Tzimmes is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish side dish made with sweet root vegetables. Preparations often include carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, and dried fruits. This lovely, sweet, colorful dish is often served for Rosh Hashanah. The word tzimmes is a Yiddish expression for “making a fuss” over something.
The Yiddish name for this dish is accurate. Tzimmes is a bit of a fussy dish. With all of those root veggies, the recipe involves peeling and chopping, then more peeling, then more chopping. That said, the recipe is actually pretty simple once you get past the vegetable prep.
This side dish is most often served for Rosh Hashanah, where sweet foods are served to signify our hope for a sweet new year. Carrots may be chopped into circles, which are reminiscent of coins, symbolizing prosperity. Sometimes tzimmes are served with meat, like chunks of flanken or short ribs, in a luscious sort of savory/sweet stew. Most often, they’re served as a side dish to accompany the holiday meal.
But here’s the most important question about tzimmes… how the heck do you pronounce it??
Tsi-miss!
You’re welcome.
If your kitchen is anything like mine during the holidays, oven space is precious. With brisket and chicken in the oven, kugel warming, and challah baking, I try to find ways to cook my side dishes on the stovetop. Hence the name of this recipe – Stovetop Tzimmes!
To make this dish parve or vegetarian/vegan, use “no-chicken” broth (a vegan broth option) to cook the ingredients. I like using chicken broth because it adds a savory element to this naturally sweet dish, giving it a nice balance of flavors. This dish is gluten free and kosher for Passover (if you use KFP certified broth/ingredients). Enjoy!
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Stovetop Tzimmes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds orange yams, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (2 potatoes)
- 1 1/2 pounds white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (2 potatoes)
- 1 pound carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds (8 carrots)
- 6 ounces dried apples (1 1/2 cups)
- 6 ounces dried cranberries (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (you may substitute "no chicken" broth)
- 12 ounces pitted prunes (3 cups)
Instructions
- Place cut yams, sweet potatoes, and carrots on the bottom of a large heavy pot.
- Pour dried apples and cranberries on top.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper. Pour mixture over the fruits and vegetables in the pot.
- Add chicken broth or "no chicken" broth to the pot, covering the vegetables halfway. Heat pot over medium high until it begins to simmer. Stir the ingredients once gently.Reduce heat to a gentle but constant simmer. Cover the pot.
- After 45 minutes, open the pot and gently stir again. Place pitted prunes on top of the simmering ingredients.
- Cover pot. Continue to cook on lowest heat for another 15 minutes, until potato pieces are tender and prunes have warmed and softened. Don't cook too long, or the prunes will dissolve-- it will make a nice sauce for the tzimmes, but it won't look so pretty on the table.Serve warm as a side dish to a festive holiday meal.
Nutrition
Tori, this was delicious! Easy to make too. During this pandemic, I made about 3/4 of the recipe. I wanted leftovers for just the 2 of us. It was perfect, and I hope I can serve it for a larger group next year, for any Jewish holiday. Thanks for a wonderful recipe! And have a sweet and healthy new year! Shana tovah!
Thanks Alene! I hope the same for next year. Shana tova!
I made this a day ahead in my crockpot. I cooked it on high for 4 hours and then turned it down to low for 1 more hour. It cooked beautifully. It completely filled my big crockpot, and filled a large serving dish with at least 6 cups that I saved for later. Now that I know it comes out well in the crockpot, I would actually make it the same day next time because the vegetables absorbed some of the sauce in the fridge overnight. Personal view: I did not care for the white sweet potato (it was mealy compared to the orange), so I would increase the carrots and yams next time. I also substituted date sugar for the brown sugar (which I do for most things) and it tasted great. People liked it and I would definitely make it again.
I bet this would cook up easy in the instant pot. Trying it!
I have made it in my Instant Pot. Comes out delicious!
Can I use real apples? I happen to have a bunch of them.
Yes but you may need to adjust broth or water levels, as the apples will produce more liquid as they cook.
I love this recipe; couldn’t find dried apples so put in one Granny Smith. Should have reduced the broth
volume, but it’s going to turn out okay. Also, we’ve got some people who need to avoid prunes, so I used
dried appricots and dates instead. This recipe is very tolerant of experimentation.
This recipe sounds just like my grandmothers but she used to make with short ribs as an entree. Do you have any suggestions on how I can adapt your recipe to do this? Thanks in advance for your help!
Can you make ahead of time and freeze?
Hi Irit, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. I would suggest freezing the tzimmes on a sheet tray covered with parchment and then transferring to an airtight bag or container once frozen. Hope this helps!
I’ve been making this dish for years! It is always a tremendous success and so easy to make. Thank you.
A dumb thing, but: the bowl you mix the sauce in should be big enough to hold at least 6 cups of fluid. 8 would not be an error.
Also: the store ran out of dried plums; I could only get 3/4 cup. I substituted figs for the other half, and it turned out just fine.
This recipe is very tolerant of people like me who don’t know what they’re doing.
Also: this is a stove-top recipe, as opposed to an oven-bake recipe: very helpful for holidays when a turkey might be tying up the oven for many hours.
Would you suggest tart or sweet apples? I’m going to dehydrate my own so I can pick any variety. Thanks!
They are both great! Tart will bring another layer of flavor so you might want to go that direction, as there is already quite a bit of sweet in the dish. 🙂
Would leaving the apples out really change the flavor? can’t find them anywhere.
No it will still be good. 🙂 If you want you can substitute dried apricots.
Do you have a tzimmes recipe for baked tsimmis? Not too sweet?
Most tzimmes are on the sweet side. I am considering a roasted tzimmes recipe this season, if I have time I will post it!
Can’t wait for the roasted tzimmes recipe!
Here’s my recipe for roasted tzimmes: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/roasted-rosemary-balsamic-tzimmes/
I’ve made this so many times with variations in the recipe due to what I have in the pantry. It’s always fabulous. I especially love the two different kinds of sweet potatoes for some reason.
I’ve given out the recipe multiple times. It’s that yummy. Thank you!!!
Excellent recipe! I added dried apricots and substituted raisins for cranberries. Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I also substituted to large cans of yams for the potatoes and threw them in with the raisins and prunes towards the end.
This recipe was excellent! I added dried apricots and subsituted raisins for cranberries.
There isn’t a year go by that I don’t make Tzimmes for Rosh HaShana as well as Pesach 🙂 SHANA TOVA
It would not be a holiday in my house without this recipe. I always cook the day before and under cook by about ten minutes. I don’t add the prunes until the day of. Thank you for this recipe.
How do you store it if you cook it a day ahead? Refrigerator? Room temperature?
I have made the stovetop tzimmes- everyone loves it. I would like to add a matzah ball- for sukkot this but not sure how to do. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thank you, Jodi
This will be my third year adapting this recipe for my family! I have made a number of changes to accommodate dietary restrictions and preferences and it’s a great template. I sub dried apricots for the apples and cranberries as well as pineapple juice for orange juice. I am going to try it without added sugar this year, per another reviewer’s idea.
Making this for 75 people next week for Passover.
My mom used to use canned Yams. Is this OK?
Hi Lisa– canned yams will be too soft and mushy, unless you plan to add them right at the end of cooking.
I used less than honey specified and no brown sugar, plenty sweet. Also I think I was very close on her measurements – we had 6 adults & 5 kids, I had 1/2 leftover. Actually nothing compelling about this recipe. Needs some zingy- ness – maybe grated orange zest?
I purposely kept this recipe simple, in the spirit of more traditional tzimmes that a lot of people grew up eating. If you’re looking for something with more “zingy-ness,” try this preparation: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/roasted-rosemary-balsamic-tzimmes/
Just made this slightly underdone as you suggested (40 min first and then 10 after prunes) as it will be re-heated to be served tomorrow for the holiday. Am bringing it from Maryland in a cooler on the train, for my 92 year old Jewish mother in NYC! I must admit, I took a taste and it is PERFECT! (I did add 1/2 of a large onion sauteed in a little olive oil for a touch of savory, but other than that stuck to the recipe by the letter. GREAT recipe and great site! (Love your falafel as well!). Thank you! I’ll be back looking for other goodies!