Pierogi Sauce: Simple Spinach & Mushroom Cream Sauce

This savory, buttery pierogi sauce bursts with flavor and is the perfect accompaniment to pierogi, ravioli, brown rice, or even biscuits!

This sauce benefits from the umami flavor of the mushrooms browned in butter, along with the salty cream base, set off by the bright flavors of parsley, spinach, and lemon juice.

As a result, the combination yields an impressive sauce that you may just want to use all the time!

Many people enjoy pierogi with sour cream on the side for dipping, and often with fried onions in addition. This simple combination is admittedly quite delicious.

However, I like trying new things, and this simple sauce makes a meal of pierogi seem extra fancy.

What are pierogi?

Pierogi (sometimes called pierogies in English, although in Polish ‘pierogi’ is already plural) are delicious, rich dumplings stuffed with mashed potatoes (usually – see below). Depending on where you are from, they are also called/spelled:

• Polish dumplings
• Peroge
• Perogie
• Pirogi
• Pirohi
• Pyrohy
• Vareniki
• Varenyky (Ukrainian)

Common varieties of pierogi

Since they are a form of dumplings, the possibilities for pierogi are nearly endless. In fact, you can find some of these flavors of pierogi in the frozen aisle of many grocery stores:

• Pierogi Ruskie – These traditional pierogi are stuffed with potatoes and cheese.
• Sauerkraut pierogi
• Potato and onion pierogi
• Mushroom pierogi
• Spinach and ricotta pierogi
• Meat pierogi
• Blueberry pierogi – A sweet treat for dessert!
• Plum pierogi – a Ukrainian version
• Sardine pierogi – As you’ll see below, these are traditional fare for Ukrainian Christmas Eve.

Nowadays, foodies make some pretty fancy pierogi using all kinds of gourmet ingredients, in addition to making them with foraged ingredients.

You can read a little more about pierogi in Polish culture here, as well as some of the delicious flavors!

When you find pierogi at a restaurant, they often come lightly pan-fried and crispy, or sometimes even deep fried.

You can use these same methods when cooking frozen pierogi, or you can bake them. You can also boil them like a richer version of ravioli.

Boiling is the fastest way to get frozen pierogi ready to eat, so consequently, that is how I cooked the ones pictured here.

If you make this recipe with one box of frozen pierogi, as I did, you will end up with leftover sauce. Once the pierogi are gone, try it as a gravy over biscuits, or over brown or wild rice, or even over French fries to make a mushroom poutine.

As mentioned above, you could also use this sauce to top ravioli, a cousin of pierogi.

What are other sauces and toppings you could use on pierogi?

Traditional Pierogi Sauce/Toppings

People often serve pierogi with:

• Melted butter
• Sour cream
• Fried onions, sometimes crispy
• Caramelized onions
• Green onions
• Bacon
• Greek yogurt
• Breadcrumbs
• Shredded cheese

More modern pierogi sauce options

Nowadays, some people also serve pierogi with:

• Marinara sauce
• Bechamel sauce (this forms the base of my aurora sauce – just don’t add tomato)
• Pesto (I would imagine a dill or parsley pesto might better suit pierogi than a basil pesto)

Or even the more controversial fixings:

• Ranch
• Hot sauce

Dessert Pierogi Sauce

For sweet pierogi, you could try the following toppings:

• Honey
• Powdered sugar
• Jam
• Whipped cream
• Custard or creme anglais
• Chocolate sauce

Variations on this recipe

You can certainly feel free to use any fresh herbs you have or like. Dill would make an outstanding addition, for instance, as would chives.

As always, try adding extra veggies – sautéed shallots or kale would complement this sauce quite well, and I think carrots would too.

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Pierogi in History

The Legendary

Did you know that pierogi have their own patron saint?

They do! Saint Hyacinth, a Dominican priest, features in two versions of the story of how this came to be.

In one version, he arrived in a town struck by famine caused by the Tartar invasion. Notably, he came bearing pierogi, which he gave to feed the starving people.

The alternative (and more elaborate) version states that when St. Hyacinth arrived in this famine starved town (Kościelec in 1238, according to this article), he knelt in prayer along with the townspeople to pray for the crop to be restored (or that it recover from a storm which occurred while he was there – accounts vary).

Lo and behold, the very next day, the wheat began sprouting. In this version, the townspeople fed St. Hyacinth pierogi and gave thanks for the gift of this new crop of wheat.

You may recognize the name St. Hyacinth, since he is also the patron saint of weightlifting and weight lifters.

In that story, the good saint arrived in a war-torn town and saved the Eucharist and the statue of Our Lady.

This feat should have been beyond the strength of one man to carry by themselves, but St. Hyacinth allegedly carried the (presumably very heavy) statue out singlehandedly.

It must have been all the pierogi!

Incidentally, this saint’s stories form the origin of the old Polish phrase, “Święty Jacek z pierogami!” (St. Hyacinth and his pierogi!). This is an exclamation of surprise, in the same vein as “good grief!” or “holy smokes!”

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The Serious Business of Pierogi History

All legends aside, pierogi certainly do have a long history of feeding people in need.

In Poland, pierogi formed a staple dish for people of all classes. They were relatively inexpensive to make and very hearty and nourishing.

Wikipedia notes pierogi’s origin as peasant food, although their popularity grew throughout all social classes. The same legend that stated that St. Hyacinth brought pierogi to Poland claims that he brought them from Kievan Rus, now Ukraine.

Some believe that dumplings in general originated in China, and were brought west along the Silk Road by Marco Polo in the 13th century.

While people have eaten pierogi in Poland since at least the 13th century (pierogi are Poland’s national dish!), they first appeared in a cookbook during the 17th century.

That cookbook featured many more sweet dessert pierogi recipes than savory ones, so clearly people have had a sweet tooth for a long time.

Later, following their popularity in Poland and surrounding areas, Polish immigrants brought pierogi to United States during the Great Depression.

May 1928 marks the first recorded pierogi sale in the US. Andrew Marton, the proprietor of the Marton House Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio, served pierogi in his tavern to unemployed steel mill workers from the Cleveland area.

Pierogi as a fasting dish for Christmas Eve

Pierogi served an important function on holidays, including Christmas Eve, and therefore formed the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Poland.

On certain holidays (including Christmas Eve, for instance), Polish people were supposed to observe fasting and abstinence. This practice dates back to early Catholic Church rules.

What people meant by fasting was abstaining from eating any meat or dairy products; people working on farms, for example, can’t just not eat, especially considering how many fasting holidays existed in the early Catholic calendar.

As a result, vegan pierogi became a common fasting meal that people could eat on these days without breaking their tradition. Many versions included fish, which was a permitted food during these fasts.

To this day, the tradition of eating pierogi for major holidays like Christmas and Easter lives on.

That being said, let’s get cooking!

Pierogi Sauce Ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• 2 cups of mushrooms (I used crimini, also known as baby bella – short for portobello – but any kind is fine)
• 1 cup of baby spinach, packed
• 1/2 a white onion
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup half-and-half (or cream, if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp salt (this yields restaurant-level saltiness, which is delicious, but you could go scant for a healthier version)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Tools and Equipment

• Skillet or frying pan
• Stirring utensil
• Knife and cutting board
• Measuring cups and spoons

How to Make Pierogi Sauce

1. Firstly, wash and chop your mushrooms and parsley. Peel and chop your onion next, then peel and mince the garlic.
2. After that, add the butter to a skillet over medium heat until melted. Then, add in the chopped onion and mushrooms. Once they start sizzling, cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have some nice brown color.
3. Then, add the minced garlic and lemon juice, and turn down the heat to medium-low so the half-and-half won’t curdle.
4. Once the garlic is fragrant, add in the parsley, salt, pepper, and spinach. Cook until the spinach has just barely wilted.
5. At this point, the pan is probably cool enough to add the half-and-half, but you can wait another minute or two to be on the safe side. Once you add it, also stir in the sour cream.
6. Continue cooking just long enough to warm everything through, then serve over pierogi and enjoy!

I hope you love this simple pierogi sauce recipe!