Jews around the world celebrate Hanukkah for eight nights. To commemorate this important celebration, I’ve curated a handful of gluten-free Hanukkah recipes to help you eat well all eight crazy nights. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is here and I’ve got eight gluten-free Hanukkah recipes, one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.
Jews celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Maccabees (Jewish rebel warriors) over their Greek oppressors who had converted their Holy Temple into a place of idol worship and prohibited Jews from worshipping and practicing their traditions.
The Maccabee rebels recaptured the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks in a rebellious fight.
They then set out to (re)light the Temple’s menorah, but they only found a small amount of oil that should have only lasted for just one night. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the flame, lit by that tiny vial of oil they found, lasted for eight nights. This is why Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights.
Oil plays a key role in the Hanukkah story, and it’s why Jews around the world love cooking their food in plenty of greasy oil.
Jews also love celebrating their freedom from enslavement (a common theme in Jewish history) with symbolic foods and prayers, as you’ll see below.
Today, the only remnant of the Holy Temple is the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem. While it is the holiest place for Jews, today it is a mosque and Jews are forbidden to visit.
1. Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts (Sufganiyot)
I made these gluten-free jelly donuts, known as sufganiyot, derived from a Greek word sufan, meaning “spongy” or “fried,” using my trusty Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
These donuts take a little fussing to make, but they taste amazing when all is said and done. They taste best when enjoyed right away. Get the recipe here.
Please note, this year I’m going to make my gluten-free jelly donuts using Lorraine’s Sweet Dough Mix. I discovered this mix in mid-2021 and love it so much. I use it to make cinnamon rolls, chocolate babka, and monkey bread.
Please note that Lorraine’s products are not labeled kosher, yet, unfortunately. I will post pictures to share how they turn out – stay tuned!
2. Gluten-Free Latkes
I’ve created the most perfect and simple gluten-free latke recipe on the planet. In fact, my latkes are always the crispiest, most well seasoned latkes around.
Get my recipe and secret tips for making my latkes extra crispy here.
3. Savory Beef Brisket
They say you eat with your eyes, and my eyes love a savory brisket with a brown gravy sauce. I’m not sure why Jews love brisket so much, but no Jewish holiday is complete without one.
Get my savory beef brisket recipe (along with step-by-step instructions) here.
4. Hanukkah Gelt
Children love playing with and eating chocolate gelt, a coin-shaped piece of chocolate wrapped in gold or silver foil.
For those of you on a gluten-free diet (like me), do you ever really know if Hanukkah gelt is gluten free? None are labelled as far as I’ve found.
Plus, if you follow a dairy-free diet, you can forget about eating Hanukkah gelt unless you make your own.
I purchased this Star of David gelt mold plan and foil wrappers so I could make my own gluten-free and dairy-free gelt at home using Enjoy Life chocolate.
I melted 1 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips with a light drizzle of avocado oil in my microwave, in 15-30 second increments, stirring every 15-30 seconds.
I then added the melted chocolate to a piping bag, and piped the chocolate into each mold. I gently tapped the mold against my countertop to remove any bubbles and allow the chocolate to settle into place.
I refrigerated the chocolate for 1 hour, gently removed each gelt piece from the mold, and then wrapped each chocolate coin in gold foil.
Best of all, my homemade Hanukkah gelt is dairy and gluten free, so everyone can enjoy them. Sweet!
5. Challah
If it’s Shabbat, you don’t want to forget to add a tasty gluten-free challah to your table. And my popular gluten-free challah recipe gets rave reviews – always!
I used a challah-shaped mold pan so the challah would hold its shape. Gluten-free dough is sticky and impossible to braid.
I also love this menorah-shaped challah from Jamie Geller and could watch this video on autoplay all day long!
6. Chocolate Babka
No Jewish holiday is complete without a chocolate babka on the table. A babka is a yeast-risen sweet bread that is braided can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert.
Thanks to Lorraine’s Sweet Dough Mix, I’m able to make a delicious gluten-free chocolate babka that everyone raves about. Lorraine’s flour mix is the only flour I’ll use when making sweet, yeasted recipes.
Get the recipe here.
7. Holiday Cut Out Sugar Cookies
You don’t have to feel left out of the Christmas cookie decorating fun. Instead, you can make your own gluten-free cut-out sugar cookies and cut them into fun Hanukkah shapes using these Hanukkah-shaped cookie cutters I found on Amazon.
Get my no-spread gluten-free sugar cookie recipe.
8. Dill Roasted Salmon
If you’re keeping your Hanukkah celebration parve, you might enjoy making my delicious dill-roasted salmon recipe. It’s light and festive, and perfectly compliments a celebratory Hanukkah meal.
9. Hanukkah-Themed Snack Board
This sweet and savory Hanukkah-themed snack board includes a bunch of items I already had lying around my house.
You’ll find the following products Dandies vegan & kosher mini marshmallows, Crunchmaster crackers, fresh blueberries, blue M&Ms, Lilly’s hummus, apples slices, Hanukkah gelt and dreidels (for decor, not for eating).
10. Matzo Ball Soup
While matzo ball soup is traditionally enjoyed over the Passover holiday, it is a beloved traditional Jewish dish that always has a place at my holiday celebrations.
I particularly enjoy serving matzo ball soup during Hanukkah as it’s a light accompaniment to the oil-heavy latkes.
Just be sure you use gluten-free matzo meal when making this quick and easy soup.
There you have it… eight delicious, gluten-free recipes for each night of Hanukkah. Chag Sameach!