The Easiest 15-Minute, 5-Ingredient Soup Comes From My Community Cookbook

Sometimes, figuring out what to make for dinner can feel like the most daunting task of the day. Luckily for me, however, I was raised in a household where if we were running low on groceries or didn’t have that much time to cook, we defaulted to my grandma’s three ingredient dinner of egg noodles, tomato soup, and bacon.

All that to say, I’m easy to please when it comes to mealtime. In fact, the fewer ingredients and less time spent in the kitchen, the better.

While I might be alone in the tomato soup sauce or my mom’s microwaveable nachos, I’m certainly not in wanting to keep recipes quick and easy. After a flip through my hometown’s community cookbook, I realized that most of us are looking for that criteria on a weeknight.

So, when I stumbled upon a soup with just five simple ingredients that only takes 15 minutes to make, I knew it would join my recipe rotation. Now, it just might join yours. Allow me to introduce you to Pierogi Soup.

What Is Pierogi Soup?

I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has a large Polish and Eastern European population—meaning we love pierogies. We like the potato-filled dumplings so much that we dedicate a festival to them every year and have Mrs. T’s Pierogi races at our MLB games where The Pirates Pierogies (all with their own pierogi flavor-themed names) compete in the Great Pittsburgh Pierogi Race during the fifth inning.

And, if there’s one thing we love as much as a pierogi, it’s the Pittsburgh-based grocery store Giant Eagle. So, in a best of both worlds scenario, this pierogi soup recipe comes from the former Food and Nutrition Advisor at Giant Eagle, Judy Dodd, MS, RD.

Dodd’s recipe in my “A Taste of the Township” community cookbook calls for just five ingredients: frozen pierogies, onion, mushrooms, chicken broth, and Romano cheese. Naturally, she calls for Giant Eagle-branded ingredients, but, of course, your favorite brand or any generic option works, too.

Dodd doesn’t specify what flavor of frozen pierogies she uses, but when I made the recipe I opted for Mrs. T’s Classic Cheddar—though, next time I might go with Loaded Baked Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar, or even Sour Cream and Chive for a little extra flavor in the pierogies.

As someone whose mom brings a pierogi casserole—made with lasagna noodles, mashed potatoes, Cheddar, and lots of butter—to every potluck, pierogi soup is right up my alley. It’s so quick and easy to make and a delicious, new way to enjoy the Polish dumplings.

The soup is also entirely customizable using different pierogi flavors, veggies, and proteins. It's unassuming in looks, but the perfect warm comfort food that you'll actually look forward to making on a busy weeknight. Here’s how to make my community cookbook's pierogi soup. 

How To Make Pierogi Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped

• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen pierogies

• Romano cheese, grated

Directions

1. Spray a large saucepan with cooking oil spray. Heat the saucepan and sauté chopped onion and sliced mushrooms.

2. Add canned chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add frozen pierogies and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Serve topped with grated cheese.

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