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)
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.
NOTES
Nutrition
Though an Italian atheist, I have married into a Jewish family. I have tried to cook a lot of holiday menus for my husband’s family. This is one of the best and THE best Passover potato recipe I’ve tried. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I grew up on instant Manischewitz potato kugel, and always wondered what the “real stuff” was like. Over the years, I have tried various recipes, all of which turned grey while baking in the oven and never even made it to the table. I’ve never had one of your recipes turn out bad, so when I found this last year, I was so excited. Instead of schmaltz, I rendered out the fat I cut off our brisket and used that in the pan. The result was fluffy, savory and the perfect accompaniment I’ve been looking for to my traditional seder dinner. I can’t wait to make it again this year.
Thank you so much my patient is 89yrs old and he misses his moms cooking so I have been making him happy with your recipes thanks again for making him very happy
I made this recipe for the Seder Dinner that we had at our church tonight. Thank you so much for putting the conversion feature
in, as I had to make it for 60 people and had never made Potato Kugel before. That helped so much. It turned out delicious. The man from Chosen People Ministry that led us even commented on how good it was. I look forward to making it for my family soon.
Hi, Tori. I almost feel as though you’re going to be at our Seder in Montreal this year: I’m using so many of your wonderful recipes! One question: Can I prepare the kugel, placing the mixture in the baking dish the night before, then put it out onto the counter to reach room temp. the following afternoon, and pop it in the oven just prior to the arrival of our guests? That would save me alot of time the day-of.
Hi Bonnie! That’s very cool re: Seder. 🙂 I’m not really sure if the kugel will hold up well in the fridge overnight. It doesn’t freeze well, but I’ve never tried the refrigeration method. If you try it please let me know how it goes!
Can this be made the day before and reheated?
For best results I recommend making this fresh.
Hi. Wonderful. Can I make ahead snd freeze?
I do not recommend freezing this particular kugel, it does not freeze well unfortunately.
Can you provide an overnight recipe? I’m not Jewish, but work nights and love a cook-while-sleeping dish for family dinners (breakfast lol) and this was SERIOUSLY delicious! (*note, I’m a veg, so didn’t use schmalz, but dissolved tbsp vegetarian chicken base into the hot oil and it rocked!)
I am not Jewish but a practicing Roman catholic that was married for 30 years with my late Jewish husband, I learned to cook the favorite dishes his grandmother did, from scratch begels,kugels, etc.
The potato kugel is a native dish from where potatoes are originally Bolivia, we have 300 varieties. The name is potatoe pie.
He was respectful of my culture and religion as I was of his.
Perfect recipe.
I made this for Rosh Hashanah – scrumptious. The only challenge was cutting through the shreds to get even slices. How did you achieve such perfect pieces? By the way, nobody cared ?.
Did you use a food processor to shred it? That’s my big “secret.” 🙂
I used the medium shredder. Maybe the fine would help with cutting?
I’ve been making this Recipe for my family since you first posted it on the web. It’s fabulous. Just wondering if you can comment on the difference between using Olive Oil as opposed to Schmaltz. I see you mentioned there a big difference in taste. I have no clue where to find Schmaltz in my local store. Nor would I have the first clue as to which brand is best.
Hi Mike! You can learn how to make schmaltz here: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/schmaltz-and-gribenes/ Schmaltz adds a very authentic flavor that is popular in many Jewish homes with Ashkenazi ancestry. It’s a bit like comparing olive oil to duck fat, or other meat fats… they add a very savory flavor to the dish. That said, olive oil works just as well, and makes the dish vegetarian. Schmaltz is worth trying sometime, but don’t stress about it– the kugel is great without it too. I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!
can I use a nonstick metal pan for the kugel???
Sure!
I made the kugel last Passover and it was fabulous. I’m planning on making it this weekend and wondering if I can partially cook it and refrigerate for a couple of days?HELP!
I wouldn’t make this one ahead, unfortunately… I haven’t found a way to do it without the texture suffering. 🙁
Tori, thank you for posting this recipe. We can’t stop eating it, It’s so delicious!
So glad you like it Soonee! 🙂
I had never made Kugel before and found your recipe to make in time for first night seder.
It was absolutely delicious and the whole family devoured it!
Thank you so much for publishing it, it’s a definite winner! xx
(p.s. your instructions are also so clear and easy to follow)
I made this delicious potato kugel for Passover using frozen potato shreds that I had defrosted in the refrigerator overnight. It was absolutely fabulous and disappeared at the table! To be fair, it might have been even better with fresh potatoes, but it was really good and so much easier using the frozen ones.
Glad you enjoyed it Lois!
Lois Weinstein is definitely a girl after my own heart! Using frozen shredded potatoes sounds much easier and makes the kugel much more appealing for me to make!
Wish I loved to cook, unfortunately I’d rather clean up!! I may try the recipe using Lois’ shortcut, and hopefully it will be delicious!!
How much shredded potatoes did you use?
Simple recipe, but it needs a lot more salt.
I tend to be careful adding too much salt to the recipe itself. A lot of people watch their salt intake, and it’s always easy to add more to taste at the end. Also people tend to have varying degrees of sensitivity to the salt flavor, which is why adding to taste is always a good idea. 🙂 I will say that as written, this recipe has plenty of salt for my family’s tastebuds.
I made this for Passover….it was fabulous….big hit…will be on the menu for years to come!
Great to hear it Joan!
I am going to try this with a mix of sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, red onions and a bit of fennel (the vegetable)…
‘Not sure if I will alternate colors or mix it up, with shreds or slices. I am also considering adding a bit of nut milk to the egg mixture. Thanks for the influence/guidance 🙂 Wish me luck!
I like color!
One year I made tie dyed mashed potatoes (for my niece who was about 8)…at least that was the effect running a fork thru mashed purple and and sweets. Alternated the two separated colors and swirled thru with a fork. I subbed nut-milk for milk, and coconut oil for butter.
Can I use a non stick spray for the pan?
Yes! Just make sure it’s a generous layer of oil.