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
15 servings
15 minutes
1 hour
Dairy
Description
Learn to make traditional Yiddish dairy noodle pudding with cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, and cinnamon. Kosher
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins (optional) - you may substitute other fruits like craisins, dried chopped apricots, or chopped drained pineapple
- 12 oz wide egg noodles
- 6 large eggs
- 1 lb sour cream (2 cups)
- 8 oz cottage cheese (1 cup)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened - OR farmer's cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Cinnamon and sugar for dusting
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
Recipe Notes
You will also need: large pot, food processor or blender, 9x13 baking dish
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.
Susan says
It’s that time of year when all I want is the food my grandmother used to make.
If I cut the recipe down to 7 servings and cook In a smaller pan, what oven temp?
Andrea says
Hi Tori,
I have made many of your recipes and was never disappointed! This kugel is to die for!
I made it again today and it is just so delicious and comforting. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!
Tori Avey says
So happy to hear that!
Amanda says
I hosted the 1st night of Hanukkah for the 1st time this year and made this recipe as a surprise for my Aba – kugel is his favorite, and I’ve never made one before. This was an absolute hit – the star of the table! Everyone asked for the recipe and raved about it. The only thing I did differently, was after blending in the food processor, I added 2 heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese for texture.y family has asked that I host the 1st night of Hanukkah every year, and that this kugel is always served. THANK YOU!!
Denise says
If I freeze this, do,I bake first? Or, do I freeze and then bake?
Tori Avey says
Bake until 80% done, then freeze. Reheat in a 325 degree oven until heated through and golden.
Joshua says
I was looking for a Kugel recipe (many times eater; first time maker) and found yours. I thought the discussion was particularly interesting and identified you as someone who knew and appreciated the dish’s history & cultural context – always a good sign – and your scalable ingredient list is brilliant. Such a handy feature!
There is one minor flaw in that presentation that might throw off some readers: While the weight measures for sour cream, cottage cheese, and cream cheese scale correctly, the volumetric measures do not, but are instead static.
Many thanks for presenting such an interesting story, delicious looking recipe, and user friendly presentation. I’m certainly signing up for your newsletter.
Tori Avey says
Thanks Joshua, I will look into that!
Jerri says
This is as close to my Mother’s recipe, I could find;stirring memories. Thank You. Happy Holidays!
Tori Avey says
Happy holidays Jerri! 🙂
Marty Konopko says
Tori I made this last week. Easy to do and it came out great.
Thank you for posting.
Tori Avey says
Glad to hear it. 🙂
Kugel Lover says
Could we use a mixer instead of a food processor or blender? Would it mix in the cream cheese as well?
Tori Avey says
Yes, but make sure the cream cheese has softened prior to mixing.
Susan says
How do I cut this recipe I’m hslf and still have it come out as yours did?
Tori Avey says
You should be able to just halve all the ingredients and get a similar result, but be sure to use a smaller baking dish or pan – 8×8 would probably work well.
Nadine Friedlander says
I made this recipe last year and it fell apart. What could have been the reason for that. ?
Tori Avey says
Did you let it cool before slicing? If you slice it hot it will fall apart.
Nadine Friedlander says
I froze this about 1 week before I used it, then reheated it. Do u think freezing it first could have caused it to fall apart. It never was in a solid form from beginning.
Tori Avey says
Freezing shouldn’t have affected it. When you say it was never solid, do you mean that it cooled from the oven loose? Did it seem too liquid? Did you use large sized eggs? Hard to know what happened without watching it being made, but this rarely happens with kugel (it’s a very forgiving dish) so I’m a bit stumped.
allison says
Can this be made in muffin tins for individual pieces. if so, what are cooking instructions?
Kate Sweeney says
This was amazing! The highest form of compliment came in having my mother-in-law ask me for the recipe!
Tori Avey says
Don’t you love it when that happens? 🙂
Carol says
This is a nice recipe, but I do wish I’d added more sugar, as one commenter said they did. To me kugel should be rather sweet. I notice other recipes call for one cup, while this calls for 1/2 cup.
Tori Avey says
Carol, I think you may be commenting on the wrong recipe, as this one calls for a full cup of sugar. Maybe you got your kugel from a different site?
Ellen says
Can the kugel be made ahead of time?
Tori Avey says
Yes, please read through comments on guidance for this.
David says
In order to save time (and counter space) can the egg mixture be made a day ahead?
Tori Avey says
Yes I think you could. But you can also make the whole thing one day ahead to really save on space, I do that often. 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).
amy Semble says
Can you freeze this?
Tori Avey says
Yes it should freeze just fine.
Susan says
what did you mean by turn once, turn pan or stir in pan. Delish
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Susan, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking helps to make sure the kugel bakes evenly. 🙂
Judy Wray says
I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds fantastic. I was wondering if gluten-free noodles would work in this recipe.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Judy, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. GF noodles would be fine.
Robert Muller says
I see online some people use Riccota cheese instead of cottage and sour cream .is this traditional ???
Tori Avey says
Depends on family tradition, every family has their own favorite method of preparation. Ricotta works great too!
Alex says
This noodle kugel was fantastic! Easy to make and a pleasure to enjoy. I added some more sugar and added some more raisins than what the recipe called for, and I was very happy that I did. My family has already asked me to make it next year for Passover. Thank you Toriavey!
Chloe Delaitre says
Thank you great directions…..