Often included as a part of an abundant Rosh Hashanah feast, our Noodle Kugel is a year-round favorite. The recipe is a Deli classic—Ari got it from his grandmother, and we’ve been making it ever since we opened in 1982. Our only tweaks to her version have been to upgrade the ingredients to the very best that we can find, like locally made egg noodles from Al Dente Pasta Company, plump Red Flame raisins, vanilla bean, and fresh farm cheese from our partner business, Zingerman’s Creamery. (We make our Noodle Kugel for Zingerman’s Mail Order, too, so you can ship some to a fellow kugel lover for an easy heat-and-eat treat.) 

If you can’t find farm cheese, cream cheese works as a substitute, but ideally not a preservative and stabilizer-laden one from the grocery store—that can lend a plastic-y feel to the recipe. (Life in plastic might be fantastic in Barbie World, but it’s not what we’re going for here. Aaaand apologies for that earworm we just gave you!)

Are you a Noodle Kugel newbie? Think bread pudding or rice pudding—just made with noodles instead of bread or rice. We serve it warm, but we’ll admit that we love nibbling leftovers straight from the fridge. Ari likes to pair it with a spoonful of good jam on the side.

Noodle Kugel

Serves 6

9.6 ounces (1 cup) sour cream

8 ounces (1 cup) Zingerman’s Creamery Farm Cheese

4.8 ounces (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

6 eggs

3.6 ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped

¼ tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

8 ounces Al Dente Egg Fettuccine noodles

8 ounces (1½ cups) Red Flame raisins

1. Heat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a large pot, bring about a gallon of water to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, farm cheese, melted butter, and eggs. Some small lumps of farm cheese will remain—that’s a good thing!
4. In a small bowl, add the sugar and vanilla bean seeds and rub together with your fingers to disperse the vanilla bean seeds throughout the sugar.
5. Add the sugar mixture, salt, and cinnamon, to the large bowl and whisk to combine.
6. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain.
7. Add the cooked pasta and the raisins to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix to combine.
8. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square baking pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until nicely puffed and golden brown. 

Tip: There’s enough butter in the recipe that you don’t really need to worry about greasing the pan, but there’s no harm in it either. Should you want to play it safe, the old butter wrapper trick works perfectly here; smear it around in the pan and call it a day.

Are you a Noodle Kugel newbie? Think bread pudding or rice pudding—just made with noodles instead of bread or rice. We serve it warm, but we’ll admit that we love nibbling leftovers straight from the fridge. Ari likes to pair it with a spoonful of good jam on the side.