Many people know kugel as a traditional jewish dessert, a sweet food that’s often flavored with cinnamon, apples, and/or nuts. This unique combination of sweet ingredients baked into a noodle casserole can be controversial in non-jewish circles. But, there are many savory versions as well, some made with potatoes and some with noodles.

This thyme lokshen is one of the savory kugels, flavored with thyme leaves in a creamy sauce that’s baked into rich egg noodles.

As it bakes the sauce thickens into almost a pasta pie, so thick you can slice it into wedges or squares. The flavor is smooth, comforting, is the perfect dish to add some savory goodness to the dinner table. Plus, this makes a great lunch when reheated the next day.

To make this recipe begin by cooking your egg noodles to al dente. They will finish cooking in the casserole dish, but this first cooking gives them a head start.

Then sauté some chopped onion and garlic in a large skillet. I used a cast iron skillet and then used that to also bake in. The sauce is a creamy blend of cottage cheese, eggs, and heavy cream. Pulse these together in a food processor or blender until very smooth. The thyme adds a lot of flavor, as does a little sprinkle of parsley on top once it’s finished baking.

Bake this until firm, about 50 minutes. You’ll need to cover it part way through cooking to make sure it doesn’t get too brown on top.

And, that’s it- there’s nothing else needed to top this tasty noodle bake. Just dig in and enjoy!