This homemade vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi recipe is rich in flavor. Hello tempeh bacon! They have no prepackaged vegan cheese products and are totally nut free. All it takes is some basic plant based staple pantry items to put these together.
Similar to the Vegan Mushroom Sauerkraut Pierogi recipe, we’ll walk through the process of making this vegan pierogi filling recipe, folding the pierogi, and finally, boiling them.
This recipe takes time (3-4 hours). We average 25-30 pierogi. While it isn’t hard to make, it does take some time to put together. It’s a nice activity to share with friends and family. And it definitely speeds things up to share the process!
A few notes…
- ・Before you start this recipe, you’ll need to make a batch of vegan pierogi dough. It is super easy. Once the dough is resting, it’s time to start working on the vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi filling.
- ・For the filling, you can either make a batch of Easy Tempeh Bacon or use a prepackaged vegan bacon, like Lightlife Smoky Tempeh Strips. If you use a prepackaged vegan bacon, you may need to add additional white miso and/or salt to the filling.
- ・The recipe for Easy Tempeh Bacon needs hours to marinate, but it tastes so good in these pierogi. Then, simply fry up the tempeh bacon in a skillet, allow it to cool off, and then, crumble it into little pieces. It should make ~1 cup of tempeh bacon crumbles.
- ・Want to freeze the uncooked pierogi? A UVK follower reported great success freezing this recipe. I have not tried it with this specific recipe, but recently, I tested freezing the beet pierogi, and it worked out very well. From what I learned, I would recommend placing the uncooked pierogi on a lightly floured, parchment lined cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. This will keep them from sticking together. After they are frozen, add them to a sealed container or bag, and place them back in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, add them to boiling water.
・Want to pan fry them? Melt some vegan butter in a non-stick skillet over low heat. Boil the vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi. Drain them, and then, add them straight into the skillet with the melted butter. Keep the heat between low and medium-low, and flip them fairly often. When they’re crispy enough for you, they are done!
These vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi taste awesome topped with some vegan sour cream and chopped green onions. I can’t wait for you to try them 💜
Check out more UVK recipes, like Vegan Beet Pierogi, Vegan Potato and Onion Pierogi, Carrot Kasha Pierogi or Vegan Cheesy Grits!
Vegan Cheesy Potato and Bacon Pierogi
1 batch Vegan Pierogi Dough
4 cups peeled and cubed Russet potatoes (OR ~2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed)
4 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp vegan milk
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp white miso
½ tsp dijon mustard
½ tsp garlic powder
1 batch Easy Tempeh Bacon, pan fried in a skillet and crumbled (see note above for alternatives)
Salt, to taste
1. Make the pierogi dough by following this recipe. While the dough is resting, get started on the vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi filling.
2. Next, add the potatoes to a medium saucepan, and then, fill it with water until the potatoes are submerged. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, and then, turn down to medium-low. Boil for ~10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
3. Drain the water from the potatoes. Add vegan butter and vegan milk. Using a hand-mixer, mash the potatoes until they are smooth. They should be thick. It makes it easier to stuff the pierogi. If they are way, way too thick, add the tiniest bit more of vegan milk, and mix it some more.
4. Add the nutritional yeast, white miso, dijon mustard, and garlic powder. Mix until they are well incorporated.
5. Add the crumbled tempeh bacon. Stir into the potatoes. Taste, and adjust seasonings, if needed (more miso? more nutritional yeast?). Sometimes, I add ¼ tsp salt, but it isn’t always needed.
6. Roll out the dough until it’s about ⅛ inch thick. Use a water glass like a cookie cutter and cut out circles (see photo above). Continue rolling out the dough and cutting out circles until there is no dough left.
7. Stock pile the circles on a clean plate until you’re ready to fill the pierogi. The number of pierogi really depends on the size of the mouth of your glass. We average about 25-30 each time.
8. Once you have all the circles cut out for the pierogi, it’s time to fold them. Start with one of the circles. Re-roll the circle to stretch it out again. Then, place some vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi filling in the center. Leave ample space on all sides (see photo above).
9. Fold one side over the top of the filling until it touches the other side. Press the two edges together until they stick, and press along the entire edge, so the pierogi is sealed (see photo above).
10. If it doesn’t want to stick, wet the edges with water and try pressing them together again.
11. Place the sealed vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi on a plate. While you’re working on filling the pierogi, get a large, deep pot of water boiling. Keep filling and sealing pierogi until all of them are done.
12. Once the pot comes to a rapid boil, place 5-6 pierogi in a strainer, and lower it into pot. Then, use a spatula to very gently loosen them off the bottom of the strainer (sometimes, they like to stick!).
13. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until the pierogi float to the top. Immediately remove strainer full of pierogi from the pot.
14. Serve these vegan cheesy potato and bacon pierogi right out of the boiling water, or after boiling, pop them into a skillet and pan-fry them with vegan butter. Enjoy with vegan sour cream and sliced green onions, or your favorite pierogi toppings.
