If you've never had pierogies for dessert, you are in for a treat! These Saskatoon Berry Dessert Perogies are such a fun and delicious way to enjoy Saskatoon berries. With a cooked Saskatoon berry filling and easy perogy dough, they are simple to make. And if you can't get your hands on Saskatoon berries, you can use blueberries.
Topped with whipped cream and cinnamon and filled with a rich and tasty Saskatoon berry sauce, they are akin to eating mini Saskatoon pies. But even better, because well... they're perogies (as every perogy lover knows!). They pair well as a dessert with this Ukrainian Daughter's Crock Pot Casserole.
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If you grew up on the prairies like I did, you'll be familiar with Saskatoon berries, also known as Juneberries or Service berries. They are grown on bushes and are in season sometime between mid-to late July and early August.
When I was a kid growing up in Manitoba, we'd pick them right off the bushes while we were camping. Now I usually get my Saskatoons from a u-pick Saskatoon farm.
I will often make a batch of the pie filling and sauce and freeze it. Then it's ready when I'm ready to make tarts or pie (shown below).
It's so versatile- I also use it to make my Saskatoon berry Ice Cream, and my Saskatoon Berry Layer Cake.
And I use the same dough I use for my Cottage Cheese and Potato Perogies
🥘 Ingredient Notes
- Saskatoon Berry Pie Filling and Sauce. This makes the ideal perogy filling because it's already cooked, which softens the berries!
- Perogy Dough recipe . This perogy dough is the dough my husband's grandmother used, and it's foolproof! It's easy to make and you'll have all the ingredients on hand.
- Butter. I use unsalted butter, as I prefer to control the salt in my recipes.
- Whipped cream. Whipped cream is the ideal topping for these dessert perogies! I use an aerosol spray whipped cream because it's more convenient and lighter.
📖 Variations
- Berries: If you can't get your hands on Saskatoon berries (aka Juneberries or Service Berries), you can substitute blueberries.
- Dough: You can use any perogy dough recipe you prefer
- Topping: ice cream, cream fraiche or whipped cream, cinnamon, additional berries, syrup
- Weight Watchers friendly: these perogies are 2 WW points each on my plan. If you want to add whipped cream, I recommend a spray can (light) real whipped cream. It's only 1 WW point on blue for about 3 tbsps. Dairyland and Gay Lea are both brands I use. (see photo in NOTES)
🔪 How to Make Saskatoon Berry Dessert Pierogies
I make these dessert perogies the same way I make my Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies; I boil them, set them in butter, then fry them in that same butter.
- Make dough Perogy dough, as per instructions.
- Make Saskatoon berry pie filling. *This will make 4 cups
Assembly:
Flour a large cutting board and place dough on top.
- Separate dough into 4 wedges
Roll out one of the 4 parts to ⅛ inch thickness (this will require a lot of muscle!) * or try using a pasta maker!
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
Add a small amount (about 1-2 teaspoons) of filling to the middle of each perogy.
Dip your finger in water and run it around the outside of the circle, this will help to seal the perogy.
Pinch together in the middle. Then work your way around the edge, pinching, while ensuring the filling stays in. * you may get some purple from the berries on the outside of the perogy, but don't worry as it will come off in the boiling water
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.
Lay on cookie/baking sheets (I find this best because you can fit a lot on)
Boil water in a large pot and add perogies (you only want to add about a dozen at a time.)
Remove with a slotted spoon as they float to the top (this is how you know they are ready)
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 but use the butter from the bowl)
Fry over medium-high heat with additional butter (as needed) I use an additional 2-3 tablespoons
Fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and fry until golden brown on the other. Remove from heat.
Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Drain off excess liquid if you are using frozen Saskatoon berry filling. You can use either fresh or frozen Saskatoon berry sauce. However, if you freeze the Saskatoon Berry Sauce, it's important that you defrost it and drain it before making these perogies, or they will be too watery.
- Use a pasta maker to roll out the dough more easily. This helps achieve an even ⅛-inch thickness without as much physical effort, especially when working with firmer dough.
- Seal perogies tightly to prevent filling from leaking. Lightly wet the edges with water before pinching and pressing firmly all around the edge to ensure a secure seal.
- Don't overfill the perogies. Adding too much filling makes them harder to seal and more likely to burst during boiling. Stick to 1-2 teaspoons of filling per perogy.
- Use cooked filling only. Uncooked berries will release too much liquid during cooking, making the perogies soggy or prone to leaking.
- Boil in small batches. Avoid overcrowding the pot to ensure even cooking and prevent them from sticking together.
- Freeze flat for best results. Lay the perogies on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer before freezing. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags.
- Fry in batches and don't overcrowd the pan. This ensures the perogies get evenly browned and crisp rather than steaming in the pan.
- Add butter gradually during frying. Start with enough to coat the pan, and add more as needed to prevent sticking and achieve that golden-brown finish.
- Perogies will float to the surface when ready. You'll know the perogies are ready when they float to the top when boiled.
- Garnish just before serving. Add whipped cream, cinnamon, or syrup right before serving to avoid soggy toppings and preserve the crispy texture.
- Test one perogy first. Before boiling a full batch, cook one perogy to check sealing, flavor, and consistency. It's easier to adjust before committing to the full recipe.
🍽 Equipment
You will, at minimum, need a rolling pin. I prefer to use a marble rolling pin (affiliate link) because it's heavier and makes the job of rolling out dough so much easier (I also use it for pie crusts, fondant, etc).
However, if you want to make things even easier, use a manual pasta maker (affiliate link). You will also need something round to cut your pierogies. You can use a perogy cutter or any round glass, cup, or cookie cutter about 3 inches in diameter.
🌡️Storing
- Fridge: Store these cooked perogies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. I recommend you freeze them flat, then you can layer them. However, you should boil them and put them directly into butter, as this prevents them from sticking together. (See recipe instructions)
- Reheating: Fry in butter until browned on each side (you can do this directly from frozen over low to medium heat)
👪 Serving size
The original recipe makes about 90 perogies. This seems like a lot, but trust me, once you start eating them and want to have some left over to freeze, it's not as much as you may think. However, if you want to cut the recipe in half, simply click on the servings in the recipe card, select the number of servings you'd like, and the ingredient amounts will adjust accordingly.
You can also freeze half the dough for future use.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can substitute the Saskatoon berry filling with blueberry or cherry pie filling, or any cooked fruit filling that isn't too runny.
No, frying adds a crispy texture and buttery flavor, but you can serve them straight from boiling for a softer version, similar to dumplings.
Cooking the berries softens them and helps thicken the sauce, which prevents the filling from being too watery and leaking during boiling.
Yes, you can make them in advance and freeze them after boiling and buttering. Then fry them just before serving, straight from frozen.
So if you are looking for fruit perogy recipes, give these a try!
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🍽More Saskatoon Berry Recipes
📋 Saskatoon Berry Dessert Perogies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Saskatoon Berry Filling recipe
- Perogy dough recipe
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted approximately
Garnish (optional)
- whipped cream
- cinnamon
- additional Saskatoon berries
Instructions
- Make dough (https://foodmeanderings.com/cottage-cheese-perogies/) as per instructions.
- Make Saskatoon berry filling ( https://foodmeanderings.com/saskatoon-berry-pie-filling-and-sauce/) *This will make 4 cups
Assembly
- Flour a large cutting board and place dough on top. Separate dough into 4 wedges
- Roll out one of the 4 parts to ⅛ inch thickness (this will require a lot of muscle!) * or try using a pasta maker!
- 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
- Add a small amount (about 1-2 teaspoons) of filling to the middle of each perogy. Dip your finger in water and run it around the outside of the circle, this will help to seal the perogy.
- Pinch together in the middle. Then work your way around the edge, pinching, while ensuring the filling stays in. * you may get some purple from the berries on the outside of the perogy, but don't worry as it will come off in the boiling water
- 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.
- Lay on cookie/baking sheets (I find this best because you can fit a lot on)
- Boil water in a large pot and add perogies (you only want to add about a dozen at a time.)
- Cook perogies in boiling water (rolling boil). *The perogies will float to the top when they are ready
- 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 but use the butter from the bowl)
- *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.
- Fry over medium-high heat with additional butter (as needed) I use an additional 2-3 tablespoons
- Fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and fry until golden brown on the other. Remove from heat.
Garnish
- Garnish with whipped cream, (optional: syrup) and cinnamon, and additional Saskatoon berries as desired.
Notes
-
- Drain off excess liquid if you are using frozen Saskatoon berry filling. You can use either fresh or frozen Saskatoon berry sauce. However, if you freeze the Saskatoon Berry Sauce, it's important that you defrost it and drain it before making these perogies, or they will be too watery.
-
- Use a pasta maker to roll out dough more easily. This helps achieve an even ⅛-inch thickness without as much physical effort, especially when working with firmer dough.
-
- Seal perogies tightly to prevent filling from leaking. Lightly wet the edges with water before pinching and press firmly all around the edge to ensure a secure seal.
-
- Don't overfill the perogies. Adding too much filling makes them harder to seal and more likely to burst during boiling. Stick to 1-2 teaspoons of filling per perogy.
-
- Use cooked filling only. Uncooked berries will release too much liquid during cooking, making the perogies soggy or prone to leaking.
-
- Boil in small batches. Avoid overcrowding the pot to ensure even cooking and prevent them from sticking together.
-
- Freeze flat for best results. Lay the perogies on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer before freezing. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags.
-
- Fry in batches and don't overcrowd the pan. This ensures the perogies get evenly browned and crisp rather than steaming in the pan.
-
- Add butter gradually during frying. Start with enough to coat the pan, and add more as needed to prevent sticking and achieve that golden-brown finish.
-
- Perogies will float to the surface when ready. You'll know the perogies are ready when they float to the top when boiled.
-
- Garnish just before serving. Add whipped cream, cinnamon, or syrup right before serving to avoid soggy toppings and preserve the crispy texture.
-
- Test one perogy first. Before boiling a full batch, cook one perogy to check sealing, flavor, and consistency. It's easier to adjust before committing to the full recipe.
Cindy Walker
So, SO good - I remember these from my (Alberta) childhood. Rather than whipped cream, we used to eat them with sour cream with a tsp of sugar mixed in. Heaven!
Terri Gilson
Hi Cindy,
That sounds delicious too!
Terri
Susan
Are uou able to bake the sweet filling perogies in an oven without having to boil them first??
Terri Gilson
Hi Susan,
I would not recommend that - they will likely come out tough!
Terri
Colleen
I love this idea. Dessert perogies just make sense, and saskatoon berries even more. If I can find Saskatoon berries in BC, I will definately get some. But if not, I think they will be delicious with blueberries.
nancy
ive never heard of dessert perogies before but think it's a brilliant idea!
Nat
As half-Russian, half-Ukrainian, we used to make perogies with tart cherries. While living in Saskatchewan we tried Saskatoon berries for the first time, and this recipe is a perfect way to utilize them.
Bernice
Oooooh, now we're talking! I'm currently in Winnipeg, which as you might now has some really amazing perogy places. The place we went to had sour cherry and plum perogy but they were missing this prairie favourite.
Terri Gilson
I’m from Winnipeg, Bernice, so I go every summer!And their Saskatoon berry season is even earlier than Calgary so I miss it every year here, then when I get back home.😕 Si fortunate for frozen Saskatoons!!! Those perogies sound awesome, by the way!!!
Shelby
YES! My family is Polish so I grew up with homemade blueberry perogies sprinkled with sugar. They're SO perfect.
Joss
I live in the province of Saskatoon berries so this is such a treat for me! If you haven't had these dessert perogies, you are missing out. My Grandma used to make plum perogies and these remind me of them, total memory food. They taste great.
Vanessa
Where on earth have dessert perogies been all my life? Yum!!!