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Home » Recipes » Cuisine » Ukrainian Recipes

Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies

Published: Jan 31, 2021 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Apr 6, 2022 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 19 Comments

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Pinterest pin with white text on black background and photo of cottage cheese and potato perogies in a Ukrainian print dish
pin with dark text on white at top and photo of perogy with bacon and onion being held up on a fork over dish of perogies

Grandma Mary made the best Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies around! Whenever we left Winnipeg at Christmas, she'd send us home with dozens. And when she was coming to visit Calgary, we'd anxiously await our perogies, which she'd dole out by the pie plate full. Frozen perogies layered between sheets of wax paper in aluminum pie plates, wrapped up in newspapers; that's the way Mary packaged them. She always said they kept best that way. They were, by far, the best authentic perogies ever!

Ukrainian perogies covered in bacon and onion in a ukrainian print dish

Mary passed away nearly 15 years ago and we miss her dearly. But she lives on through her perogies. And we were lucky enough to not only be blessed with this recipe, but to have the opportunity to watch the master perogy maker at work and record her technique for this wonderful recipe! 

Jump to:
  • 🥘🥔 🧀 Ingredients
  • 🔪Instructions
  • 🎥Video
  • 🥂Have a Perogy Party!
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • 🍽Equipment
  • 🥗What to serve with perogies
  • 💭 Top tip
  • ⭐ Reviews
  • 📋Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies Recipe
  • 🥟More Ukrainian Pierogi Recipes!

I grew up on perogies and I still love them; they are the ultimate comfort food! Every Sunday when we went to Baba's, there'd always be perogies, along with  Borscht ,  Cabbage Rolls with  kubassa and something sweet with poppy seed (you'll want to try my  Lemon Poppy Seed Torte with Raspberry Curd Filling & White Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting!) But sadly, I never got my Baba's perogy recipe, or any of her recipes for that matter. I was only 12 when I lost her. 

On the eve of what would have been our Malanka, our dance school's Ukrainian New Year's celebration (cancelled due to covid this year),  I am remembering and missing the people, the music, the dancing and the perogies, while drowning my sorrows in homemade perogies. This is a photo of me at Malanka 2020. Good times!~

me in a Ukrainian shirt, at Malanka 2020

However, I am so very grateful to have Grandma Mary's perogy recipe and honored to be able to share it. Mary was my husband's Grandma and it was a pleasure to have known her and shared so many years with her. She was a strong, wise, kind, generous and beautiful soul. 

potato and cheese pierogi being held up on a fork over a dish of perogies with bacon and onion with sour cream and ukrainian print salt and pepper shakers in the background

For countless years, every Saturday, she would toil away making hundreds of perogies that she so graciously shared with her family, friends and neighbors. And anyone who was lucky enough to be a recipient of a loaded pie plate wrapped in newspaper, was not only filled with gratitude, but left wanting for more. Even when she was in her 90's and had a harder time getting around, she'd perch on the stool in her kitchen and make dozens of perogies. You could tell it was important to her, as it was to all of of us.

🥘🥔 🧀 Ingredients

These are true authentic and traditional Ukrainian perogies! Ukrainian food is actually pretty plain, simple and economical. These pierogies are made with simple ingredients like potato, dry cottage cheese, with a simple dough, then boiled, fried in real butter and smothered in fried bacon and onions. 

I grew up on potato and cheddar pierogies, but my Baba's perogies were either cheddar cheese and potato or sauerkraut. I had never even heard of dry cottage cheese pierogies until I met my husband and his Grandma's perogies. And I fell in love with them! The dry curd cottage cheese gives these perogies an interesting and unique texture; different from the typical potato and cheese pierogi.

For this perogy recipe, you'll need:

  • flour
  • salt
  • butter
  • milk
  • potatoes
  • dry cottage cheese
  • pepper
  • onions- optional
  • bacon - optional
  • sour cream - optional

*see recipe card for quantities

Ukrainian perogies covered in bacon and onion in a ukrainian print dish

🔪Instructions

🥟How to make perogies

To help you make the best perogies (that stay together), I have included step by step photos of how to make perogies, as well as a video! Perogies are not hard to make, but they are pretty labor intensive. That's why it costs so much to buy homemade perogies.

  1. Mix all perogy dough ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. Keep mixing with your hands until the dough comes away from the sides and off your hands. Meanwhile, keep sprinkling with extra flour (about ½ cup) and mix flour in. Then cover (with airtight lid) and rest the dough for about an hour
  2. Cottage Cheese & Potato Filling: Peel and chop potatoes, place potatoes in hot water and boil potatoes until a fork goes easily through potatoes. Drain. Mash cooked potatoes together with dry cottage cheese and salt and pepper. Set aside
  3. Assembly: Place dough on floured surface and separate dough into 4 wedges
Step 1
perogy filling being mashed together
Step 2
dough on cutting board, divided into 4
Step 3
  1. Roll out one of the 4 parts to ⅛ inch thickness (this will require a lot of muscle!)
  2. Cut dough into circles with perogy cutter or you can use anything round that's about 2-3 inches in diameter. *2.5 inches is ideal and what I used. Repeat with remaining dough wedges.
  3. Add a small amount (about 1-2 teaspoons) of filling to the centre of each circle. Dip your finger in hot water and run it around the outside of the circle, this will help to seal the perogy.
perogy dough rolled out on cutting board with perogy cutter
Step 4
perogy dough being cut into circles
Step 5
filling added to dough circle and finger rubbing water around the rim
Step 6
  1. Pinch together in the middle. Then work your way around the edge, pinching, while ensuring the filling stays in.
  2. Keep pinching until your perogy is completed sealed. *It's important it's completely sealed so it will not come apart during the boiling process.
  3. Place perogies in a single layer on a baking sheet (I find this best because you can fit a lot on), but you'll probably need more than one.
perogy being pinched together
Step 7
perogy pinched together
Step 8
perogies on baking sheet
Step 9
  1. Boil a large pot of water and add perogies (you only want to add about a dozen at a time.) Cook first batch of perogies in boiling water (rolling boil). *The perogies will float to the top when they are ready.
  2. Remove with slotted spoon. Add to bowl with ⅓ cup melted butter (add more as needed, depending on how many perogies you are making.) As you move perogies from bowl to frying pan, add more butter, as needed) *This is the method Mary always used. *Repeat for each batch (about a dozen at a time) *NOTE: At this point, if you plan to freeze them, you'll want to put them back onto parchment paper (or wax paper) lined cookie sheets. Space them so they are not touching and freeze them on the cookie sheets for 4-6 hours. Once frozen, you can move them into large freezer bags for long-term freezing. (* I did not photograph, as we did not freeze any this time.)
  3. In a large skillet, fry perogies over medium-high heat with additional butter (as needed) I use an additional 2-3 tbsps.
perogies floating to top of boiling water
Step 10
perogies in butter
Step 11
perogies being fried in a large skillet
Step 12

🎥Video

See VIDEO - how to make a cottage cheese and potato perogies

🥂Have a Perogy Party!

So, I would recommend you have a PEROGY PARTY instead of trying to make 90 perogies on your own! Get some relatives and/or friends together and share the work. Many hands make light work. It's a lot more fun, you don't have to do all the work yourself and everyone gets to leave with perogies! You can set up an assembly line to make it go smoother. And drinking wine while making perogies is perfectly acceptable- it's a party, after all!  I have had a few perogy parties in my day, but this year, in the midst of the pandemic, it was the smallest party I've ever hosted- just the 4 of us (my immediate family) But it was still a good time!

table set up for perogy party with cutting board, rolling pins etc..

👪 Serving Size

This perogy recipe makes 90 perogies. I know it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't, especially if you have others helping and have to split them up. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like to make. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

🍽Equipment

You'll need a perogy cutter (or anything round that's 2-3 inches in diameter) to cut them/a glass or mug etc.. ) a potato masher, a large pot, a large skillet, a cutting board and a rolling pin.

🥗What to serve with perogies

Perogies can be a side dish or a main dish, but I also like to serve them with kielbassa, Ukrainian Borscht Soup (with beef), Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls, beets and a dollop of sour cream too, of course!!

borscht soup in a beige bowl on a Ukrainian patterned tablecloth
Borscht
lazy slow cooker cabbage rolls in bowl
Lazy Cabbage Rolls

💭 Top tip

Use up Leftover Dry Cottage Cheese (and perogy filling)

Dry cottage cheese, aka dry curd cottage cheese is different from your typical And since you may have leftover dry cottage cheese and potato mixture, here are some recipes to help you use it up: 

  • Perogy Zucchini Boats
  • Easy Pierogi Stuffed Mushrooms

So, if you're looking for a simple, delicious and unique homemade pierogi recipe, then give this one a try! And why not try my Saskatoon Berry Dessert Perogies?- it's a great recipe! I use the same dough from this recipe to make them (and you'll have a lot! ) Happy Perogy making and eating!

Saskatoon berry dessert pierogies on a white plate with a fork

⭐ Reviews

Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below

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Ukrainian perogies covered in bacon and onion in a ukrainian print dish
Food Meandering Logo

📋Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies Recipe

This Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies recipe is from the master perogy maker, Grandma Mary Rudy! Made with dry cottage cheese, potatoes and a simple perogy dough, boiled, fried in butter and smothered with onions, bacon and sour cream, these homemade, traditional perogies are both delicious and authentic.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, dinner, lunch
Cuisine: Urkainian
Keyword: cottage cheese, perogy, pierogi, potato
Servings: 90 perogies
Calories: 49kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rolling, filling and pinching: 45 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 6 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Mary's Perogy Dough ingredients

  • 5 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup butter or margarine melted
  • 2 cups scalded milk

Cottage Cheese & Potato Filling

  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 600 g -carton of dry cottage cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Cooking

  • ⅓ cup butter for post boiled perogies approximately
  • 3 tablespoon (or more) butter for frying

Garnish

  • fried onions
  • fried bacon
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Perogy Dough

  • Mix all perogy dough ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. Keep mixing with your hands until the dough comes away from the sides and off your hands.
  • Meanwhile, keep sprinkling with extra flour (about ½ cup) and mix flour in.
    perogy dough in a bowl
  • Then cover (with airtight lid) and rest the dough for about an hour

Cottage Cheese & Potato Filling

  • Peel and chop potatoes, place potatoes in hot water and boil potatoes until a fork goes easily through potatoes. Drain.
  • Mash cooked potatoes together with dry cottage cheese and salt and pepper. Set aside.
    perogy filling being mashed together

Assembly

  • Place dough on floured surface and separate dough into 4 wedges
    dough on cutting board, divided into 4
  • Roll out one of the 4 parts to ⅛ inch thickness (this will require a lot of muscle!)
    perogy dough rolled out on cutting board with perogy cutter
  • Cut dough into circles with perogy cutter or you can use anything round that's about 2-3 inches in diameter. *2.5 inches is ideal and what I used. Repeat with remaining dough wedges.
    perogy dough being cut into circles
  • Add a small amount (about 1-2 teaspoons) of filling to the centre of each circle.
  • Dip your finger in hot water and run it around the outside of the circle, this will help to seal the perogy.
    filling added to dough circle and finger rubbing water around the rim
  • Pinch together in the middle (See VIDEO - how to make a cottage cheese and potato perogy)
    perogy being pinched together
  • Then work your way around the edge, pinching, while ensuring the filling stays in.
    perogy being pinched together
  • Keep pinching until your perogy is completed sealed. *It's important it's completely sealed so it will not come apart during the boiling process.
    perogy pinched together
  • Place perogies in a single layer on a baking sheet (I find this best because you can fit a lot on), but you'll probably need more than one.
    perogies on baking sheet

Cooking

  • Boil a large pot of water and add perogies (you only want to add about a dozen at a time.)
  • Cook first batch of perogies in boiling water (rolling boil). *The perogies will float to the top when they are ready.
    perogies floating to top of boiling water
  • Remove with a slotted spoon.
  • Add to bowl with ⅓ cup melted butter (add more as needed, depending on how many perogies you are making.) As you move perogies from bowl to frying pan, add more butter, as needed) *This is the method Mary always used.
    perogies in butter
  • Repeat for each batch (about a dozen at a time)
  • *NOTE: At this point, if you plan to freeze them, you'll want to put them back onto parchment paper (or wax paper) lined cookie sheets. Space them so they are not touching and freeze them on the cookie sheets for 4-6 hours. Once frozen, you can move them into large freezer bags for long-term freezing. * I did not photograph, as we did not freeze any this time.
  • In a large skillet, fry perogies over medium-high heat with additional butter (as needed) I use an additional 2-3 tbsps.
    perogies being fried in a large skillet
  • Fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and fry until golden brown on the other. Remove from heat. (Fry bacon and onions in separate frying pans, frying onions in additional butter for best results)
    perogies being fried until golden brown on both sides

Garnish

  • Fry bacon and sautee onion and top perogies with crisp bacon and carmelized onions, as well as sour cream if desired. Serve!
    cottage cheese perogies with bacon and onion on a Ukrainian plate, on brown faux wooden surface

Video

https://foodmeanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/How-to-make-a-Cottage-Cheese-and-Potato-perogy.mov

Notes

*NOTE: See post content for important recipe information and tips!

Nutrition

Serving: 1perogy | Calories: 49kcal (2%) | Carbohydrates: 9g (3%) | Protein: 2g (4%) | Fat: 1g (2%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 75mg (3%) | Potassium: 90mg (3%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 1g (1%) | Vitamin A: 36IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) | Calcium: 14mg (1%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
Rate this Recipe

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  • Easy Pierogi Stuffed Mushrooms
  • Pierogi Breakfast Casserole
  • Halloween Phantom Pierogi Pizza Pockets

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bernice Hill

    February 02, 2021 at 5:23 pm

    oh!! I'm STILL looking for a perogy dough 'go to' that never fails. I'm going to try your dough next Terri. I think you know what you are doing!!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 08, 2021 at 4:44 pm

      I hope you like it, Bernice. It works great for us and it was given to us by the MASTER perogy maker (Grandma Mary)! And yes, I like to think I know what I'm doing haha

      Reply
  2. Vanessa

    February 03, 2021 at 12:23 am

    I have never actually made perogies before. This would be a fun and delicious project to do as a family....since sadly I don't see a perogy party in the near future.

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 03, 2021 at 9:18 pm

      It's really fun, Vanessa! And I'm hopeful a perogy party won't be too far down the road!

      Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 08, 2021 at 4:46 pm

      Oh, it's really fun, Vanessa. Yes, it won't be a traditional perogy party for a while, but one day!!!

      Reply
  3. Kristen

    February 03, 2021 at 9:51 am

    I have always wanted to make perogies from scratch with my grandmas recipe (she’s been gone for a number of years now), but honestly was scared to try because hers were always perfect and I don’t want to mess them up. But with your step by step, I think I can attempt it with a little less worry now. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 08, 2021 at 4:47 pm

      I hope you give them a try, Kristen! They are so satisfying to make (and eat too, of course)

      Reply
  4. Julia

    February 05, 2021 at 7:25 am

    Such a unique and delicious dish. I've never made these, but they look and sound fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 08, 2021 at 4:47 pm

      Thanks, Julia! I hope you give them a try!

      Reply
  5. nancy

    February 05, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    i've never made perogies before. thanks for the step by step recipe!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      February 05, 2021 at 6:48 pm

      You are welcome - they are fun and delicious. I recommend you have a party!

      Reply
  6. Sabrina

    February 07, 2021 at 11:42 pm

    So delicious and comforting. I’ve actually had perogies on my mind all week. I really like the cottage cheese potato filling. Great recipe. Also, I have the same perogy cutter as you!

    Reply
  7. Dylan

    July 28, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    These sound amazing, thank you for sharing! Do these work with any type of potato or do you have a go to variety that works best for your filling?

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      July 29, 2021 at 5:14 am

      Hi Dylan,
      You can use any type of potato - I just use whatever I have on hand! Enjoy!

      Reply
  8. Samantha

    January 14, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    Made these pierogies today, was a complete success the recipe is great to follow, the pastry recipe is spot on and makes a very pliable dough that is easy to use, I made fried and boiled ones to do a comparison, I prefer the boiled but again the recipe was spot on. Thank you for sharing it.

    Reply
  9. Michelle

    January 22, 2022 at 8:28 am

    Hi - in your recipe it says to use 4 potatoes. How many pounds would that work out to? I want to make sure I have the correct consistency. Thankyou

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      January 22, 2022 at 8:41 am

      Hi Michelle,
      According to what I could find, that is about 1/3 of a pound. 5 potatoes is 1/2 a pound. I hope that helps and you enjoy the perogies! I'd really appreciate it if you come back and leave a star rating and comment if you love them!
      Terri

      Reply
  10. Mary Ann Orlovsky

    February 28, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    Hi Terri, thank you so much for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it. My mother used to make Potato/Cottage Cheese Pirogies years ago. I never wrote down her recipe. Sadly she’s gone now along with all of my aunts/uncles who also knew how to make them. My only question is: where can you buy “Dry” Cottage Cheese? I live in Central Pennsylvania and I haven’t seen it since I was a lot younger. I might try it with regular Cottage Cheese or try to drain it myself. Thanks Again. Mary Ann 🙂

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      March 02, 2023 at 11:42 am

      Hi Mary Ann,
      You are welcome - I'm glad you found it!
      Please don't use regular cottage cheese - you won't be able to get all the liquid out. In the US it's generally called "farmer's cheese". You can find it at most grocery stores or order online from amazon.
      Enjoy!
      Terri

      Reply

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I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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