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Baking dish of Vegan Pierogi Stuffed Shells

Vegan Pierogi Stuffed Shells

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  • Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
  • Prep Time: 40 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 Minutes
  • Total Time: 55 Minutes
  • Yield: About 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop, Oven
  • Cuisine: Polish

Description

This delicious unconventional vegan nod to a Polish classic will knock your socks off. We are bringing all the comforts with this Vegan Pierogi Stuffed Shells featuring jumbo brown rice pasta shells filled with cheesy mashed potatoes, sweet onions, and earthy spinach and drenched in a tangy white sauce that feels indulgent without the guilt. A total comfort food pleasure that is as wholesome as it is delicious and sure to please. The whole family will be singing your praises with every bite!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.


Ingredients

Scale

Pierogi Ingredients:

  • 12 oz. Jumbo Pasta Shells (GF or jumbo pasta shells of choice)
  • 1 cup yellow onions, fine dice
  • 1 cup baby spinach, chopped *
  • 3 cups cold mashed potatoes *
  • 3 to 5 Tablespoons nutritional yeast *
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

Tangy White Sauce Ingredients:

  • ½ cup raw cashews
  • ¼ cup unsweetened plain plant yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoons unsweetened plain plant milk
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried minced onions
  • 1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar *
  • 1 Tablespoon white distilled vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth *
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

Baking Dish Sauce Liner Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth
  • 1 Tablespoon Tangy White Sauce

Instructions

Pierogi Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place rack in the center.
  2. Cook the jumbo pasta shells according to package directions, drain, rinse well in cold water, set aside. (see notes)
  3. In the meantime, make the Tangy White Sauce (see separate instructions below), set aside.
  4. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat until the onions are tender, approximately 7 to 9 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Add a tablespoon or so of water/broth if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning. Then add the chopped spinach to the sautéed onions, sauté until the spinach is wilted, approx. 2 minutes. Remove from the heat to slightly cool.
  5. Place all the Pierogi Ingredients including the sautéed onions and spinach into a bowl, mix really well to combine.
  6. Make the Baking Dish Liner: Take 1 Tablespoon of the Tangy White Sauce and mix it with 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth, whisk to combine, then place it a 10 x 13 baking pan to cover the bottom of the pan. This helps prevent the perogis from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  7. Assemble the Pierogi Stuffed Shells: Take one heaping tablespoon of the pierogies mixture and place it inside a cooked jumbo shell. Close the shell and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until you run out of filling or run out of shells – whichever comes first. We had about 5 few shells left.
  8. Once all the shells are filled, evenly spread all of the Tangy White Sauce over all of the stuffed shells, making sure to get the sides.
  9. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes in a 350 F oven.
  10. After 20 minutes, remove and serve.

Tangy White Sauce Instructions:

  1. Place the cashews in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and set for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, drain off the water and place in a high-speed blender with all the remaining ingredients.  Blend on high until smooth and emulsified.

Notes

*Tips for Success:

  • Filling the Jumbo Shells: Use just enough of the mashed potato filling to fill the shell, but also allow the shell to close. In other words, do not overfill the shells.  You want the pasta ends to close up.
  • Cold Mashed Potatoes: You want to use mashed potatoes that have been refrigerated and are cold. Freshly made mashed potatoes are too soft.  We used our Simple Mashed Potatoes recipe using Russet Potatoes and included the onion powder and garlic powder that is listed as optional in the Simple Mashed Potato recipe.
  • Chopped Spinach: Chop the spinach into bite-sized pieces and pack it into the one cup measurer to obtain the right amount of spinach.
  • Tangy White Sauce: This recipe makes the perfect amount of white sauce to cover each shell in its entirety. Make sure you scrape out every bit of it from your high-speed blender. If you like a lot of sauce, make one and a half batch or a double batch.
  • Holiday Dinner Tables:  These are great for a holiday dinner table. We know that sometimes, dishes take time and turns in the oven, or sit out for a bit before serving (or when transporting).  We suggest making a double batch of the Tangy White Sauce, use half to coat the shells for baking.  Heat the other half of sauce on the stove, then right before serving have a gravy boat full of sauce to serve with the pierogis (Double Batch Tangy White Sauce – don’t double the sea salt – taste test, you will probably use slightly less sea salt in a double batch).

*Vegetable Stock:  We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Ume Plum Vinegar:  We get a lot of questions on ume plum vinegar. It is fairly inexpensive and adds amazing flavor. You can find it in most health food grocery stores. You can leave it out if you can’t find it, adjust your flavors accordingly.  We used Eden Selected Ume Plum Vinegar.

*Unsweetened Plain Plant Yogurt: We used So Delicious Unsweetened Plain Coconut Yogurt, but other plant yogurts will work well. Keep in mind some plant yogurts have strong flavors that will influence the overall flavor of the dish.

*Unsweetened Plain Plant Milk: We used almond milk (unsweetened, plain), but other plant milks will work well. Keep in mind some plant milks have strong flavors that will influence the overall flavor of the dish.

*Nutritional Yeast:  We used varying amounts of nutritional yeast from 3 tablespoons up to 5 tablespoons.  Each family member had a personal preference. If you enjoy a cheesier flavor, then use more.  Use 3 tablespoons if you want the mashed potato flavor to really shine through.

*Tangy White Sauce – Cashew Substitute:  You can try to replace the cashews with macadamia nuts, blanched almond slivers, or silken tofu, but you will need to adjust the flavors accordingly. We have not tried any substitutions.

*Gluten Free Jumbo Shells:  Tinkyada makes a Gluten Free Brown Rice Grand Shell. Be careful with the shells as they are very fragile after cooking.  You can use your favorite brand of jumbo pasta shells.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  About 6

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 7 days.  The pierogis freeze well without the sauce.