Every time we had pierogi in my family it was a meal that we all ate every bit of. There were no leftovers and no empty bellies. Pierogi are a polish cold weather comfort food and are delicious in any variation. This recipe for Polish Meat Pierogi is a basic meat pierogi recipe that you'll love!
What are pierogi?
Pierogi are a polish dumpling. There also found in the Ukraine, parts of Russia and other eastern european countries. Pierogi are made with unleavened dough, boiled and then pan fried. Pierogi filling varies and can be minced meat, cabbage, sauerkraut, potato, cheese or even fruits for a dessert pierogi. This recipe for Polish Meat Pierogi uses ground beef as the filling.
How to serve pierogi
Polish Pierogi are pan fried in butter after they are boiled. This allows for a crispy interior and for the pierogi to be coated in a butter sauce. Other common toppings are fried onions, caramelized onions, bacon and sour cream. Pierogi are the star of the meal and are filling for their size. Plan on each person eating about 6-8 pierogi for a meal.
What is a traditional Pierogi?
Every polish family has a traditional pierogi recipe and traditional filling, however there's so much variation that "traditional" does not mean standardized. When I was growing up, our pierogi were ground beef, farmers cheese, potato and cabbage filled. The recipes that use cheddar or mozzarella are bizarre to me, but I'm sure many others have never heard of farmer's cheese!
Best sides for your pierogi dinner
Pierogi are filling just by themselves, but here are some recipes that go well with them
- Brown Butter Roasted Radishes
- Balsamic Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots
- Maple Brown Butter Butternut Squash
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon
Polish Meat Pierogi
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 ¼ Cups Flour
- ¼ Cup Milk
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Egg
- ¼ Cup Sour Cream
Filling
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
- 1 Onion Chopped
- 1 Cup Beef Broth
- Salt
- Pepper
Topping
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
Instructions
Dough
- Mix together flour and salt. Stir in wet ingredients. Combine ingredients until dough comes together in a slightly sticky ball.
- Knead and fold dough on a flat surface until dough becomes less sticky and smooth. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. While dough is resting, make the filling.
Filling
- Brown ground beef on medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Drain any excess fat. Add in onion and cook until translucent. Add beef stock and simmer until liquid has reduced. Season generously with salt and pepper. Allow filling to cool before making pierogi.
Assembly
- Roll out dough to ⅛" thickness and cut out 2" round circles in the dough.
- Place 2 tsp of filling in the center of the circle of dough. Fold in half, press out any air and pinch the edges of the pierogi together to form a seal. Form all pierogi before boiling.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in pierogi in batches. Cook until pierogi float to the top, the remove.
- Melt butter in a large skillet. Add in boiled pierogi and cook until lightly browned on both sides. Serve with sour cream and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Arya's Corner
Took a break from cleaning for a nose boop 🙂
About Michelle
Hello! I'm Michelle Boulé. I'm a photography nerd, cat mom and all around foodie. Join me in making some of my favorite comfort foods!
Marilu Luna says
Do you add all of the ingredients as indicated above into the filling? Your directions only mention brown meat and onion until translucent.
Michelle says
Thanks for pointing out! I just updated the recipe, i add in the beef broth to keep the meat moist and give it some extra flavor, but my grandmother would never add it so it's not 100% necessary 😉
Henryk says
I boil the beef with an onion then stick them in a food processor, then add another chopped sautéed onion, salt and pepper to season then mix.
Caitlin says
Hello! You said for the dough to add the wet ingredients egg, sour cream and butter. Do you melt the butter? Or leave it solid and work it in? Thank you!!
Michelle says
I usually soften the butter a bit, just updated the recipe to include that note 🙂
Maiya says
So we’re not suppose to add the sour cream and butter to the meat? Lol
Michelle says
Nope! You'll want to melt the butter and pan fry the pierogis in the butter, then top with sour cream to serve
Sandra says
Do you finely grind the ground beef? Or do you buy a cut of beef and grind it, and if so, what cut and what kind of grind?
My dad’s stepmom’s and dad’s aunt’s recipes (both from Poland) had more of a meat paste than a typical hamburger consistency. Sadly, both have passed away and I never got either of their recipes handed down (when I would ask, either would respond with “how many do you want?” And I’d have delicious pierogis with no recipe.)
Michelle says
My grandmother would always buy ground meat, then mash it together until it was finely minced. I definitely don't have as much patience and make mine a bit chunkier from ground beef. The beauty of Pierogi is that there's really no wrong way to make the filling as everyone's grandmothers do it differently anyways 🙂
Rebecca says
This is an excellent recipe! I modify mine and use sage sausage in place of the ground beef. I also brown them in a brown butter and sage sauce. They are delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Michelle says
Sausage sounds like an amazing substitution, I'll have to try that sometime!
Susan C says
Can these be made in advance and refrigerated or frozen before boiling?
Michelle says
I would suggest freezing them if making in advance. Place unboiled pierogi on a small baking sheet so that they are not touching and freeze for 4-6 hours or until completely frozen. Remove pierogi from the baking sheet and place in a freezer ziploc bag. When you want to use them, thaw and boil, the serve as you normally would (pan fried, in a butter sauce,whatever method you usually use)
Patricia says
My mother did not brown the meat. She mixed the meat and onions, added a little garlic powder, mixed together. She rolled out the dough but cut the ball first into 3 sections rolling out one at a time and taking a glass to make circles in the rolled out dough. Then filled them. Ran a little water at the end of the fold to keep the dough together and sealed the two parts together with a fork prongs. She also had a damp cloth to keep the pirogies moist before dropping them into the boiled water so dough would not dry out waiting to be boiled. Dropped them slowly in boiled water till they floated up removed them and melted butt in a frying pan to brown the dough. Removed them served them with sour cream on top. Delicious.