Cheesy Potato Kugel is the Passover Recipe You'll Make all Year Long

A comforting potato kugel is a staple on the Passover table, where its starchiness stands in for the verboten bread. This dish is usually made without dairy, so that it can be served alongside meat, but to my mind the classic combination of potato, onion, and egg—a trinity that evokes not only images of Eastern European grandmothers but also memories of big, diner-sized plates piled with eggs with hash browns—practically cries out for some cheese. 

 Apparently, I’m not the only cheese-lover who thinks this way. According to Claudia Rodin’s classic tome The Book of Jewish Food, Jews in the Netherlands historically added some curd to their potato kugels, grating Edam or Gouda into the mix before the casserole was baked. So this year, as I prepared for Passover, I took that Dutch dish as an inspiration, and then added some twists: 

I started by swapping in one of my favorite cheeses, Cowgirl Creamery’s Wagon Wheel. This semi-firm washed-rind cheese (made in Marin with milk sourced from Straus Creamery ) was developed as a local alternative to asiago and has notes similar to gouda and gruyere.  It is a perfect melting cheese—the company’s notes even refer to the melted version of this cheese as “liquid gold”—and it boasts savory notes of brown butter and chicken broth, which pair well with the mild flavors of potato and egg. (After tasting them together, I further accentuated those flavors by adding some sweet, caramelized onions and some Spanish paprika to the mix). Wagon Wheel also has a slightly sharp edge, and that brings a bright note to the combination of potato and egg and keeps the dish from being too mild or monotonous. 

Not content with just mixing the cheese into the casserole, Dutch-style, I then added another layer of dairy goodness: I topped the whole thing with even more cheese. This extra layer melted into a golden, bubbly blanket, similar to the top of a lasagna or a pan of macaroni and cheese. When this bubbling top cooled a bit, I garnished it with fresh parsley as a nod to the holiday’s traditional karpas (the fresh vegetable on the Seder plate, usually parsley, celery, or crunchy lettuce).

The result is a perfect dish for a family dinner. You can enjoy it as part of a dairy meal during the long breadless week (if you observe for the entire holiday), or make it a part of a meatless Seder. The next day, if there’s any left, you can even reheat it for breakfast and stick an egg on top.

Cheese Potato Kugel Recipe

Serves approximately 8 as a side dish

3 yellow onions, thinly sliced

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

3 lbs (8 medium) russet potatoes

4 large eggs

1 1/3 lb Wagon Wheel, grated (about 5 cups) (You can also substitute another good, slightly sharp melting cheese, like Asiago or a slightly sharp cheddar)

Freshly-ground black pepper

½ teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika

Thinly sliced flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onions, season with a large pinch of salt, and stir to coat with oil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook, stirring every minute or two, until the onions have softened but have not begun to brown, about 12 minutes.  When the onions begin sticking to the bottom of the pan, continue cooking them, covered, but stir more frequently and thoroughly to keep them from browning. As the onions cook, they will begin to take on a golden color and the smaller pieces will break into thinner threads that stick to the pan more frequently and will require more stirring. When the onions have shrunk to about a quarter of their original volume (or less) and are turning golden (about 25 minutes total cooking time), remove the lid and cook, stirring until they become golden brown and translucent, with some darker spot, another 15–20 minutes. Drain any excess oil from the onions, and set them aside.

 Preheat the oven to 400°. Peel the potatoes and grate them (ideally in a food processor with a grating disk). Transfer them to a colander, rinse well, and then use your hands or a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth to squeeze out as much of their moisture as possible.  (If you use a towel, be aware that the potatoes will stain the cloth brown.) Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the potatoes, the onion, and one third of the cheese (about 1 2/3 cups). Season well with salt and pepper, add the paprika, and mix thoroughly (the egg will barely coat the rest of the ingredients). 

 Transfer the mixture to a 9” x 13” casserole dish, and flatten it with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the remaining (3 1/3 cups) cheese on top in an even layer. Bake the kugel until it is cooked through, about 45 minutes. If the cheese on top isn’t bubbly and golden, put the casserole dish under the broiler until the cheese is done. Let the kugel sit for about 10 minutes, so that the cheese can firm up a bit, then sprinkle with the parsley just before serving.