What To Serve With Perogies? – The 15 Best Pierogi Side Dishes

Whilst in the supermarket or when looking for recipes online you may have stumbled across perogies (or pierogi as they’re also known). These delicious dough parcels are quite delicious and incredibly versatile. However, if you don’t know what to do with them, then you may be unsure how to properly use them in a meal. Don’t worry though, below we’ll go through what to serve with perogies.

Table of Contents

• What Are Perogies?
  • Fillings For Perogies
  • What Goes With Perogies?
• What To Serve With Perogies?
  • Bacon And Onions
  • Greek Cucumber Salad
  • Sour Cream With Sauteed/Fried Onions And Mushrooms
  • Kielbasa
  • Steamed Vegetables
  • Cabbage And Bacon
  • Cranberry Relish
  • Slow Roasted Tomatoes
  • Pork Chops With Apple Chutney
  • Cream With Butter And Sugar
  • Carrots With Parsnips And Brussels Sprouts
  • Polish Coddle
  • Walnut And Aubergine (Eggplant) Wraps 
  • Nachos
  • Caramelized Onions
• Now We Know What Goes With Perogies
• FAQ – What To Serve With Perogies?

What Are Perogies?

Perogies are somewhat similar to Asian dumplings in that they are small unleavened parcels made from flour or pastry dough that are stuffed with a variety of fillings. However, instead of being Asian in origin, perogies are instead from Poland and can often form the foundation of a delicious meal.

The benefit of perogies is that they can come in a variety of different flavours. Traditionally, they will be stuffed with mashed potatoes and cheese, however, they will often be found filled with meat and or vegetables as well. Additionally, sweet perogies also exist, which are typically filled with fruit.

Fillings For Perogies

• Mashed potatoes and cheese
• Pork
• Veal 
• Beef
• Chicken
• Duck
• Lamb
• Goose
• Mushrooms
• Sauerkraut
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Various Berries
• Apples
• Apricots

What Goes With Perogies?

Perogies can be filled with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meat as mentioned above. Additionally, they can also be cooked and served in a myriad of ways including fried and boiled perogies. As such, near enough any side dishes or dipping sauce options you desire can work with even frozen perogies to create a meal that is truly delicious.

What To Serve With Perogies?

1. Bacon And Onions
2. Greek Cucumber Salad
3. Sour Cream With Mushrooms And Fried Onions
4. Kielbasa
5. Steamed Vegetables
6. Cabbage And Bacon
7. Cranberry Relish
8. Slow Roasted Tomatoes
9. Pork Chops With Apple Chutney
10. Cream With Butter And Sugar
11. Carrots With Parsnips And Brussel Sprouts
12. Polish Coddle
13. Walnut And Eggplant Wraps 
14. Nachos
15. Caramelized Onions

Naturally, the options presented here are not a comprehensive list as near enough anything can be served with the appropriately flavoured pierogi. However, here are simply some of the best and most popular options of what goes deliciously well with perogies.

Bacon And Onions

The most traditional and often most popular pierogi dish recipes. This recipe uses the classic mashed potatoes and cheese perogies as its foundation and serves it with smokey bacon and sweet caramelized onions. 

To accomplish this the bacon will be fried, following which the onions should be sauteed in the leftover bacon grease. This side dish is excellent as it provides a contrast of sweet and savoury flavours to the preexisting flavours of the perogies themselves.

However, in order to truly elevate this side dish option, you can add some fresh herbs. Some good options include parsley, basil, thyme and rosemary, each of which will add a subtle earthiness to the dish.

Greek Cucumber Salad

For a more Greek feel, one of the best side dishes to serve with fried perogies is Greek cucumber salad. This side dish will naturally include cucumbers along with Greek yoghurt, fresh lemon juice and dill.

Additionally, to really enhance the Mediterranean feel of this side dish option you can incorporate olive oil, red onion, oregano and vinegar. On top of which you can also finish with slightly more fresh lemon juice.

Sour Cream With Sauteed/Fried Onions And Mushrooms

Like bacon and onions, sour cream and onions is a classic side dish for traditional perogies. However, this option can also be enhanced by the addition of mushrooms. 

To make, simply sauté your onions and mushrooms in butter before adding in your sour cream and some seasonings of choice. This makes for an excellent earthy side dish that is delicious on its own. However, when used as a topper for perogies, it creates something truly special. 

Kielbasa

Kielbasa is a deliciously plump and flavourful smoked sausage that originates from Poland. Naturally, this makes it perfect for eating alongside perogies. 

To make this, place your kielbasa and perogies, along with some vegetables like bell peppers and onions on a baking sheet. Following which coat them in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Then bake for fifteen minutes.

Steamed Vegetables

One of the most simple yet delicious side dishes for perogies is some steamed vegetables. To make this really flavourful, however, whilst steaming the vegetables you should prepare a light butter coating.

To do this, heat up some melted butter and add some garlic powder. If you want to really elevate things though, you can add some grated lime peel, lime juice, salt, pepper and serrano to the mix.

Once the vegetables are steamed and ready, the still-warm butter mixture can be poured on top of them. This flavour will not be massively overpowering but will certainly add a little extra taste to your dish.   

Cabbage And Bacon

The process for making this is German-inspired side dish is incredibly simple and similar to that of the aforementioned bacon and onions. However, the inclusion of cabbage instead of onions makes for a greener and crispier side dish that is slightly earthy.

Take make this simply fry your bacon, following which you can sautee your cabbage in the bacon grease. However, whilst cabbage is typically crunchier than onions, it can be less flavourful. As such when making this dish you can add butter, garlic powder and paprika to elevate the taste.

Cranberry Relish

Whether homemade, cranberry relish is perfect to serve with perogies. This is because the tangy and sweet nature of the relish can beautifully complement and contrast particularly savoury and meaty pierogi variants.

From a presentation perspective, the cranberry relish makes an excellent choice. This is because the bright red can really add some vibrancy to a plate of perogies.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Another very simple option as far as side dishes go is to serve perogies with some slow-roasted tomatoes. That said this process can take a while, but it’s worth it. This is because when roasted, the natural flavour of the tomatoes will be enhanced without becoming overpowering.

To get the best out of your roasted tomatoes, slice them in half and lay them middle down on a baking tray. Following this, lightly season with olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, pepper and potentially a little sugar. Then once roasted for an hour they will be ready to serve with perogies.

Pork Chops With Apple Chutney

A normal side dish option for perogies is apple sauce. However, this can be elevated somewhat by using apple chutney instead. This leads to the question of what else it typically served with apple sauce or chutney?

Pork chops of course. As such a small portion of pork chops and apple chutney can make the ideal complimentary dish for perogies. In order to maximise the taste though, spiced pork chops will add more rich and diverse flavours than plain ones.

Cream With Butter And Sugar

This option is ideal for serving with fruit-filled perogies. This is because these will enhance and complement the flavours of the pierogi fillings without overpowering them.

To serve with perogies, sprinkle the sugar on top first then add a dollop of butter and cream or potentially whipped cream. If you wish to take this idea even further, you could also grate some chocolate shavings on top. This will add a little extra flavour along with making it even more aesthetically pleasing.

Carrots With Parsnips And Brussels Sprouts

This trio of vegetables provides a range of contrasting yet complementary flavours to your perogies. The parsnips and carrots provide earthy and sweet flavours respectively, meanwhile, the brussels sprouts add a nuttiness.

Additionally, when caramelized in maple syrup, these vegetables take on a deliciously crispy texture and have an even better sweet flavour. This is simply and quickly done in the oven but really helps them to stand out whilst not being overpowering. 

Polish Coddle

Coddle is a regional stew from Ireland. This hearty stew often features thick-cut bacon, along with sausages as its central ingredients. As such, it is quite simple to put a Polish twist on this traditional Irish stew.

To do so, you could make your coddle with kielbasa, the Polish sausage mentioned above. Additionally, to truly make it polish could add potatoes and cabbage. The end result is a coddle that has a rich meaty and garlic flavour from the kielbasa, a heartiness from the potatoes and green colour from the cabbage.

Once ready the perogies can float on top of the coddle. This will provide excellent contrast between the flavours of the stew and the smoothness of the perogies.

Walnut And Aubergine (Eggplant) Wraps

When served with vegetable perogies, these can make for an excellent vegetarian and vegan option. This is because the aubergine will give some flavour whilst the walnuts add something of a “meatiness”. This is further enhanced through the use of seasonings with some good options being fenugreek, coriander, white pepper and saffron.

Nachos

For a slightly unusual twist on perogies, they can act as a delicious yet distinctive substitute for nachos.

In order to do this, simply deep fry your perogies until nice and crisp. Following which they will be ready to plate up and cover with your favourite nacho toppings. These can include classic options such as salsa, sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos and of cause, lots of cheese. However, a personal favourite is pulled pork or pulled brisket.

Caramelized Onions

Whilst these can be incorporated into many of the side dish options above, caramelized onions can also be an excellent option for a side dish in their own right.

Caramelized Onions are made by slowly cooking onions until they slightly melt into a soft yet deep brown colour. Often these will be cooked in butter and oil along with seasonings such as salt, garlic and thyme.

Now We Know What Goes With Perogies

As we’ve established above, perogies can be used with near enough anything. Whether that be traditional options like bacon and sauteed mushrooms or kielbasa, to the slightly unusual option of using them in place of nachos. 

Ultimately, however you plan to use perogies, we’re sure you’ll love them. Especially so if you experiment. So whether you’ve never had them before or they’re you’re favourite food, why not try something new?

FAQ – What To Serve With Perogies?