Pierogi Lasagna
Making individual pierogi can be quite a process, but layering potato, sour cream, cheese, bacon, and onions in a baking dish with lasagna noodles can give you a new and unique twist on these flavors with half of the effort! Running your fork through the layers upon layers of creamy potatoes and tender lasagna noodles, watching the buttery goodness ooze out of the stack, and taking a big bite of this pierogi lasagna is a moment of pure comfort food magic.
The inspiration for this recipe
I’ve been obsessed with potato based sauces the past few weeks, and even made a few that I didn’t put up here. After testing a handful and coming up with some new ideas, I realized it would be over the top indulgent to use a cheesy potato sauce in lasagna. It all culminated with this amazing potato lasagna that tastes like a pierogi with every bite. Each layer of noodle gave way to a thick, creamy, cheesy cloud of potato deliciousness. I didn’t even set out to call this pierogi lasagna but after I took a bite I realized that is EXACTLY what it was! Thanks to reader Chris for help with the Idea!
Cook the bacon and onions first
The crispy bacon and caramelized onions give a ton of deep flavor to this pierogi lasagna. Start with the bacon and then take out a bunch of the bacon fat. Reserve it for later! Then cook the onions in the same pan with a bit of the remaining bacon fat.
Making the potato sauce
Once the potatoes are cooked, Add in the reserved bacon fat and sour cream. A whole tub!
Start by mashing it, and then add the milk and cream and take out the hand mixer. Blend this smooth to form a perfect sauce for the pierogi lasagna.
Layer up the pierogi lasagna
Start with a layer of the sauce, then some of the toppings, then lasagna noodles. Then repeat, with a finishing layer of sauce on top! The other fillings in this are caramelized onions, and scallions. I love using fresh scallions paired with deeply caramelized onions because it’s a great mix of bright and dark onion flavor. The onions were cooked in the bacon grease, but I saved the bacon for the top and didn’t put any inside the lasagna.
Baking the Pierogi Lasagna
Bake the lasagna for about 30 minutes at 400 until there is some browning on top and it is bubbly delicious in the middle! If you want more browning, you can put it under the broiler for a minute or two to finish it but I didn’t want that extra bit of crispy on this particular dish. I was looking more for creamy comfort.
Serving the Pierogi Lasagna
Let it cool a little after it comes out of the oven, then cut and serve. Add some cooked bacon and put it on top so you get that crispy bacon goodness!
The bacon obviously takes it to the next level! The scallions also keep things fresh tasting when there are so many heavy flavors going on.
Twists on this dish
Potatoes are obviously the most well known pierogi filling, but there are actually a ton more traditional fillings you could try! This lasagna is based on pierogi ruskie which is potato and cheese. Another version could be sauerkraut and mushroom. Meat pierogi are also fairly common. Check out this list of popular pierogi fillings for more options!
If you want more pierogi ideas, check out my pierogi burger, or these stroganoff pierogi!
Pierogi Lasagna
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes peeled and chopped
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- 2 large onions diced
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 1 pound lasagna noodles
- 1 pound cheddar cheese
- 1 bunch scallions
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a pot of cold salted water. Enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon and remove from pan. Remove excess grease.
- Slow cook the onions in the remaining bacon fat until very browned.
- When the potatoes are tender, strain them and put them into a large bowl. Mash in the garlic, sour cream, and butter. Add the milk and cream and use a hand blender to blend them to a thick sauce consistency. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your noodles. Cook about 5 minutes less than the package says so they are still crunchy. Transfer to a large platter or baking sheet and lightly toss with oil to prevent sticking.
- Layer the potato sauce, noodles, onions, and bacon, and cheese in a deep baking dish. I did about 4 or 5 layers. Start with the potato, then noodles, then more potato along with the cheese, bacon, and onion. Repeat until the top noodles. Then just add a thin layer of potato and a final layer of cheese. Only use about 1/2 of the bacon in the dish, reserving the rest to serve on top so it stays crisp.
- Bake about 30 minutes at 350 until hot throughout. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve and top with bacon and scallions.
Great idea – I just love pierogi and have to try this.
Gonna make some this weekend.
Thanks for the inspiration.
This had my mouth watering! I’ll definitely have to try this one out
Oh my god man! I can’t wait to share this with my sister who inspired the pierogi casserole! You totally blown my mind with the upgrades to this!
Love this idea. I have been trying to find time to make pierogi since the last time I made them… oh 3 years ago. I love stocking the freezer with them. This seems like a great shortcut.
Oh boy, this must be made soon! Sounds so so so good =)
Oh. Dear. Lord. I’ve suddenly lost complete interest in the green smoothie I’m trying to choke down in the interest of health.
I really want to make this…but I’m a little confused. It says “1 tub of sour cream”… but what size tub?
yamy, i want some
This may be the best thing I’ve seen in a while. I want it in my stomach right now. I’ll probably be making it this week….
Bobby – it’s a standard 16oz size
Why do you not have a simple print icon. I hate wasting paper on images….
Being Polish, we love Potato and Cheese Pierogi. And this lasagna takes just like it. We made this today and it was fabulous. A high five from me, hubby and our 3 sons!
This is going on our favorites list. So good!!
Thank you for the recipe!!
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else
I came, I saw, I made, I ate. And ate, and ate, and ate….
Wow, looks great, but my cholesterol numbers are too high for this one. I’ll admire from afar!
How much is 1 tub of sour cream? Where I live they come in lots of sizes.
Food in my beard replied earlier that the tub of sour cream is 16oz 🙂
Can I use no-boil lasagna noodles for this? How would I adapt the recipe? Thanks!
I would be concerned about no-boil lasagna because this isn’t a very wet or soupy lasagna so I am not sure if there is enough moisture to cook the noodles.
Really good. We had 3 helpings. 3 burners going plus an oven in use is my limit. But I’ll do it again it was that good.
Made it. Eating it now. I wasn’t sure on pan size so I went with 9.5 x 7.5 and left with a few extra pieces of lasagna. I had a feeling that the “potato sauce” would get a bit too runny with all of the liquids bring added so I went with .75 cup of cream and milk instead of 1 each and I’m glad I did, after baking it’s still a bit runny so I think a lot depends on potato size. Overall taste is great. Not healthy AT ALL and it’s a multi-step process, took me about 2 hours all in all but I cleaned up kitchen in between. Lots of dishes used but it’s what I would consider “guest worthy”
Great feedback – thanks! Yea, I did have really large potatoes that day, I will need to re-test and make some notes in the recipe about this.
I can’t believe I found this recipe again! I haven’t made this in at least 10 years. It was incredibly calorie and carb heavy in the best possible way. I will be making this again soon. I am only half joking when I say that I fully intend for this recipe to be the cause of my death. <3
Can this be made ahead of time? It will be perfect for my Easter spread!
Yes! I would assemble it, then store in the fridge. bake about 10 minutes longer.