Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (2024)

This month’s Community Recipe is Laura Williams’ creamy vegan noodle kugel recipe is a real crowd pleaser. Community Recipes is a recurring feature where I ask a community member to share a vegan recipe with us.

Kugel is a a classic ashkenazi Jewish baked casserole

Noodle kugel is a classic ashkenazi Jewish baked casserole that is normally made with noodles or potatoes and lots of dairy products. Healthier vegan noodle recipes replace the dairy with vegan and plant-based ingredients. The Jewish Food Hero Kitchen’s healthy vegan noodle kugel recipe is a low-fat recipe that features silken tofu and mushroom for a creamy savoury dish.

Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (1)

Tell us about yourself, Laura

I was born and raised in the Metro-Detroit Jewish community. Today, I’m the Director of Cultural Resources at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, MI where I oversee the synagogue archives and library. I went vegan in 2015. I had been inspired by the documentary “Cowspirarcy” and started doing research about the ethical and environmental impacts of animal-based products. Before going vegan, I was an avid baker and now I’m determined to transform my favorite recipes into delicious vegan-friendly alternatives that don’t lose the nostalgic taste.

Vegan Egg Substitute

The biggest challenge thus far in my vegan baking has been to create a creamy vegan noodle kugel recipe. The vegan kugel never seemed to come out right until recently, when JUST Egg came on the scene. The last piece to the seemingly impossible puzzle was complete. JUST also makes a kosher egg-free mayo that is delicious.

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Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (2)

Other vegan dairy substitutes used in this recipe

This recipe calls for ½ cup vegan butter. My favorite brands to use as a vegan butter substitute are Earth Balance and Smart Balance. The recipe uses 1 ¼ cups of vegan sour cream. Good Karma is a delicious vegan sour cream substitute.

Vegan Cottage Cheese Really Exists

Alongside the Just Egg, I came across a great recipe for vegan cottage cheese that works perfectly in this Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe. The best pasta to use here is either eggless fusilli or eggless cellentani.

Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (3)

Pleasing a tough crowd – my family

After testing many times, this Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe has passed the taste test of even the toughest family members to please.

By adapting the recipe used by my family, my Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe holds true as a crowd favorite. This recipe is classic and simple, but there is no offense taken if you add pineapple, corn flakes, or even…raisins. Enjoy!

Jewish Food Hero Kitchen Vegan Challah Recipe Cards

Download a beautiful printable Vegan challah recipe card – the recipe is oil free and has two surprising and top secret ingredients.

More resources for vegan Jewish recipes

This plant-based squash dip would be a delicious spread to serve with egg- free challah.

Challah. These mini baked parsnip and sweet potato latkes are delicious

This plant-based kosher for passover apple pistachio cake also makes a good Shabbat dessert especially during the holiday of Passover. This recipe is oil-free and lighter than traditional Passover desserts.

These plant-based stuffed cabbage rolls These stuffed cabbage rolls from the Jewish Food Hero Kitchen are as delicious and satiating as traditional cabbage rolls, while being less heavy and more nutritious. You can bake these rolls of prepare them in a slow cooker. rolls can be baked or made in a slow cooker.

Community cookbook

If you like Laura’s recipe, you will love Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves Cookbook, a Jewish female community cookbook.

Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (4)

Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselvescookbook features a short compelling narrative of 20 female biblical heroines from the Hebrew bible, paired with two healthy plant-based kosher pareve recipes inspired by the character’s experience.

This is a community cookbook by Jewish Food Hero and is the co-creation of 40 Jewish women. The twenty biblical narratives are contributed by Rabbis, Rabbinical students, Jewish teachers and emerging thought leaders. The forty-one plant-based recipes were developed by professional chefs, homecooks who are elementary school students, and great-grandmothers.

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Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (5)

Laura’s Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe

  • Author: Laura Williams.
Print Recipe

Description

A creamy vegan noodle kugel recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 10 oz. Curly/Swirly eggless pasta
  • ½ cup vegan butter
  • 1 ¼ cups vegan sour cream
  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (and extra to sprinkle on top at the end)
  • 1 cup Just Egg

For the Vegan Cottage Cheese (1 ¾ cups):

  • 1 ¾ cups vegan cottage cheese
  • 1 cup soft or silken tofu
  • ¾ tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • ¾ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ¾ tablespoons lemon juice
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (150g) firm tofu, crumbled

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9”x13” dish.

  2. Cook noodles according to the package instructions.

  3. Drain noodles and transfer to a large bowl. Add butter and let the warm noodles melt it. Mix to ensure butter is evenly distributed.

  4. Make cottage cheese: in a blender, add the silken tofu, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until blended.

  5. Pour the blended mixture into a medium bowl. Crumble the firm tofu on top and fold to combine. Your cottage cheese is complete.

  6. Add sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, and Just Egg to the cottage cheese bowl..

  7. Add wet ingredients into the large bowl of noodles, fold.

  8. Pour mixture evenly into greased 9×13 dish. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

  9. Bake for 1 hour or until the top noodles crisp to bown.

Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (2024)

FAQs

Why is kugel a Jewish food? ›

And then I read in The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Around the World of a Hasidic rabbi, Pinchas of Koretz (in Galicia), who claimed that lokshen kugel itself symbolizes Jewish unity, since the noodles are all tangled together and are really inseparable, just like the unified Jewish people.

What's the difference between a kugel and a casserole? ›

The common denominators of all true kugels are a starch base, eggs (or egg substitute), and fat, without the addition of water or other liquids. If the dish lacks any of the basic ingredients, it is technically a casserole or cake, not a kugel.

Do people eat kugel for Rosh Hashanah? ›

One of many styles of kugel, a baked pudding or casserole in the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, sweet noodle kugel is typically the one seen most often on the table during weekly Shabbat or holidays like Rosh Hashanah or Shavuot.

What is the story of kugel? ›

The kugel was born in Eastern Europe as a leftover bread pastry with fat and eggs and only eight centuries ago evolved into the lokshen (noodle) kugel we know today. Rice kugels were invented in the 16th century thanks to Ottoman influences, and the popular Polish potato kugel showed up in the nineteenth century.

What does kugel mean in Hebrew? ›

The name of the dish comes from the Yiddish word kugel meaning 'sphere, globe, ball'; thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round balls of dough that were placed in the center of the cholent, a traditional Shabbat stew, to cook alongside it and absorb its flavors for its later use as a side dish ...

What is the English word for kugel? ›

„Kugel“: Femininum

ball bullet, pellet, shot sphere, globe bulb head thick flank roulette ball sphere shot, bowl, ball ball More translations... ball.

What does kugel mean in Yiddish? ›

Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl, pronounced [ˈkʊɡl̩]) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen (לאָקשן קוגל lokshen kugel) or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Why does my noodle Kugel fall apart? ›

Make Sure to Cool Your Kugel

Once it's baked, a kugel needs to cool, otherwise it will fall apart when slicing. Give it at least an hour to cool and set up, then slice and serve it warm or at room temperature.

Should kugel be eaten hot or cold? ›

Kugel is traditionally served as a side dish alongside something meaty like brisket or roast chicken. In this case it would normally be served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and eaten cold the next day. Sweeter versions can also be eaten hot or cold, and taste great with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

Why do we eat kugel on Shabbos? ›

Thus, we have two remembrances of the manna during the Shabbat meal. One is the two loaves of challah that correspond to the double portion of manna we received on Fridays during our sojourn in the desert, and the other is the kugel, which corresponds to the manna we will eat after Moshiach comes.

Why is kugel eaten at Hanukkah? ›

It commonly makes an appearance on the dinner table during Shavuot (along with bourekas), when it's traditional to consume dairy foods, and Shabbat because it's said that kugel resembles the manna that fell from heaven. It's the perfect side dish for a Hanukkah latke party, adding some richness to the meal.

How long does kugel last in the fridge? ›

Recipe Note

Potato kugel keeps well in the refrigerator for four to five days, as long as it's covered. You can eat a cold slice right out of the fridge, or reheat it in a 350 F oven, uncovered so the top can crisp, until hot. Kugel will also freeze well.

What country does kugel come from? ›

Image of What country does kugel come from?
Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Northeast Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe, usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe, as well as from former Yugoslavia.
Wikipedia

Is kugel eaten at Passover? ›

"Farfel kugel is a Jewish pudding typically eaten at the Passover table but can be enjoyed any time of year," says recipe creator CRW. "This kugel is a savory one that is a wonderful accompaniment to any meat dish with gravy to help soak up the gravy."

What does kugel taste like? ›

In the end, here's how I'd describe our kugel: Just slightly sweet. Just slightly eggy. Definitely not diet food. Lots of surface area for crispy noodles.

Why is kugel significant? ›

Some also say that the tangled pasta of the noodle kugel specifically has been said to be a symbol of Jewish unity – from the Ashkenazi to the Mizrahi.

Why do Jews eat gefilte? ›

Jewish. Among religiously observant Jews, gefilte fish has become a traditional Shabbat food to avoid borer, which is one of the 39 activities prohibited on Shabbat outlined in the Shulchan Aruch.

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