Trader Joe's Potato & Cheddar Perogi Review

I love to shop at Trader Joe's, and I often try something new on the rare trips I make to Chapel Hill to take or pick up my son from college. On this last trip, I got Trader Joe's Potato & Cheddar Perogi. That's Russian dumplings made with potatoes and cheese.

I thought the perogi would be microwave or heat and heat, but they are actually dropped frozen into boiling water for around 6 minutes. They can be served immediately or can be pan fried to brown them. I went for the pan fry, because they seem a bit slimy being dumpings and all. Also, I'm Southern, and we fry everything which is why the South is that fat belt of America I guess.

Trader Joe's perogi are not hard to make, but they do take longer than most convenience foods. This is much quicker than making dumplings from scratch though.

These little appetizers taste really good. When fried, they are kind of crispy on the outside. The inside is kind of like mashed cheese potatoes. I don't like them quite as well as the Omaha Steak potato balls, but they are a close second.

The box size is 16 oz with around 15 little perogi sized a couple on inches each in length. So, one dumping is a couple of three bites. They work fine as finger foods. The cheese does not squirt out or anything gross like that.

It says on the box that the perogi can be dropped in soups. I don't cook Russian, so I'm not used to potato dumplings in soup. I think they'd be kind of big and squishy to go in soup. So, I'd not be likely to do that.

These are not health foods as one might guess. Eat three and you've had about 250 calories and a lot of salt and carbs. But, they are good treats, and I'm sure I'll pick them up every few months.