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Homemade Vareniki (Pierogi)

How to make and serve homemade vareniki
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5 from 3 reviews

Vareniki are an Eastern European version of pierogi. They can be stuffed with a wide variety of delicious fillings, ranging from traditional potato and cheese to fresh berries! They also freeze well for a homemade “instant” meal. 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 egg (see notes for a vegan option)
  • 1/2 cup milk (+ 2 Tbsp if needed)
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Fillings

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add in the egg, milk, and oil. If the dough seems overly dry add an additional 1-2 Tbsp of milk. The amount of liquid required will depend on the type of flour.
  2. Knead for 5 minutes until you get a nice smooth dough. Cover with a damp towel, and allow the dough to rest while you prepare your fillings.
  3. Fillings can include cottage cheese, sautéed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, or fresh berries! We make so many different fillings that I decided they needed their post. Here are my 10 favorite pierogi fillings.
  4. To form the vareniki, roll out your dough to 1/4″ thick. Using a biscuit cutter or a large drinking glass, cut out 4-inch circles. Put 1 Tbsp of filling in the center of each circle. Fold the circle in half to make a semi-circle and seal the edges. See the section above for tips and tricks on forming vareniki and freezing them for storage.

Cooking Vareniki

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop 4 to 8 vareniki into the water. Avoid crowding them or they might stick together. Boil until they float (about 5 minutes for fresh, 8 minutes for frozen).
  2. Scoop the boiled vareniki out of the water with a slotted spoon. Place them in a small bowl to drain, then move them to a casserole dish after a minute or two. Drizzle the vareniki with oil or butter to prevent them from sticking together.
  3. Either keep the vareniki warm in the oven or pan-fry with onions.
  4. Serve fresh and hot with sour cream.

Notes

  • Vegan option: Homemade vareniki can easily be made without eggs or milk. Just use water instead of milk, and don’t worry about replacing the egg in the dough, just add a little extra water as needed. The vegan option works best with white flour as the gluten content makes up for the lack of egg. (I’ve made the vegan version with spelt, the results weren’t awful, but they had trouble holding in the filling).
  • Normally white flour is used for vareniki, but I’ve made this recipe with wholewheat and spelt flour. However, it won’t work with gluten-free flour. Use my gluten-free pierogi recipe instead.
  • For a rich-tasting dough, replace the milk with whey. It’s traditional to use the whey from homemade dry curd cottage cheese… and it’s definitely the way our baba made them!

Find it online: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/homemade-pierogi/