PART OF International Eats

25 Recipes to Break the Yom Kippur Fast

It is customary to fast from sundown the eve of Yom Kippur, AKA the Day of Atonement, to sundown on the day of this Jewish holiday. After 25 hours of repenting and contemplation, it’s time to share a festive meal. Jews from all over the world have different customs as to how to break this fast. From the Ashkenazi bagel and lox tradition to Sephardic harira soup, the choices are as diverse as they are delicious. Most of these recipes can be made ahead of time, and simply reheated or served cold. So, when it’s time to eat, prep will be a breeze!

By Amy Kritzer Becker

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Home-Baked Bagels

Bagels are the quintessential Ashkenazi fast-breaking food, especially topped with whitefish salad or tuna. So, why not make your own? Top them with sesame or poppy seeds, or go meshugenah (crazy) and make everything bagels!

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Gravlax

What are homemade bagels without homemade gravlax? With just a few staple ingredients, it is one of those recipes that seems intimidating, but is actually simple to make. You may never buy store-bought lox again.

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Sweet Kugel

There may be as many varieties for noodle kugel as there are ways to spell Hanukkah (there are a lot!). This version has a smooth, creamy texture thanks to the cream cheese and unique addition of applesauce. The crunchy cereal topping is the perfect contrast.

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Kasha Varnishkes

The comfort food combination of buckwheat groats and bowtie noodles is simple yet satisfying. Toasting the kasha adds a nutty flavor and crunchy texture that is so satisfying when paired with the noodles.

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Classic Tuna Salad

While lox and cream cheese get all the glory, tuna salad is an underrated bagel topping. Make it up to three days ahead of time, so you can scoop some on your plate right at sundown. With pickles, red onion and dill, it’s packed with a briny, herby flavor and crunchy texture.

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Soupa Avgolemono

This egg-lemon Greek soup is a classic fast-breaking recipe for Jews from that region. You’ll also see versions pop up in Turkey and the Balkans. Thanks to the egg yolk, it is rich and creamy without a bit of cream, and the beautiful yellow color will stand out at your table.

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Shakshuka

Shakshuka is a North African dish of eggs poached in a slightly spicy tomato sauce, and is a great way to use whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator. Make the tomato sauce ahead of time, and then reheat it and add the eggs when ready to eat. Serve with a big hunk of bread, perfect for dunking in the runny egg. You can easily double the recipe to feed a crowd.

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Cheese Blintzes

Blintzes, a Jewish version of filled crepes, can have many fillings from potato to blueberry. These are stuffed with a sweet cheese filling and fried before being topped with powdered sugar.

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Smoked Salmon Quiche

Quiche is a great make-ahead dish that you could serve warm or at room temperature. The salmon is a nod to the fast-breaking, bagel-topping favorite, and it comes together easily thanks to using a prepared pie crust. Don’t skip pre-baking the crust, this helps keep it crispy and not soggy.

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Spanakopita

This savory spinach pie is a traditional Greek fast-breaking food. This version has lots of dill for an herbaceous punch with a flaky exterior and cheesy filling.

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Creamy Cucumber Salad

Crisp and refreshing, creamy cucumber salad is an easy side dish to balance out all the carb-heavy fast-breaking favorites. To prevent the salad from getting watery, lightly salt the cucumber slices and let them rest in a colander for about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse off any excess salt before drying.

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Onion & Herring Sandwich

Love it or leave it, you can’t deny that herring is a common part of any Ashkenazi fast-breaking spread. Try it with butter on pumpernickel or rye bread and herring haters may turn into believers!

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Rugelach

The crescent-shaped cookie can be filled with anything from jam and nuts to chocolate. Feel free to get creative with the fillings. The recipe makes a lot, so freeze some after shaping and bake them straight from the freezer for warm cookies any time.

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Everything Bagel Rugelach

This savory twist on the sweet mini crescent dessert is filled with homemade everything bagel spice, cream cheese and scallions. Make extra of the spice mixture and use it on everything from eggs to avocado toast.

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Arroz Con Leche

The thick and creamy rice pudding is a comforting addition to a fast-breaking menu. Served warm or at room temperature, this Hispanic version has notes of lemon and cinnamon that add balance and warmth.

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Baklava

With flaky, buttery filo layers and a sweet nut filling, many Sephardic Jews enjoy baklava as part of their breaking fast traditions. Both Greeks and Turks claim to have originated the recipe, but no one can deny that the sweet, crunchy dessert is as popular as it is delicious.

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Lentil & Couscous Salad

Don’t skip the mint in this flavorful salad. It adds freshness that balances out the more savory elements. This makes a great side dish as part of a larger spread or a simple vegetarian main.

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Moroccan Lemon Chicken With Olives

This slow-simmered dish is a complete meal featuring chicken, vegetables and couscous. It’s versatile and can be served for a Shabbat dinner, pre-fast meal and definitely as part of your break-the-fast menu. Try it with preserved lemons, which are brined in salt and lemon juice, for an even more complex flavor profile.

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Zimtsterne

Zimtsterne, which means “cinnamon stars” in German, are actually popular Christmas cookies. But the cinnamon almond treats have also become popular fast-breaking cookies as they are a reminder that when you see the first stars in the night sky, the fast is over.

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Pomegranate & Spinach Salad

Pomegranates are a symbolic food for the High Holidays (the time between Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot), so this gorgeous sweet and savory salad is both meaningful and delicious.

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Judy's Jewish Coffee Cake

Even if you don’t have a fun aunt Judy of your own, you should probably serve her sour cream-based coffee cake at your fast-breaking meal. She uses margarine, but you can substitute butter.

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Chilled Cucumber Yogurt Soup

After abstaining from food for 25 hours, some items can be a little tricky to digest. This simple refreshing soup, popular in the Middle East, helps ease back into eating.

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Harira - Chickpea & Lentil Soup

This Moroccan stew is packed with chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes and lots of spices like cinnamon, cumin, turmeric and ginger. It’s spicy, earthy and perfect for a crowd. While some people add meat, the soup is hearty enough to keep vegetarian. It is satisfying, yet gentle, after a long fast.

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Sephardic Huevos Haminados

These Sephardic hard-boiled eggs are slow-cooked in a combination of coffee and onion peels. This gives the shells a rich brown color with pale beige egg whites underneath and a subtle flavor. Eat them on their own or add them to a stew.

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Basbousa

The semolina cake is soaked in a sweet syrup and topped with almonds for a pretty presentation. Semolina gives the cake a slightly dryer texture, which is the perfect contrast to the lemon-honey syrup.

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