With crispy edges, a soft sweet centre, and a gentle flavour, these golden noodle latkes are a Chanukah treat that everyone will adore.
My Great Grandmother – my Mum’s Grandma – was from Romania. That’s more or less all I know about her, unfortunately. My Mum lived with her “over the shop” when she was a little girl, and would occasionally talk about her Grandma’s Romanian food, but sadly she never made any of it for us! I guess she was too young at the time to learn those recipes.
I did sometimes ask Mum about Romanian food. On one occasion I asked about mamaliga, a sort of Romanian ‘polenta’ served with sour cream and fried onions. She he told me about it enthusiastically, although she’d never talked about it unprompted and had certainly never made it for us. I wonder how many other dishes were locked in her memory and are now lost forever.
Romanian Jewish food
In an idle moment, I was browsing Romanian Jewish food on the Internet, and I discovered Romanian noodle latkes, aka pasta latkes, which are/were apparently made for Chanukah.
An hour or two down an Internet rabbit hole later, plus umpteen books pulled from the shelves, and I had discovered that these crispy noodle fritters exist in both sweet and savoury varieties.
Joan Nathan included a recipe for a sort of savoury noodle cake, which she calls Romanian fried noodle pudding, in Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook (2004). This is basically one giant pasta latke that can be sliced up. However I found several recipes that take what are essentially the same ingredients and make individual latkes instead. I can’t say which came first. I guess these onion-y fried pasta latkes are a classic recipe among certain folks.
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Sweet pasta latkes
In any case, I decided to have a go at sweet pasta latkes. Many of the savoury noodle latkes recipes mention that the same mixture can also be baked as a kugel. Now, my Mum did make awesome lokshen kugel! So I figured I could follow this advice in reverse – fry dollops of Mum’s noodle kugel mixture to make delicious sweet noodle latkes!
Ingredients in noodle latkes
I used very similar ingredients as in my Mum’s lokshen kugel (noodle pudding). However I adjusted the proportions of the ingredients to make a mixture that was easier to fry.
To make a batch of these crispy and delicious noodle latkes yourself, you will need:
- Fine noodles (lokshen) – I used cappellini (angel hair noodles)
- Egg – to bind the latkes together
- Raisins – yum!
- A pinch of spice – makes everything nice 🙂
- Sugar, to sweeten the mixture
- Melted butter or margarine
- Vegetable oil for frying. You could also fry in butter if you were feeling particularly decadent!
You might also like to make a little cinnamon sugar, by combining ground cinnamon and icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioners sugar) to dust the latkes with once they are cooked.
To be honest, my daughter Kipper and I both liked the sound of the cinnamon sugar idea, but actually found the latkes to be sweet enough without. But if you like extra-sweet latkes, then go for it! I’m sure they’ll be delicious either way.
Cooking Romanian pasta latkes
The mixture is very easy to make. While the noodles are boiling, mix everything else in a large bowl. Then drain the cooked noodles, and mix together with the rest of the ingredients!
I used a serving spoon to make big dollops of the lokshen mixture in my frying pan. They should take about 4-5 minutes per side to cook to a deep golden brown colour. If they are browning too fast, turn the heat down as you need to make sure that they are cooked right through to the middle as well as at the edges.
Delicious crispy edges!
You know how when you make lokshen kugel, the crispy edges are the best bit? Well, these noodle latkes have an amazing crispy edge/soft middle ratio! There’s crispy, crunchy deliciousness in every single bite. Just so good!
How to serve your noodle latkes
These latkes are slightly sweet and are best served as dessert, or a snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Perfect for elevenses or with afternoon tea.
Kipper and I enjoyed them warm – hot from the pan they were a bit too hot. Better to let them cool for a few minutes before serving. That said, we had guests who enthusiastically ate some cold latkes, and came back for seconds, so I guess they’re good that way too!
As mentioned above, you can dust with cinnamon sugar, although we enjoyed them au naturel, with no added adornment.
Family recipe?
I have no idea whether my Great-Grandma, or any other of my Romanian forbears, ever made pasta latkes like these, but we did enjoy them! I hope they’ll become a new family recipe, and my great-grandchildren will be eating them in years to come.
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📖 Recipe
Pasta latkes
Ingredients
- 150 g fine lokshen or angel hair noodles (capellini)
- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
- 1 egg
- 50 g sugar
- ¼ teaspoon mixed spice or the sweet spice blend of your choice
- 50 g raisins
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- 150 g (5 2/7 oz) fine lokshen or angel hair noodles (capellini)Cook the noodles in boiling water according to the instructions on the packet. (If you have long noodles, break them into smaller bits before boiling – this will make life easier later on.)
- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, 1 egg, 50 g (¼ cups) sugar, ¼ teaspoon mixed spice, 50 g (⅓ cups) raisinsWhile the pasta is boiling, melt the butter or margarine, then mix together with the egg, sugar, spice and raisins.
- Drain the cooked noodles thoroughly, then combine with the egg mixture. Mix thoroughly and set aside for about 5 minutes.
- vegetable oil for fryingHeat a few tablespoons of oil in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat. Use a large spoon (I used a serving spoon) to dollop blobs of the noodle mixture into the hot pan – don't overcrowd the pan. Fry for 4-5 minutes until the first side is a deep golden brown, then flip and fry the other side for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the latkes from the pan and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Continue to fry the latkes in batches until all the mixture is used up. You may need to add more oil to the pan as you go.
- Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More delicious latkes and fritters
If you just can’t stop frying, how about trying:
- Bubble and squeak latkes – a British/Jewish hybrid
- Feta cheese latkes – traditional and delicious
- Carrot and sweetcorn fritters
- Easy oven-fried potato latkes
- Polish apple pancakes
And of course classic potato latkes! (Plus an in-depth guide to choosing the best frying oil.)
More Central European recipes
You might also enjoy
- Liptauer cheese – a tangy cheesy dip/spread from Austro-Hungary
- Caveos di Aman – a traditional Purim dish from Bulgaria
- Kasha with mushrooms (kasha met schveml) – from Poland/Russia
- Polish apple pancakes (racuchy)
Ronnie Fein
Hi Helen
Hope you remember me. My grandparents were Romanian and I was old enough when my grandmother was alive to remember many of her recipes, many of which are on my website. Including mamaliga which she sometimes served with sour cream, sometimes cheese, sometimes sautéed mushrooms…… She did fry noodles but as one large pancake that got crispy on the bottom and she cut it into wedges. But it was salty. And delicious. Now ai have to try your sweet version! Happy New Year.
Helen
Hi Ronnie – of course I remember you! I will check out your mamaliga recipe 🙂
Hope you enjoy the noodle latkes! All the best for 2026, H x.
David Skulski
I keep learning the same lesson over and over: trust my experience and intuition. I followed this recipe with precision (ignoring my better judgement). The result was tasty but not what I expected. The problem was there is unsufficient binding; 1 egg is simply not enough for this quantity. I would suggest using at least 2 eggs, perhaps even adding a spoonful of flour.
Helen
Hi David. I’m sorry you didn’t find that one egg was sufficient. The noodle latkes in the photos were made using exactly the recipe as written and they held together just fine, so I’m not sure what went wrong for you. Were your eggs very small? The latkes should be mostly noodle and only a little egg, otherwise I imagine they’d be more like a spaghetti omelette! Anyway, I’m glad you found them tasty 🙂
All the best, Helen.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
It looks so delicious and easy!This is such an easy and delicious recipe, I cannot wait to make it again!
Helen
Thanks Shadi! Glad you enjoyed making them!
Ned
This is truly awesome! I’ve never had this before today and it was delicious!
Helen
Thanks Ned, so glad to hear that you enjoyed them.
Savita
I had salmon latkes but never heard of noodle latkes. Such an interesting recipe, would definitely give it a shot.
Helen
Thanks Savita! It seems you can make latkes out of anything 🙂
Stephanie
It’s so important to carry on family recipes! Unfortunately, I don’t have very many. My mom and grandmother cooked together all the time, but by the time I was old enough to learn the recipes, my grandmother had passed away and my mom had health problems that didn’t allow her to continue. I’m so sad that they are lost forever! However, I’m determined to go from memory and find new recipes for old favorites. I’m definitely going to write them down for my own daughters!
Helen
I so agree Stephanie! Family recipe books can be a really treasured heirloom and hold so many memories.
kushigalu
WHat a unique recipe to try this holiday season. Thanks a lot for sharing
Helen
Thanks Kushigalu 🙂
I hope you enjoy them.
Toni
I love these! Really tasty and delish! Thanks so much!
Helen
Thanks Toni, so happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Dana Sandonato
Such a cool idea! Never thought of latkes done with noodles before. I’ll have to try this!
Helen
Thanks Dana. I hope you enjoy them – we did!
Annissa
I love family recipes. Thanks for sharing this unique recipe to us!
Helen
Thanks Annissa, I’m happy you enjoyed it.