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This Slow Cooker pierogi and sausage Casserole is creamy, cozy comfort food with just four main ingredients and no thawing or browning required. You’re going to love how tender the pierogies get with smoky sausage and a simple creamy sauce.
Why You’ll Love It
- No thawing needed — frozen pierogies go straight into the Slow Cooker.
- Four main ingredients — pierogies, sausage, condensed soup, and chicken broth.
- Minimal prep — slice the sausage, whisk the sauce, and let the slow cooker do the work.
- Cozy comfort food — tender pierogies and smoky sausage are coated in a creamy sauce.
- Great with leftovers — the sauce thickens nicely after chilling.
Ingredient Notes
Frozen potato pierogies are the whole backbone of this recipe, so get the plain potato kind—not the tiny appetizer-style ones, if you can help it. A 16-ounce bag works, and a larger 24-ounce bag works too. I usually grab whatever is on sale because frozen pierogies are frozen pierogies and I have only so much emotional energy for grocery-store comparisons.
For the smoked sausage, kielbasa is what I reach for most often. Use a 12- to 14-ounce package and slice it into fairly even half-inch rounds. You don’t need surgical precision; nobody is coming over with a ruler. But if some pieces are thick as hockey pucks and others are paper-thin, the thin ones can get a little tired-looking by dinner.
The cream of mushroom soup makes the sauce creamy without adding a whole lot of steps. If you have cream of chicken or cream of celery instead, that is perfectly fine. I’ve done both. Cream of celery was surprisingly good, actually.
Use low-sodium chicken broth if possible, since smoked sausage and condensed soup both bring plenty of salt to the party already. You can always add a little salt and pepper at the end. You cannot un-salt a slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 (16- to 24-ounce) bag frozen potato pierogies, straight from the freezer—no thawing, thank goodness
- 1 (12- to 14-ounce) smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced into about 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the slow cooker
- Salt and black pepper, if needed at the end—I usually wait and see
Instructions
Lightly spray the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. You can skip this if you enjoy scraping dried sauce off ceramic later, but I personally do not.
Put the frozen potato pierogies in an even-ish layer across the bottom of the slow cooker. They can overlap some; this is a slow cooker Casserole, not a geometry assignment. Just try not to leave them all piled in one frozen lump.
Scatter the sliced smoked sausage or kielbasa over the pierogies, spreading it around so everybody gets a little sausage eventually. I used to put the sausage underneath because I thought it would flavor the pierogies more, but honestly, it doesn’t matter much—and on top is easier.
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup and the 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth until smooth. Take a minute here and get the soup loosened up; otherwise it can sit in one stubborn blob, like the jar of peanut butter nobody has stirred properly.
Pour the soup-and-broth mixture evenly over the pierogies and sausage. Try to coat most of the dumplings lightly with the liquid, but do not stir everything together yet. I know it feels wrong. Resist. The pierogies are tender little things once they begin cooking, and stirring too early can knock them around more than necessary.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, or on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the pierogies are tender, heated through, and the sauce is bubbling. Every slow cooker seems to have its own personality. Mine runs hot, like it has somewhere to be, so I start checking at the early end of the time range.
Once everything is cooked, gently stir the Casserole together so the pierogies and sausage get coated in that creamy sauce. Be gentle, truly. I got overenthusiastic once and turned a few pierogies into mashed-potato pillows. Still tasted fine, but it looked like something from a low-budget cooking show.
Taste and add salt and black pepper only if you think it needs it. Serve warm right from the slow cooker, with plenty of sauce spooned over each serving. A simple green salad, steamed broccoli, or roasted green beans helps balance the richness—and makes me feel like I have my life somewhat together.
Variations
If cream of mushroom soup isn’t your family’s thing, use cream of chicken or cream of celery instead. Any condensed cream soup gives you that same cozy sauce.
Turkey sausage or chicken sausage works nicely in place of kielbasa, and spicy andouille is good if you like a little kick. Keep the rounds about the same size so they warm evenly.
For extra richness, you can stir in 1/2 cup sour cream or a handful of shredded cheddar during the last 15 minutes of cooking. I don’t do that every time because the casserole is already plenty comforting, but some nights call for cheese. There are no rules after a long day.
You can also add a cup of frozen peas or mixed vegetables on top of the pierogies before you add the sausage and sauce. That makes it a little more of a full meal, though I will admit the peas tend to disappear into the sauce in a way that makes them less objectionable to suspicious eaters.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator and eat them within a few days. The sauce thickens quite a bit after it chills, which isn’t bad—it just means the casserole goes from creamy to almost spoonable like a filling.
To reheat, warm individual portions in the microwave until hot, stirring gently halfway through if you can. A splash of chicken broth can loosen the sauce if it seems too thick. You can also reheat it in a covered skillet over low heat, though that sounds like something I do regularly and I don’t. Usually I’m standing at the counter in fuzzy socks, microwaving a bowl while watching half an episode of some detective show I’ve already seen.
I don’t love freezing the leftovers because the pierogies can get a little soft after thawing and reheating. Not ruined, exactly. Just not at their best. And life is too short to deliberately freeze food you already know you’ll be picking at from the fridge tomorrow.
Final Notes
This is one of those recipes I keep tucked in my back pocket for the weeks when everything feels a little off-kilter. Rainy weeks. The kind where the laundry multiplies overnight and someone informs you at 8:40 p.m. that they need poster board by morning.
It isn’t fancy, and it isn’t trying to be. That’s part of why I like it.
The slow cooker clicked away on the counter, and for a few hours dinner was handled. Not life, not the bills, not whatever was going on with the car. Just dinner. Sometimes that is enough to make a person feel less frazzled.
Serve it with something green if you like. Add bread if you want. Eat it from a bowl standing at the kitchen island if that’s the kind of night it is. No judgment here—well, maybe a little judgment if you don’t save me the last pierogi.
Slow Cooker Pierogi and Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 16- to 24-ounce bag frozen potato pierogies straight from the freezer; no thawing
- 1 12- to 14-ounce package smoked sausage or kielbasa sliced into about 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- nonstick cooking spray for the slow cooker
- salt and black pepper if needed at the end
Instructions
- Lightly spray the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Put the frozen potato pierogies in an even layer across the bottom of the slow cooker, allowing them to overlap slightly but avoiding one large frozen pile.
- Scatter the sliced smoked sausage or kielbasa over the pierogies, spreading it around evenly.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup and the chicken broth until smooth.
- Pour the soup and broth mixture evenly over the pierogies and sausage, lightly coating most of the dumplings without stirring.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, or on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the pierogies are tender, heated through, and the sauce is bubbling.
- Gently stir the cooked casserole so the pierogies and sausage are coated in the creamy sauce.
- Taste and add salt and black pepper if needed, then serve warm with sauce spooned over each serving.