Yes folks, it’s official… I’ve got dairy on the brain! Shavuot is right around the corner, a Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. On Shavuot we eat dairy foods. There could be a number of reasons for this tradition. There is a verse in the Song of Solomon (4:11) which says that the Torah is like “milk and honey under your tongue,” which might indicate a connection between the Torah-centric holiday and dairy foods. Some believe that on the first Shavuot, because the Israelites had not yet received the kosher laws, their foods did not follow kashrut. When they received the Torah, they read the new laws of kashrut and realized their meat dishes were not kosher, so they opted to eat dairy dishes only. Still others say that Shavuot occurs during the fertile spring period, when animal mothers produce lots of fresh milk.
Whatever the reason, I love dairy foods, so this is my kind of holiday! As I was flipping through my recipe archives, I suddenly realized that I’ve never shared my basic recipe for a Sweet Lokshen Kugel. Gasp! How did that happen??
Kugel is a Jewish dish similar to a casserole or pudding. The dish originated over 800 years ago in southern Germany and became a staple with Jewish families throughout Eastern Europe. Jewish immigrants brought the kugel with them to the United States, where it continues to be a popular holiday dish today. There are many kinds of kugel, all made with three basic ingredients: eggs, fat, and starch. The starch used to make kugel varies; I’ve seen kugels made with matzo, matzo farfel, noodles, bread, or rice. They’re all yummy in their own way, but my favorite is noodle kugel.
The word lokshen is Yiddish for noodle. A lokshen kugel is a kugel made with noodles. There are endless variations on the noodle kugel theme; they can be made savory or sweet, topped or untopped, with dried fruit or nuts or seasonings. Sweet lokshen kugels tend to be the most popular in the U.S., with good reason! They are simple and affordable to throw together with just a few ingredients. They can be easily transported, making kugel a good choice for potlucks or family get-togethers. Most importantly, they are delicious.
This is a great basic dairy kugel recipe– moist and creamy, with a nice crunchy noodle topping. My family likes it exactly as written. You can feel free to adapt it to suit your taste, kugel is very forgiving. Raisins can be substituted with another dried fruit, like cherries or chopped dried apricots. Nuts and spices can be mixed in before baking. Add a topping if you’d like. The kugel will taste best when made with full fat ingredients, but if you’re watching your figure you can use lowfat dairy. It will still taste great.
Enough chit-chatting, time for a slice of kugel. Shabbat Shalom!
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Sweet Lokshen Kugel
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins (optional) - you may substitute other fruits like craisins, dried chopped apricots, or chopped drained pineapple
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 6 large eggs
- 1 pound sour cream (2 cups)
- 8 ounces cottage cheese (1 cup)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened - OR farmer's cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Cinnamon and sugar for dusting
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Cover the raisins with hot water and let them soak to plump while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles to the pot, bring back to a boil, and let them cook until tender (not overly soft), about 5 minutes. Drain and return the cooked noodles to the pot.
- In a food processor or blender, blend together the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar, melted butter, and salt.
- Pour the egg mixture over the cooked noodles in the pot and stir until well combined.
- Drain the raisins. Stir them into the noodles.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking oil. Pour the noodle mixture into the dish.
- Top the kugel by sprinkling generously with sugar and lightly with cinnamon. Alternatively, you can use your favorite kugel topping (streusel, crushed graham crackers, cornflakes, etc.).
- Bake the kugel for about 60 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, till the center of the kugel is set and the tips of the noodles turn golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- Let the kugel rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Kugel can be served warm or cold.
Rhonda Birenbaum says
How have I lived for 49 years without this Kugel recipe masterpiece!? Thank you so much for sharing! It is creamy and sweet. The consistency is nice and firm, but not too firm! I didn’t realize how dry and loose my own Kugel recipe was until I made your Kugel.
Rose says
It came out perfect. Even better than I remember my mother’s. Brought it to my daughter’s house. She looked at the pan and said I made too much. She called me the next day and said it was half gone and can I give her the recipe so she can make it for in laws. I love you.
Pam Beldner says
I found a Sweet Kugel recipe in an ORT cook book about 50 years ago. Gave the cook book to my daughter in law but lost my copy over the years. I don’t remember anything about soaking the raisins. I just mixed them with the egg mixture and then the noodles. At least I think that’s what I did. I’m very glad I found your recipe. Thanks.
Tori Avey says
Hi Pam! I have found that soaking the raisins, especially if they are dry, can help to plump them and make them extra juicy. If your raisins are somewhat fresh there is no need.
Elizabeth says
Finally found your recipe. It is the best!!!
Tori Avey says
Why thank you Elizabeth! 🙂
Ellen Gust says
Made this recipe. It was delicious. Have a lot left over. ACan Noodle kugel be frozen?
Tori Avey says
Yes, no problem. It tastes best reheated in the oven.
Ellen says
Can I use cream cheese or sour cream in place of cottage cheese?
Tori Avey says
Yes, but the texture may change slightly. If using sour cream, which tends to be more liquid, you may need to bake slightly longer to firm it up.
Kathy says
Hi,
I am a little short on time and wonder if this can be prepped the night before? If not what is the best way to reheat without drying the noodles?
Tori Avey says
You can prep and bake it the night before. Bake it about 80% done. The next day, reheat in a 350 degree oven and bake until golden brown (baking that last 20% and finishing it, while reheating it at the same time).
Jami says
This recipe brought back so many delicious family traditional memories! This is made exactly how I remember my Bubby making this during Hanukkah and Passover, I cooked this for thanksgiving paying close attention to buying full fattening products as suggested and it was delectable. Haha! Just one question other than raisins, what other dried fruits would make this dish just as tasty? Thanks for your advice in advance.
Tori Avey says
Dried cranberries (craisins), chopped dried apricots, and sweet dried cherries all work great! Also you can use pineapple chunks (well drained) for a twist. 🙂
Lauren H says
I love kugel, or noodle pudding, as we grew up calling it. This is basically the same recipie my grandmother made and passed on to my momma. And she taught me when, as she put it, was “finished cooking forever.” My goyim husband calls it noodle stuffing and it can never be forgotten. My entire family hates raisins but our not so secret family ingredient is very cherry grapeless fruit cocktail. This brings back so many great memories of family past and present. Thanks for the reminder I just put the 2018 Thanksgiving noodle pudding in the oven!
Erwin M Jacobs says
I made this for my family and it was perfect even though I did not use the sour cream-I did not have it on hand- but will use it next time.l
debra says
Ricotta in lieu of cottage cheese delicious!
Jo Ann Adiele says
My daughter doesn’t like raisins! Is she my daughter?? Kidding! I want to use apples, should I fry them first? This recipe is so yummy!
Tori Avey says
Hi Jo Ann! If you are using apples I would suggest peeling and dicing them into 1/2 inch pieces, then adding directly to the kugel. I’m thinking they should cook up tender at that size, no need to pre-fry.
Maxx says
Can you make this without using a food processor?
Tori Avey says
You can use a blender to blend the wet ingredients together. Mixing it by hand will leave chunks of cream cheese, unless it is very softened before mixing.
Maxx says
Thanks Tori. Can I use an electric hand mixer (if I let the cream cheese soften first)?
Tori Avey says
Hi Maxx, yes that should work. You just want to make sure it’s as smooth as possible.
Sheila says
Can you double the recipe?
Tori Avey says
Yes, but you should separate it between two baking dishes.
Carol says
Great recipe! I made it exactly according to the directions and it was perfect. Now my families favorite noodle kugel.
Karen Roth Ingber says
I stuck to the recipe exactly. The only change I made was swapping dried cranberries for the raisins. It was a huge hit at my mom’s house last night for Rosh Hashanah dinner. I’m definitely going to add this to my list of go-to holiday recipes.
Eve says
Can your kugel recipe be adjusted for use in a smaller pan? If so what size would you recommend? I want to bake in my Breville – in AZ it’s way too hot to open the oven. I did it once in the winter and it was perfect.
Tori Avey says
Hi Eve, I am sure it could. Kugel is very forgiving. Just use whatever size pan works best for you, and bake until the center of the kugel is set and the tips of the noodle turn golden.
Linda says
Sound so yummy. My mother made kugel al the time pretty close to this recipe. I add 1/2 jar of high quality orange marmalade, orange zest, and the juice of an orange to the batter. Before adding the crushed corn flake butter topping, I glaze the kugel with more marmalade. If it’s an adult get together I soak the raisins over night in orange liquor or Southern Comfort. If kids are joining in I soak in orange juice. Sounds sweeter than it is because the noodles are bland.
Chris Avey says
This looks like a good recipe to veganise, I’ve not come across a noodle or pasta based pudding before.
Chris Avey
JohnnySmash says
This was a good recipe. You can swap fruits and toppings to suit your own tastes and put a tasty spin on it. This brought back great memories. Your posting was a mitzvah!
Lainie says
As a little twist (mostly because my family didn’t care for the suggested fruit) I added cinnamon apples. It was a huge hit!