A staple in Polish cuisine, potato cheese pierogi have been a perennial favorite dinner in my family. Usually pierogi are made with a type of cheese that’s not available in the US, or at least not in areas of the US where there are no Eastern European markets. This family recipe has been adapted to US ingredients that are easily found in grocery stores. This recipe does take time so grab a friend or queue up a podcast and enjoy the process of making a homemade dough rolled out thinly and filled with a super flavorful filling of caramelized onions, potatoes, cream cheese, and mint leaves. Boil them and sauté them with some additional caramelized onions and bacon on top. Smacznego! (Bon appétit!)
Steps for Making Potato Cheese Pierogi:
Potato Cheese Filling:
- Boil Russett potatoes with skin on. Once tender (use a knife to check they can easily pierce the potato), drain and put back on heat for a minute so that the remaining moisture on the potatoes evaporates out. Once the potatoes are cool to the touch, use a knife or your fingers to take the skin off.
- ** The only special equipment needed in this recipe is a ricer. You can find them in most large grocery stores or kitchenware stores. My favorite is OXO’s ricer (not an ad!) because it makes the process so easy and also has three different adjustable ricing grids.
- Caramelize the onions in a sauté pan with some oil an butter. This should take about 20 minutes.
- Use 3-4 bunches of mint leaves or dried mint leaves in the filling.
- I use Philadelphia cream cheese but any brand will do, of course. Just make sure the cream cheese is room temp if you’re using a handheld mixer. If you’re using a Kitchen Aid, you should be fine if using cheese straight from the fridge.
- Salt and pepper according to your taste. I have proportions written down in the recipe but taste the filling as you mix it to make sure it’s hitting the right salt/pepper balance for you.
Pierogi Dough:
- The dough only uses a few ingredients, but it’s important to have a large work space such as a large cutting board or marble counter top. You will also need a glass or biscuit cutter to create the circular shapes needed for the pierogi.
- For a better visualization of the dough process, check out my reel on Instagram!
How to Serve and Store Potato Cheese Pierogi
- Traditionally, these pierogi are gently fried and served with caramelized onion and bacon. I prefer them just with caramelized onion or by themselves but I’ve included the two options in the recipe.
- If you’re going to use the pierogi in the next day or two, place layers of them in an airtight container in the fridge. If you’re going to use them a week or even weeks from the time of boiling, place layers of pierogi in between layers of parchment or wax paper in an airtight container. Defrost in the microwave or in the fridge and fry up like the directions specify.
Potato Cheese Pierogi
Filled with caramelized onions, potatoes, cream cheese, and mint leaves, these pierogi can be made with easily found US ingredients.
Equipment
- 1 ricer
- 1 large wooden board for rolling the dough
- 1 glass or biscuit cutter for making the pierogi shapes
- 1 Kitchen aid or handheld mixer
Ingredients
Potato Cheese Filling
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 Russett potatoes
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 tsp finely chopped mint leaves (or dried)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Dough
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp salt
Optional Assembly
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 5 strips bacon
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
Potato Cheese Filling
- Pell and finely dice onion. Heat a large sauté pan to medium/medium high and add 1 tbsp oil and the onions.
- Stir onions medium heat until they start to get a little brown, then decrease heat to low and add a tsp of butter and let it sit on low uncovered for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Wash potatoes and keeping the skin on, place in a large pot of water with tsp of salt so that the water covers at least 2 inches above potatoes. Bring to boil and then decrease to medium so that it gently boils and keep covered. Keep an eye on them so that they’re not boiling too much. Some skin breaking is okay (like in the photo).
- Once potatoes are cooked (a fork or knife should easily pierce into the potato), drain and return to pot and keep on medium heat for 1-2 minutes (so that more water evaporates from the potatoes). Remove potatoes from pot and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Once potatoes have cooled a bit (but are still warm), take the skins off with knife or your hands. Once skin is removed, use a ricer to rice the potatoes. If you don’t do this when they’re going to require strength to rice.
- Using a KitchenAid or handheld mixer, mix cream cheese for 2 minutes. Next, add onion and mix for 2 minutes. Then add in the riced potatoes, 1 tsp of salt and ¾ tsp black pepper, 2 tsp of fresh mint very finely chopped (or dried mint). Mix until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
- Set filling aside in the fridge.
Dough
- Sprinkle about a pinch of flour on to 2-3 large plates. Take 2-3 other large plates and smear about a teaspoon of butter on each. Set plates aside.
- On your dough rolling surface ( a large wooden or marble board), pour flour on board and make a small dent in the middle (a hole with some flour still on the bottom).
- Take a cup of warm water and melt 2 tbsp butter in it. Set aside.
- Whisk an egg and then with a fork, whisk it in little by little into the flour (see reel above for a demonstration). As you whisk in the egg to the dough, make sure the egg is coming into contact with the flour (and not the board, otherwise it may stick).
- Next slowly pour the butter water mixture into the flour, taking care to mix it all with a fork. Once done, start kneading the dough with your hands so that it comes together in a relatively smooth ball.
- You might need to add 2 tablespoons additional flour to the dough so it doesn't get too sticky. But as you kneed, don't add too much flour otherwise it will harden the dough but if that happens, just add some water and knead.
- When dough starts getting smoother (see photo), cut in half and put a little flour on bottom and wrap in plastic wrap while working with the first half.
- Sprinkle some flour on the half ball of dough and take a rolling pin and roll the dough (this will take several minutes) until it gets to a thickness of 2-3 mm.
- Once the dough is thin enough, take the open end of a glass or biscuit cutter and cut out circles for the pierogi. Tip: make sure you're cutting out circles that are very close to each other (but no too close) so that you maximize space. With the leftover dough, roll it up and set aside (you'll be rolling it out for more pierogi in a bit).
- Use a small spoon to add the potato cheese filling to each circle. Add it to the middle of the pierogi and then gently with your hands, take the opposite ends of the circle and pinch them together with your fingers so that you have a nice semicircle shape. Add it to a large plate with some flour sprinkled on it (so that the pierogi don't stick). Continue with the rest of the circles.
- In the meantime, boil a large pot of water. Once it's boiled and you have a set of pierogi to boil (around 12), gently place the pierogi into the water. You don't want too much overcrowding so adding 12 pierogi at a time is just right. Leave them boiling for a few minutes until they all float to the top and look puffier (3-4 minutes). Once done, take a strainer and drain them and place them on a buttered plate (the butter will help separate the pierogi so they don't stick).
- Repeat the process: roll out the remaining dough, cut circles, fill and pinch them into the pierogi shape, and boil them in the pot.
- You should have around 70-75 pierogi in the end. If you want to save them for later, place them in between layers of wax or parchment paper in an airtight container and freeze or refrigerate (if using the next day or two). If you're ready to eat them, you can cook them until crispy and golden brown or you can do this along with some caramzelid onion and bacon. For the latter, see directions below. In either case, the pierogi will need to be lightly fried so that they get that golden brown color and crispy texture. Take a sauté pan with 1 tbsp oil and heat to medium high. Place however many pierogi you'll be serving in the pan and cook until golden brown (4-5 minutes). Flip and repeat.
- If you'd like to serve the pierogi with onions and bacon, dice an onion and cook in a medium heat pan with 1 tbsp of oil until onions are golden brown. Add to this diced bacon strips and sauté until cooked through.