Vegan Kugel (Noodle Pudding)
This traditional Jewish dish is served at every holiday gathering with my family. It’s a sweet baked pudding or noodle casserole. My kugel is an old family recipe involving tons of heavy cream, eggs, and pasta, all mixed together and baked in the oven with a cornflake crust. It’s technically a dessert but we usually just eat it with the main course anyway, because it’s that good!
If you’ve never had kugel or noodle pudding before this may look like the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen, but trust me when I say that it is absolutely delicious. There are many different ways to make kugel, and they can be savory or sweet, but this “dessert” one is my favorite (because my mom’s kugel is the best one in the whole world, no contest). It’s not even something you have to reserve only for Jewish holidays. It’s a heavy dish but oh so comforting and wonderful, especially for cold autumn nights.
My mom used to make a big batch of this when I was home and freeze some for me to take back to college. I would skip the dining hall food and just eat this for dinner instead! My eating habits have definitely come a long way since then, but I still wouldn’t miss the chance to have my kugel on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
It’s my ultimate comfort food, and once I found out about my dairy allergy I thought I’d never have it again. It took a lot of experimentation but I found a way to make a version that is just as delicious as my mother’s, and doesn’t cause any unfortunate dairy-related side effects. I use vegan cream cheese and a simple cashew cheese “sour cream” to replace all the dairy.
So for all you vegans who are just craving that kugel for the high holidays this year, look no further: vegan kugel has arrived!
Vegan Kugel (Noodle Pudding)
Ingredients for kugel
1 10-oz box gluten free noodles of your choosing
3 regular ener-g eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegan butter or coconut oil, melted
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
2 cups cornflakes
1 cup almond cheese (ingredients below) OR 8 oz regular/vegan cream cheese
1 cup cashew cream (ingredients below) OR 1 cup regular/vegan sour cream
1 cup raisins (optional)
INGREDIENTS FOR CASHEW CREAM
1 cup cashews soaked in water for 1 hour
¾ cup cold water
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
INGREDIENTS FOR ALMOND CHEESE
1 cup slivered almonds soaked in water for 1 hour
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp melted coconut oil
½ cup cold water
YOU'LL ALSO NEED
Two large mixing bowls, a strainer, a pot to boil the pasta, four smaller bowls, a large baking dish, a wooden spoon, a rubber spatula, a food processor or blender, and a hand mixer.
Instructions
Soak cashews and almonds in water in separate bowls for one hour.
Once the nuts have soaked for an hour, strain out the water and place back into separate bowls.
Make the cashew cheese first. Pour the cashews into a blender or food processor. Add the rest of the cashew cheese ingredients and process for 10 seconds until you have a smooth liquid paste. Pour the cashew cheese into a small bowl and set aside.
Rinse out the blender and make the almond cheese. Pour the almonds into the blender, and add the rest of the ingredients. Process for 15-30 seconds until fully blended. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the almond cheese out of the blender and into a small bowl, and set aside.
Boil water for pasta and add your noodles, cook according to directions on the box.
Add three regular ener-g eggs to the large mixing bowl, and measure according to directions on the box (1.5 tsp of powder + 2 tbsp water per egg). Stir gently until combined.
Add the cashew cream (or vegan sour cream), almond cheese (or vegan cream cheese), cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter (or coconut oil) to the ener-g egg in the mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer until combined. Then, strain out your pasta, rinse, pour noodles into the batter, and mix gently until all the pasta is coated.
If you prefer raisins in your kugel, add them in at this point and fold in very gently.
Pour the entire mixture into a large baking dish, making sure to spread evenly.
Pour the cornflakes over the pasta until you have an even layer on the top, then cover with tinfoil.
Bake this in the oven for 50 minutes, then remove the foil and bake it for another 10 minutes so the cornflakes get crispy. Let it cool, and serve warm.
Notes
To reheat, put the kugel in the oven on 350F for 10 minutes, but make sure you cover it with foil first so the cornflakes don't burn.