Vegan Potato Kugel
This vegan potato kugel, albeit eggless, is as delicious as the real deal, with a crispy grated-potato top and a creamy, buttery center of silken tofu. Rosemary and thyme add scads of flavor.
- 16 oz silken tofu
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter ((melted))
- 3 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 large onion ((grated))
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ cup blanched almond flour ((or gf flour or all-purpose flour))
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste ((you can substitute the salt with kala namak or black salt))
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley ((finely chopped, optional))
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius with the baking dish or cast iron skillet placed inside.
- Place the silken tofu in a food processor bowl along with the cornstarch. Blend until smooth and creamy. Remove to a large bowl.
- To the bowl with the tofu, add melted vegan butter, baking soda, grated potatoes and onions. Mix the potatoes and onions into the tofu cream until well combined.
- Mix the potatoes and onions into the tofu cream until well combined. Mix with a spatula until everything is well-mixed.
- Stir in the garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt, ground black pepper and almond flour. Mix well.
- Once the oven has preheated, carefully, using oven mitts, remove the heated baking dish and spritz the bottom and sides with oil or cooking spray.
- Scrape all of the kugel batter into the baking dish and even the top. Bake two hours or until the potatoes are golden and crispy on top. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle the kugel with optional parsley for some fresh flavor.
This vegan potato kugel, albeit eggless, is as delicious as the real deal, with a crispy grated-potato top and a creamy, buttery center of silken tofu. Rosemary and thyme add scads of flavor.
Crispy, creamy vegan potato kugel
Potato kugel, a Jewish dish with origins in central and eastern Europe, is often enjoyed on holidays like Hanukkah, Passover and Rosh Hashanah, and on the sabbath. It now gets an eggless makeover with this vegan potato kugel.
I've heard potato kugel likened to a giant latke. It's made with the same primary ingredients, potatoes and eggs. Just like a latke, the potatoes get brown and crispy and oh so delicious. But unlike a latke, a potato kugel is not formed into separate fritters. Instead, it's baked in the oven like a casserole. And while the top and bottom get crispy, like a latke, the center remains creamy, like mashed potatoes. How yummy does that sound?
This is a simple recipe and it's gluten-free. Although I do introduce some ingredients that are not in a typical kugel, the ingredient list is small and pantry-friendly. You do need to plan for the long baking time -- two hours. But prep time is low and if you have a food processor you can get the onion and potatoes grated in no time at all.
Potato kugel is typically quite minimally flavored, usually with salt and pepper, because the potatoes, especially when crispy, and the eggs add lots of flavor all their own.
When creating a vegan potato kugel, one is taking out both the flavor of eggs and the binding power it brings. To ensure there's no loss of flavor or texture in our vegan iteration, here are the changes I make.
Flavor: To flavor the potatoes and tofu, I add garlic powder, sage and rosemary. Tofu, although it's often described as bland, does have a specific flavor to discerning taste buds and the garlic and herbs help override it while adding so much deliciousness. I also add some melted butter to the kugel for more flavor, and almond flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour). The almond flour adds a lovely undertone of nuttiness.
Texture: A potato kugel needs to be sliceable, and for that I add a tiny amount of cornstarch to the recipe. The almond flour will also help absorb liquids expressed by the potatoes during baking. The butter keeps the grated potatoes on top crispy without getting too hard, as can sometimes happen when you make potato kugel. Also preheating the oven with the baking dish in it will help the potatoes form a crispy layer on the bottom.