Traditional Ukrainian Dumplings (Vareniki) with Chicken Liver (VIDEO)

There’s something wonderfully comforting about dumplings. For centuries, Ukrainian kitchens have been rolling, pinching, and boiling dough to create delicious parcels of joy, called vareniki. At Innichka Chef, I have shared many dumpling recipes to celebrate this beautiful culinary tradition, check this collection of recipes here — and today, I’m thrilled to introduce a new favorite: Ukrainian Vareniki with Chicken Liver.

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A Taste of Tradition

Vareniki are the heart of Ukrainian home cooking, beloved for their versatility and simplicity. You’ll find them with savory fillings like potato, cabbage, and mushrooms, or sweet fillings like cherries and cottage cheese. Each region — and each family — has its own treasured way of preparing them.

My daughter Matrona is learning how to make vareniki

Over the years on Innichka Chef, I’ve explored classic recipes such as:

Buckwheat Dumplings Stuffed with Strawberries and farmer's Cheese

Vareniki (Pierogies) with Meat & Potatoes from Thomas

Vegan Vareniki with Potato & Mushroom Filling (Pierogies)

My Ukrainian grandmother's recipe, Spelt Dumplings with Blueberries

Vareniki (Pierogies) Stuffed with Farmers Cheese and Herbs

Venison and Kimchi Pot Stickers

Pelmeni (Meat - Filled Siberian Dumplings) with Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Today, I’m adding to that legacy with a rustic and deeply flavorful variation — Vareniki stuffed with chicken liver. This filling is a nod to resourceful, old-world kitchens, where every part of the chicken was put to good use.

Why Chicken Liver?

Chicken liver is incredibly rich in flavor and packed with iron and nutrients. When sautéed with onions and herbs, then encased in pillowy vareniki dough, it transforms into something both simple and spectacular. Ukrainians have long valued liver as a nourishing and affordable protein, making these vareniki both budget-friendly and memorable.

More recipes with Liver

Homemade Sausage Patties with Organ Meat

Goat Pate

Goat liver pate

Why Soak Liver in Milk Before Cooking? Here's the Secret

Liver is a nutrient-dense powerhouse (that's why many nations around the world prefer organ over muscle meat) — rich in iron, vitamin A, B12, and essential minerals—but let’s be honest, it can have a strong flavor that not everyone enjoys. If you grew up with someone who knew how to cook it just right, then you know how tender and flavorful liver can truly be. My mom used one old-fashioned (and still very smart) technique. Soaking liver in milk before cooking.

Soaking liver in milk

So, why soak liver in milk?

The main reason is to soften and mellow the flavor. Liver naturally has a metallic or bitter taste due to the high level of iron, especially if it comes from older animals or if it’s been sitting a few days. Milk helps draw out some of the blood and impurities, resulting in a milder, cleaner flavor and a more pleasant texture.

It also makes the liver more tender. Milk’s gentle acidity helps break down tough connective tissues in the liver. After just 30 minutes to an hour of soaking, you’ll notice a difference—less chewiness and more melt-in-your-mouth satisfaction.

How to Serve Vareniki with Chicken Liver?

Vareniki with chicken liver are best served with a generous dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, freshly chopped dill, and perhaps a drizzle of browned butter infused with onions or garlic. You could also serve them with a splash of homemade vinegar for a hint of acidity that balances the richness of the liver.

I'm teaching a new generation how to make Ukrainian dumplings, called vareniki

Ukrainian dumplings are more than just food — they are family stories wrapped in dough. Whether you are making them for a holiday, a celebration, or just an ordinary Sunday, Vareniki connects us to tradition and to each other.

IDEAS FOR THE FILLINGS (savory & sweet):

The beauty of a Vareniki recipe is that it can be filled with both savory and sweet fillings:

Here are some savory filling ideas:

• Cabbage or sauerkraut

• Sauteed onions and mushrooms

• Farmer's cheese and herbs 

• Organ meats

• Pumpkin

• Swiss chard and goat cheese

• Peas and ham

• Cooked meat, (such as pulled pork)

• Potato and bacon

• Beans

• Buckwheat and caramelized onions

Here are some sweet filling ideas:

• Cherry and semolina

• Dried fruit and nuts

• Poppy seeds and apple

• Pumpkin and farmer's cheese

• Farmer's cheese with vanilla and raisins

• Chocolate and cherries

• Strawberries

• Tart cherries

• Millet with vanilla and currants

• Plums or apricots

• Blueberries 

  
  

Let’s Cook Together!

Visit Innichka Chef to explore step-by-step recipes, video guides, and even more dumpling inspiration. Bring a taste of Ukraine to your kitchen — one varenik at a time!

Let's do it...

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 5-6 minutes

Total time: 46 minutes

Author: Inna of innichkachef.com 

Yield: About 48 dumplings 

Ingredients for the filling

450-500 grams chicken liver or any liver of your choice

1 cup regular milk (to soak the liver)

1 large onion

2 medium carrots

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 heaping tablespoons of creme fraiche or heavy cream

1 teaspoon dried thyme powder

Pink salt, and freshly ground pepper to the taste

Ingredients for the dough

350-400 grams all purpose unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon pink salt

2 egg yolks

1 cup boiling hot water

1 tablespoon olive oil (or oil of your choice)

Ingredients for serving

Creme Fraiche or sour cream

Chopped herbs such as dill or parsley

Fried lardons or melted butter (brown butter even better choice)

Gravy (the recipe is in the directions below).

Directions for the Traditional Ukrainian Vareniki with Chicken Liver

• Prepare liver: Add liver to the bowl, pour milk over and let it soak for at least for 15 minutes, but for better results 30-60 minutes.

• To make a filling: On a preheated cast iron skillet add olive oil, and butter and let it melt. Then add the sliced onion, and carrots. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook on low heat for a few minutes. After the onion gets slightly brown in color, cover and cook for two more minutes.

• To finish up the filling: Remove the liver from the milk and gently place over the sautéed onion and carrots. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat. Open the cover and add creme fraiche or heavy cream, stir all together. Cook uncovered for another 2-3 minutes. DON'T OVERCOOK THE LIVER!

• Cool down the liver: Pour liver, onion, and carrot mixture into a bowl and let it all cool down. Meanwhile, make the dough. As soon as it reaches room temperature, puree in a blender, leaving most of the juices in the bowl (save juice for the gravy to serve vareniki). Puree until the liver mixture looks like pate. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Set aside.

• To make the dough: Add all ingredients into the bowl except hot water and mix with a fork. Then slowly add hot water, mixing it as you go. Make a dough ball. Wrap it with plastic wrap or leave in a bowl covered up with plastic wrap (this is necessary to let the dough rest for 20 minutes without drying out).

• To make vareniki: Take a small piece of dough (the size of a walnut) and roll it between your palms until it looks like a perfect ball. Place the dough-ball into a well floured platter, repeat with the rest of the dough. Then flatten each ball with your fingers into a flat circle, place one heaping teaspoon of prepared liver filling in the middle of the circle. Press the edges together to make a half moon. Make sure the edges are well sealed (vareniki can be frozen at this point for future use).

• To cook vareniki: Salt water and bring it to a boil. Drop in the vareniki, about 10 at a time. Simmer until they float to the top. It takes no more than 5 minutes, but if you boil frozen vareniki, it will take a few minutes longer. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in melted butter, or even better into brown butter. Making a gravy is optional, but I highly recommend it.

• Gravy to serve vareniki: Place reserved juices from cooking liver into a small sauce pot. On low heat, bring to a boil. Then pour into the pot  a mixture of cold water and cornstarch (1/4 cup cold water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, mixed together). Cook and stir with a fork for 3-5 minutes until the gravy looks glossy and rich. Pour over vareniki and serve right away.

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