“What is Big Bubbe Energy?” You may ask.
Excellent question! It doesn’t only refer to dishes your grandmother made, but food that speaks to the spirit of Jewish grandmothers across the globe.
Like stick-to-your-guts fare, or a dish that’s always made in vast proportions to cater to any unexpected guests. Maybe it skews a little bit gross or weird, but tastes delicious because your grandma made it. Or a recipe that’s a real patchke, something only a grandmother whose life purpose is to fill her family’s bellies would be happy to spend hours making. Maybe it’s a quick, simple dinner that’s so unbelievably delicious only someone with years of experience could pull it off.
Bask in the best of Jewish grandma culinary magic with these 18 comforting recipes:
1. Crockpot Beef, Barley and Mushroom Soup
This Ashkenazi classic will keep you warm in winter and envelope your kitchen in nostalgic, savory-scented steam.
2. Kubbeh Selek
Only a grandmother could love you enough to spend the time making these semolina dumplings and stuffing them with seasoned beef then simmering them in a savory beet broth. The results are totally worth it, though.
3. Poppy Seed Roll
Proof that bubbe was right when she told you it’s what’s on the inside that matters.
4. Chicken Fricassee
This riot of a dish is essentially braised chicken with added bulk — Meatballs! Potatoes! Gizzards! (If you dare) — intended to ward off hunger at any cost.
5. Cheese Bumuelos
These Sephardic matzah fritters are the type of thing your grandma always has in her fridge to feed unexpected guests, even if they insist they aren’t hungry.
6. Dushpara
“I watched my savta’s wrinkled hands, crisscrossed with veins, twist and fold and pinch in one artful motion, none of the filling seeping out,” recalls Madison Hahamy. You may never be able to make these Bukharian meat-filled dumplings taste as good as when savta makes them, but they’ll be delicious nonetheless.
7. Fried Hot Dogs and Potatoes
Pan-fried potatoes are a babushka specialty, and this recipe adds hot dogs (or kielbasa) to the mix for the ultimate easy-but-indulgent dinner. Or add an egg and call it breakfast.
8. Pan d’Espanya
This orange chiffon cake has been a go-to for Jews of Spanish heritage for generations. It’s the sort of delicate, moreish dessert that appears at holidays and special occasions — or just sits on your grandmother’s counter waiting for hungry mouths.
9. Chicken Paprikash
Filling, starchy comfort food that tastes like simpler times. This recipe can easily be doubled if the family’s coming round for dinner.
10. Stuffed Tomatoes and Onions
Vered Guttman’s Iraqi grandmother, Rachel, used to make this for Shabbat and, even if you’ve never tried it, the first bite will transport you to her table. There’s a bit of skill involved, but even if you’re not as practised as grandmother Rachel, this will still taste amazing.
11. Yapchik
What’s got bigger bubbe energy that an oily, meltingly soft potato kugel? Slow-cooked potato kugel stuffed with meat! You’ll leave the table groaning, just as bubbe intended.
12. Keftes de Prasa
These simple, unassuming leek patties are the kind of dish that your grandmother manages to make unbelievably, unexpectedly delicious. They’ll always be a batch waiting for you in the freezer when you go to visit.
13. Tefteli
Perfectly rounded, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs = BE (bubbe energy). Giant perfectly rounded, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs = BBE. Now you get it.
14. Rice Pudding with Raisins
Love it or loath it, when your grandmother serves you a bowl of rice pudding (with raisins, always with raisins), you know she’s saying “I love you.”
15. Aranygaluska
Aka monkey bread, this sticky, doughy, sugary Hungarian pull-apart dessert oozes generosity and nostalgia.
16. Doro Wat
A massive pot of fragrant, beautifully beige, fall-off-the-bone chicken can only mean one thing.
17. Kumput
This retro stewed fruit dessert may not tempt you right away, but dollop it on top of a scoop of ice cream and you’ll have finished your bowl before you know it.
18. Mafrum
This iconic Jewish-Libyan dish ticks all the BBE boxes: Meat, potatoes, fried, slow-cooked… One serving will simply never be enough.
