It’s my grandmother’s potato kugel…but without the eggs…and it’s still crispy and delicious. You can use ground flax for a vegan potato kugel for Rosh Hashanah or Sukkot and then for a Kosher for Passover kugel swap the flax for potato starch….brilliant solution when you’re looking for an eggless kugel for the Jewish Holidays.
I’ve made a kugel or two in my days….and I’ve eaten an obscene amount of kugel over the years. So, I know what I’m aiming for in terms of texture and taste. I have a recipe for a savory cauliflower kugel and also a dairy-free sweet noodle kugel, and individual sweet potato kugel cups that’s sort of a cross between savory and sweet. They’re all dairy-free and vegetarian…but I kept getting requests for a savory, vegan potato kugel without eggs.
It took a lot of tries to figure out how to make an eggless kugel that didn’t have a gummy texture and still used real food ingredients….but I leaned in on patience and kept trying. The trick is to shred the onion and the potatoes on the smallest holes, and then let the ground flax or potato starch soak up the moisture and help the savory kugel hold together. It’s so simple and it works beautifully!
Ingredient Notes
- Potatoes: Large baking potatoes like Russet or Idaho work best in this recipe. They seem to be starchy enough to handle the lack of eggs in this recipe and still give this kugel a custardy some substance.
- Binder: I like the way ground flax soaks up the potato and onion water and holds the entire casserole together. I think the results are also good with potato starch. Cornstarch and arrowroot powder produced a really gummy type texture so I do not recommend that route. For a Rosh Hashanah kugel, use the flax. For Passover use the potato starch.
- Oil: olive oil or avocado oil are great choices….and I consider oil a must if you want crispy kugel.
- Onion: go with more rather than less if you can’t decide on the sizing. Shredded onions provide “juice” that flavors the entire kugel.
How to make it
This first step of heating the oil in the baking dish before putting in the better is CRUCIAL for producing a crispy kugel….and the crispy edges are the best part IMHO!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour ¼ cup olive oil into a 9 x 13 baking dish and tilt the pan back and forth so the oil has been distributed all along the bottom and up the sides. Place it in the oven while you prepare the kugel.
When I’m making a half batch of kugel in an 8×8 pan I will use my grandmother’s potato shredder for the onions and the potatoes…but a full sized casserole of kugel, which is what’s needed for all the Jewish Holidays and I’m reaching for my food processor. Easy peasy….but if you don’t have one, use the side of a box grater.
Peel onion and cut into quarters, making sure pieces will fit into the chute of your food processor. If you’re grating by hand, then just cut into half.
Use the smallest holes on your grater or the disc on your food processor and shred the onion. There will be a lot of “juice” and that’s great!
No need to peel the potatoes, but soak them and give a good scrub, cutting off any eyes or damaged pieces. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.
Cut into quarters lengthwise, making sure pieces are thin enough to fit through processor chute. If grating by hand, leave the pieces as big as possible to have something substantial to hold onto.
Shred all the potatoes. You may have to do this in two or three batches, depending on the size of your processor.
Dump the shredded potatoes and onions into a large bowl, capturing all the juices.
Sprinkle on ground flax or potato starch, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix well, making sure to bring up any potato starch liquid from the bottom of the bowl and evenly distributing spices and flax seeds.
I’ll be honest, this is dense and hard to mix. I found it a bit easier with a sturdy pair of tongs…but you’ll need some muscle to get the job done.
Carefully remove pan with oil from oven and transfer the potato mixture into the hot pan. It will sizzle! Spread evenly into corners and throughout. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil and if you like, some extra salt.
Turn oven temperature down to 350 and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Yes, it actually does take that long, to be fully cooked in the center and turn golden and crispy around the edges and top.
Cut into squares and sprinkle with fresh herbs for a bit of color!
Serve warm for best experience.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- I know 90 minutes sounds like a long time….but you don’t have to actually DO anything while the kugel bakes….but it actually does need that much time to be cooked through in the center. An alternative would be to spread this into one 9×13 and one 8×8 so it’s SUPER THIN….and then it would cook more quickly (allow an hour) and there would be more of the crispy top.
- Never underestimate how much more appealing some beige food will look with just a little sprinkle of fresh herbs like minced parsley.
- If you make this ahead, reheat in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Leftovers will also crisp back up if heated in a hot cast iron skillet.
- Wonderful as a breakfast hash served at brunch!
- Potato kugel can be served for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Hanukkah, or anytime you’re looking for a potato side dish.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Potato Kugel without Eggs
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 3.5 lbs russet or idaho potatoes approx 8 medium sized
- ⅔ cup ground flax or potato starch
- 1.5 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1.5 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour all but 1 tablespoon olive oil into a 9×13" baking pan and put it in the oven until you have the potato mixture ready. Reserve the tablespoon of olive oil to drizzle onto the top of the kugel.
- Use the smallest holes of a shredding disc on your food processor or the side of your box grater and shred the onion.
- You do not need to peel the potatoes, but scrub them well to dislodge any dirt. Then cut them into quarters lengthwise so they will fit into the chute in your food processor. If you're grating by hand on a potato shredder or box grater, it will be easier to grate them if you leave them whole and grate them starting on the small end.
- Add shredded onions and potatoes to a large bowl. Sprinkle on the ground flax, salt, pepper and paprika and mix well. There will be a lot in that bowl. It's easiest to mix with a large pair of tongs. Otherwise use a fork/spoon large salad tossers. Continue to mix until you can see that the paprika is evenly dispersed, which is the clue you need to know that the rest is also fully mixed in.
- Carefully remove hot pan with oil from the oven and transfer the potato mixture to the pan. There will be some sizzling upon impact. That's great! Push the kugel into the corners, but you don't need to press down. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.
- Turn the oven down to 350 and then bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. It will be golden on the top and around the edges and firm in the center.
- Slice into squares and serve warm. If you make this ahead, reheat in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes, until re-crisped on the top and heated through.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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