Introducing the best-ever Cheesy Potato Pierogies!
I grew up in a Polish family eating traditional homemade pierogies made by my grandmother. I was really excited to try and make my own gluten-free and dairy-free version, that tasted just the same.
Core and Rind‘s Cashew Cheesy Sauce was the perfect replacement in our traditional cheese and potato filling recipe. As well, unsweetened plain coconut yogurt perfectly replaces the sour cream component in the dough, filling, and topping. I tried Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour to make the dough, and it worked out great! This entire recipe came together beautifully, you wouldn’t even know it was dairy and gluten-free!
A little bit about the “Cheese”:
Core and Rind is a plant-based cashew cheese sauce company based out of the US. As of November 30, 2020 they have announced their launch into the Canadian market! The company was created and is run by two women, Rita and Candi. Fun fact: They are also my fellow Academy of Culinary Nutrition alumni! After completing the Culinary Nutrition Expert course through the Academy, they set off to develop this company. They are a huge success, and I’m so happy for them to be expanding their market.
Candi and Rita sent me some samples of their cheesy sauces to try out. Immediately I knew I wanted to try one in a pierogi recipe. With fingers crossed, I dove in… and it came out perfectly on the first try! Yay!
What I love about this company is the ingredients are all REAL, whole foods. I can recognize and pronounce each one of them. It is dairy-free and is a great alternative to regular cheese. The texture is smooth and creamy.
The cheesy cashew sauces come in 3 different flavours: Sharp & Tangy, Rich & Smoky, and Bold & Spicy. You will soon be able to find them at Well.ca, Healthy Planet, Amazon.ca, Pusateri’s, and The Big Carrot.
Now for the recipe…
The recipe makes about 60 small pierogies, which is perfect so that you can freeze some to eat at a later date. Growing up, we always had frozen homemade pierogies in the freezer ready to eat year-round. Simply thaw, sautee, and enjoy!
I’ve included plenty of photos following the recipes below, so you can easily visualize some of the steps.
I hope you love this recipe just as much as I do!!
Pierogi Dough – gluten-free, dairy-free
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain coconut yogurt I like President's Choice
- 2/3 cup unsweetened plain almond milk, at room temperature you could use any plant-based milk
- 1 egg, at room temperature, beaten I also prepare a second egg separately to have on hand to help moisten edges when closing the dough
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour if using another gluten-free blend, check to make sure there is xanthan gum in it – if not, add 1 tsp. xanthan gum to the mix
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut yogurt, milk, egg, and salt, and whisk together until well combined.
- Slowly pour 1/3 of the flour into the liquid mixture, mixing constantly to combine well. Repeat for the second 1/3, and then the last. I like to get my hands in there to help combine the last of it really well as it will be thick and sticky at this point.
- Prepare a clean surface on your counter, lightly dusted with more of the gluten-free flour blend. Place the dough on the floured surface, and with floured hands knead the dough until it becomes easier to handle and less sticky.
- Form a ball. Put it back in the bowl and cover with plastic. Allow it to rest. I put mine in the fridge overnight but this isn't necessary.
- While it rests, prepare the appropriate filling (see recipe below).
- Enjoy savory pierogies with a dollop of unsweetened coconut yogurt, and/or sauteed onions. If you've used a sweet filing, you could eat them will a scoop of vanilla coconut yogurt, drizzled chocolate sauce, or sprinkle icing sugar on-top.
Cheesy Potato Pierogi – Gluten-free, Dairy-free
Ingredients
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into medium chunks about 1-1 1/2 large potatoes
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain coconut yogurt I like Presidents Choice brand
- 1/2 cup Core and Rind's "Rich & Smoky" Cashew Cheesy Sauce
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- optional garnish: about 2 tbsp. yellow onion to sautee per 5 pierogies
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Boil until you can easily pierce a potato with a fork. Drain the water out and let them cool. (I put the whole pot, covered, just outside of my front door and they cooled off quickly).
- In a medium frying pan, add grapeseed oil and onion, and sautee on medium heat for about 6 minutes until the onion is translucent.
- Once the potatoes are cool, mash them. Add the cooked onions, coconut yogurt, Core and Rind Rich and Smokey Cashew Cheesy Sauce, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
- When your dough and filling are both ready, flour a clean counter surface with the gluten-free flour blend. Remove the ball of dough. Cut it in half, and then half again, creating 4 smaller pieces.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. It's even better if you can prepare 2 cookie sheets. Have your second beaten egg in a bowl handy.
- Take one piece, mold it into a ball, and then using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough until it's about 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a cup, or a clean old tin can (we have one clean and labeled as the pierogi cutter, sitting in our pantry), to cut round circles out of the dough.
- Take the circle in one hand, and with the other fill the middle of the dough with about 1 tbsp. of filling (use your judgement as to how much is appropriate – it will all depend on how big your circles were cut).
- If you prepared a second beaten egg, this is where it comes in handy. Brush the inside edges of the circle with some egg, fold over the dough in half (be careful not to try and stretch the dough, it will tear), and lightly pinch the edges together.
- Place the formed pierogi on the parchment paper. Repeat the steps above until you have formed all of the pierogies. As you need more dough, roll out another quarter.
- Bring a medium to large pot of water to a boil and reduce to a light boil. Add about 1 tbsp. of olive oil to the water and a few pinches of salt.
- Place about 6 pierogies in the water, and allow them to boil until they float to the surface (about 3 minutes). Scoop them out with a slotted spoon (to allow excess water to drip out) and place them on a plate with paper towel. Transfer to second prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until you have boiled all of the pierogies.
- If you want to freeze the pierogies to enjoy later, put the whole cookie sheet into the freezer for about 1 hour. And then transfer the pierogies into ziplock bags. I like to portion 5 per bag, for individual servings.
- TO COOK the FRESH pierogies: Heat a medium sized pan with 1 tbsp. oilive oil or butter. When hot, add the pierogies, immediately starting to move them around so they don't stick. Saute on each side for about 2 minutes, until a golden crispy layer has formed.
- TO COOK the FROZEN pierogies: Unthaw, and repeat steps above.
- Enjoy with a dollop of unsweetened coconut yogurt, and/or sauteed onions.
I’ve added some additional photos here below to accompany the above recipes, to help you get a visual of how it all came together.
