The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
As someone with a Polish background, I’ve eaten a lot of pierogi in my life.
While I have been eating the European dumplings for as long as I can remember, growing up they were never the store-bought ones from a Canadian grocery store ("Why buy them when you can make them?" my mom would always say).
The one downside to the delicious pillows of dough stuffed with filling is they take a lot of time to prepare when homemade, and sometimes you just want something convenient.
This got me wondering if I could get good pierogi in a Canadian grocery store and so I set out to try everything that's available on the shelves.
I headed to my local Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore in Victoria, B.C., in search of the most authentic Polish pierogis I could find.
The first issue I came across was finding different brands that carry authentic-flavoured pierogi (cottage cheese, onion and potato) so I opted for what I believe to be the most popular flavour in North America: cheddar cheese and potato.
In the end, I picked up No Name, Great Value, and two different cheddar pierogi from CHEEMO.
For toppings, I went with the more traditional ones like sour cream, pan-fried onions and bacon which were also the three recommended on the packaged pierogi.
Sour cream, pan-fried onions and bacon. Asymina Kantorowicz | Narcity
As for how I cooked them, I decided to go about it in three ways. There were two sets of instructions on each package, pan-fry and boil, so I followed both.
I also cooked the dumplings a third way, which is what we do at home when eating pierogi; boil them first and then pan-fry. Boiling the pierogi softens up the dough and then the frying crisps it up beautifully.
A traditional pierogi should have a buttery smooth dough, a decent amount of flavourful filling and good ingredients so that’s what I focused on with this taste test.
Here's how it went.
Great Value Potato & Cheddar Flavoured Perogies
Great Value Potato & Cheddar Flavoured Perogies prepared three ways.
Asymina Kantorowicz | Narcity
Price: $2.47 for 907 grams
Price per 100 grams: $0.27
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Great Value branded pierogi and in the end they were the worst ones I tried.
The first thing that threw me off was the amount of ingredients listed on the packaging, some of which I have never heard of before like annatto. After turning to Google, I found out it's a food colouring derived from the seeds of an achiote tree found in the Americas. While that is neat, I don't understand why it's in pierogi.
I did appreciate that the brand used real potatoes (not sure what other kind there are), but noticed they used cheddar cheese powder and cheddar flavoured paste.
Unfortunately since real cheese wasn't used, it seriously affected the taste of the dumplings and left the pockets of dough with a super bland filling. Not even dousing them in sour cream and bacon helped and I ended up leaving some on the plate.
The only reason it got half a point was that the dough wasn’t mushy when boiled like some of the other ones and I found that to be a plus.
Rating: 0.5/5
No Name Cheddar Cheese Perogies
No name Potato & Cheddar Flavour Perogies prepared three ways.
Asymina Kantorowicz | Narcity
Price: $5 for 2 kilograms
Price per 100 grams: $0.38
The no name brand of pierogi was definitely "cheesier" than the Great Value, but for me, it still wasn’t enough.
It tasted like there was way more potato than there was cheese (I get it, cheese is more expensive) and the cheddar they chose was too mild (it should be an old cheddar to give it that bold cheddar flavour).
The ingredients list was also abundant and these ones had the most sugar out of all four with seven grams for seven pierogi.
I also didn't appreciate that the pan-fry method said to cook the dumplings in water and oil because it caused them to burn quickly and also stunk up my kitchen.
The dough was another issue because when only pan-fried, it was very hard and when boiled and mixed with butter it was mushy and sticky.
However, when I boiled and then pan-fried the pierogi and topped it with all three suggested toppings (sour cream, onion and bacon) they weren't too bad.
Rating: 2/5
CHEEMO Cheddar Cheese Perogies
CHEEMO Potato & Cheddar Cheese Perogies prepared three ways.
Asymina Kantorowicz | Narcity
Price: $3.47 for 907 grams
Price per 100 grams: $0.25
I was eager to try the CHEEMO pierogi because the ingredient list was the shortest and least complicated, which is how it should be.
To put it into perspective, the dough for dumplings traditionally consists of flour, egg and a bit of water and the filling should be yellow potatoes, old cheddar cheese and some pepper.
The CHEEMO pierogi were the cheesiest of the three by far, but again I wouldn't mind more of it. The bonus with these ones was that even though they lacked in cheese flavour, they were seasoned which made them tasty.
I also appreciate that this company uses fresh potatoes and actual cheddar cheese in their product.
I surprisingly did like the pan-fry method for this brand, because the dough wasn’t hard, but crispy.
The boil and pan-fry method worked equally as nicely, while the boil-only cooking method left the pierogi too sticky for my liking.
Combined with all three toppings, these pierogi did make for a nice, affordable meal.
Rating: 3.5/5
CHEEMO Heritage Aged White Cheddar Cheese Perogies
CHEEMO Heritage Aged White Cheddar Cheese Perogies prepared three ways.
Asymina Kantorowicz | Narcity
Price: $3.49 for 815 grams
Price per 100 grams: $0.43
I was most surprised by the Heritage CHEEMO Aged White Cheddar Cheese Perogies.
Prior to this shopping trip I hadn't seen these ones in the freezers before and what caught my eye were the words on the box like "heritage" and "authentic."
When opening the packaging I noticed the shape of the dumpling was different from the other three and represented a more traditional pierogi like the ones you'd make at home.
The taste was also a nice surprise because the aged cheddar gave the pierogi a bolder taste and the dough was also much softer than the previous three. Again, fresh potatoes and cheddar cheese were used which was a huge plus.
If I'm ever in need of a quick dinner and craving pierogi, I won't hesitate to pick up a box of these CHEEMO ones again.
Rating: 4/5
I feel like everyone's opinion of cheddar cheese pierogi will differ depending on how cheesy they like their dumplings.
In my opinion, I found that majority of the pierogi I tried were lacking in that aspect and definitely tasted like they had more potato than anything else.
What I will say is my method of boiling first and then pan-frying the pierogi made for the tastiest dish. This method also prevented the dough from burning easily like the pan-fry only technique.
In the end, I still recommend going to a nearby Polish store if you have the chance so you can get a more traditional dumpling.
However, if I had to go with any of the options at a Canadian grocery store I wouldn't be opposed to picking up a box of the CHEEMO Heritage Perogies. Although they are the priciest ones on the list, it's worth it for the additional flavour!
These prices are confirmed at the time of publishing, but they can change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.
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