Traditional Hanukkah Menu

Plan your traditional Hanukkah menu based on your preferences and the preferences of your guests. Serve both hot and cold appetizers to start off the Hanukkah menu. Add a main dish and several side dishes to round out the meal. Finally, offer delicious desserts at the end of the meal to make the Hanukkah dinner menu complete.

Try these Hanukkah menu ideas, which are sure to win over all of your guests:

  • Appetizer: Start off the festival of lights with traditional Hanukkah food such as potato latkes. Serve the potato latkes with sour cream and apple sauce as condiments. For another hot hors d’oeuvres option, serve beef knishes. Set up chopped liver, and provide crackers for the dip, for a cold appetizer option. Hire a local caterer to cook and pass around the appetizers or create stations.
  • Main Dish: Prepare a meat or protein as one of the main traditional Hanukkah dishes. Consider chicken or brisket. Marinate the meat in advance, and baste it throughout the cooking process to keep it moist and flavorful. Base your selection of side dishes on the main dish, so plan both at the same time.
  • Side Dish: Use garnishes such as carrots and potatoes, from the main dish to add to your side dishes. Include other side dishes such as noodle or potato kugel and either green beans or broccoli for a vegetable.
  • Dessert: Offer sweet, yet traditional, Hanukkah food for dessert. Prepare or purchase sufganiyot, which are jelly doughnuts, for guests. Add other traditional items to the dessert menu such as rugelach, cakes, and pies.
  • Drinks: Serve a combination of drinks to suit both kids and adults. Offer water, soda, and juice for the kids. Purchase wine and hard liquor to make mixed drinks for the adults. Select red wine for meals with red meat as the main course. Stick with white wine when chicken is the main dish.
Before you plan a traditional Hanukkah meal, make sure to take dietary restrictions into consideration for those guests that keep kosher. Also, check to see if any vegetarians will be in attendance.
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