We always know to throw a bag of egg noodles in the shopping cart when we’re making stroganoff, but we recommend also tossing an extra one in there to save the day some evening when you’re stumped about what to make for dinner. Where buttered pasta might read as kid food, somehow buttered egg noodles feel like more of an effort has been made (triply so when topped with a chopped fresh herb, but in a pinch, those dried chives in your spice rack will do the trick!).
They are a must when your main includes any kind of gravy, but they can also step up to be part of the main dish, themselves. Once you start to imagine all the possibilities, you’ll be eager to start noodling.
Wondering where to start? The classic! If there’s a meal that buttery, herbed egg noodles don’t go with, we’d like to hear about it.
This is the gateway dish for picky kids. Start with buttered noodles, plain, then next time one or two herbs might be allowed to land on them. In a few years, the kids won’t be as grumpy if a smidge of the main dish’s gravy lands on there… and next thing you know they’ll be 15 years old and eating the whole pot of the main dish and you’ll be wishing you could go back to the inexpensive-dinner years when all they ate was seven buttered noodles.
The Best Beef Stroganoff
The iconic pairing of stroganoff and egg noodles rivals that of mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or bread and butter. Stroganoff, a stew with Russian origins that gets its signature zip from a mustardy, beefy sour cream sauce, would be quite irresistible even if served on rice, plain pasta, bread, or frankly, a pair of tennis shoes, but there is simply no denying that the egg noodles cling to that unctuous sauce in such a divine way that we would never dream of serving it with anything else.
Sour Cream Noodle Bake
This noodle bake marries family-friendly players—ground beef, tomato and cheddar—with that creaminess you usually associate with a bechamel (think: pastitsio or lasagna Bolognese). But there’s no need to whip up a roux here; cottage cheese is the secret ingredient, which we absolutely promise transforms in the oven to go ooey-gooey and meld with the saucy meat.
French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole
Everything that makes French onion soup special—the sweet-savory caramelized onions, the buttery sharpness of Gruyere, the toastiness of the bread—contributes layers of flavor to bring new flair to an old faithful, chicken casserole. The crunchy breadcrumb topping, flecked through with crisp fried onions and thyme, makes it.
Turkey Soup with Egg Noodles and Vegetables
And then there’s soup! Egg noodles might be the noodle that everyone imagines in the ideal bowl of chicken noodle soup (or, turkey, of course). Indeed, when there are chunks of meat and vegetables, these wide noodles hold their own.
Beef Noodle Skillet
There exist those store-bought “helper” kits that transform a brick of ground beef into dinner, fast—and here, Ree Drummond demonstrates that it’s just as quick to start scratch, and much more deeply satisfying.
Spinach and Feta Noodle Kugel
…and in the savory kugel corner, we have a casserole inspired by the flavors of Greek spanakopita, with feta, aromatics, spinach and tons of fresh herbs turning it into an unforgettable vegetarian option.
Chicken Noodle Casserole
When you can’t decide if you’re in the mood for a pot of chicken noodle soup or a comforting noodle casserole, this is the (delicious) compromise. A golden Gouda topping will keep those forks coming in to steal last bites all the way through clean-up.
Quick Beef Goulash with Egg Noodles
A legendary Hungarian stew, which typically takes a long, low-and-slow approach to cooking, will taste incredible when it comes together even quickly enough for a weeknight. Starting with thinly-sliced steak speeds up the process. We won’t say it tastes like Grandma’s, but you won’t mind when you’re using those noodles to scoop up every last bite of the sauce.
Crispy Egg Noodle-Wrapped Shrimp
Let’s take a little pause to acknowledge that not all egg noodles are created equal. Though the bag in the dried pasta section of the grocery store is undeniably the kitchen workhorse, fresh egg noodles, whether from the refrigerator or freezer of your local Italian or Asian market, can really step things up. Here, wrapping the noodles around shrimp and deep-frying the whole, and pairing with a sweet soy dipping sauce and aioli laced with sweet chile sauce and rice vinegar, will result in one of the fanciest hors d’oeuvres you have ever served.
Noodle Kugel
How do you explain a kugel to someone who has never tried one? Well, you can say that it’s a traditional Jewish dish, like bread pudding, only with noodles instead of bread, and similarly, it can go sweet or savory. Or, you can bake this very classic take on the sweet version, and serve it, and those creamy noodles from the center combined with the crunchy, toasty noodles from the top will only elicit one more question: “More, please?”
Hungarian Noodles with Sausage
Turkey sausage, cabbage and roasted peppers unite in this fabulously quick dish with tons of flavor. The sauce will be ready even more quickly than the noodles, so by the time they’re done, you can sit and enjoy.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
We love a one-pot recipe, and when the pot is an electric pressure cooker, it means that even cook-all-day recipes can be ready, fast. Here, while you’re shredding the meat from the cooked chicken, you add the noodles to simmer right in the broth. You’ll be coming back to this one.
Noodles with Tofu
Stir-fries come in handy on busy weeknights, but when you want to mix things up a bit, swap out your usual rice for some Chinese egg noodles. Topping the noodles with the dish will already zhuzh it up; but you can also toss those just-boiled noodles into the wok for a little crisping-up that brings the whole affair to a new level.
French White Burgundy Chicken and Egg Noodles
A white chicken and mushroom stew, studded with bacon, pearl onions and root vegetables and simmered in wine, needs no translation (though it is inspired by the Burgundy region of France, where cooking with wine requires no special occasion).
Cabbage and Noodles
When your carbs mingle with your veg, magical things can happen. That’s the case in this dish from Michael Symon, where cabbage mellows from cooking and becomes buttery itself, adding a beautiful textural contrast and savory unexpectedness to the noodles. Serve on its own or with a saucy main right on top as you would a plain bowl of buttered noodles.
Poppy Seed Egg Noodles
This recipe dresses up the classic buttered noodle dish with a dash of intrigue, just from adding a few interesting ingredients and jazzing up the preparation. A few fried noodles on top contribute to the textural interest, and creme fraiche and poppy seeds take the dish in an unexpected direction.
