Hanukkah Holiday Hacks

There’s no denying that Hanukkah is a busy time of year, and you’ve got enough to think about without being stressed about your holiday dinner. If you’re looking for food hacks to ensure Hanukkah runs smoothly this year amongst the chaos, look no further.

In this article, I will cover 5 Hanukkah food hacks to make your holiday dinner as easy and as smooth as possible. So, let’s get started.

Make The Main Dish In The Slow Cooker

A slow cooker is a household essential that allows you to cook low and slow a tough piece of meat, such as a brisket, without the worry of overcooking it. After all, you’ve got enough on your plate, and this allows you to focus on all the trimmings and side dishes!

The main event is what everyone is looking forward to, and to celebrate the meat when it comes to a joint like brisket, it doesn’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles to be amazing.

To keep things simple, yet classic, simply place your brisket fat side up in a slow cooker with some broth, sliced onions, diced carrots, minced garlic, and spices of your choice.

Allow the slow cooker to work its magic for 6 hours or until tender, and you’ll be left with beautifully tender meat that melts in the mouth. Serve your brisket with fresh vegetables, latkes, and you’ll have a truly delicious and memorable dish for you and your guests.

Make Easy, Zero-Effort Homemade Applesauce

While store-bought apple sauce might seem like the easiest option, it’s never the tastiest and you’re often left with a large quantity of the jar in your refrigerator for months after the event. You can’t beat the taste of homemade applesauce, and you’d be surprised how you can make it in no time at all.

Simply peel, core, and chop eight apples into quarters. Chuck the apple pieces into a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water, the juice from ½ a lemon, and a dash of cinnamon to taste. Make sure that the lid is secure and allow the mixture to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.

Once your apples are soft and mushy, you will need to mash them up to the consistency of your desire. The age-old question you now face is: Do you want smooth or chunky applesauce?

Allow your apple sauce to cool and serve up your apple sauce in a bowl. With this recipe, it’ll be a surprise if you’re met with any leftovers at all.

Use Pre-Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes To Make Latkes

It wouldn’t be a Hanukkah celebration without crispy and delicious latkes. However, making latkes can be labor-intensive, and can eat into a significant amount of your prep time if you opt for the traditional method.

If you’re looking for a way to shorten the prep time, why not try speeding things up a little by opting for pre-shredded hash brown potatoes? Not only are they great for breakfast, but they’re also super versatile when it comes to making latkes!

To use this method, simply replace the fresh shredded potatoes for refrigerated hash browns in your favorite latke recipe. Fry your latkes as you normally would, and you’ll be left with beautifully crispy, golden brown latkes.

If you would prefer to use frozen hash browns as an alternative, you will need to remember to defrost them until they have completely thawed in the refrigerator. Following this, it’s important to drain them on a paper towel.

This comes down to the fact that the less water there is in your potatoes, the crispier the latkes will turn out when it comes frying them in oil.

If you are trying to incorporate a different vegetable into your latkes and/or have low-carb guests, you can also try using pre-riced cauliflower in place of the potatoes. That being said, your latkes will have a slightly different taste and texture.

Use Store-Bought Biscuit Dough For Sufganiyot

Sweet treats like sufganiyot are a beautiful addition to your celebrations. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, the rich and buttery dough paired with the sweet jam is a crowd favorite every time.

However, if you’re rushed for time and don’t have two hours to spare to make your own dough or simply don’t enjoy baking, why not try using refrigerated biscuit dough?

To fill these doughnuts, grab a pastry bag, fill it with a jelly of your choice and cut the end off. Push the tip that you have cut into the doughnut, and fill the doughnuts until they are all well filled.

Alternatively, you can cut your doughnuts in half and fill them with jelly this way. As if they aren’t sweet enough already, you can top these beautifully soft doughnuts with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar to finish.

Add Fresh Ingredients To Store-Bought Hummus

If you’re pushed for time, there’s absolutely no shame in getting some plain hummus from the store and making it a little fancier.

The best thing about buying plain hummus is that you can take the store-bought hummus as a foundation and build upon it by experimenting with a variety of different ingredients and textures to make a truly delicious dish.

It’s all about the presentation! Provided that you top your hummus with decorative and flavorful additions that bring something new and exciting to the table, no one will even notice that the hummus isn’t homemade.

To make store-bought hummus seem fancier, begin by spreading the store-bought hummus into a shallow bowl that will look great on your dinner table. Following this, you will need to scoop a small space into the middle of the hummus.

Next, you will need to drizzle over a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, fresh rosemary, crushed pistachios, and pomegranate seeds. The green pistachios and red from the pomegranate seeds will add a pop of color to your dish that makes it an eye-catching centerpiece.

Plus, the crunchiness adds a different texture to the smooth hummus! Serve it with some crackers and a veg platter for dipping and you’re good to go. Delicious!

In Summary

So, there you have 5 Hanukkah food hacks! At such a busy time of the year, time-saving hacks come in super handy around Hanukkah, and it’s good to have a few in your back pocket to make sure you have the easiest time when hosting.

Hopefully after reading this article you have plenty of inspiration and tips on how you can make your Hanukkah dinner easy. Good luck with your dinner and happy Hanukkah!