Creamy mashed potatoes and cheese are layered in between lasagna noodles to create a casserole that has all the flavors of classic pierogi. This Pierogi Lasagna is the best way to use leftover mashed potatoes!
At my house, we ALWAYS overestimate how many mashed potatoes we need to make for large gatherings. I mean GROSSLY overestimate. While we all love potatoes, I forget I do not need to prepare 3 pounds of potatoes per person, especially when they are often the side dish to Roasted Turkey or Instant Pot Ham.
However, leftover potatoes are NOT a bad thing if you plan to use them to make pierogi lasagna. Whether using Classic Mashed Potatoes, Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, or your family's leftover mashed potatoes, this is the BEST recipe to use them up! It tastes like a giant pierogi--with a whole lot less work.
Bottom line, if you love pierogis and you have found yourself with leftover mashed potatoes,r Pierogi Lasagna is a must-make! It is pure comfort food! It is the absolutely perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. But truthfully, I would gladly whip up mashed potatoes any day of the week to have this for my dinner!
Notes On Ingredients
- Mashed Potatoes: This recipe works with any leftover mashed potatoes.
- Lasagna Noodles: This recipe does not work using no-boil noodles. It is important to use regular lasagna noodles that have been prepared according to package directions.
- Cheese: Use shredded cheddar or Colby cheese, as both pair well with classic mashed potatoes.
- Bacon: Bacon is optional, but it does add a nice flavor to this mashed potato lasagna. Use cooked, crumbled baked bacon or bacon bits.
How to Make Pierogi Lasagna
- Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions.
- Reheat your mashed potatoes with a bit of milk, broth, or cream to soften them up and make them easy to spread over the noodles.
- Layer the cooked noodles with the mashed potatoes and cheese, repeating the layers once.
- Finish with a final layer of mashed potatoes and cheese.
- Bake the lasagna until the potatoes are warmed through and the cheese is melted. It is important to bake the potato lasagna covered with foil for the majority of the bake time. If not, your potatoes will get very dried out.
Serving Suggestions
Pierogi Lasagna can be served just as you would serve pierogi, with a side of sour cream, topped with caramelized onions, or with a side of sauerkraut. Paired with a BLT Salad or Greek Salad, this unique lasagna makes one outrageously delicious meal.
More Lasagna Recipes
If you made this Pierogi Lasagna, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Pierogi Lasagna
Ingredients
- butter for greasing pan
- 6 uncooked lasagna noodles
- 6 cups of leftover mashed potatoes this was from about 5 pounds of potatoes
- ½ cup broth or milk as needed
- 3-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled optional
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously butter a 9x13 pan.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Once boiling, salt with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside to assemble the lasagna.
- Place the leftover mashed potatoes in a heat-safe bowl and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 3-4 minutes to loosen up the mashed potatoes. If needed, add ¼ to ½ cup of warm broth or milk to make the potatoes creamier.
- Spread 2 cups of the heated mashed potatoes on the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Place 3 noodles over the layer of cheese. Repeat layers. For the final layer, spread the remaining potatoes over the last layer of noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon, if using. Cover the casserole dish with foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes and then remove the foil. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is browned.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve as is, or with caramelized onions and a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Melissa Craig
I am making this now and using American cheese layered on top of potatoes and melted butter and onions
Bon
I made this successfully with no boil lasagna noodles. I soaked the sheets in chicken broth for just a minute before assembling. I also added a little broth to the mashed potatoes to add a little more moisture and layered the potatoes directly on the noodles. Came out perfectly. Lazy Day Perogies getting even lazier! 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing! I love hearing you made this recipe EVERN easier!
JoAnne
Same! I used Cooper sharp American. 😋
Laura Kasuboski
My family loved it.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Laura and it makes me happy to hear your family enjoyed!
Jelly Bean
Can I make this in advance? Like make it in the morning and stick in the fridge and then pop it in the oven at dinner time?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes! I would cover well before refrigerating, and remove from the fridge to come to room temp as the oven is preheating. Enjoy!
Samantha
Thank you for the inspiration! I made a version of this, with whatever cheese I had, and I did half mashed potatoes mixed with a sauerkraut and onion mix for the polish feel.
Topped with sour cream, bacon and scallions!
Kristen Chidsey
The sauerkraut addition sounds fantastic! Glad you enjoyed!
Lauren
Do you think adding seasoned ground beef to this recipe would be good?
Kristen Chidsey
Hmm, I would think that adding ground beef would make it more like Shepard's pie than pierogis and could be a bit bland if you did not season the beef well. I do think diced ham or diced smoked sausage would be good additions though.
April
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed April! Thank you for leaving a review.
Frank Smiechowski
Can you freeze it ? But, if you do, do you cook the noodles first ?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Frank, technically you can freeze (as long as you precook the noodles) but the texture and taste for this dish is much better fresh.
Virginia J Bauch
We love pierogis! I was curious if you know the carb count for my daughter with CFRD ? It definitely looks delicious!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Virginia,
I am so sorry your daughter is dealing with CRFD.I totally understand.
So this recipe is hard to give you an exact amount due to the type of mashed potatoes. Based on making the mashed potatoes with whole milk and butter, and using whole wheat lasagna noodles and your daughter having a very large portion (1/6th of recipe) I would estimate the Total Carbs to be 53 grams, total protein to be 16 grams, and fiber to be 4 grams. So carb count would be 53-4 or 49 net carbs. I will say that for myself, I eat 1/4th a slice which would be more like 36-38 net carbs and thanks to steamed brocolli with and a salad (getting more fiber) and with the protein, my blood sugar does well after this meal. But each CFRD case is different.
I hope that helped 🙂
Darlene
I live by myself and that's just way too much for me so I wonder if it would be just the same if I made it in some shells what do you think and all these recipes look amazing looks like one diet plan I can keep to
Kristen Chidsey
Oh thank you Darlene!! I actually think the stuffed shells may dry out. Instead I would make as directed and allow to cool. Cut into serving size portions, wrap in foil and freeze. Pop one out and defrost and reheat. I am all about cooking once and eating on leftovers or saving the leftovers in freezer.
Enjoy and ask any questions you'd like about cutting size down of recipes or how to freeze 🙂
Sherri Rochester
I have halved and 1/4'd the recipe before. I use a loaf pan
Kristen Chidsey
Great Tip Sherri!
Tina
Great idea ☺️ I have a hard time finding small portion recipes seeing I’m cooking for myself! Great tip!
Erica @ Coming Up Roses
As a pierogi-obsessed Polak, this is basically heaven.
cominguprosestheblog.com
Kristen Chidsey
Yep, you will LOVE this Erica!