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Perogies with Bacon and Onions (Pierogi)

written by Ashley Fehr

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4.97 from 32 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 servings

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Last updated on September 13, 2022

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This Perogies Recipe with bacon and onions is crazy good — pure comfort food and perfect for a Christmas side dish! 

perogies recipe in black pan overhead on dark wooden background

*I’ve added some updated photos since this recipe was published because the originals just didn’t show how ultra creamy they are!

Call me a cheater, but today I’m not showing you how to make perogies (although I did that waaaaaay back here for these Saskatoon Perogies — my all-time, hands down favorite thing to eat ever).

But I am going to show you one Ridiculously Delish way to cook perogies and serve them at your holiday dinners this month.

I mean, regular old mashed potatoes are great ‘n’ all, but creamy potato and cheese stuffed perogies?!? It’s really the best of all of the worlds.

Traditionally, we either had the store bought potato perogies or, for a really special occasion, my mom would make Vareneki or Vareniki or Wareniki filled with saskatoon berries and sugar and we ate them with a savory, salty, white gravy made from butter and cream.

Any idea why it was my favorite meal ever? 😉

perogies in white pan with bacon and green onions in creamy sauce

Vareniki and perogies (and pierogi) are all essentially the same thing, but one is Ukrainian and one is Polish and then there are all kinds of spellings and misspellings.

I’m taking the easy way out here and calling them Perogies.

Go ahead, get angry.

In reality, you should get excited. Because comfort food has never been this comforting before.

Now, there is a reason these are a treat and not an every day kind of thing. If you eat these every day or even every week and you have a heart attack, you don’t get to blame me. Make them for special occasions or for your Christmas side dish and the whole family will go nuts for them!

Want to bump up the protein? Try this Perogies and Sausage Skillet or these Sheet Pan Perogies and Sausage!

Tips for cooking Perogies:

  • When making perogies, it’s important that you invite all of your closest friends to join you. If you’re left alone with a pan of perogies in bacon and onions and cream, there’s no saying what might happen. You can’t put that one on me.
  • Because I started with frozen perogies (around here, it’s easy to buy frozen, good quality perogies and not necessarily the mass-produced ones), I boil them first and then add them to the pan with the bacon. I know it’s an extra step and an extra pot, but it’s the holidays so the hubs will be around to wash the dishes anyway, right?
  • You can absolutely mix things up and add some veggies to your pan — mushrooms would be great, or broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans…. there are lots of ways to round out this decadent meal.
perogies recipe in white pan overhead on marble background with grey towel on the side
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What is the best way to cook frozen perogies?

I think boiling is the best way to cook frozen perogies — it takes just a few minutes, and they pop right to the top of the water when they’re ready so there’s no second guessing.

You can also add frozen perogies to casseroles and simmer in one pan recipes, but it’s more difficult to get right because it’s tough to know how much water they will release as they cook and may water down sauces or not cook completely.

I would not add them directly to a hot dry pan without a considerable amount of liquid.

What to serve with perogies:

I won’t blame you if you just sit down with the pan and a fork, but here are a few ideas for serving:

Proteins:

  • Roast beef or pot roast with veggies (skip the potatoes on that one)
  • Spiral ham
  • Sausage (traditionally this has been one of the ways we serve it most often)

Side dishes and sauces:

  • Serve with a salad, steamed veggies, or even frozen if you’re feeling the need to bump up the nutritional value.
  • We always add them with cream gravy — but not really necessary with this recipe!
  • Some people enjoy sour cream with perogies, if you’re into that sort of thing.
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Perogies Recipe with Bacon and Onions

written by Ashley Fehr

4.97 from 32 votes
This Perogies Recipe with bacon and onions is crazy good — pure comfort food and perfect for a Christmas side dish! 
perogies with bacon close up
Review
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Side Dish
Servings 4 servings
Calories 315cal

Ingredients

  • 16 potato and cheese perogies frozen
  • 2 slices thick cut bacon diced
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
  • green onions and sour cream to serve as desired

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add frozen perogies and boil for about 3 minutes or until they float to the top.
  • Meanwhile, cook bacon and onion in a large skillet until both are lightly browned. 
  • Remove cooked perogies to a plate lined with paper towel. 
  • Add butter to skillet with bacon and onions, then add perogies in a single layer and brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Whisk together cream, salt and pepper and add to the hot pan once perogies are lightly browned. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly (it will bubble up and thicken fairly quickly, so keep an eye on it!). 
  • Remove from the heat to garnish with green onions if desired and serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 315cal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 109mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 745IU | Vitamin C: 2.3mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Keywords perogies with bacon, pierogi, potato perogies

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth Tillotson says

    Living near Pittsburgh, pierogies make my menu regularly. I usually pan fry them, but this adds a lot of flavor. My family LOVES the change of pace. DH and son are saying they never want to eat theme any other way!
    I usually thaw frozen pierogies in warm water for 10 minutes and dry them carefully on fabric (or paper) towels before frying. You don’t have to go to the trouble of boiling them.
    In this recipe, I removed the toasted pierogies from the skillet and deglazed the pan with a few tablespoons of chicken stock. Then I added the heavy cream and reduced it before adding the pierogies back into the pan. Yum!
    Thank you!

    Reply

  2. wendy hutton says

    we love perogies but I never boil them before frying them I find them mushier that way, my sister does them that way too, I do it the lazy way and just fry them, they are crispier

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Mary Lou! I’ve only tested the recipe as written. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!

      Reply

    • Ashley Fehr says

      Evaporated milk would be the next best substitute. Neither milk nor sour cream would give the same kind of thickness and flavor, but sour cream would be better than milk

      Reply

  6. Karen Fisher Favret says

    Added fresh sugar snap peas and some leftover cooked plain rigatoni pasta with the cream because we only had a dozen Perogies for four people. Delicious! (And much better than last time when we tried frying from frozen. ) Great recipe, and comes together quickly after work. All gone, 2 happy tweens and 2 happy parents 😉 Definite repeat. Thanks!

    Reply

  8. MomInAZ says

    We’re from the southwest and have never had pierogies before. Made it for Thanksgiving as a side dish. My son won’t eat onions so I omitted that, but added fresh thyme at the end to give it a pop. Amazing! No leftovers. Thanks for a wonderful recipe to add to our family favorites. (My son also won’t eat potatoes, but he had 3 helpings of “pasta.”) 🙂

    Reply

  9. silvrhairdevil says

    Haven’t made perogies exactly this way yet but will be soon. I think I’ll use creme fraiche in place of sour cream and caramelize the onions.

    I came here looking for a new idea, so Mission Successful.

    Reply

    • Ashley Fehr says

      You could use milk, but it won’t thicken the same and will be less rich in flavor. You may want to add some corn starch or flour to thicken the sauce

      Reply

  12. krista says

    This is the BEST way to prepare frozen pirogies! I LOCE pirogies but am always underwhelmed when I try to spruce them up myself, this is the ticket!! just AH MAZING. Thank you for making the world a tastier place

    Reply

  13. Steve P says

    What if the Perogies are not frozen? They often sell them here locally fresh in the refrigerated section of the supermarket in several varieties. Right now I have cheddar and onion. Do I just pan fry or do I still have to boil them first?

    Reply

      • Amy says

        M’y favourite foods are pierogi and cabbage rolls! Your recipe is very much as we make it, except for the added cream. Since you are browning the pierogi to crisp them, then why do you need the cream added to the frying pan? Simply adding sour cream on serving at the table is quite adequate to give them that creamy taste.
        IMHO trying to pan fry still-frozen pierogi is a recipe for disaster. You are never certain how it will come out unless you boil them first.

      • Ashley Fehr says

        Sour cream is adequate for those who like sour cream 🙂 I hate sour cream, so I prefer cream. Also, heavy cream creates a thick and dreamy (warm) sauce when it simmers, and it picks up all of the flavor of the bacon and onions in the pan.

  19. Marissa Petersen says

    Oh these sound heavenly! I love pierogies, yes even the frozen kind, and who doesnt love bacon? Combined these just might even make my husband happy. I must make these asap! Thank you!

    Reply

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