Kugel is a quintessentially Jewish dish that is best described as a baked pudding. The dish originated over 800 years ago in Germany and quickly became popular with Jewish families throughout Eastern Europe. There are many kinds of kugels—noodle kugels, sweet kugels, savory kugels. Slow cooking overnight kugels developed because Orthodox families were not allowed to cook during the hours of Shabbat. During the Passover holiday, noodles and sweets take a back seat to dairy-free and flour-free potato kugels, which are served alongside other holiday classics like brisket, roast chicken and matzo ball soup.
For the past several years I’ve been refining my potato kugel recipe. My goal was to create a kugel with the soul of a latke– one big, fluffy, sliceable latke that can serve a large crowd. I’ve learned, over time, to keep things simple… potatoes, eggs, onions and fat, a little starch, some salt and pepper – that’s all you need to make a great kugel. The rest is all about technique. I used to put matzo meal in my kugel to bind it, but have since switched over to potato starch (the “secret ingredient” I use to make crispy, amazing latkes). The starch makes for a lighter, fluffier texture inside… it’s also gluten free for those who have dietary restrictions. Over time I learned to preheat my baking dish, a technique I picked up from my sister-in-law. This step produces a really brown, beautiful crust on the kugel that simply can’t be obtained by oven cooking alone.
This Passover Potato Kugel is everything a kugel should be… crispy on the outside while soft, fluffy and tender inside. It’s like one enormous latke, an irresistible addition to any Seder table. I highly recommend the schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) if you can swing it. If you prefer to keep it meat-free, use olive oil and it will still be very, very tasty. Enjoy!
Note: I am always working to make my recipes better. I have improved this recipe and reposted it with new pictures. If you’re looking for the old recipe, leave a comment and let me know. I plan to post another”improved” potato kugel recipe with Sephardic spices in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
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Passover Potato Kugel
Ingredients
- 5 pounds russet potatoes (about 10 medium-sized potatoes)
- 2 whole large onions
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons potato starch (if not serving for Passover you may substitute corn starch)
- 1/4 cup schmaltz or extra virgin olive oil, divided (schmaltz gives amazing flavor; use olive oil to keep it vegetarian)
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a 9x13 baking dish or pan in the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees, letting the dish heat up inside. Peel the potatoes, then use a food processor or hand grater to grate them into large shreds.
- Place the potato shreds in a large mixing bowl and cover with cold water. Let the shreds sit for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and shred the two large onions in the food processor or with a hand grater. Reserve.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper until fluffy.
- Drain the potato shreds in a colander, pushing down firmly on top of the shreds with your hands to push out the excess liquid.
- Place grated potatoes in a large bowl. Add the seasoned eggs, grated onions and potato starch to the bowl. Use your hands to mix all ingredients together until well combined.
- Take the preheated baking dish out of the oven. Quickly pour in 3 tbsp schmaltz or olive oil, then use a pastry brush to carefully spread the fat around the bottom and sides of the hot dish. Careful, don't burn yourself! The hot dish, while a bit difficult to navigate, will help to form a beautiful brown and crisp crust for the kugel.
- Carefully and quickly spread the potato mixture into an even layer in the baking dish (it should sizzle!), then drizzle remaining 1 tbsp of melted schmaltz or olive oil across the top.
- Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 60-70 minutes until the top is nicely browned all across the top. If it seems to be browning too fast (before the center is cooked), cover the kugel to keep it from over-browning. You really want it to have a nice golden crust-- at the end of cooking, if it's not quite brown enough, you can put it 6 inches below the broiler for a minute or two to evenly brown it all across the top. This kugel tastes best served hot directly from the oven. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
A couple of things didn’t work out for me with this dish, and I had high hopes because I love your potato latke recipe.
1. You say use a large bowl to mix but holy moly, I was struggling because I needed the largest bowl I could find which ended up being a wooden salad bowl and even that was a tight fit. 5lbs of shredded potato plus other stuff? Maybe warn people they need an EXTRA large bowl.
2. Like a few other people said, mine was bland. I thought I put in tons of salt and pepper but I think you just need more. I’m curious if sautéing the onion first, adding leeks, or something would help to give it more flavor. More schmaltz? I had delicious schmaltz from the chicken stock I made for the matzoball soup I had too, so I assumed that would bring good flavor but maybe I needed much much more?
I would not make again. Looked really nice but I think even simply roasted potatoes would have tasted better. Too much work for nothing super yummy.
Hi Leslie, so sorry this wasn’t to your liking! It’s funny, I feel like this recipe is really polarizing… you either love it or it’s not your thing! A comment that came in just before yours says it is going to their master file because they loved it. Go figure!
Perfection! I didn’t alter it in any way. I’d been looking for something unique for this year’s dinner and did something I never do – “I gambled on a recipe for the first time.. With Guests!” We were not disappointed. The perfect blend of soft and Crunch.. and the flavor was outstanding. Got lots of compliments. (Do yourself a favor, by the way, and go all the way with real schmaltz).
Thanks so much for this one.. it’s going in the Master File with your name on it!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Is it important to squeeze out all the liquid like we do when making latkes?
Can the pesach potato kugel be made in advance and refrigerated or frozen? Thank you 🙂
Hi Michal, sorry — this particular recipe is not meant to be made ahead, and I don’t recommend it for this kugel.
Can’t wait to try it. Before I go buy a new casserole dish, why don’t you recommend glass?
Hi Kate! I often broil this kugel before serving to help brown the top. It’s not recommended to broil a glass dish, as it may shatter. If you don’t plan to broil the kugel, no need to go and buy another dish.
can this be made ahead and baked the next day (i apologize if this is in your notes – i didn’t see it…)
I do not recommend making this dish ahead.
I made this for Rosh Hashanah dinner and it was a hit. I made it 3 days in advance, kept it in the fridge and it was still crunchy on top and bottom after reheating. I used a 9 x13 glass baking dish and it worked fine. I will make this again for Passover.
Made this for Rosh Hashanah. It was just not a hit. Pretty flavorless and threw most of it out.
So sorry to hear that Michele! I guess it can’t be to everyone’s taste.
Just curious about soaking the grated potato in water before combining with rest of ingredients. Wouldn’t this get rid of the necessary starch? I do realize it keeps the potatoes white. I’m always looking for a new kugel recipe. Thanks.
After experimenting with many different ways of making kugel, I found this soaking method yielded the lightest, crispiest result and didn’t turn out gummy like many potato kugels out there. The wet starch is replaced with dry starch, and that substitution yields a much lighter result.
Thank you Tori! I made this recipe for a Passover Seder and it was a hit. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any schmaltz in Santa Fe, and used olive oil, but it was still delicious.