23 Celebratory Hanukkah Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are some special foods for Hanukkah? ›

The eight days of Hanukkah are observed with the lighting of a menorah after sundown and meals featuring foods challah bread, kugel, potato latkes, jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot, and festive drinks. Fried foods recall the miracle at the Temple of Jerusalem, when a day's worth of oil lasted eight nights.

In America, Hanukkah food typically refers to two things: latkes, Eastern European fried potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, jelly-filled doughnuts that are favored in Israel and increasingly popular here.

Deep- or shallow-fried dishes like sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and potato latkes abound, serving as a delicious reminder of the miracle of the oil at the heart of the Hanukkah story.

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Perhaps the most common traditional Hanukkah food found on the tables of Jewish families are potato pancakes, sometimes called latkes or levivot. Jews fill their holiday spreads with oil-fried foods during the holiday to commemorate the oil that lasted for eight days.

Traditional foods include potato latkes, applesauce and brisket. Spinning the dreidel (a four-sided top) for “Hanukkah gelt” (gold-wrapped chocolate coins) is another part of the celebration. Your host might appreciate gifts of chocolate, gourmet applesauce, candles, books or board games.

Each night as Jews around the world observe Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, the age-old song Maoz Tsur—"Rock of Ages" in Hebrew—is sung after the lighting of the candles on the menorah.

Did you know that in addition to fried foods, dairy foods are also traditionally associated with Hanukkah? The custom of eating dairy foods for Hanukkah dates back to the Middle Ages, when the Book of Judith played an important role in the Hanukkah narrative.

Latkes, one of the best known of all Hanukkah foods, can be made in many different ways. The basic recipe for this delicious side dish includes just grated potatoes, eggs, and salt. The ingredients are mixed together, formed into circular patties, and fried in oil.

Sephardic Hanukkah dishes include cassola (sweet cheese pancakes), bimuelos (puffed fritters with an orange glaze), keftes de espinaka (spinach patties), keftes de prasa (leek patties) and shamlias (fried pastry frills).

The tradition of eating fried foods recalls the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days. Jews of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern descent frequently make some form of doughnuts or pancakes; East European Jews, where wheat flour was often expensive, usually make potato pancakes called “latkes.”

Why is fried food eaten at Hanukkah? ›

They found a jug of oil that only contained enough fuel to keep the Temple's lamps lit for one day. However, the oil lasted for eight whole days! This miracle is the reason we eat foods fried in oil to celebrate Hanukkah and remember the Maccabees.

Latkes, or potato pancakes, are a favorite Hanukkah food. They are fried in oil, which reminds Jews of the oil in the menorah. Latkes are often served with applesauce.

Keep it Thoughtful

Gift-giving is a relatively new tradition that sprung up because Hanukkah happens during the holiday season, so when bringing gifts, don't go overboard. Books, jewelry, and food can be appropriate Hanukkah presents – but make sure any food is kosher.

Some nonreligious customs of celebration are eating treats fried in oil (which recalls the miracle of the oil), giving children gifts of money (Hanukkah gelt), and playing a game with a four-sided top called a dreidel.

Speaking of oil, eating food fried during Hanukkah is considered a symbol of the oil used to light the menorah. Hence, jelly donuts. Known in Hebrew as sufganiyot (the singular is sufganiyah), Hanukkah donuts were the brainchild of the Israeli labor group Histradut in the '20s, in what was then British-run Palestine.