Cheesy pierogi lasagna uses noodles instead of dough for a pierogi-inspired dish. Filled with cheese and potatoes, it is classic comfort food. Freeze leftovers for a quick weeknight meal!
I LOVE pierogies (or vareniki if you’re Doukhobor). However, making homemade vareniki is a full-day chore that involves forming the dumplings by hand, then boiling them, before frying them. I just don’t have time for all of that work whenever I feel like eating the comforting blend of cheese and potatoes.
Oddly enough, pierogi lasagna was something I came across in a hospital cafeteria. Back when I worked in healthcare planning, a good portion of my time was spent in hospitals.
Pierogi lasagna was a dish that one particular hospital served on a weekly basis. I visited often since I happened to be working on both cancer care delivery and the development of a new children’s hospital wing at that site. And I always secretly hoped it was pierogi casserole day!
Freezer friendly
Home-cooked food is always healthier than store-bought instant meals. You know exactly what goes into them. They tend to be lower in salt, sugar, and preservatives. (Potato products tend to be particularly high in sulfites).
However, it’s hard to ignore the pull of a quick and filling meal when you’ve got one kid going to piano lessons and another one at baseball practice.
That’s why Sunday is Make A Freezer Meal day at our house. We always make extra of whatever we have for dinner on Sunday so that we can stick it in the freezer for homemade “instant dinner.” We have a whole lineup of favorite freezer meals from minestrone soup to lasagna.
Pierogi lasagna is another freezer favorite.
Here’s what you need to know to make your own instant dinner:
- Freeze casseroles, uncooked, in small 10″x 7″ square pans. That’s usually enough to feed my family of four. And they’re small enough to defrost in the fridge. I own some glass casseroles with plastic freezer lids. However, buying tinfoil containers works as well.
- If you can plan ahead, move the casserole to the fridge 1 to 2 days before you want to serve it. Then it will be mostly defrosted before you cook it. Cook defrosted casseroles for 10 minutes longer than the total cooking time in the recipe.
- Casseroles can be heated up directly from the freezer. Just cover the casserole in tin foil, then stick it in the oven during the preheat cycle. A small casserole will cook from frozen in about an hour, depending on your oven. Mine’s not the hottest, so it may go quicker if you have a convection setting.
Cheesy Pierogi Lasagna
Pierogi lasagna is classic comfort food at its best. The dish is stuffed with potato and cheese, for a simplified version of a pierogi. It’s also a perfect make-ahead meal for the freezer. See the section above for details on how to cook from frozen.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 8 large floury potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup cream
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
Remaining Ingredients
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 package of lasagna noodles (can be GF)
- 2 cups cottage cheese (or kefir cheese, see notes)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until soft. Then mash with the cream and garlic. Add the salt and pepper, to taste.
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the rest of the dish.
- Fry the onions on low, until they are nicely caramelized.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the lasagna noodles until soft. If using gluten-free noodles, follow the cooking instructions on the box.
- When the noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water. Then store them in cold water to prevent sticking while you prepare the rest of the lasagna.
- Build the casserole in an 11 x 9 lasagna dish. The layers are as follows:
- A single layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom
- A layer with 1/2 the mashed potatoes
- All of the fried onions and the cottage cheese
- The second layer of mashed potatoes.
- A final layer of lasagna noodles and finish with the cheddar cheese.
- If you want to freeze the pierogi lasagna, cover it with an airtight lid and freeze it before baking.
- Bake the lasagna at 350F for 40 min, until the cheese is browning.
- Serve with sour cream, chives, and a vegetable side dish.
Notes
- I usually make this dish with homemade kefir cheese. It adds a delicious tanginess.
- If you’re into DIY, then try making buttermilk cultured cottage cheese and homemade sour cream.
- Looking for a more savory casserole? Fry up 2 cups of sliced mushrooms with the onions.
Keywords: simple, easy, gluten free, vegetarian, egg-free, wheat free, party food, comfort food, winter, fall
I see that you mentioned featuring this recipe to use your kefir cheese. Could you clarify if you are using it in place of chedder cheese, cottage cheese, or sour cream?
I would use it instead of the cottage cheese. However, you could also culture cream with kefir and use that for sour cream.
Thank you very much for the wonderful gluten free recipes.
★★★★★
Thanks!
This recipe is labeled Gluten Free but it is not!
Hi Tracy, I’ve been GF since 2009 and pretty much everything on my website is made GF with the exception of a few token sourdough and beer recipes. As a fermentation website, I feel like I have to cover all the bases. 🙂 To make this recipe GF, just use GF lasagne noodles. I like the flat ones by Catelli. Cheers!
How long do you soak the Catelli gf noodles in warm water? Also there is no amount for the butter.
Oops! I will fix the recipe. I rewrote it to use cream instead of butter and milk. I love the GF Catelli noodles. I soak them in warm water for 10-20 minutes. Just be sure to stir a few times because they will still stick together.
I enjoyed the information found on this page. I also wondered if you could water your plants with whey once in a while.
Yes! Acid-loving plants will love whey.