If you’ve ever bitten into a perfectly pillowy, hand-pinched dumpling filled with creamy potato and melted cheese, you already know something about Ukraine — even if you didn’t realize it.
Varenyky (вареники) are Ukraine’s most iconic comfort food. They’re boiled dumplings made from a simple unleavened dough, stuffed with fillings that change by region, season, and family tradition. In North America, they’re often called perogies — but to millions of Ukrainians, they’ll always be varenyky, and the difference is more than just a name.
No one knows exactly when varenyky were first made, but they’ve been part of Ukrainian life for centuries. They show up in folk songs, in wedding ceremonies, in the paintings of Taras Shevchenko. They’re the dish a baba (grandmother) makes when you’re homesick. They’re the first thing Ukrainian newcomers make when they want to feel close to home.
At DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen, we’ve heard this story from our own team members — Ukrainian newcomers who arrived in Edmonton in 2022 and 2023 with little more than one suitcase. For many of them, making varenyky in our kitchen on Fort Road was the first time in a long time that something felt like home.
The most traditional filling is mashed potato mixed with farmer’s cheese (tvorog) — rich, savoury, and deeply satisfying. But varenyky are wonderfully versatile:
Savoury fillings include: potato and cheese, potato and fried onion, sauerkraut and mushroom, meat (usually pork or beef), and liver. Sweet fillings include: sour cherries, blueberries, strawberries, and sweet cottage cheese — often served with a drizzle of sour cream and a spoonful of jam.
At DON’YA, a different variety is our Brisket Perogy — named one of the best dishes in Edmonton by The Tomato Top 100 in both 2025 and 2026. We also make a classic potato and cheese, and seasonal specials that reflect what’s fresh and what our team loves to eat.
Making varenyky is a labour of love — and it’s one reason they taste so different when made by hand versus by machine.
The dough is mixed, kneaded until smooth, and rested before being rolled thin. Circles are cut, filled with a generous spoonful of filling, and then pinched closed with a decorative fold that takes practice to get right. Ours are pinched by hand by our team of Ukrainian newcomers every single day.
They’re then boiled until they float — a sign they’re cooked through — and can be served immediately with sour cream and fried onions, or pan-fried in butter until golden for a crispier finish.
If you’re in Edmonton and looking for authentic, handmade varenyky made with real ingredients and real heart, come visit us at one of our two DON’YA café locations:
Fort Road Café — 12153 Fort Road, Edmonton | Sun–Tue 10am–5pm, Wed–Sat 10am–7pm
Little DON’YA on Jasper Ave — 10405 Jasper Ave, Edmonton | Mon–Fri 9am–5pm
You can also find our frozen varenyky at grocery stores across Alberta — perfect for a quick, homemade meal any night of the week. Find a store near you at donyaukraine.ca/where-to-find-us/
Or if you’d rather make them yourself, join one of our Ukrainian cooking classes — hands-on sessions where you’ll learn to make varenyky from scratch, led by our own team members. Register at donyaukraine.ca/cooking-classes/
Because some things are best learned with your hands in the dough.
Not everyone lives close enough to our Edmonton cafés to pop in for a bowl of borshch on a Tuesday afternoon. That’s exactly why we started putting our food in
You don’t have to travel to Kyiv to learn how to make real Ukrainian food. Every week, right here in Edmonton, we open up our kitchen at DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen
