Last week when I asked for suggestions for winter holiday dessert recipes, one recipe request caught my eye in particular -- Lydia asked for : "Noodle kugel. I need some yummy Hanukkah desserts. =)" So, I set out to do my best to come up with a gluten-free vegan noodle kugel dessert recipe for Hanukkah.
I actually really loved this suggestion. For one, I thought it'd be fun to make a Hanukkah treat amidst all the Christmas season baking, and I haven't had kugel in years since going gluten-free. For those that aren't familiar with kugel, it's a traditional dish made with noodles {or farfel}, eggs, and if savory then with things like potatoes, or if sweet, then typically with sweetened cream cheese and apples. Somehow all those ingredients come together to make an unexpectedly pretty simple and pretty tasty dessert! Mainly, though I loved this recipe request because it totally stumped me for a second. A good noodle kugel is gluten, eggs, and dairy in a serving dish {oh, and sugar too}. That's pretty much all that's in it. How does one de-gluten, de-egg, and de-dairy a recipe that basically relies on all of those things?!?
Well, if you know me, you know I don't back down from a good baking challenge, and in fact once I start thinking about it I can't stop until I come up with with a solution. The result of this was an incredible kugel that was really well loved around here! I shared it with both my kugel-loving and my "I have no idea what on earth a kugel is" friends and everyone absolutely loved it {and were disappointed that there wasn't enough of it for thirds ;) }. I hope you will love it too, Lydia :)
Just to explain briefly, here's how I arrived at this recipe {Figured I'd share it in case you want to make other substitutions, so you can see my train of thought here and perhaps it would be helpful somehow}. Let's start with the noodles -- traditionally you use egg noodles, and those are fairly processed and obviously have eggs and gluten in them {and often other questionable ingredients}. So the closest substitute I came up with was using this gluten-free corn fettuccine pasta as the yellow color of the pasta reminded me of egg noodles the most. You can of course go with any wide ribbon style gluten-free pasta in this dish {rice, quinoa, amaranth, etc.), but something like this will get you closest to the look of a real kugel:
Next, I tackled the cream cheese issue. Although I have been known in the past to use commercial non-dairy cream cheese, I've really been off that wagon for a while now. It's really hard to find any that are non-GMO and not junky {I've seen them and had them before, but they're rare, pricey, and still have funny ingredients in them...}. So I decided to make my own cashew cream cheese, which is a lot easier to make than it sounds. I make this recipe quite often and it worked really well in this dish too. So that's one part of the dairy issue solved. Another bonus was that I found that using this cream cheese made it such that I really didn't need to worry about substituting for eggs -- this kugel did just fine without them! :)
The other part of the dairy dilemma is that typically something like dry curd cottage cheese crumble is used in dessert kugel to add little bits of chewiness to the bake. I immediately thought of using some more cashews, as they are quite a soft nut variety and can add a bit of chewiness and nuttiness to the recipe without overwhelming it. They worked perfectly and added a lot of flavor to the recipe. The rest of the goodness in this kugel comes from the always wonderful combination of apples, cinnamon, and raisins. That's all -- very simple, and super tasty!
Gluten-Free Vegan Noodle Kugel Dessert
A gluten-free vegan version of the traditional holiday dish. Corn noodles with cashew based "cream cheese" and apples. No dairy, refined sugar-free recipe.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 9" x 13" kugel
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews, pre-soaked and strained {place in a glass bowl, cover with boiling water and let soak for 15 mins, then strain}
- 3 tbsp non-dairy milk {or water}
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- dash of salt
Remaining Ingredients:
- 8.8 oz gluten-free wide-ribbon noodles {like fettuccine, etc.} {I recommend the corn ones as explained in notes above}
- 7 tbsp non-dairy butter
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Fold in Ingredients:
- 1 apple, cored and chopped finely
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup raw cashews, chopped {these do not need to be pre-soaked}
Topping:
- Additional cinnamon for sprinkling + optional: a bit of sliced almonds or more chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or oil a 9" x 13" baking dish {or any oven safe dish of a similar size}.
- Place all cream cheese ingredients in a high speed blender {I used my Vitamix for that} and blend into a smooth consistency. Set aside.
- Cook noodles al dente as per instructions on package.
- Once noodles are cooked, strain the water and place the noodles back in the pot. Add non-dairy butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon and mix everything to combine until the butter is fully melted. Add the cashew cream cheese mixture and toss everything to combine. Fold in the chopped apples and raisins.
- Transfer everything into the prepared baking dish. Flatten and smooth the mixture in the dish. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and nuts on top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 50 mins until the noodles look nice and golden. Remove from oven and let the dish cool for at least 10 minutes. Slice into squares and plate for serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to play around with the fold in ingredients: you can increase the amount of apples, and decrease the raisins for example. Or add more of both. Swap the raisins out for some dried cherries. Add in some walnuts, or pecans, etc.
Jessica says
Hi there! Can I use a pre-made vegan cream cheese? If yes, how much approximately? TIA
Audrey says
Hi Jessica, yes I think it's doable. See my earlier reply to Kathy in the comments here for some tips (the second half or the reply re cream cheese). Enjoy! :)
Maya says
Hi, making this tonight for Rosh Hashanah...what can I sub the butter for? Coconut oil? Olive oil? Applesauce? Thanks!
Audrey says
Hi Maya, the non-dairy butter gives it a smooth, rich, salty flavor. You can use some unscented coconut oil if you prefer, but I'd maybe add a pinch of salt to try and mimic the taste of the butter.
Holly S Hunsicker says
I made this savory side dish by leaving out all the sweetener and sweet fruit and adding mushrooms, onions, red pepper and zucchini sauteed in Earth Balance soy free "butter." I spiced it up with an all purpose blend seasoning as well as salt and garlic. I sauteed the veggies separately so they would look "clean." I taste tested it for a small group last Sunday night and it got such raving approval that I made a large pan of it for a party I am going to with a kugel contest tomorrow night. I plan on winning hands down!
Audrey says
I'm so glad to hear it worked out so well. Good luck at the contest -- hope your version wins! :)
Holly S Hunsicker says
Can I freeze this recipe? I want to make it savory with mushrooms and onions, leaving out the maple syrup.
Holly S Hunsicker says
My adult child who is vegan thinks I can just refrigerate until we serve Sunday lunchtime when we are having our very early family Chanukah party.
Audrey says
Hi Holly, you should be able to refrigerate it until Sunday with no issues. With freezing, you can usually freeze pasta only if it's cooked al dente, as otherwise you risk it turning a bit mushy -- which is always a potential concern with gluten-free pasta anyhow. So I think the fridge idea is better, and I'd go with the al dente option + freezer as a second choice. If you give that a go, would love to hear how it turned out.
Happy Chanukah!
Kathy says
It’s good that you like challenges as I have one for you. What can I substitute for cashews? My son and his girlfriend are both vegan & she’s GF. Problem is he’s allergic to cashews. I always hoped that he’d outgrow it but he’s in his 30’s now so I guess that’s not happening! Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Audrey says
Hi Kathy. Is it the same for him with raw and roasted cashews? Some people are sensitive to raw cashews (because there's a natural mild toxin in them that they're sensitive to) but once they're roasted that toxin becomes a non issue. Other people are just allergic to cashews, period.
If he's ok with roasted cashews, then you can follow the recipe as is, but can roast the cashews first, so instead of soaking raw cashews, soak them after they've been roasted and fully cooled off. Same with the cashews pieces that get folded in.
If he's not ok with cashews at all, then can try getting a commercial plain vegan cream cheese and use 1 + 1/2 cups of it in place of the raw cashes + 3 tbsp almond milk. And then for the fold-ins, just use 1/2 cup pecans or almonds (almonds will be crunchier, so you might want to do sliced almonds instead of chopped).
Would either of these work, do you think? If not, I can think some more :)
CP says
I just made this for Rosh Hashanah dinner - phenomenal.
★★★★★
Audrey says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it -- thanks so much for the lovely feedback!
Jill says
This recipe turned out an absolutely scrumptious kugel that reminded me of my own grandmother's (it was even better), all the way down to the chewy bits of pasta. It was the star of this year's passover seder. Thank you, thank you!!
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Jill,
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback. I'm so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed it at the seder :)
Heidi says
I bet you could totally do this with sweet potato noodles?!?!
Audrey says
That's an interesting idea. I bet it could be made to work. Could also lead to a raw (or dehydrated) version there :)
Paula says
Hi there -- thanks so much for this very thoughtful recipe. My daughter is GF, DF but she can eat eggs so I try to sneak them into all that I can to increase the nutrient value. Do you think this recipe could accommodate the addition of eggs? If so, how many? I'm very anxious to try this next week for the holidays!
Audrey says
Hi Paula, you can definitely add them in if you like. I'm not sure the best number -- I suppose it's really more of how "eggy" you'd want it to taste. Traditional kugel can have as much as 6 eggs in... so I'd wager anything under that, but can't say for sure as I haven't tried it myself. Enjoy the holidays :)
vegetarianmamma (Cindy) says
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) I can't wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Lydia Greenfield says
I have saved this recipe and I look forward to trying it!
Audrey says
Awesome. Hope you like it :) Happy Hanukkah!