Kugelis is a hearty Lithuanian potato pudding that can be enjoyed as a main dish or a side. It’s a classic comfort food dish that can be tricky to perfect, but is absolutely delicious to taste! This article will teach you everything you need to know to make your Kugelis perfectly!
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Aw, the humble potato. Delicious when boiled, like in German Potato Salad; or fried like Potato Pancakes (Draniki); or even mashed like Colcannon and Plokkfiskur. Today, we grind and then bake it into what is sure to be your new favorite side dish.
What makes kugelis so special is not just how the potatoes are cooked but what they are cooked with. A heavenly mixture of bacon, onions and butter, whipped with eggs to make it light and delicious.
This Lithuanian specialty has been passed down for generations and for good reason. It’s simple, yet hearty enough to be enjoyed as a side or main dish. Top it with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives or dill and you’ll never go back to boring mashed potatoes again!
My Thoughts on Kugelis
After testing my Kugelis from Lithuania, I sat down to record some quick thoughts on what went well, what my biggest challenges were, and anything I could think of to help you enjoy this recipe as well! Watch the video below.
Recipe Origins
Kugelis is often called the national dish of Lithuania. Lithuanian peasants of the 19th century created this dish as a way to stretch simple, inexpensive ingredients like eggs and potatoes into a filling dish that could sustain large families. Baked until golden, it was often served on Sundays or special occasions, sometimes accompanied by sour cream or bacon.
Over time, kugelis became more than just a practical meal; it evolved into a symbol of Lithuanian comfort food, still enjoyed at family gatherings and celebrations today.
I am a potato lover and I will NEVER turn down a side of mashed potatoes, so I had a feeling that this potato casserole was something I was going to love. And while the grating of the potatoes was a bit cumbersome, I loved the taste. We served our Kugelis as a side for dinner with sausage and a salad, and I have been dreaming about it ever since!
Why Make This Recipe
- Inexpensive Ingredients: Potatoes, bacon and onions. Simple, affordable and hearty.
- Heavenly Flavor: Potatoes are comfort food all on their own, but paired with bacon, butter and a dollop of sour cream and you’ve got a dish everyone will be coming back for more of!
- Taste of Lithuania: This dish has been passed down from generation to generation and while each has their own spin on it, this recipe is one you’re sure to love!
Ingredients to Make Kugelis
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Thick cut bacon: The heartier, the better. Thin bacon will also work, but I like the texture of the thicker bacon because it makes it stand out more in a sea of mushy potatoes.
- White onion: Yellow onion can be used as a substitute, but the white onion creates a more mild onion taste that complements the potatoes rather than overpowers them.
- Vitamin C supplement: This helps keep your potatoes from turning brown or grey. You want your Vitamin C ground into a powder. If you can’t find any, your dish will taste the same, it will just be a more unappetizing color.
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes are most traditional and help achieve the perfect texture. They are also very starchy which makes them change color quickly (hence the vitamin C tablets)!
- Eggs: This gives the pudding more structure.
- Cold butter: To give the top a beautiful crispiness.
- Salt and Pepper: The seasoning in this dish is so simple! You can add other seasonings like bay leaves or marjoram, but most authentic recipes I found used only salt and pepper… and maybe some garlic.
Recipe Variations
As with most recipes passed down through generations, there are different variations to this recipe. What’s unique about kugelis is there’s not too much variation in the ingredients of the recipe but more in the preparation.
- Grinding the Potatoes: Experts seem to agree that grating these potatoes by hand is the way to go. You don’t want to grate them in the largest holes, which would create hashbrown-like potato shreds. You want to choose a very fine grate, or even a zester, to create more of a pulp.
- Drain the Potatoes: Some people choose to rinse the pulp, to avoid some of the discoloration. If you do this, put your pulp in a cheese cloth and rinse and drain gently. Allow the starch to settle at the bottom of the bowl and then put it BACK in with the potatoes before you discard any liquid.
- Whip the Eggs: Another tip I’ve seen is to whip your eggs well before mixing with the potatoes. This will give your dish a fluffier texture in the end.
- A Little Extra Creamy: I’ve seen many variations of this dish made with whole milk, heavy cream, evaporated milk or even a little bit of cream of rice. I found that the grease from the bacon and the butter on top created enough liquid for the potatoes to cook but if you want this dish a little creamier, try adding a bit of evaporated milk to the mix.
Tools Needed to Grate your Potatoes
Ideally you want to use a zester for this recipe, so a large grater with one side dedicated to those tiny spikes would work best. I used a lemon zester/parmesan cheese grater and placed it horizontally over a bowl, which I found easier to work with than a vertical box grater.
Some Lithuanian grandmothers have electric potato puree machines, but they tend to be very expensive ($200-$500). If you have one, that is certainly the best option as it is the fastest and easiest.
A food processor could work, but most likely won’t get the potatoes fine enough, and if they do, they could activate too much starch and make your potatoes gummy. It’s time consuming, but if you don’t have a potato puree machine, I would recommend preparing your potatoes by hand.
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Fry the bacon pieces. Remove your bacon from the pan and most of the grease in a separate bowl, then cook the onions in the remaining grease. Set aside.
Step Two: Pour the reserved bacon grease into the bottom of a large mixing bowl and then sprinkle in the vitamin C powder and mix to combine. This combination will keep the potatoes from browning as you prepare them. Grind the potatoes into a pulp. Mix the pulp into the grease mixture.
Step Three: Add the eggs into the potato mixture along with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Then dump the rest of the bacon, onions, and any remaining grease into the potatoes.
Step Four: Pour the ingredients into a greased 9×9 glass pan. Top with the sliced butter.
Step Five: Bake in the oven for 70-80 minutes or until the top turns brown. You can do the toothpick test to make sure that it is cooked in the middle.
Step Six: Cut into slices and serve topped with sour cream and dill!
How to Keep the Color of Your Kugelis Perfect
The easiest way to keep your raw potatoes from browning is to use an electric potato grinder, but these are super expensive and hard to come by. If you are grating your potatoes by hand, follow these tips:
- Only peel one potato at a time, then puree it, then peel the next one.
- Make sure your bacon grease and vitamin c are in the bottom of your bowl BEFORE you start.
- Periodically, as you are grating the potatoes, put the pulp in the bowl with the bacon grease/vitamin c and mix to fully coat the potatoes in the substance. These two ingredients coat the potatoes and keep them from turning brown.
- I would transfer and stir 5-6 times per potato to preserve the color of the dish! The longer your potatoes are touching the air and not the bacon grease, the more likely they are to turn grey.
- If you are grating by hand, make sure to move quickly. The key here is to have everything ready and laid out so as soon as the potatoes are grated, you just throw the ingredients in, pour and bake. The longer you take, the more likely your kugelis will turn an unappetizing color.
Expert Tips
- The texture of your dish should be very soft on the inside, kind of like mashed potatoes but less fluffy, more slick.
- Some people melt the butter and mix it into the batter. I have not tried this, but I believe it would work as well.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This recipe reheats very well. You can bake it ahead of time, cover and refrigerate. When you are ready to serve, just reheat in the oven until it is warmed through. You can also reheat leftovers in the microwave or air fryer for a quick side the next night!
You can also freeze kugelis for up to three months.
Traditionally, this dish is served with sour cream or lingonberry jam on top. It can be eaten as a main dish or as a hearty side. If you’re serving with sour cream, make sure to mix in some fresh dill, it truly adds the perfect pop of flavor on top.
You can make your recipe vegetarian by substituting out the bacon. The dish still has plenty of flavor!
Starchy potatoes like Russets work best because they help create the right texture. Your final dish should be light on the inside and crispy on the outside. Waxy potatoes will create a denser dish.
Did you enjoy this recipe for Kugelis? If so, check out these other recipes I’ve selected just for you:
If you tried this Kugelis Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Kugelis
Ingredients
- 6 strips thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 500 mg Vitamin C supplement, crushed to a powder (only if grating the potatoes by hand)
- 2 ½ lb Potatoes, peeled
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 8 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 1 Tbsp slices
- Sour cream and dill, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium pan on the stove, fry the 6 strips thick cut bacon until they cook through and are crispy. Once done, remove the bacon from the pan and place in a small bowl. Separately, remove the majority of the bacon grease from the pan and place it in another bowl. Leave a tablespoon or so of bacon grease in the pan.
- Add the 1 medium white onion to the remaining bacon grease and continue cooking until the onions are soft.
- Pour the bacon grease into the bottom of a large mixing bowl and then sprinkle in 1 500 mg Vitamin C supplement, crushed to a powder (only if grating the potatoes by hand) and mix to combine. This combination will keep the potatoes from browning as you prepare them.
- Using the smallest side of a box grater or a handheld parmesan cheese grater/zester, grind 2 ½ lb Potatoes into a pulp. You are not making hashbrowns, but rather a juicy potato pulp. Periodically as you are grating the potatoes, put the pulp in the bowl with the bacon grease/vitamin c and mix to fully coat the potatoes in the substance. I would transfer and stir 5-6 times per potato to preserve the color of the dish!
- Add the 2 eggs into the potato mixture along with 1 tsp Salt and ½ tsp black pepper and whisk to combine. Then dump the rest of the bacon, onions, and any remaining grease into the potatoes.
- Pour the ingredients into a greased 9×9 glass pan. Top with the 8 Tbsp cold butter.
- Bake in the oven for 70-80 minutes or until the top turns brown. You can do the toothpick test to make sure that it is cooked in the middle.
- Cut into slices and serve topped with Sour cream and dill!
Video
Notes
- Thick cut bacon: Thin bacon will also work.
- White onion: Yellow onion can be used as a substitute.
- Salt and Pepper: You can add other seasonings like bay leaves or marjoram, but most authentic recipes I found used only salt and pepper… and maybe some garlic.
- The texture of your dish should be very soft on the inside, kind of like mashed potatoes but less fluffy, more slick.
- Some people melt the butter and mix it into the batter. I have not tried this, but I believe it would work as well.
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