savory kugel recipe salt and pepper jewish food
Photo credit Shannon Sarna

Salt and Pepper Noodle Kugel

An indulgent treat that always gets rave reviews.

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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.

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.

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savory noodle kugel recipe easy
Photo credit Shannon Sarna

Salt and Pepper Noodle Kugel

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.5 from 4 reviews

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
  • 34 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook noodles as directed on package, around 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  3. While noodles are cooking, whisk together eggs, garlic, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

  • Author: Shannon Sarna
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Ashkenazi

17 comments

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  • Lori

    One of my favorite childhood memories is coming home from school on Fridays, opening the front door and smelling the wonderful smell of sautĆ©ed onions and knowing it was ā€œkugel nightā€. Sounds delish but my Mom always made it with sautĆ©ed onions and I do the same. Next time Iā€™ll add some garlic as well.

  • RW

    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?

  • Jude

    Itā€™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!!!






  • Chana

    Whatā€™s is jarred garlic? Can I substitute whole roasted garlic cloves instead?

    • The Nosher

      You could! Use 3-4 (or more if you really like garlic!)

  • Ann

    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 ā€œnot faint of heartā€ effect described. Not really. Definitely benefitted from more pepper added on the plate. Also tried grating some cheese which wasnā€™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 donā€™t have any of my motherā€™s recipes. She made both sweet and savory with varieties of each. This good base cries out for some experimenting.






  • iris

    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.






  • Bonnie

    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.






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