15 Recipes to Serve Your Family During Hanukkah (2024)

FAQs

What is a good Hanukkah menu? ›

A perfect Hanukkah meal might start with matzoh ball soup, have a traditional brisket at the center and a stack of potato latkes on the side. If brisket is not your thing, a simple roasted chicken would serve very nicely, too.

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.

Many families give their kids a chatchka (a Yiddish word meaning “small gift”) for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Meaty Main Dishes

The star dish for many Hanukkah dinner tables is brisket. It's a show-stopping centerpiece that's as classic as it gets, which is why we love it. For something a little different but equally as fitting, we also love a wintery braise filled with semolina dumplings.

"Among other rules, eating certain animals, primarily pigs and shellfish, is forbidden; meat must be ritually and humanely slaughtered; and dairy and meat aren't to be eaten at the same meal." Fish and plant foods are "neutral" (parve) and can be eaten with either meat or dairy.

Other related laws and customs

It is customary for women not to work for at least the first half-hour of the candles' burning, and some have the custom not to work for the entire time of burning. It is also forbidden to fast or to eulogize during Hanukkah.

Fried desserts are a time-honored tradition at Hanukkah: They are symbolic of the oil that was only supposed to burn for one day, but lasted eight long nights. Our recipe collection includes several twists (one is actually shaped as twists!) on the fried donut, as well as apple fritters.

Eat – latkes, of course! Crispy, fried, slightly oniony potato pancakes with decadent (that's a euphemism for fattening) toppings. Why latkes? The simple answer is that they're meant to remind Jews of the miracle of the oil associated with Hanukkah.

What are the oily foods for Hanukkah? ›

An important part of the Hanukkah tradition is to serve foods fried in oil, which symbolizes a miracle: After the Maccabee tribe recaptured ancient Jerusalem, the lamp in the temple appeared to hold only enough oil for one night yet continued to burn for eight days.

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.

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.