Crispy Potato Kugel

By Alison Roman

Updated Dec. 28, 2025

Crispy Potato Kugel
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Rating
4(1,917)
Comments
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At its core, kugel is a casserole. It comes in both savory and sweet varieties, often made with egg noodles and vaguely sweetened. This version, made with potatoes, is decidedly salty and savory, with onions in the mixture and chives to finish. It can best be described as something between a Spanish tortilla and a giant latke; the potatoes are shredded, not sliced, there are eggs but no flour, and it’s got crispy edges and a creamy interior. Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? The most annoying parts of this kugel are also the most important: grating the potatoes (I use a box grater, but you can use a food processor with the shredding blade) and wringing out their moisture. For that, I use my hands and a colander or strainer to save a kitchen towel or a cheesecloth, but you can use those, if you like. Traditionally made in a casserole-style baking dish, this kugel starts off in a cast-iron skillet, but a stainless-steel skillet would do the job, and honestly so would a baking dish, just know you may be sacrificing that crunchy underside.

Featured in: Alison Roman’s Seder Table

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings
  • 4pounds russet potatoes (about 5 to 7 potatoes), peeled 
  • 1large yellow onion
  • 6large eggs 
  • 10tablespoons chicken fat, melted, or use vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
  • ⅓cup finely chopped chives, for serving
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

291 calories; 17 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 484 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Using a box grater or the shredding attachment on the food processor, grate the potatoes and onion into a colander fitted inside a large bowl (or in the sink).

  2. Step 2

    Using your hands and working with a bit at a time, squeeze as much water from the potatoes and onions as humanly possible and transfer the dry potatoes to a large bowl (you can use that same bowl, just make sure it’s drained and dry). For added insurance, you can also do this with cheesecloth or a porous kitchen towel, if you like.

  3. Step 3

    Add eggs and 6 tablespoons chicken fat to the potatoes, and season with salt and plenty of pepper, mixing well. Heat another 2 tablespoons fat in a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high. (This recipe will work in a 9- or 10-inch skillet, but the kugel will be slightly taller in a 9-inch.) Delicately place the potato mixture into the skillet, taking care not to pack it in tightly. (You want to keep the kugel light and airy.)

  4. Step 4

    Cook the potatoes, rotating the skillet occasionally to promote even browning, until it’s golden brown on the edges and up the sides, 10 to 12 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Drizzle the top of the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons fat and place in the oven. Bake until the top of the kugel is deeply golden brown, the edges are wispy and crispy, and the potatoes are completely and totally tender and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Remove from oven and top with more pepper, chives and flaky sea salt. Slice and serve warm.

Tip
  • If you don’t have chicken fat and are not keeping kosher, melted butter is great substitute, otherwise, olive oil or a neutral oil like grapeseed or canola will do the trick. But given the limited ingredient list on this recipe, you really do need the rest (potatoes, onion, egg). 

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,917 user ratings
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Comments

Jenny Wolkon

Or....put the mixture in muffin tins...crust for everyone. A little trick Bubbie taught us.

New Yorker

Preheat your cast iron pan with the oil in it as the oven heats. Pour potato mixture into pan and bake. No need for stove top and you can broil the top for the last few minutes if you want it more crispy, but the hot oven usually gets it crispy enough.

Bob Woolcock

I used a salad spinner to remove the liquid from the shredded potatoes/onions. Much easier.

Marcia

Because I can't digest raw onion and cooking it in this way doesn't eliminate whatever makes it indigestible to me, I make a pan of caramelized onions in advance and stir some in.

feedmyboys

Delicious, and offers an enormous amount of food. Yield is accurate. Made in a cast iron frying pan for brunch. Used 6 T duck fat for kugel, and olive oil for the pan and the final 2 T oil drizzled over the top.

Karen H

What does "plenty" of pepper mean? I'm a beginner cook and need at least a starting starting point as the recipe is not the sort that one can taste as you go along.

Rollie

@Karen H Just start with pepper “to taste”, or maybe 1/2 tsp?

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