Get Cozy with Baked Russian Vegetarian Pirozhki with three different fillings, the ultimate comfort food

Russian vegetarian pirozhki are pillowy pockets of dough, stuffed with a variety of flavous and baked to a perfect golden hue. Choose between cabbage and egg pirozhki, the classic mushroom pirozhki or a new, modern and perfectly fall-appropriate pumpkin with caramelized onion, feta and dill pirozhki.

The ingredients for these vegetarian Russian pirozhki were generously provided by Epicure Market. Please support the brands that make running this blog possible.

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Comfort food means different things to different people. A lot of it depends on the culture you're from: Italians love their cacio e pepe or pasta in marinara sauce. The French swoon over melted brie and baguettes with butter. Some Israelis crave mujadara. For many Colombians, the battle for the best comfort food is between cheesy arepas with different arepas fillings and empanadas, both vegan empanadas and vegetarian ones. And Russians? We love our vareniki and Russian pirozhki.

So in the effort of bringing as much comfort as possible during these cold, uncertain and frankly crazy months, I bring you my three versions of Bbakedaked Russian Vegetarian Pirozhki.

Grandmother knows best

Growing up, my grandmother Berta lived in the room next to mine. It's no secret we didn't always get along, so when she finally got her own apartment in a seniors living complex, I was first in line to help her pack her boxes.

Then she moved out, and I was faced with an empty fridge. You see, my mom wasn't the greatest cook when we were little. My grandmother easily filled that void with her signature recipes and Ukrainian know-how. It was so easy, in fact, that we barely noticed she was the one doing all the cooking.

Pretty soon, my father started conspicuously disappearing for dinner. Patients ran late, or he ate in the office. Sometimes he had association dinners.

At first my mother suspected cheating. Then she occused him of spending money. Yet when a few times too many, my father showed up smelling of baked yeasted dough and fried onions, my mother figured out just where he was spending his dinners.

Then we all started going to my grandmother's, who could always be counted on to produce a few frozen vegetarian pirozhki for dinner or with tea. She would customize the fillings to suit our tastes, and sometimes even fry the pirozhki for a special treat.

Eventually, my mother made peace with my grandmother's superior cooking skills. I think she was mollified by a few packages of frozen vegetarian pirozhki.

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A true Russian family recipe

If you look at the photos, you'll notice someone else's hands in the photos. I was lucky enough to make these Russian vegetarian pirozhki with my mother, during her recent visit to Montreal.

While my father kept the baby occupied, my mother and I spent a few hours in the kitchen, rolling dough and cooking fillings. We adjusted this and that, tweaked the cabbage filling and kept my grandmother's traditional dough. The resulting vegetarian baked pirozhki with three fillings are as authentically Russian as they are modern.

Nowadays, it's fair to say that these baked Russian vegetarian pirozhki are a true family recipe.

What are Russian Pirozhki?

Sometimes spelled as vegetarian piroshki, Russian pirozhki are individual-sized pockets of pillowy yeasted dough, stuffed with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki can be either baked or fried; this recipe is for baked Russian pirozhki.

Should you say Piroshki or Pirozhki?

That's really just a question of phonetics! There's no right or wrong here. Both are attempts to write the Russian letter Ж, which is pronounced somewhere between a dj and a zh - /d͡ʒ/. I have noticed that in the anglocization of Polish recipes, there's a tendency to write piroshki - but I am not sure about the Polish word itself.

What can you use as a filling for traditional Russian Pirozhki?

I like my Russian Vegetarian Pirozhki in the following flavours and fillings:

• Cabbage, onion and hard-boiled egg pirozhki
• Mushrooms and onion pirozhki
• Potato pirozhki (you can use my favourite potato filling from my vegetarian vareniki )
• squash or pumpkin with caramelized onion, feta and dill - my own take on traditional Russian flavours, adapted to modern tastes (see recipe below!)
• Tvorog or ricotta cheese
• Mushrooms by themselves
• Sweet potato - less traditional but still yummy
• Lentils - try my lentil mix from this recipe
• Mixed vegetables

There are also Russian pirozhki with meat, but I'm not a fan of those.

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Can you Make Authentic Vegan Russian Pirozhki?

Of course! It's actually quite easy to veganize Russian pirozhki. For the best vegan Russian pirozhki, use soy milk in place of regular milk and omit the egg wash in the end. You will also need to make the following tweaks in the filling:

• In the cabbage filling, omit the boiled egg for a vegan cabbage pirozhki
• In the pumpkin filling, omit the feta for one-of-a-kind pumpkin, caramelized onion and dill vegetarian pirozhki
• Omit the butter from the mushroom filling for vegan mushroom pirozhki (similar to my mushroom bourekas)

You can also stuff vegan pirozhki with mixed vegetables, sweet potato or potato filling.

Why do I love this Baked Russian pirozhki recipe?

This Russian pirozhki recipe uses my grandmother's yeasted dough. The fillings I offer are a result of numerous testing of different fillings over the years. I've tried many pirozhki recipes throughout my life, and I have to wholeheartedly say these are the best vegetarian pirozhki I've ever had.

These Baked Russian pirozhki are:

• Plump and perfectly risen
• Flavourful
• Authentic
• Made from simple, common ingredients
• Fun to make as a group
• Great for sharing
• Freezer friendly
• Great as an appetizer, lunch or dinner

Do you need dipping sauce for Russian Vegetarian Pirozhki?

These vegetarian pirozhki are great on their own! If you're looking for a good dipping sauce, I recommend the sauce from my Ukrainian cucumber salad. It's super simple! All you gotta do is mix equal parts sour cream and mayo, add dried dill, salt and pepper. You can even dilute it with a touch of vinegar if you want a more liquid, pourable sauce.

Do you need a stand mixer to make Russian pirozhki?

No, though I have to admit it greatly helps! My grandmother never used a stand mixer in her life, not for pirozhki or for anything else. I have made these without a mixer, and it takes some elbow grease - but if an 85-year-old woman can do that, so can you!

However, I do admit that since purchasing my Kitchenaid stand mixer, I am much more likely to whip together Russian pirozhki or any other recipe requiring a yeasted dough like this one. But this is a big, expensive purchase and I understand not everyone is ready to pull the plug on it. It took me years and an opportune discount to save up for my own stand mixer!

If you're thinking about getting a stand mixer, here are ones I love, from the affordable to the deluxe:

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How to make this Russian Vegetarian Pirozhki recipe:

First, you have to make the filling. Because this pirozhki recipe uses a traditional yeasted dough, the dough requires time to rise. While the dough is rising, make your favourite filling - or make all three to try them all out!

Ingredients for Russian Pirozhki Dough:

• 1 TB Active Dry Yeast
• 2 TBs icing sugar 
• Enough water to cover (1 cup)
• 1 litre milk
• a few pinches of salt
• ½ cup oil
• 1 kg flour
• 2 TBs sugar

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How to make Russian Pirozhki Dough:

Combine yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl. Mix together and set aside, letting yeast activate for 10 minutes.

Then in a large bowl, combine ½ the milk, yeast mixture, sugar, salt, and oil. Mix to combine. Begin adding flour in batches; add more flour or milk if needed. Dough should be not too sticky and very soft and elastic. I make this with a Kitchenaid stand mixer, but you can also easily do it all by hand (see more on this below!).

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a dark, warm but well-ventilated place. Let dough rise for 1.5 hour, or until doubled.

Mix dough again with spoon or stand mixer paddle, and see if need to add flour. Let rise again for 30 minutes.

Divide Pirozhki dough into portions: Cover counter with flour, and roll dough out into thin layer. Cut pirozhki forms with cup, and place filling in the middle of each one. Fold and pinch sides. 

To bake, cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Add a bit of oil. Place pirozhki, and brush each with egg wash. Bake at 360F for 20-25 min, until golden up top. Remove from oven and cover with a soft kitchen towel until ready to serve.

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Ingredients for Cabbage Pirozhki Filling:

2 large onions

½ head of cabbage

2 hard-boiled eggs

How to make cabbage filling for pirozhki:

Slice onion into half-moons. Heat pan to medium heat. Add 2 TBs neutral-tasting oil, like Canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil. Add onions and cook until colour changes and onions become golden, about 15 minutes.

Chop cabbage into thin strands. Add cabbage to large bowl with 2 TBs water. Put cabbage in microwave for 2 minutes, to soften slightly. Let cool until easy to handle and add 2 TBs of salt. Proceed to massage cabbage until it has softened considerably, approximately 5 minutes.

Chop hard-boiled eggs into small pieces.

Combine cabbage, sauteed onions and hard-boiled eggs. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

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Ingredients for Mushroom Pirozhki Filling:

• 2 lbs mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 2 TBs butter

How to make mushroom filling for pirozhki:

Slice onion into half-moons. Heat pan to medium heat. Add 2 TBs butter. Add onions and cook until colour changes and onions become translucent, about 10 minutes.

Slice mushrooms thinly. Add mushrooms to onions and sautee until mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

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Ingredients for Pumpkin Pirozhki with Caramelized Onion and Feta:

• 1 onion
• 1 pumpkin or butternut squash of your choice
• ½ bunch dill
• 100g feta

How to make pumpkin, caramelized onion and feta filling for pirozhki:

Set oven to 400F. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat. Cut pumpkin or squash in half, scoop out seeds and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. Place pumpkin face-down on the baking sheet. Pierce skin a few times to let steam escape. Bake until pumpkin collapses fully when poked with a fork, about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the pumpkin. Let cool until safe to handle and scoop out pumpkin flesh. Set aside.

Slice onion into half-moons. Heat pan to medium heat. Add 2 TBs neutral-tasting oil, like Canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil. Add onions and cook until onions change colour, about 10 minutes. Lower heat and continue cooking until onions fully caramelize, an additional 15-20 minutes.

Mix pumpkin, caramelized onions, dill and feta together.

Where to source our ingredients:

Please note that all ingredients for these Russian vegetarian pirozhki came from Epicure Market. I am not being paid to say that this is my favourite store for Russian ingredients in the city! If you're located in the Montreal, check out one of the three locations of Epicure Market - on rue Paré, in Cote-St-Luc or Pointe-Claire.

While all the ingredients for Russian pirozhki are simple, everyday and often pantry ingredients, Epicure is known for sourcing some really unique and hard-to-find Russian and European staples. My family are also big fans of their hot and cold buffet and ready-made cakes and breads.

If you liked my Russian vegetarian pirozhki, try these authentic Russian recipes:

If you're looking for more International baked stuffed pockets, try these: