Potato, Bacon and Caramelised Onion stuffed Vareniki. These little pockets of joy are Ukrainian cousins of Polish Pierogi. 
Let me introduce you to little pockets of heaven aka Vareniki. You might know them by another name Pierogi. Vareniki (plural) are Polish pierogi’s Ukarainian cousins. What is the difference?
Well I can’t really tell you. I was going to say fillings but the filling in these little dumplings are mostly dependent on regions and the cooks, so not a lot of difference I suppose.
Funnily enough, I didn’t learn about the existence of pierogi until I went to college in the States and met my husband, who being Canadian, was very excited to educate me about Canada and Canadian food. Pierogi was one of those things he was talking about with great enthusiasm.
What he described though sounded amazingly similar to Ukrainian vareniki that are so popular in Russian, and I couldn’t understand for the life of me how Canada could claim them as their national food!!
After a little digging though I realised the dumplings were Polish pierogi. Another surprise because in Russian pierogi are delicious pastries baked in oven, stuffed buns of sorts.
First time Brad brought me home as a girlfriend, he was extremely excited to make pierogi for me, so he pulled out a bag out the freezer and got to cooking. Sadly, I couldn’t match his excitement as I bit into my first one. Thick, rubbery dough and a bland potato filling.
Wow, I thought to myself, if he likes that travesty, what would he think of the real deal?! So I got all the needed ingredients out of his mum’s pantry and made the homemade vareniki. Everything was done and cleaned before his parents got home.
I truly believe I know the moment Brad’s parents fell in love with me…after tasting my homemade vareniki.
From that point on they were on my side, cheering me on, supporting me in every way possible. That, my friends, is the power of a well-made dumpling.
That happened 18-19 years ago and I still remember that first batch of vareniki I made for my future husband’s family. I filled them with mashed potatoes, caramelised onions and fried mushrooms.
Today I am sharing my recipe, and this time I swapped mushrooms for bacon because BACON!!!
We had friends over last Saturday and I made a multiple-course Russian feast but Vareniki fried in butter were definitely the centerpiece.
The difference between shop made and homemade pierogi/vareniki
I do not have the words to describe the difference between frozen pierogi/vareniki and homemade ones but let me try. The dough I think is where it starts.
First of all, the frozen, commercially produced dumplings need to be made thicker to remain intact, which comes at the huge expense of the quality.
The homemade dough is thinner, softer, more pliable and infinitely tastier. The filling is where you can get creative! Use your imagination but whatever you do, flavour those potatoes or they will be BLAND! I added butter, salt, pepper, fried bacon and caramelised red onions.
I don’t need to go on telling you the vareniki tasted fantastic! Traditionally they are served pan fried in butter with crispy onions and sour cream.
Yes, not exactly the diet food but I make mine about once in three years, so when I do, I do not hold back! I also had sauerkraut on the side as the slightly sour taste balances out the richness of vareniki. If you are curious to make your own, my sauerkraut recipe is easy to follow!
Are vareniki expensive to make?
Apart from being so delicious, vareniki are also very economical!
They use the cheapest ingredients that go a long way. They are also very filling! Just 3 cups of flour and 5 potatoes made 65 vareniki!!
If you are slightly intimidated to dive into vareniki making, do not be afraid!
I wrote extensively about the dumpling making process when I shared my Meat Dumplings Pelmeni, so feel free to take a look at another delicious recipe and photos!
You don’t need to crimp the edges for them to taste good, simply fold the dough over the filling and pinch hard like you see in the photo below.
Or watch this video to learn how!!
I hope you enjoy them and tell me everything about it in the comment section!
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg large
- 1 cup cold water
For the filling
- 5 potatoes
- 2 tbsp butter
- 5 strips/100g bacon
- 1 onion chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and boil the potatoes until fork tender. While the potatoes are boiling, make the dough.
- In a food processor pulse flour and salt. With the motor running add the egg through the tube and then cold water. Let the processor do its work for a minute until the dough forms around the blade.
- Transfer the dough into a bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, make the filling. Frying the bacon and chop it up, then slowly cook the onion in the bacon fat over very low heat for 20 minutes until the onions are caramelised.
- Mash the potatoes, add butter, bacon, onions and mix well, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide the dough into quarters and form your quarters into balls.
- Take one dough ball and roll it out on a well floured surface in a thin sheet approximately 1/16" in thickness. Keep the rest of the dough covered to avoid drying out.
- Cut out circles with a 2" to 3" cookie or scone cutter. Put a teaspoon of potato filling into each dough circle, slightly off-centre, fold the dough over to form a half-moon shape and pinch the edges shut with your fingertips. If you want a more attractive look go over the edge one more time and this time pinch the edges together using your two fingers and a thumb and twist them to form a ruffled edge.
- Repeat with the remaining dough circles until you run out of both dough and the filling. You should have about 65 vareniki.
- Set aside a needed amount of pelmeni for dinner and freeze the rest in a well floured and air-tight container to prevent sticking.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt drop vareniki into rapidly boiling water and stir to prevent them sticking to the bottom, once they float to the top, drain and pan fry in butter over medium heat until golden on both sides.
- Serve with sour cream, dill and crispy fried onions or shallots.
- *Cook the remaining vareniki from frozen.
Anastasya says
I followed your recipe exactly, minus the food processor part (used a standing mixer), but my dough is so elastic. I let it rest 45 minutes and then put it into the refrigerator over night because it was not usable. This morning it is still elastic and unusable. Is there a way to salvage it or should I start again?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Hi Anastasya, I am not sure what you mean by the elastic dough because ‘elastic” seems like a good thing to me. Is it too sticky? If that is the case, you can add more flour… 1/4 cup at a time and see if it’s useable. I hope this helps!
Anastasya says
Hi, Julia. The dough won’t hold its shape – it shrinks, which makes it difficult to roll it out. What would cause it to shrink?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
It could be the type of flour used or perhaps too much flour. When you measure it with a cup do you spoon the flour into it or do you use the cup as a scoop. The latter method is incorrect and can result in too much flour being packed into a measuring cup. The difference could be up to 30g per cup, so if you multiply it by 4 you end up with more than 100g of extra flour.
Darren Moloney says
I am going to make this tonight for my Kazakh partner as a surprise, but how many onions are needed for this recipe? And also, is it white or red onion?
vikalinka says
One onion, Darren and either red or white onion will do.
Monica says
This was the assigned food for my daugther for thier school exhibit and as i browse the recipe i was directed to your youtube channel, i picked your recipe for the outcome in photo really looks yummy and i wasnt wrong, however i would like to ask if it isnt crispy in real? I want to try to make the dough crispy maybe i need to deep fry.
vikalinka says
Hi Monica, I am so happy you tried making vareniki and enjoyed them. To answer your question, traditionally these dumplings are not supposed to be crispy. As I mentioned in the recipe, they are usually pan fried in butter or oil although there is a bit of a golden crust that forms as a result of frying. I’ve never tried deep frying them and not sure how it would work.
Emma Warrener says
I’d like to make these for a dinner party as a starter. Can I make them then freeze the dough, defrost and cook on the night? Many thanks
vikalinka says
Hi Emma, these are literally made for freezing! Just make sure you freeze them in a single layer well dusted with flour. You shouldn’t defrost them though. Boil them from frozen, then finish in a pan like the recipe suggests.
Emma Warrener says
Thank you so much
vikalinka says
You are welcome!! Let me know how they turn out!
Russianmama says
You’re so welcome. Thank you for taking your time to post this recipe. My husband loved it.
vikalinka says
My pleasure!
Russianmama says
This is an EXCEPTIONAL dough recipe. Like I had to comment that’s how delicious the vareniki came out. Thank you ! This is a go to from now on.
vikalinka says
Aw, thank you so much! That means a lot coming from a Russianmama! 😉
Tiana @ yumofchina.com says
It is not easy to make dumplings wrappers. I would like to buy them first. I always have steamed dumplings.
vikalinka says
The dough I am sharing here is actually pretty easy!! Steamed Chinese dumplings sound amazing. I still remember a ‘dumpling only’ restaurant I visited in Beijing years ago. I was in heaven!
vera bentley says
ive spent my life luving just onion & potato vareniki, but i think if i was to get my hubby to eat them (happily) il have to try making them with bacon! julia – youre such an expert! biggest thanx xx
vikalinka says
Thank you for your sweet comment! I am sure your husband would love them, Vera! Mine does!
Maria says
Love you recipes can’t wait to try them, be quite different from our Italian meals. Thanks for sharing. Maria
vikalinka says
Thanks so much, Maria! I love Italian food as well!! 🙂