Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Make Ahead

by: Jake Cohen

March15,2018

5

11 Ratings

  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Serves 6 to 8

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

The OG back-pocket pasta, noodle kugel gets amped up with brown butter and caramelized onions for an easy and addictive casserole. —Jake Cohen

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 2 tablespoonsolive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cupscottage cheese
  • 1 cupsour cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoonskosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 6 eggs
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 12 ounceswide egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoonsminced sage
  • 1 teaspoonminced thyme
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly caramelized, 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
  2. To the skillet, add the butter and cook, stirring often, until browned and nutty in aroma, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a blender and let cool.
  3. To the blender, add the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, eggs and black pepper. Blend until smooth, then add to the large bowl with the onions.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook until al dente, 7 minutes. Drain, then add to the bowl along with the sage and thyme. Toss until well coated.
  5. Add the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until golden brown and set, 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Tags:

  • Pasta
  • Jewish
  • Butter
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Noodle
  • Onion
  • Sage
  • Sour Cream
  • Thyme
  • Cheese
  • Make Ahead
  • Serves a Crowd

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Barbara Posnick

  • FrugalCat

  • iahawk89

  • Rachel

Popular on Food52

10 Reviews

Barbara P. September 22, 2023

I made this for Rosh Hashanah dinner and it was a total hit! I was serving a maple glazed salmon so I wanted a savory kugel and this was perfect. The only change I made was cutting the salt in half, and it was plenty salty for us.

iahawk89 September 26, 2022

Delicious! I made 1 1/2 recipes and it just fit into my 15 x 10 pyrex dish. I made it yesterday, covered it, and left it in the fridge overnight. I let it rest on the counter for about 30 minutes and then baked at 350 for an hour. Really good!

Rachel September 8, 2021

This was excellent, and quite simple to make, though there were a lot of steps. I added some caramelized apples as well, which was a great contrast to the onions. Definitely indulgent, and delicious. Great for Rosh Hashanah dinner.

shoepershopper October 13, 2022

That addition of apples sounds WONDERFUL! What a great suggestion for an addition.

Okays September 6, 2021

Hi I’m making this for Rosh hashanna I was wondering can I make this the day before without baking? Getting it out the fridge a couple hours before to be room temperature and then bake it ? Or just make the egg, cottage cheese mix, cook the onions, cook pasta leave it all in celebrate bowls and then mix it all together just before going in the oven ?

goldchip February 14, 2021

You had me at brown butter. this was scrumptious comfort food, perfect for a cold winter’s day. I paired it with a flourless chocolate cake for a mid-winter valentine’s day feast. I scaled the recipe up by 1.5 and it filled a 9 x 13 pan to the top. I subbed whole plain greek yogurt for sour cream, and a generous handful of dried herbs for fresh (sage and thyme). Spectacular, will definitely make again. Note this is all about the carmelized onions — mine took a good 50 minutes, even at relatively high heat. Be sure to pour the brown butter through a strainer to remove the solids. Also I cooked in advance — 30 minutes at 375, cooled to refrigerate overnight. The day of serving I heated for 30 minutes at 375, it could have used another 10 minutes. It was moist and delicious.

ellent124 September 5, 2019

You don't cook the onions first?

Robinsonv September 20, 2020

He does. That’s the first thing he does in the video caramelize the onions and set them aside before you brown the butter.

Kim April 16, 2019

Can you make this recipe in advance and re-heat (covered?), or will it dry out?

FrugalCat April 13, 2018

Also good with onion soup mix. (Omit the salt if you do this).

Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter  Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

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.

What do you eat with noodle Kugel? ›

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.

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.

Why do Jews eat noodle Kugel? ›

As Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz once said, “Jews eat lots of lokshen on Shabbat because noodles are symbolic of the unity of the people of Israel: They are so tangled that they can never be separated.” Noodle kugel may not actually be eaten by all Jews, but it has clearly reached far beyond mere Ashkenazi cuisine.

What does kugel symbolize? ›

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.

When should I eat noodle Kugel? ›

Noodle kugel is one of those hearty casseroles you'll want to dive into any time of day. 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.

Why do people eat kugel? ›

Jewish festivals

Some Hasidic Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic Rebbe.

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 noodle 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.

Does noodle Kugel need to be refrigerated? ›

Does noodle kugel need to be refrigerated? Yes, because of the dairy, kugel must be kept in the refrigerator. Storing leftover baked kugel: Let cool completely, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

What is the Yiddish word for egg noodles? ›

Lokshen (Yiddish: לאָקשן, lokshn), also known as Itriyot (Hebrew: איטריות), locshen, lockshen, or Jewish egg noodles, is the common name of a range of Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles that are commonly used in a variety of Jewish dishes including chicken soup, kugel, kasha varnishkes, lokshen mit kaese, and as a side dish ...

Is noodle Kugel hot or cold? ›

Half of my family prefers to eat kugel warm, right out of the oven, while the other half (in my opinion, the correct half) prefers to eat it cold, after being refrigerated. But warm or cold, crunchy or soft, every part of kugel still tastes and feels like home.

Is kugel sweet or savory? ›

Noodle kugel is a traditional Jewish dish of egg noodles baked in a sweet or savory custard.

How do you keep egg noodles from falling apart? ›

Don't dump the whole package of noodles into the pot at once, or they will clump together and break. Add them a handful at a time, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or a fork to separate them. Don't stir too hard or too often, or you will damage the noodles. Cook the noodles until they are al dente.

Why did my egg noodles disintegrate? ›

Water Temperature, a higher temp will cause them to break down. Noodle Temperature, not the right temp when entering the water. Agitation, too much stirring after they are added.

Why did my egg noodles turn to mush? ›

One of the most common reasons for mushy noodles is overcooking. Pasta, including noodles, has a relatively short cooking time compared to other ingredients typically prepared in a crockpot. If you leave the noodles in the slow cooker for too long, they will absorb too much liquid and become soft and mushy.

How do you keep noodles from breaking? ›

Don't stir. Employ pushing, flipping, and tossing techniques instead of stirring. Stirring can cause noodles to break, as the spatula can cut them into smaller pieces. This is especially true for delicate, freshly cooked rice noodles.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Trent Wehner

Last Updated:

Views: 6055

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (56 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Trent Wehner

Birthday: 1993-03-14

Address: 872 Kevin Squares, New Codyville, AK 01785-0416

Phone: +18698800304764

Job: Senior Farming Developer

Hobby: Paintball, Calligraphy, Hunting, Flying disc, Lapidary, Rafting, Inline skating

Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.