Oh hi! Me again, back with another High Holidays post. We’re gonna plan your Yom Kippur break fast menu today. Ok? Ok. Here we go.
…BUT FIRST.
Why does planning your menu ahead of time even matter, you ask?
Great question, imaginary reader.
Truth is, you could host without plans. You could totally wing it! Throw your cares to the wind! Stumble into the nearest deli at 6:42 p.m. looking like a literal zombie!
But if you are, in fact, hosting other hungry people (in a safe, socially-distanced way, of course), you’re going to want to make sure you have food on hand to feed them. Otherwise…well, it won’t be pretty. For you or for them.
Conveniently, there are 75 Yom Kippur break-fast recipe ideas below—and they’re all make-ahead. Yes, you can make them all ahead of time! Because, well, that’s what a make-ahead recipe means.
But these ideas are more than just convenient. They’re also delicious, satisfying, and somewhat light. In other words, they’re the ideal break-fast food.
Truthfully, there aren’t rules on exactly what to serve at a break-fast. But for Ashkenazi families in the United States, the meal often looks a lot like brunch. In fact, it even features a lot of those brunch-y foods we all know and love—smoked fish, babka (lots of babka!), and the like. This makes sense, since it’s technically the first meal of the day for your guests or family members. Lighter, less rich fare is usually served, and it’s a dairy meal, so there’s also typically no meat (though, as I said, fish is common).
But there are so many different ways to break a Yom Kippur fast, and Jews around the world all do it differently: Persian communities typically eat a shredded apple and rosewater dish called Faloudeh Seeb, German Jews nibble on cinnamon-scented Zimtsterne cookies, and there’s a really incredible story about the Yom Kippur hot chocolate tradition of 17th-century Mexican Jews, too.
Regardless of what exactly you choose to eat, though, you’ll want to have it all mapped out before the big night comes. After all, during the daytime hours of Yom Kippur, you’ll likely be fasting and won’t want to handle or prepare food while you’re doing so. (Unless you’re some kind of masochistic MANIAC.) And even if you personally aren’t fasting, it can be a little disrespectful to those who are fasting to spend your day cooking and baking—particularly if you’re filling your house and neighborhood with delicious aromas in doing so.
So! With all that in mind, I give you…75 excellent make-ahead meal ideas. I’ve divvied up my list into categories so that you’ll have an easier time finding this or that dish to complement your existing spread. (As always, if you do end up making them, let me know by dropping me a line over on Instagram!
Until then, wishing you a sweet new year and an easy, meaningful fast.
Break-Fasts Around the World
Iraqi Hariri (Sweetened Almond Milk) | The Best of Baghdad Cooking
Moroccan Fijuelas | Jamie Geller
Iranian Faloudeh Seeb (Persian Rose Water Ice) | The Kitchn
Greek Avgolemono | My Jewish Learning
Syrian Sambusak | Tablet
Mexican Hot Chocolate | Isabel Eats
Lox, Lox, Lox
Break-Fast Bagel Board | Rebekah Lowin
Cucumber Cups with Dill Cream and Smoked Salmon | All Recipes
Smoked Salmon Bruschetta | Dish Magazine
Bagel and Lox Breakfast Pizza | Recipe Runner
Smoked Trout & Avocado Salad Toasts | Food 52
Smoked Salmon Egg Boats | The Kitchn
Homemade Scallion Cream Cheese | 500 Spatulas
Lemon-Herb Salmon Toasts | Taste of Home
Pizza With Smoked Salmon + Crème Fraîche | Food & Wine
Homemade Bagels | Sally’s Baking Addiction
Lox & Bagel Cream Cheese Crostini | Made by Rebekah
Tea-Smoked Salmon | Country Living
Pickled Herring on Rye Toast | In Zofia’s Kitchen
Eggs & Cheese
Blackberry Croissant Breakfast Bake | The Kitchn
Leek and Asparagus Frittata | Bon Appetit
Shakshuka With Feta | NYTimes Cooking
Easy Shakshuka | Cookie & Kate
Eggplant Parmesan | What’s Gaby Cookin
Leek and Asparagus Frittata | Bon Appetit
Shakshuka | Tori Avey
Loaded Baked Frittata | NYTimes Cooking
Shakshuka With Spinach & Harissa | Love and Lemons
Spaghetti Frittata | Food & Wine
Salads & Extra-Light Fare
The Little Green Salad | Cookie & Kate
Escarole and Butter Lettuce salad with Pomegranate Seeds | Bon Appetit
Autumn Arugula Salad With Pomegranate Ginger Vinaigrette | How Sweet Eats
Butternut Squash Salad | Love and Lemons
Everyday Salad | Gimme Some Oven
Chopped Salad | Country Living
Honeycrisp Apple Salad | The Cozy Apron
Apple Pecan Arugula Salad | Minimalist Baker
Autumn Kale Salad With Fennel, Honeycrisp, and Goat Cheese | Cookie and Kate
Kale Salad With Apples & Toasted Almonds | Delish
Israeli Couscous Salad | Green Valley Kitchen
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad | Country Living
Kugel!
Apple Raisin Kugel | Simply Beautiful Eating
Sweet Lokshen Kugel | Tori Avey
Fluffy Potato Kugel | The Kitchn
Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions and Brown Butter | Jake Cohen for Food52
Noodle Kugel | Brown Eyed Baker
Brown Sugar Caramel Upside Down Kugel | Parsley Sage Sweet
Cinnamon Apple Noodle Kugel | Jessica Levinson
Sweet Noodle Kugel With Dried Cherries | Food & Wine
Noodle Kugel | Once Upon a Chef
“Exciting” Noodle Kugel | NYTimes Cooking
Noodle Kugel With Cardamom and Apples | Molly Yeh
Something Sweet
Nutella Babka | Lion’s Bread
Orange Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls | Elisabeth and Butter
Cardamom Coffee Cake With Bulletproof Frosting | Molly Yeh
Chocolate Babka | NYT Cooking
Blueberry Muffins | The Kitchn
Cinnamon Pecan Rugelach | The Well Floured Kitchen
Sweet Lemon-Poppy Biscuits | Food & Wine
Salted Toffee Rugelach | Good Housekeeping
Perfect Popovers with Cranberry Butter | Half Baked Harvest
Maple Pecan Sticky Buns | Sally’s Baking Addiction
Berry and Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast Bake | Half Baked Harvest
Baked Apples with Dates, Almonds, and Rum | Bon Appetit
Walnut Brown Sugar Rugelach | Martha Stewart
White Chocolate Apricot Rugelach | Jo Cooks
Butterscotch Pecan Caramel Babka | Two Cups Flour
Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves | Half Baked Harvest
Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts | Bon Appetit
Chocolate Poppy-Seed Kokosh | Leah Koenig for Food 52
Drink Ideas
Cold Brew Coffee | Cookie and Kate
Fruit Infused Water | Damn Delicious
Ginger Beet Celery Juice | FeedFeed
Milk and Honey Iced Coffee | Pinch of Yum
Easy Blender Orange Juice | Martha Stewart
Homemade Apple Cider | Gimme Some Oven
Celery Ginger Juice | Detoxinista
Super Powered Orange Juice | Minimalist Baker
Lemon Herb Cucumber Water | A Couple Cooks
3-Ingredient Ginger Lemon Water | Minimalist Baker
Strawberry Summer Water | How Sweet Eats
Look forward to some tastyrecipes