This vegan kugel is made with tender noodles baked into a creamy casserole with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. A delicious breakfast, dessert, or sweet side dish!
Full disclosure: I've never had legit kugel before. But I've had a number of requests over the years for vegan kugel, and it's one of those dishes that I always wanted to try. With Hanukkah right around the corner I figured it was time to make one!
Authentic or not, this eggless and dairy-free kugel was amazing! SO COZY!! It's like a sweet, creamy casserole with a flavor that reminds me a bit of rice pudding.
Let's talk about how this deliciousness is made!
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What You'll Need
- Pasta. Traditional kugel is made with egg noodles, which obviously aren't vegan, so we're using pasta instead. I like mafalda pasta because the shape is somewhat reminiscent of egg noodles, but feel free to use just about anything!
- Cashews. Use raw cashews only for this recipe (not roasted). You'll need to soak them in water for a few hours to soften them up so they can be blended.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work.
- Sugar. Stick with organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Cornstarch.
- Lemon juice.
- Vanilla extract.
- Cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. You should be able to find this near the regular butter at your supermarket. Look for brands like Earth Balance and Miyoko's.
- Raisins. Feel free to leave these out if you're not a fan, or substitute with another dried fruit like cranberries or cherries.
How to Make Vegan Kugel
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start boiling your pasta on the stove. Follow the package directions.
- Place your cashews into a food processor or blender with 1 cup of your milk, and blend everything until smooth.
- If your blending device is larger and you need a larger volume of ingredients to get them to blend, just add a bit more of your milk.
- Add the rest of your filling ingredients: the remaining milk, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
- Blend everything again until smooth.
- When your pasta has finished cooking, drain it into a colander, then place it in to a large bowl. Add the butter and stir it into the pasta to melt it.
- Now stir in your cashew mixture, along with the raisins. Feel free to give the mixture a taste-test and make any adjustments to your taste at this point.
- Transfer everything to a lightly oiled casserole dish.
- Cover it up and bake it for 20 minutes, then uncover and let it continue baking for another 20 minutes.
- Your kugel will need to cool for a bit before it totally sets, but you can serve it when it's still warm.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan noodle kugel will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can! Just use gluten-free vegan pasta.
It can be a sweet side, a light dessert, or breakfast! My husband and I enjoyed ours as breakfast for dinner with some vegan sausages and fresh fruit.
Most dried pasta is vegan, but I always recommend checking the ingredients to be on the safe side.
More Hanukkah Recipes
Also check out my collection of over 60 vegan holiday recipes!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Sweet Noodle Kugel
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried mafalada pasta
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 2 ½ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, divided
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly oil a 2-quart baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions.
- While the pasta boils, place your cashews into a blender or food processor bowl with 1 cup of milk. Blend until smooth.
- Add the remaining milk, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Blend again until combined.
- When the pasta has finished boiling, drain it into a colander, then transfer it to a large bowl or back to the pot you boiled it in.
- Stir the butter into the hot pasta until it fully melts.
- Stir the cashew mixture into the pasta, then stir in the raisins.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish and place it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 20 minutes more, until the top layer of noodles starts to brown.
- Remove the dish from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool. The casserole will continue to set as it cools.
- Serve the kugel warm. Divide onto plates and enjoy.
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Just wondering if there is a typo in the ingredients? Said to use 2 1/2 cups of milk altogether when blending cashews and other ingredients in blender. I only used 2 cups but it was way too much liquid. Instead of baking for 40 min in oven I baked it for over 1 1/2 hours. Tasted good but didn’t look like the photo. Came out more like a pudding.
Sorry you had trouble with this recipe! The amount is correct. The sauce should be pretty runny before baking (see the process photos in the post). The cornstarch helps the mixture set while baking, and cashews soak up a lot of moisture in sauces when baked. Is it possible that something was measured incorrectly or omitted? The cornstarch in particular is important. It's also important that the sauce is blended very well. You could also check your oven temperature. If it's too low the cornstarch might not be fully activated to thicken the sauce. I hope that helps!
Thanks for your reply. Must be because I didn't use cornstarch. I actually have never used cornstarch before and used some whole wheat pastry flour as a substitute. Never thought it was going to cause a big problem. Luckily, it still tasted excellent but was more work. Will try to get cornstarch in the future.
Oh, that's definitely it! Flour will thicken it a bit, but not as much as cornstarch. It'll also alter the texture. I'm glad you liked the flavor and hope you give it a try again!
I loved this, I made it with dried apricots, really good. I am trying to work out how many calories it is. Are the calories listed per serving, or per hundred grams or how much?
thx
I'm glad you like it! The nutrition info is per serving, so it's for one eighth of the recipe.
Can you make the sauce ahead of time? If so how far in advance?
You can! It should be good for about five days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Make sure to give it a good stir before adding it to the pasta, in case the cornstarch has settled.
What is mafalada pasta?? Where would I find this?
Turned out amazing!! Sooo tasty.
Do you refrigerate?
So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, definitely refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container. They should be good for 3 to 4 days.
This looks great! I’m going to make it but add the traditional apples too :)
So fun to see kugel! No one ever knows what I am talking about whenever I share my love for it haha my family always preferred the savory version over the sweet but it's still nostalgic to see a veganized version of it, sweet or savory!