5 Noodle Kugel Recipes to Serve This Yom Kippur
This comforting dish is a memorable holiday tradition.
Tara Donne
When I think about my favorite noodle kugel, I am at my Dad’s cousin Jimmy’s for Yom Kippur. His wife Karen has filled a table with a buffet of delicious food that we can fill our plates with and I’m headed straight for her kugel. It’s a casserole of egg noodles baked into a sweet cinnamon custard studded with raisins. I loved it and counted on it. Not all kugel is sweet, though — certain people strictly want savory! And for Passover you might find a potato kugel because no noodles are allowed at that time of year.
Kugel is a great make-ahead dish that gets better with a rest-and-reheat or served cold or at room temperature. Which is great because after a day of fasting you just want to get food on the table and enjoy it with your family quickly. When preparing for my own Yom Kippur break fast, here's a nice variety of recipes to try.
My Classic
David Liberman makes what I consider to be the classic kugel with the sweet custard and raisins (pictured above). This is a dish best served a little warm or at room temperature.
Con Poulos
Sweet and Extra Crunchy
One of the best parts of a noodle kugel is the way the noodles crisp on top. This recipe adds cornflakes on top of the noodles to boost the crunch. Plus this sweet version drops the raisin and adds orange zest for those of you who are raisin averse. It’s not as thick, so it’s not sliceable like some recipes. This one is best prepared the day before, and topped with corn flakes and baked just before dinner.
Savory Greens
Food Network Kitchen’s Spinach Feta Kugel is almost tasty enough to make me forget my sweet kugel loyalties. It hits the mark with its crunchy egg noodle top, and the bites of feta and spinach are a perfect complement to the custard base. This one will be best prepared the day before and baked an hour before dinner. It will also be fine baked the day before and rewarmed in the oven, but you might want to add 1/4 cup of milk to hydrate it a bit.
Similary, this Chard and Caramelized Shallot Kugel is a fever dream of everything savory and good in one dish. Plus (bonus!) this one is dairy-free, so if you’re observing kosher laws and having a meat dinner you can add this into the mix! This one does well baked the day before and set out to come to room temperature and garnished at meal time. Serve it alongside a slice of brisket and you’re set!
Renee Comet
Kugel for the Road
If you’re headed to someone else's house for dinner and want to bring a truly inspired kugel then these kugel muffins are the thing! These are so delicious and such a fun way to enjoy a classic. The nutty almond streusel keeps the crunch on top while the center stays creamy.
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