Paleo Vegetable Kugel
This paleo vegetable kugel is light and healthy!
One of the first things my mother-in-law asked me to cook was a kugel for Passover. She wanted a real kugel, as she put it, not one of my healthy recipes. So, she gave me a recipe and asked me to follow it. I think that kugel had two sticks of butter in it and a bucket of matzo meal!
This year, I won’t be home for Passover. A few months ago I had to postpone a trip because I had the flu and the only time my sister and I could reschedule for was Passover week. So, I had to decide between the traditional family seder or a trip to Anguilla with my sister to celebrate our big birthdays… I picked the trip… so don’t judge me… I will, however, miss this paleo vegetable kugel!
Here is my healthy answer to kugel. It’s delicious and it’s made with tons of fresh veggies and a little bit of oil and tapioca flour. Steve and I ate it for dinner last week as I was testing out the recipe. It’s a kugel (even if not as traditional as my mother-in-law would like) but it’s healthy and it’s good enough to serve any time of year.
And the leftovers are awesome for breakfast. A few sunny-side-up eggs served on top of a plate of this kugel… oh my, it’s like an awesome breakfast hash…
If you are looking for a great Paleo dessert to serve, try my Paleo Lemon Cake recipe.
This is the healthiest kugel in the world:
Leeks are known as “grass from the sun”. They are especially beneficial when the whether is still warm but starting to turn cold, or still cold and starting to turn warm (Spring and Fall). They are great for the liver and at helping the body relieve itself of toxins. Leeks are also good at helping constipation; they help the body rid itself of toxins in the digestive tract.
Potatoes are good at soothing ulcers and neutralizing acid in the stomach and they help relieve constipation. These tubers also can help relieve arthritic inflammation. So, even though sweet potatoes are thought of as the white potato’s more nutrition sister, regular old potatoes can be just what the doctor ordered.
Sweet potatoes are good for your digestive system. They can be good for both constipation and diarrhea. These orange gems also help rid your body of excess water, are good for breast health, help people with diabetes and actually can help ease night blindness. In olden times, it was common in China to rub mashed sweet potatoes on poison insect bites to remove the toxins. I still haven’t tried this, but if need be, I will!
Zucchini cools your body off and makes you feel better during those hot days of summer. It helps your body release excess heat and it will make your mind feel more calm.
Onions are great for your immune system; they are a natural antihistamine. Recently, I recommended that a patient with bronchitis put sliced raw onions in her socks when she went to sleep… she woke up so much better. (I know I’ve told you this before, but it really is awesome!) Onion is a superhero in the food world!
Tapioca is a starch that comes from the cassava plant. It’s not really a flour in the traditional sense; it’s grain and gluten free. It’s good for your circulation and your digestion. Oftentimes I will make recipes with tapioca flour — it seems to crisp things up well and it works as a great thickener too.
| Paleo Vegetable Kugel | Print |
- 2 large leeks, slices and soaked in bowl of cold water to remove any dirt
- 1 large baking potato, peeled, sliced very thinly, and then cut into tiny pieces
- 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced very thinly, and then cut into tiny pieces
- 2 unpeeled medium zucchini, finely diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup tapioca flour (here's a good one)
- 3 eggs, beaten
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2-/2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus and extra 2-tsp to grease the pan
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet.
- Add the leeks and some salt and sauté until they start to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Put all of the chopped vegetables into a large bowl. Add the sautéed leeks and the tapioca flour. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the eggs and stir until combined well.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish with 2 tsp of oil.
- Spread the vegetable mixture into the dish.
- Bake until the top starts to brown a bit, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.
- Cut into pieces.
- NOTE: When I cut this when it was too warm, it was hard to keep some of the pieces in neat squares, so if you can, let it cool completely (even in the fridge) before you cut it. I will say, though, that it was just as delicious when I cut it hot even if it didn't look quite as pretty!
Hi! Can I substitute a different flour for tapioca flour? Thanks!
Hi Marla, I’ve never used another flour — but you probably can. The tapioca flour acts as a thickener, so a traditional flour, let me know how it works! One of the reasons I use tapioca is that we serve this as a grain-free dish.