If you never had Jewish Kugel, sweet noodle casserole, you need to bookmark this recipe. Cheesy, creamy, rich lokshen kugel with peaches and raspberries will brighten your Hannukah, Shavout, the day after Yom Kippur, or any other holiday you celebrate.
Lokshen Kugel is Ashkenazi (European) Jewish dish that is traditionally served on the Sabbath and holidays.
📃 Why it Works
- It's breakfast, main dish, and dessert.
- It's not overly sweet.
- Noodles are the ultimate comfort food!
- You can eat it warm or cold.
- It's easy to make.
- It feeds the crowd.
- You can make it your own.
People also asked:
1. What Does Lokshen Kugel Mean?
Lokshen is a Yiddish word for egg noodles.
Kugel is a casserole, aka baked pudding, originated in Germany over eight centuries ago. There are several variations of kugel, sweet or savory, and with a variety of ingredients and textures.
Kugel also means round, ball, and sphere in German. You can certainly use any shape dish to make this sweet noodle casserole.
2. What is Melba?
Melba is a dessert of peaches and with vanilla ice cream topped with raspberry sauce. It was invented at the end of the 19th century by the French chef Auguste Escoffier in honor of the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba.
The chef created a few other dishes for the opera singer, but they are lesser-known than Peach Melba and Melba Toast, a very thin crisp toast.
Thanks to Dame Melba, the peach-raspberry combination is favorite in many dessert recipes: Melba cheesecake, Melba trifle, Melba ice cream pie, parfait, cake, cupcake... You get the picture.
🛒 Ingredients and Notes
*Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for a list of FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Skip to Recipe” card at the top of the page!
- Noodles - duh!
- Dairy - cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and milk - they make the dish creamy.
- Eggs - to bind the noodles together.
- Vanilla pudding and extract - give the cake-like flavor.
- Maple syrup - is my sweetener of preference. Use sugar, whatever.
- Melba fruit - peaches and raspberries.
- Bread crumbs and cinnamon - make the crunchy topping.
🔪 Instructions
- Beat the cream cheese and maple syrup. Add the eggs and cream them together.
- Mix in the pudding, sour cream, salt, vanilla, and milk.
- Stir noodles into the liquid mixture.
- Pour half the noodle mixture into a pan. Add peaches and raspberries.
- Cover with the rest of the noodle mixture.
- Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until golden.
- Mix the fruit into the noodle mixture instead of layering.
- Cover the kugel loosely with aluminum foil if the topping starts browning too early.
- Substitute graham cracker crumbs for breadcrumbs (omit the sugar).
- Remember, all ingredients should be kosher.
- Use up cooked pudding in this eggnog cheesecake recipe.
A year of noodles!
If you're new to my page, noodles without borders is a yummy project my friend Bobbi of Healthy World Cuisine and I started last August.
The rule is to make a pasta recipe from somewhere around the world on every first Tuesday of the month. Other than that, there are no rules.
Last month, we wrapped up a full year of Noodles Without Borders, and I'm excited to bring you more noodle recipes in the next 12 months and beyond.
🍽 How To Serve It
It's traditionally served with the main course. What is magnificent about this casserole though, is that you can have it for breakfast or brunch with a cuppa joe or tea.
Kids love it with milk or hot cocoa. We ate it for dinner too with extra fruit on the side.
👉 Variations
Add any fruits and nuts to create different flavors and textures:
- Apples
- Cherries
- Plums
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Dried cranberries
- Dried apricots
- Raisins
- Fruit cocktail in syrup
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Use your favorite gluten-free breadcrumbs or cookie crumbs and pasta.
Rice noodles (fettuccine is a good option) would work better than other GF pasta. I wouldn't use corn pasta for this recipe due to its flavor and texture.
Assemble the kugel a day ahead and keep it refrigerated, then bake before serving.
Yes. However, keep in mind that frozen fruit is full of moisture. You wouldn't want this casserole to turn into a soup, so use less milk. I haven't tried making it with frozen fruit thus can't tell you exactly how much milk to use. Sorry.
Refrigerate the casserole in an airtight container [or tightly wrapped] for up to 4 days. If you top the kugel with fresh fruit, it won't look so fresh after a day or two, but the casserole will still be delicious.
I wouldn't suggest it, but if you must, make sure it's tightly wrapped in saran and then placed in an airtight container or freezer bag.
Yes, but make sure to remove the fruit from the top if you garnished your kugel. You can reheat it up to two days after you baked it. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and leave the kugel in for 15 minutes or so.
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- Thai Noodle Salad
- Spaghetti with Veracruz Sauce
Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my email list below too!
Jewish Sweet Noodle Casserole - Lokshen Melba Kugel
Ingredients
Noodle Pudding
- 12 oz wide egg noodles
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¾ cup maple syrup, or sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup prepared vanilla pudding [instant vanilla pudding + milk]
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup full-fat milk
- 2-3 peaches, sliced or cut into a bite-size chunks
- 6 oz. raspberries
- Sliced almonds for garnish, optional
Noodle Topping
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Cook 12 oz. dry egg noodles al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until noodles are cool. Drain again.
- Prepare the pudding according to package directions and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together 8 oz. softened cream cheese and ¾ maple syrup or sugar. Add 3 large eggs and cream together until blended.
- Add 1 cup of prepared pudding, sour cream, salt, vanilla, and milk. Mix on medium-high until all ingredients are well blended.
- Stir the cooked noodles into the liquid mixture. Pour half the noodle mixture into a greased 10 or 11-inch baking dish. Add the slices or chunks of 2 peaches and 6 oz. of raspberries over the noodles, reserving some fruit for garnish if desired. Pour the other half of sweet noodle mixture over the fruit.
- In a small bowl, mix 1 cup plain breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons melted butter with a fork. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the kugel.
- Bake kugel in the 350 F preheated the oven for 1 hour on the middle rack until the topping is lightly brown (*see recipe tips for best results). Let the kugel cool before serving. Garnish with fruit and almonds if you wish. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- Mix the fruit into the noodle mixture instead of layering.
- Cover the kugel loosely with aluminum foil if the topping starts browning too early.
- Substitute graham cracker crumbs for breadcrumbs (omit the sugar).
- Use up cooked pudding in this eggnog cheesecake recipe.
- Remember, all ingredients should be kosher.
Aleka Shunk says
I have to admit I've NEVER tried a Jewish Kugel before but it sounds dreamy! I love all of the ingredients in the recipe so I definitely need to try this especially this month coming up!! I just love casseroles and the fact that I can serve this one warm OR cold is so convenient and even more appealing! Thanks again for the recipe inspiration!!
Haley says
YUMMMM!! This reminds me of home!! Of course I will always think that my mom makes the best Sweet Noodle Kugel - but perhaps I can compete with her by pulling out this recipe! Definitely going to try this one out for a future Friday night dinner.
Jas says
Mom's cooking is always the best, but I'd be honored if you'd try my recipe (just don't tell your mom, lol).
Chelsey says
What a beautiful dish!! I’ve never tried kugel before, but this sweet noodle casserole looks amazing! I especially love the addition of raspberries and peaches, such a beautiful touch!
Jas says
Thank you, Chelsey! It combines two of my favorite things - noodles and desserts, ha! xx
Kim | Give it Some Thyme says
What a delicious dessert!! I've never made a Kugel but that's going to change after seeing this! And such a great way to use fresh peaches before they're gone. Thanks for sharing Jas!
Jas says
Definitely an unusual one (for the most of us), but delicious nonetheless. Thanks for stopping in, Kim! xx
Sharon says
I didn't know that i needed kugel in my life until I saw this recipe! What a delicious use of noodles, cream, and butter. SO decadent.
Jas says
Thanks, Sharon! I'm glad you came to that realization, haha. Seriously though, I thought it was an odd thing until I tried it. Then it made the perfect sense. 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Drooling just reading over your ingredient list. We have eaten this dish several times before but have never tried to make this at home. We need to as your step by step directions make it look simple and so delicious. Fresh fruit of the season on top and so cozy. Tailwind is going to be very busy over the next week spreading your deliciousness. Thanks so much for making this one year celebration of Noodles Without Borders so fun. The next upcoming months we have several really unique noodle recipes for our readers. We can't wait to share them. Take Care
Jas says
Thanks, Bobbi! I can't wait to see your noodle recipes in the upcoming months. These past 12 months have been super delicious and fun! Here's to the next 12 and beyond!
Catherine says
Oh this brings back memories...I used to have a similar dish growing up. Sweet noodle pudding was a favorite of mine and this casserole is absolutely beautiful. I love the fresh peaches too. I need to remember to make this for my family sometime!
Jas says
Hi, Catherine! I love when foods trigger memories. Hope too that you will remember to make this kugel sometime. 🙂
Jamie says
I love the crunchy topping on this! Great flavors here!
Jas says
The crunch on top is a great contrast to the creamy noodle pudding. Thanks for stopping in, Jamie! 🙂
Denay DeGuzman says
Oh my gosh, this sweet noodle casserole looks amazing! I want to take a fork and reach right through my screen to take a bite! I can hardly wait to make this beautiful tasty recipe.
Jas says
Haha, thank you much! I wish you could! 😀
Andrea Metlika says
I have to say this is the prettiest Kugel I've seen. I also think the addition of the peaches and raspberries sounds marvelous.
Jas says
Awe, thank you so much, Andrea! That means a lot, considering this is my first noodle kugel. 😀