierogi recipe, or “Vareniki” was my favorite, so it was a no-brainer that it needed to be included in Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook. My Mother and sisters rolled huge batches of pierogi dough, stuffing, and expertly molding them. Each buttery batch disappeared so fast! These days my kids love rolling the dough and crimping every dough pocket.

Ingredients
You’ll love the simplicity of the ingredients – they are pantry and refrigerator staples.
- Liquid Ingredients – combining warm water, milk and sour cream adds fat to the dough and flavor.
- Oil – we use extra light olive oil, but any mild-flavored oil will work. The oil makes the dough very soft and easy to roll out.
- Egg – binds the dough, room temperature eggs mix more easily
- Salt – adds flavor to the dough and cooking water
- Flour – all-purpose flour works great but measure correctly so the dough isn’t dense.
- Potato Filling – we combine russet potatoes, salt, butter, and cheese. Russets will give you the smoothest and creamiest filling. Our go-to cheeses are cream cheese and mozzarella but you can substitute with cheddar, havarti, or your favorite cheese.

Can I use Leftover Mashed Potatoes?
As a shortcut, use leftover mashed potatoes for the filling (avoid instant or flaked potatoes), just be sure they aren’t overly creamy or soft, which can make the pierogi fall apart. To use leftover mashed potatoes for pierogi, simply omit the butter from the filling and be sure the leftover mashed potatoes are cold when mixing.
Pierogi Filling Variations
While this potato and cheese version is my favorite, pierogi variations are endless, from sweet to savory! Here are some of my favorite pierogi recipes for any occasion—Holidays, weeknight dinners, breakfast, and even dessert. If you have a unique filling that you make, please share in a comment below!
- Savory Meat-filled dumplings (a.k.a. “pelmeni“)
- Sweet Blueberry Pierogi served sprinkled with sugar
- Cherry Pierogi – another summertime favorite
- Sweet Plum Pierogi (or use your favorite stone fruit)
- Cabbage – use drained braised cabbage
Tips for Making Perfect Pierogi
This recipe makes the best pierogi! If you’re new to making pierogi or want to perfect your skills, here are some tips to ensure success:
- Don’t overcook potatoes – they can become waterlogged and too loose.
- Avoid over-kneading dough that develops gluten making it tough, chewy, and difficult to roll out.
- Rest the dough – this allows the gluten to relax, making it much easier to roll out.
- Keep the dough covered – wrap it in plastic when not actively using it so it doesn’t dry out.
- Roll dough thinly – it should be about 1/8″ thick. If it’s too thick, it can seem dense.
- Keep dough edges clear – don’t overfill, and avoid getting potato or any filling on the edges of the dough circles or it will be difficult to seal. I use this mini-scoop to help with clean portioning, but you can use a couple of teaspoons to portion.
- Tightly seal – I prefer to double crimp (go over the edges twice) to ensure a tight seal so the contents don’t seep out while boiling
- Cook in Batches – Don’t overcrowd your pot; allow the pierogi some room to float to the top.
- Don’t overcook pierogi – if the dough gets too soft, the filling might escape into the cooking water.
- Butter right away – toss freshly cooked pierogi with melted butter to prevent sticking.


How to Freeze Pierogi
This recipe makes a large batch, so you can make the pierogi ahead and cook when you’re ready to eat.
- After shaping the dumplings, dust a baking sheet with flour and arrange the pierogi so they aren’t touching. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.
- Once frozen, transfer to a large freezer-safe zip-top bag to store for up to 3 months.
- When ready to cook, drop the frozen pierogis into the boiling water and continue with the recipe per the instructions.

What to Serve with Pierogi
These cheesy pierogi can be served as a side dish or the main course. We include a dollop or bowl of sour cream for dipping. Other dipping options include butter sauce or plain yogurt.
To serve as a side, build your Eastern European menu with these traditional pairings for pierogi:
- Sautéed Mushrooms
- Borscht
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Marinated Mini Bell Peppers
- Sauerkraut
- Homemade Kielbasa
- Buckwheat
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
If you have leftovers, pierogi keep well in the fridge and freezer. Make sure they have cooled to room temperature before storing.
- To Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Freezing: Arrange cooked pierogi in one layer or dust with flour to prevent sticking in an airtight container for 3 months.
- To Reheat: Thaw cooked pierogis in the refrigerator. Boil until warm, about 90 seconds, heat in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, or pan fry in butter until warm.

You are sure to fall in love with this pierogi recipe immediately! The cheesy potato filling and bacon-butter topping make these pierogies irresistible. Grab a few extra hands, and roll these delicious dumplings today!
Pierogi Recipe

Ingredients
Ingredients for Potato Filing:
- 2 lbs russet potatoes, (5 medium), peeled
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
For the Pierogi Dough:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 3 Tbsp extra light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, (plus more for cooking)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly
For the Toppings (For 1/3 batch):
- 4 oz bacon, chopped
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- sour cream, optional, to serve
Instructions
How to Make Potato Cheese Filling:
- Place potatoes in a pot, add enough water to cover potatoes then bring to a boil over medium/high and continue cooking 25 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain and cool 5 minutes then mash potatoes until smooth.
- Mash in 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp melted butter and 2 oz cream cheese. Mash in 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Partially cover and set aside while rolling out the dough.
To Make Pierogi Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl if mixing by hand), whisk together 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup milk, 2 Tbsp sour cream, 1 egg, 3 Tbsp oil, and 1 1/2 tsp salt until blended.
- Using the dough hook attachment (or wooden spoon if done by hand), add 2 cups flour and mix on speed 2 until incorporated. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, letting it incorporate before adding more. Add the last bit of flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, just until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, or to your hands. Knead on speed 2 or by hand for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
How to Mold Pierogi:
- Divide dough into 2 pieces. Cover the second piece and thinly roll the first piece out onto a floured surface to just under 1/8” thickness.
- Use a 3” diameter round cookie cutter to cut circles from the dough, keeping them as close as possible (collect scraps and keep covered to re-use). Add 1/2 Tbsp of potatoes over each round (a mini scoop makes portioning easy).
- To form pierogi, pull the 2 edges together and pinch tightly to seal. To ensure a tight seal, crimp the edges a second time with a pinch and twist motion. Cook or freeze pierogi for a future dinner (see freezing instructions in post).
How to Make Bacon Topping:
- Make the topping before boiling pierogi so it’s ready to drizzle over pierogi to prevent sticking. In a medium skillet, saute bacon. Once crisp, melt in 2 Tbsp butter and remove from heat.
How to Cook Pierogi:
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 Tbsp salt. Add fresh or frozen pierogi in batches. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the water has returned to a boil and the pierogi float to the top. Remove to a bowl with a strainer or slotted spoon drizzling buttery bacon between layers.
Notes
Recipe updated 4/4/24 – we added oil to the dough and reduced the kneading time for a softer, more tender dough.
Oh, how I miss my mother’s pierogi. My sisters have tried but can’t quite get them exact. They’re good anyway though!
I’m looking forward to trying your recipe.
My mother would grill onions, very slowly until they were sweet, and added them to the potato mixture. She also made saurkraut pierogi. Do you have a recipe for saurkraut pierogi?
My mother was 100% Ukrainian. Her parents (my grandparents) came to the US from Ukraine in the early 1900’s.
My Mother added sauteed onions to the potatoes mixture as well and it was quite good! Sometimes I add onion to the bacon mixture as well and it adds amazing flavor to the pierogi either way. I don’t have a recipe for sauerkraut pierogi posted yet but if I come up with something great, I will be sure to share it!
Yumm.. can i use this dough for pilmeni?
Hi Olya, yes absolutely!
I usually read all the comments but I would like to make these way sooner than it would take me to read them all….Only 1/2 teaspoon of filling goes in these???? Grandma use to have a lot more than that!!!
Hi Karen, it depends on how large you make them. In the old country, my grandma would make them large also to save time, especially when feeding a very large family.
LOL…we just finished dinner…pierogi’s were pretty good for a first timer! I ordered one of those “gadgets” that you roll out your dough and place it over a large cut-out form, fill it, roll out the other half and put on top, then punch them all out and pinch…DO NOT BUY ONE!!!!! I will make them the way Grandma showed me many years ago…I did the last batch her way!! Thank you so much for the recipe, especially the video!
I’m so glad you liked them but yeah I know exactly which gadget you are talking about. I’ve tried one in the past and I ended up spending way more time trying to make the gadget work right than just making the pierogi by hand. 🙂
Yeah, I bought and tried one of them and I agree…piece of junk.
Hi Natasha, do you know why the dough keeps on shrinking?
Hi Tanya, did you make any changes to the recipe and properly measure the dry ingredients? I’m wondering if the dough was overworked?
How about Kelbasi,kraut mmm
That sounds delicious!
One of my favorites too. I was SO surprised at how easy this was to do! I don’t think I’ll ever buy the frozen ones again! I fried them in butter an onions after boiling them and they came out PERFECT! P.S. Loved the borscht recipe too! YUM. Keep those recipes coming!
Whitney
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Just made these today and everyone loved it!!! We ate half of them-( 2 adults and 3 kids) – rest went to the freezer. Thank You Natasha!!!
Aww! That’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I’m excited to try to make these, we love pireogi! This may be a silly question, but I don’t have a stand mixer, how long would I kneed the dough by hand?
Hi Jill, I suggest kneading for about the same amount of time by hand. You could probably shave a couple of minutes off the total time kneading by hand.
I am retired and this year, I vowed to do much more cooking than before. I can cook but have never been very creative in the kitchen. I LOVE your blog/posts and will be following your lead to great meals. Thank you for wonderful recipes and the instruction.
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
I can’t wait to try these! My husband loves Mrs Ts so I can’t imagine how much more he’ll actually love these… after boiling he likes to fry them in some of the leftover bacon grease, prob not too healthy but def delicious. Would Canadian flour work for these?
That’s so great! Frying them up sounds amazing! I haven’t experimented pierogies with Candian flour. If you try that please let me know how you like that!
Haven’t made these yet even though the recipe looks delicious! I was wondering if you have a recipe or are planning to make one for vareniki with tvorog? I can probably substitute and figure it out based off of this recipe, but might want to play it safe with an actual recipe haha.It was always a childhood favorite and I would love to pick up these staples my mom would make for us growing up now that I have a family of my own!
Hi Svetlana, we do not have that at this time but we do have a tvorog recipe on the blog.
Such a labor of love but totally worth it!! Can’t wait to try!
Thank you so much for sharing your great review with me.
The only pierogi recipe I use!
I’m so happy to hear that you love this pierogi recipe! Thank you Sommer! 🙂
The ultimate comfort food! So yummy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Simply delicious! Thanks for all the great information too.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
These came out so perfect!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I wonder if Gluten free flour will work. Has anyone tried it?
Hi Lynn, I haven’t tested that so I can’t advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
i eat pierogi’s with pickled beets,with the beet juice covered on them.
That sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing that with me!
we made these when i was growing up. We mixed mashed potatoes, sauteed onions, and sauerkraut. that was our filling. Our dough did not have sour cream in it. Our Polish friend would always come over and help, she showed us how to make them.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :).
This recipe was delicious! I made it tonight for the first time and will definitely add it my collection as a regular. I don’t like bacon so I just drizzled some melted butter onto the cooked pierogi and it was perfect.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!