Make Ahead

Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter

by:
March 15, 2018
5 Stars
Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter
Photo by Ty Mecham
Author Notes

The OG back-pocket pasta, noodle kugel gets amped up with brown butter and caramelized onions for an easy and addictive casserole. —Jake Cohen

Watch This Recipe
Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups cottage cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 6 eggs
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 12 ounces wide egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons minced sage
  • 1 teaspoon minced thyme
In This Recipe
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly caramelized, 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
  2. To the skillet, add the butter and cook, stirring often, until browned and nutty in aroma, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a blender and let cool.
  3. To the blender, add the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, eggs and black pepper. Blend until smooth, then add to the large bowl with the onions.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook until al dente, 7 minutes. Drain, then add to the bowl along with the sage and thyme. Toss until well coated.
  5. Add the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until golden brown and set, 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
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7 Reviews

Rachel
Rachel September 8, 2021
This was excellent, and quite simple to make, though there were a lot of steps. I added some caramelized apples as well, which was a great contrast to the onions. Definitely indulgent, and delicious. Great for Rosh Hashanah dinner.
 
Okays
Okays September 6, 2021
Hi I’m making this for Rosh hashanna I was wondering can I make this the day before without baking? Getting it out the fridge a couple hours before to be room temperature and then bake it ? Or just make the egg, cottage cheese mix, cook the onions, cook pasta leave it all in celebrate bowls and then mix it all together just before going in the oven ?
 
goldchip
goldchip February 14, 2021
You had me at brown butter. this was scrumptious comfort food, perfect for a cold winter’s day. I paired it with a flourless chocolate cake for a mid-winter valentine’s day feast. I scaled the recipe up by 1.5 and it filled a 9 x 13 pan to the top. I subbed whole plain greek yogurt for sour cream, and a generous handful of dried herbs for fresh (sage and thyme). Spectacular, will definitely make again. Note this is all about the carmelized onions — mine took a good 50 minutes, even at relatively high heat. Be sure to pour the brown butter through a strainer to remove the solids. Also I cooked in advance — 30 minutes at 375, cooled to refrigerate overnight. The day of serving I heated for 30 minutes at 375, it could have used another 10 minutes. It was moist and delicious.
 
ellent124
ellent124 September 5, 2019
You don't cook the onions first?
 
Robinsonv
Robinsonv September 20, 2020
He does. That’s the first thing he does in the video caramelize the onions and set them aside before you brown the butter.
 
Kim
Kim April 16, 2019
Can you make this recipe in advance and re-heat (covered?), or will it dry out?
 
FrugalCat
FrugalCat April 13, 2018
Also good with onion soup mix. (Omit the salt if you do this).