Recipes Holidays + Events Hanukkah The 19 Best Hanukkah Recipes for Your Celebration of Lights By Food & Wine Editors Updated on December 5, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Justin Walker The eight days of Hanukkah are observed with the lighting of a menorah after sundown, and meals featuring foods like potato latkes and jelly doughnuts. Fried foods recall the miracle at the Temple of Jerusalem, when a day's worth of oil lasted eight nights. From crispy latkes and hearty brisket to spiced sufganiyot and boozy cocktails, these festive recipes are perfect to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights. 01 of 19 Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot Cinnamon-Cardamom Sufganiyot. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley No Hanukkah is complete without sufganiyot on the dessert table. In Eitan Bernath’s wonderfully spiced version, he begins with a classic yeasted dough fried to golden perfection. A quick roll in cinnamon-sugar gives the pillowy doughnut a delightfully crisp exterior. Cardamom pastry cream fills the centers, making them rich and decadent. These are perfect for a holiday spread or any time you want to treat yourself. Get the Recipe 02 of 19 Whiskey Shamash Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Sweet and savory fig, bright lemon, and smooth bourbon combine in this delicious take on a classic whiskey smash. At Maccabee Bar, a Hanukkah themed pop-up in Somerville, Massachusetts, bartender and owner Naomi Levy riffs on classic cocktails drawing creative inspiration from the flavors and festivities of Hanukkah and other Jewish holidays and traditions. Get the Recipe 03 of 19 Cranberry-Onion Hanukkah Brisket Justin Walker This nearly effortless brisket gets a festive garnet glaze from cranberries; their tart sweetness cuts through the super-savory onion soup mix and hearty brisket with ease. Double-roasting the brisket yields incredibly tender meat that soaks up the concentrated sauce. Get the Recipe 04 of 19 Potato Kugel with Fried Shallots © Lucy Schaeffer Kugel is a baked pudding, usually made with noodles or potatoes. This version, prepared with shredded potatoes and fried shallots, is crispy at the edges and deliciously creamy in the middle. get the recipe 05 of 19 Kate's Supercrispy Potato Latkes © Hector Sanchez These latkes are a simple but classic holiday tradition. Serve them with sour cream or crème fraîche, smoked salmon, apple sauce, or whatever accompaniments you prefer. Get the Recipe 06 of 19 Jessamyn's Sephardic Challah © Zubin Schroff Jessamyn Waldman grew up in Canada eating challah, the Jewish Sabbath bread. Unlike the eggy challahs of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, this version comes from the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean, who flavored their challahs with caraway and anise. Many challahs are braided, but this one is twisted into a round, turban-shaped loaf. Get the Recipe 07 of 19 Banana Challah Fritters Banana Challah Fritters. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, these Banana Challah Fritters are like fried banana pudding, but even better. As is the case with most banana desserts, starting with overripe bananas will give you the best banana flavor. This is a great, easy dessert for the holidays. Get the Recipe 08 of 19 Herb-and-Lemon-Roasted Chicken © Antonis Achilleos This roast chicken is foolproof and fantastic. The garlic and herb butter rubbed under the skin and all over the bird gives you juicy chicken with crispy skin. This chicken is easy enough for a weeknight dinner but with all the extra flavor and special touches for a dinner party. Get the Recipe 09 of 19 Doughnuts in Cardamom Syrup These doughnuts are a nod to Sephardic Jewish tradition. Dipping them in the cardamom-rose water syrup and sliced almonds gives them an extra layer of flavor and texture. Get the Recipe 10 of 19 Zucchini Latkes with Red Pepper Jelly and Smoked Trout © Keller & Keller Using zucchini and potato to make these latkes keeps them light. Grating the zucchini, potato, and onion in a food processor makes this recipe a breeze. These latkes are especially nice with their toppings of red pepper jelly and smoked trout. Get the Recipe 11 of 19 Sweet Potato Latkes with Wasabi and Wasabi Tobiko © Keller & Keller Rachel Klein mixes sweet and spicy flavors in this whimsical recipe, stirring pungent wasabi paste into crème fraîche to top the slightly sweet latkes and garnishing them with wasabi tobiko (flying fish roe) and peppery radish sprouts. Get the Recipe 12 of 19 Hanukkah Doughnuts John Kernick Hebrew for "doughnuts," sufganiyot are the most popular Hanukkah food in Israel. These fried treats are simply made from balls of yeast dough and filled with chocolate, creams, curd, or jam, as here. Bakeries and markets start frying them weeks before the actual holiday and keep going until the week after. With Andrew Zimmern's recipe, you can make them at home. Get the Recipe 13 of 19 Brisket with Sweet-and-Sour Onions David Cicconi This brisket recipe is from Jessamyn Rodriguez, the founder and CEO of Hot Bread Kitchen, the New York-based social enterprise that helps immigrant women and others launch careers and food businesses. She calls the brisket her "crowning glory," and says the secret is cooking it low and slow. Get the Recipe 14 of 19 Hanukkah Brisket Andrew Zimmern likes to roast his brisket whole because the fatty nose of the wide end will help to keep the roast moist. This juicy brisket also freezes well when cooked and bagged with the vegetables and liquid, so even a small family can make it. Get the Recipe 15 of 19 Best-Ever Potato Latkes Niki Russ Federman of Russ & Daughters says these are the tastiest, crispiest latkes. She mixes the shredded potatoes with both scallions and onion, but the starchy paste released from the potatoes is the secret to these crispy treats. Get the Recipe 16 of 19 Aperol Schvitz Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This satisfying, yet sophisticated take on an Aperol Spritz features a classic Jewish-American ingredient: Manischewitz. This craft cocktail carefully harnesses the sweetness of Manischewitz concord grape wine without being overly-saccharine—it’s a genius, grown-up use of a familiar, but somewhat sickly, holiday ingredient. Bartender Naomi Levy balances sweet Aperol and Manischewitz with dry sparkling wine and lime juice in her Aperol Schvitz. get the recipe 17 of 19 Latke Breakfast Hash Anna Stockwell On the small chance you have any latkes leftover from your Hanukkah celebration, this eggy, savory breakfast is a terrific way to use them up. Pastry chef Caroline Schiff, who loves to fry up latkes the way her great-grandmother did, likes to use a dash of pimentón, Spanish smoked paprika, to give extra depth to the dish. get the recipe 18 of 19 Sweet Noodle Kugel with Dried Cherries Noodle kugel is a traditional Jewish recipe served for dessert or as a side dish. Although it's made with cottage cheese, it develops a custardy texture as it bakes slowly in a ceramic dish. Here, Grace Parisi uses corn flakes and pecans to make a crunchy topping. get the recipe 19 of 19 Gail Simmons's Horseradish Brisket © Lucy Schaeffer Rubbing prepared horseradish on the brisket and whisking it into the meaty sauce punches up the rich flavors here. Like most braised dishes, this brisket tastes better on the second or even third day. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit