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
I just wanted to say, as a gentile who’s been doing my best to keep the holidays special for my Jewish boyfriend during our time in lockdown, your website has been my secret weapon! Every recipe is excellent and the background you give for each dish is wonderful. He says just about everything I make is “better than his family” makes it, so I can’t thank you enough!
Made this recipe as directed for last night’s 1st seder. I served it with brisket, asparagus and roasted tricolor carrots. My family loved this kugel including my picky 4 y.o. grandson. Chag Sameach!
Is it possible to make this a day ahead and bake it halfway? Bring it to room temperature and finish baking it before serving it?
I am generally wary of half-baking things due to food safety – I did give some feedback on this to another commenter below if you want to read. But I really feel this kugel is best made and served fresh.
Hello! This is my assignment for Seder, which is not going to be at my house. If I make it at home and bake it for about 45 minutes, do you think it would travel well to finish up in the host’s oven to be nicely hot and browned for dinner? Thanks!
I think that will probably work – haven’t tried it myself. The risk you run with this kugel is over-baking it and it becoming dry, so if I were trying this I would bake it until just cooked through to safe internal temp (165 degrees F) before transporting. It would be best right out of the oven, to be honest – but this might work.
Would love to try this but, when I scaled it back for 6 instructions and ingredients were still for 15.
Sorry about that George – please read the disclaimer at the end of the recipe: “Please note that the recipe above is published using a recipe card plugin, with preexisting software which can auto-calculate metric measurements, as well as change the number of servings. Metric conversions and changes to the number of servings (resulting in different ingredient amounts) will only appear in the ingredient list, and are not changed within the step-by-step directions of the recipe.” If the ingredients are not changing there may be a bug, which I will not be able to fix before the holiday.
Hi,
Big fan. Love how consistently great the recipes are here.
I’ve got a massive group coming for a seder and am concerned with timing the finish of this recipe in line with our meal. What would you recommend? Can I reduce temp and keep warm if things are moving a little slow?
Thanks in advance,
Jared
You can certainly keep it in a warm oven (around 200 degrees) until ready to serve – I wouldn’t do that for longer than 1 hour though, or you risk drying out the kugel.
Came out great.
Thanks again,
Jared
We made it last year (twice because it was so good) and can’t wait to make it again! Delish
Great made in a cast iron pan. Thanks!
Does this kugel freeze well?
Hi Debbie, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We do not recommend freezing this kugel. It’s best served right after cooking.
Tips on making it ahead and freezing?
I would love to make it but it seems like a lot of work and cleanup on the day of hosting seder. Thank you!
I don’t recommend making this ahead and freezing, it is best served right after cooking.
I know this isn’t about the recipe, but where did you get those beautiful plates???
I think I got these at World Market, if I’m remembering correctly! 🙂
My first thought is to bake it in a heated cast iron skillet (which I will use first to make the schmaltz!)
My skillet is 10″ x 2″ which fits 11 cups of mixture. The recipe yields 15 cups (based on the 9×13 pan) so worst case I’ll have a few spare latkes at the end of it…
Thanks for this recipe, can’t wait to try it!
p.s. This page helped a lot with the pan conversions: https://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/bakingdish.htm
I’m making a holiday dinner for my non-Jewish friends – at one of their homes. How does this stand/reheat if I make, transport, and serve the same day…but not right out of the oven? Thanks!
This one is best right out of the oven – might want to pick something different if you can’t serve it fresh.
Delicious. I’d add an herb but not sure which one. I’d also love if you added “sour cream and applesauce” as optional toppings; wish I had those on hand for this!
Rosemary is an excellent spice for potatoes 🙂
My granddaughter, who is self quarantined with others on her floor in her apartment building decided to make her first Seder. This is the first time we were. Not all at my home for the Seder. She said everyone loved the kugel and finished it all. She even sent us photos of her first kugel and it looked beautiful. Our entire family celebrated Passover with a virtual Seder so we were all together.
I have always been reluctant to try a new recipe for a special occasion but wanted potato kugel for our Virtual Seder. It was amazing and my family can’t wait to try it at our next Seder. Thank you
Delicious and easy to make
Everyone loved it for the Virtual Sedar!
Hi! I don’t have corn or potato starch. Could I use matzah meal? Thanks! Stay safe…
Hi Amy, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Unfortunately matzah meal is not a suitable replacement for starch. Here is an article that gives great options for replacing corn/potato starch. Hope it helps!
https://food52.com/blog/24362-best-cornstarch-substitutes
Tori, can I cut this recipe in half and use a smaller dish?
Hi Tracy, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We haven’t tested this recipe in a smaller size, but it should work. The cook time may be shorter, without testing we cannot guarantee results.
Hi Tracy, Matthijs from The Netherlands here. I usually make this recipe in half and that works out great as well. I use the same cooking time, about 65 minutes at 200 c, Leftovers freeze well by the way. Really love this recipe, thanks Tori!
Thanks for sharing your helpful feedback!
Making this tomorrow for Seder. My best to tou and your family. Stay safe and stay healthy! Chag Pesach Sameach!