I didn’t grow up eating kugel regularly. My only exposure to kugel was on the one or two times a year we would all gather around my grandmother’s dining room table for Jewish holidays. My grandmother would serve two kinds of kugel which she would describe as “one sweet, one savory.” I would more aptly describe them as “dry and drier.”
When I was in college and dating “a nice Jewish boy” his mother made an incredible dairy noodle kugel with crushed pineapple, butter and sour cream. Now THAT was kugel. I was in love. And when I met my husband and his family, I fell in love with his Baba Billie’s salt and pepper noodle kugel.
Like everything Baba Billie made, this kugel is not for the faint-hearted, or faint-stomached. This is not a light recipe, but it is good. You may look at the amount of oil and think, come on — really? Yes, really. I don’t make this every day, nor do I suggest making it every day. We make it a few times each year always to rave reviews. Everything in moderation, or so my father always says, and this kugel is no exception.
My husband likes to use regular wide noodles, but I opt for the super-duper extra wide. You can use either variety you like.
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Like a little kick? Make sure to use hot paprika on top. If you prefer to play to it safe just use a sweet, smoky paprika instead.
Special equipment: 13×9 Pyrex baking dish.
Salt and Pepper Noodle Kugel
Guaranteed rave reviews.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) package of wide or extra-wide egg noodles
- 2 Tbsp jarred garlic
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 6 eggs
- paprika
- 3–4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. When oven is heated, add 3-4 heaping Tbsp olive oil to baking dish and place pan in oven for the oil to heat. This step will make for a crispier kugel.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook noodles as directed on package, around 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- While noodles are cooking, whisk together eggs, garlic, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Add cooked noodles to egg mixture and mix gently until completely coated. Remove baking dish with hot oil from the oven and add noodles to the dish. It will sizzle slightly — this is a good thing.
- Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered or until noodles are desired crispiness. Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
Special equipment: Pyrex baking dish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
21 comments
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kugel
Prounounced: KOO-gull (oo as in book), Origin: Yiddish, traditional Ashkenazi casserole frequently made with egg noodles or potatoes.
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One of my favorite childhood memories is coming home from school on Fridays, opening the front door and smelling the wonderful smell of sautéed onions and knowing it was “kugel night”. Sounds delish but my Mom always made it with sautéed onions and I do the same. Next time I’ll add some garlic as well.
My mom made a savory kugel. It has loads of fried onions in it.
My Mom did the same…the best!
My S&P kugel also has lots of thinly sliced onions that I cook until they’re just starting to caramelize. I combine those (cooled) with cooked fine egg noodles, beaten eggs, minced garlic, and of course, salt and pepper. I cook the mixture in a frying pan on the cooktop. I brown one side, flip it using a dinner plate, and brown the other side. That part takes about 10-12 minutes. The kugel is a beautiful golden brown, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and I don’t have to heat up the oven.
What size baking dish?
And if the recipe has salt in the egg mixture, how much salt is needed to boil the noodles?
And can egg whites or substitute replace some of the whole eggs?
It’s very yummy!!! I added aged white cheddar and parmesean to it and a little extra garlic! Definitely will be this again!!! Thank you for great recipe!!!
What size pan? 9×13 or 8×8
9×13. Enjoy!
What’s is jarred garlic? Can I substitute whole roasted garlic cloves instead?
You could! Use 3-4 (or more if you really like garlic!)
This was good, but not great. Quite bland actually but with a good base to build on. Since there were no comments or suggestions yet, I followed the recipe exactly. Prepared for the “not faint of heart” effect described. Not really. Definitely benefitted from more pepper added on the plate. Also tried grating some cheese which wasn’t bad. I will consider adding some meat next time. I barely tasted the garlic. I grew up with kugel a regular part of meals but don’t have any of my mother’s recipes. She made both sweet and savory with varieties of each. This good base cries out for some experimenting.
What size Pyrex shall I use?
13×9. Enjoy!
I was delighted to read the praises for savory noodle pudding. This was the favorite in my family where sweet noodle pudding was unheard of. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
What size baking dish
13×9. Enjoy!
Yes! Thank you. This sounds delicious.
My mom always made a savory kugel with schmaltz and eggs. Crunchy on top and very flavorful. I am not a fan of pepper but would probably use 1/2 the amt. and no salt as we are not allowed. But family can salt it themselves.
My grandmother only made savory kugels, and she always used fine noodles, not wide – denser texture, and more even (and crunchier!) top crust. I don’t remember any aromatic enhancements – just noodles, eggs, S/P, and oil – but this variation sounds delicious – thanx!
I am from the sweet kugel Jews; hubby is a salt and pepper (calls me a Galitzianer). When I made stuffed cabbage for my new hubby with raisins, as my bubbe did, it was almost divorce court! After that, I called his mother for her recipe.
I make my savory kugel without garlic, but tons of caramelized onions and poppy seeds.
We only ate savory kugel with broad egg noodles, cottage cheese and sour cream. I really like the idea of sautéed onions, perhaps even carmelized.