9 Different Ways to Cook Frozen Pierogies

Pierogies are a traditional Polish food that are basically half-moon pasta pockets stuffed with mashed potatoes. Nowadays you can buy already made frozen pierogies in most grocery stores.

There are so many different flavors available of frozen pierogies. These flavors include but are not limited to 4 cheese, cheese and bacon, feta and spinach, garlic and parmesan, and sour cream and chive.

There are 9 ways to cook frozen pierogies. These methods include boiling then sauteing, just sauteing, just boiling, steaming, baking, microwaving, grilling, deep frying, air frying, and slow cooking in a crock pot.

Let’s go over some common questions about frozen pierogies and the different ways that you can cook pierogies!

Should I thaw pierogies before cooking?

Most pierogies come frozen like Mrs. T’s or Kasia’s brand, but you can also buy freshly made pierogies at specialty shops. The most popular way to cook frozen pierogies is to boil them in water until they float, then sauté them in butter or oil.

I like to sauté sliced bell peppers and onions first in a large frying pan while the pierogies are boiling. Then I use a slotted spoon to scoop the pierogies out of the water and into the hot pan. I will stir them around to mix with the cooked peppers and onions, and this will give the pierogies a nice golden-brown color.

I love to add sliced smoked sausage to the mix, and it is a great one pot dinner with the starch, protein, and vegetables all together! My toddlers were a little hesitant to try pierogies but now they love them!

This is a dinner that I grew up having a lot as a kid, so I have lots of fond memories of pierogies. It was only later that I learned of my Polish heritage, so it made sense that we ate them regularly.

Do you have to boil pierogies before frying them?

You don’t have to boil the pierogies first! You can defrost or thaw them first! To do this, you can place frozen pierogies in the fridge overnight and they will have thawed enough by the next day.

I don’t recommend trying to thaw these in cold water because it could cause the pasta outside to get slimy and make the pasta stick together or fall apart.

Once you pierogies are thawed, you can just sauté them in a pan with butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, or even steam them with water.

How do you cook frozen pierogies, so they are soft?

Sauteing the pierogies will give them a nice firm and crispy outside, but if you are looking for a softer texture, then just boiling them is fine.

Instead of placing the pierogies in another pan and sauteing them, you can eat them after they have been boiled. The pasta is technically already cooked, so boiling the pierogies will take them from frozen to done.

Boiled pierogies can be served with a variety of sauces like an Alfredo sauce or Tomato sauce. The texture will be soft like boiled pasta and depending on the flavor of stuffing inside, they go really well with a little sauce.

Can you steam perogies?

Another option is to steam the pierogies in a double boiler! This will be similar to boiling the pierogies, but in a double boiler, the water is boiling in the bottom pan. Whereas the pierogies are in the top pan that has a slotted bottom.

The texture of the steam pierogies is similar to that of a dumpling where they will have a very soft texture, but slightly firmer then boiling.

This would be a great no oil or butter method to cooking pierogies!

Can frozen perogies be baked?

If you are looking for a new way to eat pierogies, you can try baking them like a casserole! Simply lay out your pierogies along the bottom of a glass casserole dish where they all lay flat.

Then you can top the pierogies with cooked ground beef, ground turkey, ground sausage, or sliced smoked sausage like kielbasa. After the meat is added, you can top with any sauce you like.

We have used jarred salsa, red enchilada sauce, cream of mushroom soup thinned with milk, and alfredo sauce and broccoli!

Can perogies be microwaved?

Yes! Pierogies can be microwaved! This is not my favorite method because you will sometimes end up with hard crunchy corners on your pasta, but it still does work.

Simple place pierogies in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Cook for approximately 7 minutes and then drain the water. Be careful with the water it will be super hot!

The resulting pierogies will taste similar to boiled pierogies and you can eat them as is or go ahead and sauté them.

Can pierogies be grilled?

Yes, pierogies can be grilled! It is best to keep your frozen pierogies frozen before grilling or you may end up with a mess on your hands.

I like to coat my pierogies with a light coating of vegetable oil first to keep them from sticking, but you can also make sure your grill is well oiled.

Grilling is a great way to serve pierogies at a tailgating party and you can throw some smoked sausage on the grill at the same time!

Can you deep fry pierogies?

Yes, you can deep fry pierogies! Since pierogies come frozen you have two different options for deep frying them.

You can fry them while they are still frozen, but keep in mind they will make the oil splatter a lot because oil and water don’t mix well when frying.

To avoid the excessive splatter and mess, I prefer to thaw the pierogies overnight, and then pat them dry before deep frying.

I have found if you heat your oil up to 350 degrees F and then let the pierogies fry for about 3-4 minutes you will end up with perfectly browned pasta. Every fryer is different so you will want to keep an eye on them.

Typically, the pierogies are done when they start to float on top of the oil. The deep frying gives the pierogies a nice crispy crunch and taste similar to fried pasta.

I have been meaning to bread the thawed pierogies and fry them, but I have not had a chance to test that out yet.

Can you cook pierogies in the air fryer?

Yes, you can cook pierogies in an air fryer! The best way to air fry the pierogies is keep them frozen but toss them in oil first. You won’t need a lot of oil, but just enough to coat them so they don’t stick to each other.

I like to set the air fryer to 400 degrees F and cook for 12-14 minutes total. I usually check on them halfway through and shake the basket to stir them and keep them from sticking into one huge pierogi ball.

This is not my favorite method of cooking pierogies because similar to microwaving, you can end up with very hard and crunchy corners. The texture of the cooked pierogies comes out a little dry to me, so feel like cooking them in the air fryer isn’t really worth the time.

Now if you were wanting to cut down on your oil intake or did not have access to a stove or oven, then using an air fryer would at least get the job done.

Can you cook pierogies in a crock pot or slow cooker?

Yes, you can cook pierogies in your favorite crockpot or slow cooker! The best way that I have found to use a slow cooker is to start with frozen pierogies.

Lay the frozen pierogies across the bottom of a slightly greased slow cooker insert. Then top with 1 stick of butter that has been cut into slices and sliced yellow onion.

Put the lid on the pot, and then let cook on high for 3-4 hours. The result is a buttery lightly sautéed texture of the cooked pierogies.

Keep in mind, that your pierogies may fall apart more than other cooking methods, but they still taste fantastic!

What is the best way to cook frozen pierogies?

As a huge pierogi lover, I am more likely to boil and then sauté them. I feel like the texture comes out the best this way.

In all honesty, I truly feel that any way you cook a pierogies will turn out great. I am a big fan of Mrs.T’s pierogies and I regularly stock up on them whenever they are on sale.

It is actually one of the few convenience type foods that I buy, but I only buy them at a good price. The ingredients are mostly good, but they do have a lot of sodium per serving.

I need to see if it is cheaper to make pierogies then buy them, so I will update on that experiment at a later date!

If you are looking for full recipes for pierogies, head over to Mrs. T’s website because they have a HUGE amount of recipes using all 8 cooking methods that we discussed.

For more ideas for meal planning, check out “What to Serve with Onion Rolls? 21+ Yummy Ideas!” and “Skip the Fruit: 52 Unique Mix-Ins for Cottage Cheese!“