Hanukkah Chicken Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are 4 popular foods at Hanukkah? ›

The eight days of Hanukkah are observed with the lighting of a menorah after sundown and meals featuring foods challah bread, kugel, potato latkes, jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot, and festive drinks. Fried foods recall the miracle at the Temple of Jerusalem, when a day's worth of oil lasted eight nights.

"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.

Perhaps the most common traditional Hanukkah food found on the tables of Jewish families are potato pancakes, sometimes called latkes or levivot. Jews fill their holiday spreads with oil-fried foods during the holiday to commemorate the oil that lasted for eight days.

Fried foods, like potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts, are prepared and eaten throughout the holiday to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah: oil that kept the menorah (an ancient lamp) lit for 8 days instead of the 1 day it was supposed to last.

Latkes. These fried potato pancakes are possibly the best-known Hanukkah food. The oil used to fry them is a commemoration of the oil in the temple lamps. Made of shredded potatoes and onions much like hash browns, they're traditionally topped with applesauce and served as a side dish.

The kosher laws also impact what Jews eat. There is no pork or shellfish allowed, and Jews will not mix meat and dairy in the same meal, so if a chicken is on the table, you won't find butter or cheese.

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.

Round out your meal with a few Hanukkah appetizers (salmon rilettes anyone?) plus succulent salmon, roasted chicken, delicious side dishes and more. So brush up on your Hanukkah facts and make the most of the holiday with an abundance of delicious foods. Happy Hanukkah!

Traditional foods include potato latkes, applesauce and brisket. Spinning the dreidel (a four-sided top) for “Hanukkah gelt” (gold-wrapped chocolate coins) is another part of the celebration. Your host might appreciate gifts of chocolate, gourmet applesauce, candles, books or board games.

What's a traditional Hanukkah dinner? ›

Deep- or shallow-fried dishes like sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and potato latkes abound, serving as a delicious reminder of the miracle of the oil at the heart of the Hanukkah story.

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.

Latkes, one of the best known of all Hanukkah foods, can be made in many different ways. The basic recipe for this delicious side dish includes just grated potatoes, eggs, and salt. The ingredients are mixed together, formed into circular patties, and fried in oil.

"By the 14th century, there's quite a strong tradition that people eat cheese on Hanukkah and it's associated with Judith giving cheese to the enemy to make him drunk," Weingarten says.

Did you know that in addition to fried foods, dairy foods are also traditionally associated with Hanukkah? The custom of eating dairy foods for Hanukkah dates back to the Middle Ages, when the Book of Judith played an important role in the Hanukkah narrative.

Latkes, or potato pancakes, are a favorite Hanukkah food. They are fried in oil, which reminds Jews of the oil in the menorah. Latkes are often served with applesauce.

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.

The Hebrew letters inscribed on a dreidel are a Nun, Gimel, Hey or Chai, and Shin. The letters form an acronym for the Hebrew saying Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, which can be translated to "a great miracle happened there," referring to the miracle which Hanukkah is centered around.