Sharing Our Table: Amy’s Plant-Based Pierogi Recipe 

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the dinner table is a place to pause and reconnect. Cooking engages all our senses, helping us get grounded and find gratitude in the present. Especially at the holidays, gathering around a home-cooked meal is a chance to reflect on our fondest memories and make new ones. 

We asked Thrive Market employees to share a holiday recipe that holds special meaning for them, and we’re so excited to share them with you. From our team to your table, we hope you have a joyful season filled with good health and great food.

Thrive Market’s Senior Editorial Writer, Amy, grew up outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where pierogies are a staple on the dinner table at many holiday gatherings. These plump, doughy Eastern European dumplings are stuffed with potatoes and cheese, sauteed in butter and onions, and served topped with garnishes like sauerkraut, sour cream, chives, or applesauce. 

Amy’s grandmother made the pierogies at her family’s Christmas Eve dinner, usually purchased homemade and frozen from the church she attended. Later, her mother learned to make them from scratch, and they started a whole new tradition: setting aside an afternoon around the holidays to make the dough from scratch and enlist a few friends to help form and fill the pierogies before family arrived. “One of my best memories was during the holidays as a kid, waking up and it smelled like butter and onions because my mom was already making the pierogies, and I would come in and help her,” Amy says. “It’s a cute, cozy winter memory.” 

To give her mother’s traditional recipe an update that fits her current eating habits, Amy set out to make a plant-based pierogi recipe for her holiday celebration that’s nostalgic with a modern twist. 

Amy’s Plant-Based Pierogi Recipe 

Yield: 24 pierogies 
Active time: 1 hour 
Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

For the dough:
3 cups Thrive Market Organic All-Purpose Flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
¼ cup vegan butter, melted

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound yellow onions, diced (about 2 medium)
1 large (about 1 pound) russet potato, peeled and diced
¼ cup unflavored cashew milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 clove of garlic, minced
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

For frying:
2-3 tablespoons vegan butter

Optional toppings:
Sauerkraut, dill, chives, applesauce, and/or vegan yogurt or sour cream

Instructions:

To make the dough, stir the flour and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the water and butter to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 6 minutes, until smooth and elastic. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Allow it to rest for 1 hour.

While the dough rests, caramelize the onions. Place the onions and oil into a medium skillet and stir a few times to coat the onions with oil. Set the skillet over medium-low heat. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become very soft and light brown, about 45 minutes.

While the dough rests and the onions caramelize, place the potato into a medium pot and cover with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Allow to cook until the potato is fork tender, about 15 minutes. Don’t overcook it.

Drain the potato into a colander and return it to the pot. Whip the potatoes with a hand mixer and stir in the milk, nutritional yeast flakes, garlic, and salt, making sure not to overwhip.

When the onions are finished cooking, stir them into the potato mixture.

When the dough has sat for 1 hour, split it into 2 halves. Transfer one of halves to a lightly floured surface and roll to a square of about 14 x 14 inches. Cut 3-inch circles using a drinking glass or pastry cutter. Reroll the dough as needed, and repeat with the other half. You should get about 24 circles.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the potato mixture onto each dough round, then fold in half and seal tightly to form a pierogi. Dip a finger in some water and glide around the edges if you have trouble sealing the dough. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pierogies (work in batches if it gets too crowded). Cook the pierogies for 3-4 minutes, until they float to the top, removing each one with a slotted spoon and transferring to a plate as it begins to float.

To fry the pierogies, melt the butter in a large skillet, then add as many pierogies as will fit without crowding. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp. Transfer the pierogies to a paper towel–lined plate. Add butter to the skillet between batches as needed.

Serve with sauerkraut, dill, chives, applesauce, and/or vegan yogurt or cashew cream.