Whenever I come across a breakfast idea that is new and different from the typical breakfast options, like this kugel recipe, with flavors I know our family enjoys, I’m usually all over it.
Breakfast for us is our most routine meal of the day, meaning it usually consists of the same foods pretty regularly: turkey or chicken and apple sausage, cereal or oatmeal, fruit and milk for The Well-Fed Kids and coffee for me. The Chef does his own thing for breakfast since he is usually eating it well before we are!
Now, this recipe did not really fit another big criteria for me when considering something new to try: easy. In fact, as I was making it, I thought we should have named our blog The Chef’s Wife Learns to Cook. Trust me, it would have been so much more entertaining.
On second thought, it may also have been distracting from the usefulness of the tips The Chef provides, as everyone would be hysterically laughing with me at me (I’m usually not laughing … maybe until after the fact). Making this kugel proved to be the perfect illustration.
Have you ever tried to cut a mango? I had no idea before attempting to make the first slice into the mango, but I quickly discovered that it was not the best idea to wait until The Chef had gone to bed to begin my culinary experiment. Thank goodness for the internet!
I quickly pulled up Pinterest, my first go-to now when searching for recipes or food-related information, and I typed in “How to cut a mango” in the search bar. Here’s a view of some of the pins that returned for the search:
Now #1 is the result I went to while making this dish, but then while preparing this post I saw #2 and noticed the word easy! By all means, if you need some direction on cutting a mango, check out both but I definitely will attempt the easy method next time. Pinned it to my Tips and Tricks Pinterest board for quick reference!
So back to the delicious Kugel. Once I got the mango figured out and got everything ready to go in the oven, something told me I should “double check” to make sure I had not left anything out. Usually I have my computer right there to keep an eye on ingredients but this time it was a little further away.
Good thing I did, sure enough I had forgotten the egg! Sort of an important ingredient if you ask me … I’m no culinary genius but I do know that when baking leaving an ingredient like egg out is not a good thing.
So I added the egg in, popped the dish into the oven and hoped adding the egg in the way I had would be okay. When it was ready, it smelled delicious! Taste-tested it… and yummy!! It tasted delicious too.
The Well-Fed Son loved it, I don’t think The Chef got a chance to try it, and as usual, The Well-Fed Daughter’s response was, “I don’t like it.” 99 times out of 100 if it is something new we can bet on that response! I’m thinking… okay, good, more for us! 
Now one more thing before the recipe… I had no idea what kugel is when I first saw the name of the recipe. I asked someone at my church’s VBS the following week and found out it’s a Jewish dish! According to Food.com’s Kitchen Dictionary:
A baked pudding usually made with potatoes or noodles, although meat, vegetables and other ingredients are sometimes added. Kugel is a traditional side dish served on the Jewish Sabbath. A sweet version with raisins and spices is equally delicious.
*This recipe was adapted from the Mango Coconut Kugel Recipe here.
- 6 ounces broad egg noodles
- 1 cup coconut milk (canned), stirred well
- 8 ounces cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 large eggs
- ⅛ cup brown sugar
- 1 fresh mango, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
- Approximately ¼ cup dried pineapple, diced
- Preheat the oven to 375F and spritz a 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
- Bring a 3- to 4-quart stockpot filled with water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook for about 8 minutes until al dente, then drain and reserve.
- While the noodles cook, whisk the coconut milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese, eggs and brown sugar together in a large bowl until well-combined.
- Fold the fresh and dried mango, pineapple and the reserved cooked noodles into the kugel filling with a spatula, then pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the filling is set and the noodles are starting to brown at the tips; timing may vary based on your oven and the baking dish used.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
About the Author
Adopted at age 2, grew up in the Charlotte, NC area. Obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University. Loves being a Mom of two and taste-testing Chef John's culinary creations and sharing them with readers.
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