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.
Nivia Mendez-Aucapina says
I’m Puerto Rican may I say thank God for meeting my Glam’Ma who’s Jewish . I had apiece of her Kugel which her niece made . I loved now I follow your recipe Tori may I say it Delicious.. this morning I’m in the middle of making KUGEL .. ????????
Naomi Tiscione says
This is the best kugel recipe I have ever made, including my family recipe (sorry Grandma). It’s sweet, but not cloying, and it’s texture is very firm, and not soggy or slippery. I wasn’t sure what kind of sugar to use, so I used dark brown, and I liked that choice very much.
Because I live at 4500ft, I made a couple of super tiny adjustments that other people living at altitude might or might not be interested in. I turned up the oven to 375 degrees, and at an hour, I started hovering over the oven to watch what the kugel was doing. It became uniformly crisp and lovely at 1hr 20 min.
Charlene says
I make a sweet kugel with farmer cheese cream cheese and whipped cottage cheese half and half sugar eggs Cooked narrow noodles and melted unasalted butter then grease a baking pan with butter and bake for 45 minutes While that’s baking I make a streusel topping and add it to my kugel till it’s all brown and bubbly.Its mike high and light as well as delicious Oh yes a bit of baking powder as well
Judy says
Making 2 trays of this for tonight, my daughter has a pot luck for some Japanese exchange students in her HS program. Smells delish as it finishing in the oven. This is just like the one I remember my mom cooking.
Debra Dail says
I don’t normally follow recipes. This one i did & i made a delicious SLK (noodle pudding) i am African American and i ? this recipe. About to make my 2nd one today .Thanks
Debra Dail says
I Got the recipe from my Patients daughter. She made one for me for a wake. It was a different dish to my family & friend out of all the food that was there everyone was complementing that dish. I made it for the first time today and it was a good dish also i am prove of my self and i follow this recipe thanks
Shoshanna M says
I use this one as a matzo farfel kugel by using chopped apple and plumped raisins for the cup of fruit and substituting the matzo farfel for the cooked noodles. It has always turned out wonderful. When it is first out of the oven I spread jam on it and then sprinkle with shaved almonds. I never have leftovers.
Annabelle May says
Did you do anything to prep the apples or just chopped worked out? I’m trying to find a fruit to add that goes well with it, but I’m just not a fan of raisins.
Christine spencer says
Tori,
Loved your brisket. I’m looking to duplicate my moms kugel ( we’re not Jewish) and I’m almost positive she used Farmers cheese. Would that have been in lieu of the cottage cheese? Your photo looks just like moms . Thanks Christine
Tori Avey says
Hi Christine – yes, farmer’s cheese can be substituted for cottage cheese. It is slightly drier, but the end result should be very similar.
christine spencer says
Tori
Thank you! i used the farmers cheese instead of the cream cheese and the kugel was
light and fluffy, just the right amount of sweet and my husband couldn’t believe he wasn’t
eating my moms recipe. Ive already spread your praises amongst my family.
Sincerely , Christine Spencer
PS- next I’m trying your matzah balls!
Tori Avey says
Fabulous Christine! So happy to hear that. I’ll add farmer’s cheese as an alternative to cream cheese in the ingredient list, as I’ve had this question before. I know many families grew up using farmer’s cheese in their kugel. Thank you for writing!
Carol says
Can Ricotta be substituted for Cottage Cheese ?
Tori Avey says
Yes.
Maria Cullen says
Just tried this recipe last night, wow!!! Had to cut in half because I didn’t have enough precooked egg noodles and I used dried apricots, yum! Because I had a smaller amount, I buttered ramekins and cooked in a water bath for an hour, delish!!! Thank you!
Ron Gross says
Tori, your recipe sounds wonderful. This would be the first time I’ve ever made kugel, and all the different recipes have confused me. Some have just cottage cheese, others have cottage cheese and sour cream, some just sour cream, some have cream cheese & sour cream, etc.
So, as a fairly inexperienced cook, how much of a difference is there, between one of those combinations and the other? Is it just a matter of taste? I also see that the recipes call for between 8 oz of noodles, to 16 oz, yet they all say to use a 9×13 pan. So, which is better?
I’m going to try making your recipe, but these questions are because everyone who sent me their family recipe, has a totally different recipe.
Thanks.
Stan says
This is the recipe my grandmother used. It is the real one!
Stan
Coco says
I’m not Tori but figured I’d weigh in since I’ve made this kugel recipe and a few others — the cream cheese results in a dense, cheesecake-like texture. It’s different from cottage cheese kugel I grew up with, which was fluffier and lighter — this one feels more like dessert to me! I made it for my brother and sister in law (she loves kugel) and they were big fans. I used dried cranberries in place of the raisins.
Harriet Gershkowitz says
I amercing the kugel for next weekend and would will freeze it baked but not completely. Should I defrost before I bake is or should I do it frozen. If frozen for about long?
Tori Avey says
Bake it from frozen at 350 degrees F until center is set and tips of noodles turn golden.
Richard Brown says
Can Egg Tagliatelle be used? What’s the difference between that and egg noodles?
Irving Zangwill says
My wife made a kugel today. It was very delicious. BUT my mother used to use eggs,white raisins (or fruit
cocktail) cinnamon and if she had some ricotta around, sour cream that went in – sometimes marmalade if she had any on hand, I twas sooooooooo good but what’s a Jewish boy going to say about his mother’ recipe. Again, but, many of the recipes I read cab’t be eaten with meat products. It was fun writing this and my wife’s is almost as good and was made for me because I amnot feeling well. What Catholic wife would do this for husband.
Claire DeTorres says
My husband is italian & loves my mothers jewish foods & he eats matzoh’s all the time & I make us matzoh fry a lot as we live in Az. & theres NO jewish restaurants here so I’ve learned to cook different foods & collect different recipes.
Nora says
Luv luv
P. Mandel says
Hi Tori…
Was wondering if I could use gluten free noodles….
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! I think this recipe would work just fine if you were to substitute gluten free egg noodles.
Bradley Wachtel says
Never said at what temperature to cook
Is 325 ok?
Gabriel Richey says
I made this exact recipe with gluten free egg noodles. It was excellent! My wife has a gluten allergy and this was her first time trying kugel. She couldn’t believe how good it was!
Kimberly Liepshutz says
Made this last year to break fast for Yom Kippur and it was such a hit that I am making again this year!! Great recipe thanks for sharing it!
Liza says
Super easy. Super yummy. I used reduced fat products and couldn’t tell the difference.
Susan says
I just love this recipe! One of the best kugels I’ve ever had, let alone made. I just made one for our Rosh Hashanah celebration!
I generally use the recipe as posted, but add a drained can of crushed pineapple to the recipe because my husband loves pineapple. I also use lowfat cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream and find that it makes little to no difference in the consistency or taste of the finished product. Hey, ya gotta save a few calories where you can! 😉
Always a big hit with family and friends at every special occasion! Highly recommended!
Wilma Hoffman says
Can I cover with tin foil for the first half hour. Sometimes the noodles come out very dry and brittle, even with corn flakes on top.
Thanks,
Wilma Hoffman
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Wilma, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. I think it would be fine to cover the kugel for a portion of the cook time if you are concerned about the noodles burning. Just be sure you are cooking until it is completely cooked through.
Barbara Wieller says
I’m making this kugel tonight as part of a dinner I’m having with friends. I don’t have a blender or food processor and placed the ingredients in a large bowl and used my mixer for the cottage cheese etc.
When I poured it in with the noodles the cottage cheese was still a bit lumpy looking. I’m hoping that won’t affect things too much. I had been looking for a kugel recipe that would come close to the one my mother-in-law made years ago which was wonderful and this recipe sounds like it may be what I’ve been searching for. Thank you so much for sharing.