Like many iconic Jewish dishes, noodle kugel recipes invite heated debates: Sweet noodle kugel or savory?! Naked or topped with cornflakes? Wide noodles or extra-wide noodles? Golden raisins, dried cranberries or apricots, or no fruit at all? What about cream cheese? Or cottage cheese? Everyone has an opinion. 

When Sarah Jampel developed this recipe, she writes: “I putzed! I fussed! I schmoozed! I schlepped! I kvetched! I ate a lot of kugel until, finally, we landed on one (so soft! so bouncy!) we felt would please the fanatics, persuade the haters, and entice the uninitiated.”

Her version of every Jewish holiday’s favorite noodle pudding is a touch sweet and a little eggy, landing somewhere between airy and rich, with small curds from cottage cheese. Tugging on a few noodles so they breach the surface means you get golden brown bits that crunch. And don’t tell your guests, but we like the pieces from the corner of the casserole dish—where the noodles get crispy from the heat of the pan—best. Save those for yourself. Make it for Shabbat. Make it for brunch. Just make it—we promise you’ll love it.

Looking for more kugel recipes? Try Michael Twitty’s apple and honey rice kugel. Or if you need a kosher for Passover side dish, go with Bonnie Frumkin Morales’s mushroom matzo kugel with Swiss chard.