My Mom’s 5-Ingredient Casserole Is Always the First Thing Gone at a Potluck

And it couldn't be easier to make.

When you think of summer cookouts, you probably think of burgers, macaroni salads, and corn on the cob. While my family has that, too, I associate family picnics with my mom’s pierogi lasagna. Yep, that’s right. Pierogi. Lasagna.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, where we literally have a an annual festival dedicated to pierogies and a Pierogi Race at our baseball games, so it’s safe to say we take pierogies very seriously. However, making enough pierogies to feed a crowd can be a daunting task, so when my family wants the delicious potato-cheese-and-noodle dish but doesn’t want to make a ton of individual dumplings, we turn to pierogi lasagna.

No one is really sure where the pierogi lasagna recipe originated, but there’s a good chance it was my grandma’s since the recipe card doesn’t include any cooking times or real instructions. It was probably one of those dishes that, when my mom called to ask for the recipe, she just rattled off a list of ingredients with phrases like “a knob of butter” and “bake until cooked through.”

But it doesn’t really matter how the recipe came to be because it’s a keeper in the family, and one my mom brings to every gathering because it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. From the kids to the adults, everyone takes a slice of pierogi lasagna—and raves about it.

The best part? It’s only five ingredients and incredibly simple to make, especially with store-bought shortcuts like oven-ready lasagna noodles and instant mashed potatoes.

My mom only had one piece of advice to give me when she passed on the recipe, and I will share it with you now: Make sure to add black pepper to your mashed potatoes. Now, you, too, can be the winner at your next potluck.

My Mom's Pierogi Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, divided

• 6 servings instant mashed potatoes

• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

• Black pepper
  

• 1 large onion, diced
  

• 8 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 1/4 cup butter and use it to coat a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Cook instant mashed potatoes according to package instructions. Mix in 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese and season with black pepper, to taste.

3. While the mashed potatoes cook, melt the remaining ½ cup butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring occassionally, until translucent.

4. Place half of the lasagna noodles in a single layer in the prepared pan, then top with half of the onions, followed by the mashed potatoes. Top the potatoes with the rest of the lasagna noodles, then top the noodles with the remaining cheese and onions.

5. Bake until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.