Also called Noodle Pudding, the sweet noodle kugel is a popular dish at Jewish holidays, especially Hanukkah. It can be made with any noodle or pasta type you have at hand and it’s a delicious combination of noodles, eggs, butter and sugar, perfect for ending a lovely evening with your family.
Sweet noodle kugel
This sweet noodle kugel is a very easy to make recipe and doesn’t ask for advanced cooking skills. Beginners, hear that? Time to try a simple dish with a sophisticated touch!
Basically, it’s very close to a noodle casserole recipe: boil the noodles, mix together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the noodles in, place everything in a casserole dish and bake.
The difference is noticeable after baking: the noodle casserole will still be a bit wet after cooking, while the kugel is made of a custard filling that holds well together.
More delicious desserts you will love:
- Raspberry tiramisu recipe
- Gingerbread cream horns
- Buttermilk blueberry cake
- Blueberry streusel muffins
- Apple tiramisu cake
- Dairy free egg free chocolate cake
- Salted caramel cinnamon roll casserole
Most non-Jewish people will most probably hear about this recipe for the first time as it’s a traditional dish, but it’s quickly gaining popularity. I did taste it and I guarantee it’s just amazing! It’s packed full of sugar and cinnamon flavor, a great festive dish. And we make it all year round, not just for the holidays, because it’s sooo incredibly delicious, we just can’t help it!
It is also a great comfort food, like all high-calorie dishes.
Sweet noodles may sound a little bit weird for those that never tasted the sweet noodle kugel, but I’m sure you’ll definitely fall in love with it from the first piece. If egg noodles are a bit too much for you after all the eggs in the filling, you can go for regular pasta like penne, fusilli or any other type you like best.
Is noodle kugel a dessert or side dish?
There are many debates over how a kugel should be and if asked to make one you must ask for clarifications, as Jewish kugels may define a broader variety of dishes: noodle or potato-based, savory or sweet. Many argue over how the kugel should look: naked or cereal covered, what type of noodles to use, custardy or souffleed, etc. The beauty of this recipe is that it can be both savory and sweet so make it and serve it which ever way you want it, as a side dish or dessert!
Tips, tricks and notes for the perfect noodle kugel:
- You can leave out the sugar if you don’t want a sweet dish. It’s going to be less sweet, but still rich in flavor.
- Dairy: sweet noodle kugel recipe calls for three kinds of diary: cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Work with the ratios to find out what goes best for you. Also, if you don’t have one of them at hand, just add some more of other to compensate. For my recipe I only went for the cottage cheese and replaced the sour cream with heavy cream, because that’s what I had on hand and guess what? the recipe turned out super tasty anyway!
- Raisins: they are a common addition, although not necessary if you don’t like them. You can also substitute them with other dried fruits;
- You can prepare the mix in advance, refrigerate and bake the casserole before serving to make sure it’s fresh and warm when served. Still, leftovers can be great as a next-day brunch. In fact my family loves this sweet kugel recipe best when it’s cold from the fridge.
- There is no standard finish to this recipe, as each family has their own. Many top their kugels with a crushed cornflake topping, other sprinkle it with cinnamon streusel or add apples, crushed pineapple, spinach (if you make it savory) and many others. I went with crumbled butter cookies.
If you decided to make this recipe, please tell me if you loved it as much as we did, in the comments section below this post.
Sweet kugel
wHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE SWEET NOODLE KUGEL?
Every version is a little different and so is mine. For my delicious noodle kugel I used these eggs, sugar, cottage cheese, heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract, salt, raisins, lemon zest and wide noodles.
For the crumble I just used butter cookies and mixed them with a bit of melted butter to get the right texture.
How do you make the best sweet noodle kugel?
- Cook the noodles as instructed on the package
- Beat the eggs with sugar until the sugar has melted.
- Add cottage cheese, heavy cream, butter, vanilla, a bit of salt, lemon zest and raisins and mix well.
- Add noodles and mix to combine and spread the raisins between the noodles.
- Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle cookie crumbs mixed with butter.
- Cook until the crumbs are golden brown.
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Sweet noodle kugel
Ingredients
- 4 eggs medium
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups wide noodles uncooked
- 1 stick butter melted. Plus more for greasing the baking dish
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
For the crumble
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 butter cookies
Instructions
- Cook noodle as indicated on the package.
- Pre heat the oven to 350 F
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with sugar until the sugar has melted.
- Add cottage cheese, heavy cream, melted butter, vanilla, salt, lemon zest and raisins and mix well.
- When noodles are cooked, drain through a sieve then pour over the egg mixture.
- Grease a baking dish then pour the noodle mix into the dish.
- Mix crumbled cookies with butter then sprinkle over the noodles. Add more crumbs if you like a thicker crust.
- Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown, approximately an hour. If the egg cheese mixture is still watery you may need to bake a little longer.
- Serve warm or from the fridge, it tastes just as amazing.
rev. says
I’ve been making this for years! a staple in Jewish households 🙂
petro says
Thanks for stopping by! I think this is a highly popular recipe! We’re not Jewish but we’ve been making variations of it since I was a child. So delicious!
Susan says
How many Eggs there’s no eggs listed in the recipe.
petro says
Hi, Susan! Thanks for the heads up and apologies for the oversight! I updated the recipe to read 4 medium eggs.
B.T. says
Soooo soooo good! Made this today and I am thoroughly impressed. Thank you so much 💓
Kristen M Gibson says
Hi,
I would love to make this kugle. it says there is cream cheese in recipe, but none is listed. can you please advise?
petro says
Kristen, this particular recipe is made with cottage cheese. Some recipes use cream cheese but I skipped it.