This mildly sweet vegan noodle kugel, made dairy-free, is a classic Jewish comfort food, and always welcome at celebrations such as the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Hanukkah. Adapted from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky.
Vegan Noodle Kugel
Author: Nava
Recipe type: Casserole / noodles
Cuisine: Jewish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
This mildly sweet noodle pudding, made dairy-free, is a classic Jewish comfort food, and always welcome at celebrations such as the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Hanukkah.
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 ounces ribbon-style noodles (see note below recipe box)
- 8 ounces soft tofu
- 8 ounces (about 1 cup) prepared vegan sour cream or vegan cream cheese (or use homemade Vegan Sour Cream or Cashew Cream)
- ¼ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
- ⅔ cup dark or golden raisins
- 1 medium apple or pear, peeled, cored, and cut into small, thin slices
- ¼ cup Earth Balance or other vegan buttery spread, melted
- ½ cup natural granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Cook the noodles according to package directions, then drain.
- Meanwhile, cut the tofu into 3 or 4 slices, then blot well between layers of paper towel or clean tea towel. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mash until finely crumbled. Stir in the vegan sour cream or cream cheese, and agave nectar.
- Stir in the cooked noodles and all the remaining ingredients. Transfer the mixture to an oiled, shallow round or rectangular 2-quart casserole dish.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top begins to turn golden. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. This is also good served at room temperature.
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Note: This is traditionally made with egg noodles, but look for other soft ribbon noodles like spelt ribbons, or flat, soft rombi pasta.
- Here are more of VegKitchen’s recipes for Hannukah.
- Here are more recipes for the Jewish New Year.
- Find more ways to make Special Occasions and Entertaining easier and healthier.
28 Comments
ElaineOster
December 8, 2014 at 4:43 pmLike your recipies
lena
December 19, 2014 at 5:32 pmHi. Have you tried this with silken tofu? All i have is silken and firm.
Nava
December 19, 2014 at 5:41 pmLena, I’m sure that will work just fine. Enjoy!
lena
December 19, 2014 at 5:58 pmgreat! this is my sons favorite food!!!
Bianca
October 2, 2016 at 2:19 pmWhere do the apples, butter, and raisins come into play? Please help!!
Nava
October 2, 2016 at 2:21 pmBianca, it’s step 4, when you add the cooked noodles and all the remaining ingredients. Sorry if that was unclear!
Pam
October 13, 2016 at 12:57 pmWould you please identify the packaged vegan noodles you used? Thanks!
Nava
October 13, 2016 at 1:19 pmPam, sorry — the note promised in the recipe was inadvertently left out. It should say: This is traditionally made with egg noodles, but look for other soft ribbon noodles like quinoa ribbons, or flat, soft rombi pasta. In the photo, rombi pasta is used.
I made the correction and it should show up in the post in a few hours.
Sara
December 11, 2016 at 12:34 pmDo you make the quinoa ribbons or did you buy them? I can’t find them online to purchase anywhere. Thanks.
Nava
December 11, 2016 at 2:26 pmHi Sara — I posted this recipe a while back and it seems like quinoa ribbons are no longer available. So I updated this to spelt ribbons, for example: http://amzn.to/2gtdoOa — and rombi pastas is good too. If all else fails, spiral pasta like rotini would be good too.
Doc
April 6, 2017 at 1:02 pmRice noodles would work, too.
Gail
June 27, 2017 at 2:06 pmIn the years after my mother died (46 years ago) we got repeated phone calls from friends and family asking if she ever wrote down her recipe for egg-based noodle kugel (she did not.) Until now, I have not found a recipe that tastes as good as my mom’s noodle kugel. Thank you so much!
Nava
June 27, 2017 at 8:46 pmWhat a lovely comment Gail, and such a nice tribute to your mom. I’m glad this recipe brought back fond memories!
Timi King
September 30, 2017 at 1:21 pmEveryone has always loved my kugle and since becoming vegan a year ago I’ve been left out of my own kugle! Until now! This is just as good as mine! I just add the brown sugar, bread crumb, cinnamon, and earth balance mixture sprinkled on top (like my original) and people love it. A million thanks for posting this!
Nava
September 30, 2017 at 1:22 pmHow great, thanks for your kind comment, Timi!
Timi King
September 30, 2017 at 1:23 pmTried to press 5 stars but only 2 went through!
Jeremy
December 26, 2017 at 8:11 pmMade this for the holiday weekend. It was a success with everyone vegans and non-vegans. I also added dried cranberries, toasted almond slices, and substituted agave or maple syrup for honey. Also used whole wheat penne pasta and firm tofu. All worked well and was delicious. Will probably make this again.
Julie Kessler
June 7, 2018 at 10:05 pmLooks like a wonderful recipe and I’d love to try it. Have any thoughts on a savory version? Do you think it would be good with sauteed onions, and with scallions sprinkled on top? Of course leaving out the vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and raisins? Thanks for all the great recipes.
Nava
June 7, 2018 at 10:23 pmHi Julie — I’ve never given any thought to a savory version of this, but sure, that sounds great — I might try it myself! If you think of it, come back and let me know how it comes out.
Judi
September 5, 2018 at 7:06 amMade this and it is delicious. I want to make it again.
You can see tiny tofu pieces throughout. Is that ttypical? I am new to using tofu.
Should I use an electric mixer to try and smoothe it out?
Also. Can you freeze it?
Thank you.
Judi
September 5, 2018 at 7:08 amLove it!
Angelina Schapiro
April 29, 2019 at 12:05 amCan I leave out butter?
Nava
April 29, 2019 at 8:53 amYes, you can!
Marni
September 6, 2019 at 9:22 pmThis looks so good! How long does it keep well in the refrigerator, if I want to make it ahead of time?
Nava
September 6, 2019 at 9:55 pmI’d say a couple of days, Marni — no more than three!
Marni
September 6, 2019 at 11:12 pmThank you!
Lori
September 22, 2019 at 12:21 amSugar is not vegan btw which I recently learned. Not a fan of vegan butter, will coconut oil work?
Nava
September 22, 2019 at 7:13 amLori, you’re right that some brands of white sugar may not be vegan (due to bone char processing). But organic natural sugar always is. You can always check in with the brand if you want to be sure. Then of course, there’s coconut sugar. And yes, coconut oil will work well. Enjoy!