Discover traditional Rosh Hashanah recipes filled with symbolic foods, treasured flavors, and meaningful dishes for a sweet and memorable Jewish New Year!!

A Rosh Hashanah table should feel abundant from its first glossy loaf of round challah to its final slice of fragrant honey cake. These traditional Rosh Hashanah recipes bring together tender brisket, sweet carrots, golden bread, roasted fish, and sticky honey in a menu rooted in generations of Jewish holiday cooking.

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Traditional Rosh Hashanah Recipes

1. Round Raisin Challah with Honey

Servings: 10 to 12

A round challah is one of Rosh Hashanah’s most recognizable foods. Unlike a long braided Shabbat loaf, its circular shape is commonly understood to represent continuity, renewal, and another complete turn of the year.

Raisins and honey add sweetness in keeping with hopes for a good, sweet year. Rosh Hashanah challah is traditionally dipped in honey rather than salt, making every torn, feathery piece taste especially festive. Chabad explains more about this Rosh Hashanah custom here.

This loaf has a shiny amber crust, a soft pull-apart interior, and small pockets of juicy raisins. Challah dough should feel supple and a little tacky, but never so wet that it puddles around your hands.

Resist throwing in cup after cup of flour to make kneading easier! A slightly sticky dough produces a much softer loaf, while too much flour creates bread with all the charm of a kitchen sponge.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water, between 105°F and 110°F
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, one standard packet
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup neutral oil, plus more for greasing
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon flour, for coating raisins
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, optional
• Additional honey, for serving

How to Make It

Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over it, and stir in 1 teaspoon of measured honey. Let mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until a thick layer of beige foam covers much of its surface.

If nothing happens, water may have been too hot or yeast may no longer be active, and this is your chance to begin again before sacrificing four cups of flour to a loaf that refuses to rise!

Whisk remaining honey, oil, 2 eggs, egg yolk, and salt into yeast mixture. Add 4 cups flour, one cup at a time, stirring until a shaggy, sticky dough forms.

Turn it onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding remaining flour one tablespoon at a time only when dough clings heavily to your fingers. Properly kneaded dough will look smoother, feel elastic, and spring back slowly when pressed.

Toss raisins with 1 teaspoon flour so they distribute more evenly, then flatten dough slightly and scatter raisins across its surface. Fold dough over itself several times and continue kneading just until raisins are tucked throughout.

A few will attempt an escape across your counter; simply press them back into dough and carry on.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it once so its surface receives a thin coating of oil, and cover bowl with a clean towel or reusable wrap. Leave it in a warm, draft-free spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.

Judge by volume rather than strictly by time because a cool kitchen may require another 20 or 30 minutes.

Gently press out excess gas and divide dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 18 inches long, arrange ropes in a woven round shape, and tuck all ends securely underneath.

You can also form one long rope and coil it loosely from center outward, leaving a little room for expansion so loaf does not push itself into a tall bread tower during baking.

Transfer shaped loaf to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover loosely, and let it rise for 35 to 50 minutes. It is ready when visibly puffy and a gentle fingertip indentation returns slowly instead of springing back at once.

Heat oven to 350°F. Whisk remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush a thin layer across every visible curve. Wait 5 minutes, brush it once more, and add seeds if using. Two light coats create that bakery-style shine without leaving scrambled egg in crevices.

Bake for 30 to 36 minutes, rotating pan after 20 minutes, until challah is a rich golden brown and reaches about 190°F in its center. If top darkens too quickly, cover it loosely with foil for final 10 minutes.

Cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing or pulling it apart, since cutting too soon can compress its delicate interior.

Serving Suggestions

Place challah at center of your Rosh Hashanah table with a small bowl of honey for dipping. Leftover slices make excellent French toast, bread pudding, or toast spread with apple butter.

2. Traditional Carrot Tzimmes with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

Servings: 8

Tzimmes is a sweet Eastern European Jewish stew most often made with carrots and dried fruit. It has a particularly fitting place at Rosh Hashanah because the Yiddish word for carrots, meren, can also suggest multiplying or increasing, expressing a hope that blessings and good deeds will increase in coming year.

This version combines thick carrot coins, velvety sweet potatoes, prunes, orange, cinnamon, and honey. Finished tzimmes should be glossy and tender, not watery and not cooked into orange paste.

Cutting vegetables into generous pieces matters because they must survive a long braise while still looking like vegetables when serving time arrives.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch coins
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup pitted prunes
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional, for balancing sweetness

How to Make It

Heat oven to 350°F and lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch baking dish or a large covered Dutch oven. Place carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, and raisins inside, distributing dried fruit rather than leaving it in one sticky mound.

Whisk orange juice, water, honey, oil, cinnamon, ginger, salt, pepper, and orange zest in a bowl until honey loosens into liquid.

Taste a drop before pouring it over vegetables. It should taste pleasantly sweet with a clear orange note, but if your oranges and honey are both extremely sweet, add lemon juice for balance.

Pour mixture evenly over vegetables and gently turn everything with a large spoon. Cover dish tightly with foil or place lid on Dutch oven, then bake for 50 minutes.

Covering traps steam at first, allowing sturdy carrots to become tender without sauce disappearing before they have had a chance to cook.

Remove cover carefully because hot steam will rush upward, stir from bottom so each piece receives some glaze, and return dish to oven uncovered for 35 to 50 minutes.

Stir once more halfway through. Tzimmes is ready when a knife slides through thickest carrot without resistance, sweet potatoes hold their shape, and liquid has reduced to a shiny syrup that coats vegetables.

If vegetables are tender but sauce remains thin, transfer them to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and simmer liquid in a saucepan for 5 to 8 minutes, until lightly thickened, then pour it back over them.

Don’t keep baking tender sweet potatoes while waiting for sauce to cooperate, or you may end up serving very flavorful mashed tzimmes!

Serving Suggestions

Serve warm beside brisket or roasted chicken. Tzimmes can be prepared one day ahead, refrigerated, and reheated covered at 325°F for about 25 minutes.

Add a splash of water or orange juice if glaze becomes too thick overnight.

3. Sweet and Savory Rosh Hashanah Brisket

Servings: 10

Brisket became a Jewish holiday favorite in Eastern European and Ashkenazi cooking because it was a relatively affordable kosher cut that rewarded slow cooking.

Today, it is among the most familiar main courses served at Rosh Hashanah dinner, often prepared with onions, carrots, dried fruit, honey, or another gently sweet element. My Jewish Learning lists brisket among popular Rosh Hashanah dishes.

This recipe gives you fork-tender beef surrounded by soft onions and a glossy tomato-honey gravy. Chucking everything into a pan without browning will still produce dinner, but searing creates far better flavor.

Don’t skip this step! Those browned bits stuck to your pot are not a washing-up problem yet; they are concentrated flavor waiting for liquid.

Ingredients

• 1 first-cut beef brisket, 4 1/2 to 5 pounds
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 3 large yellow onions, sliced
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce with kosher certification, optional
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces dried apricots, halved
• 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch, optional
• 1 tablespoon cold water, optional

How to Make It

Remove brisket from refrigerator 30 to 40 minutes before cooking, pat every surface dry, and season it with salt and pepper. Heat oven to 325°F.

Choose a Dutch oven or deep roasting pan only slightly larger than meat, since an overly wide pan allows braising liquid to evaporate too quickly.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay brisket in carefully, fattier side down, and leave it undisturbed for 5 to 6 minutes, until a dark brown crust forms.

Turn and brown opposite side for another 4 to 5 minutes, then transfer meat to a tray. If it sticks when you try to turn it, wait another minute because properly browned meat usually releases more easily.

Reduce heat to medium, add onions, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden around edges.

Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, followed by garlic and tomato paste. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until tomato paste darkens slightly and smells sweeter rather than raw.

Pour in about half of broth and scrape bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen every browned bit. Add remaining broth, crushed tomatoes, honey, Worcestershire sauce if using, paprika, cinnamon, and bay leaves.

Bring mixture to a gentle simmer, taste sauce, and add a pinch more salt only if needed.

Return brisket to pot with fattier side facing upward. Liquid should reach roughly halfway up meat rather than submerging it.

Scatter apricots around brisket, cover pot tightly, and place it in oven for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Turn brisket after 2 hours and spoon sauce over top.

Begin checking at 3 1/2 hours by pushing a fork into thickest portion; it should slide in with very little resistance.

Let brisket cool in its sauce for 30 minutes, then transfer it to a cutting board. For neat slices, cool completely and refrigerate meat and sauce separately overnight.

Chilled brisket firms up, making it much easier to slice across grain without shredding. It also tastes better next day, which is exactly what a holiday host needs from a main course!

Remove excess solidified fat from chilled sauce, slice brisket across grain into 1/4-inch pieces, and arrange slices in a baking dish. Spoon sauce and vegetables around meat, cover tightly, and reheat at 325°F for 35 to 45 minutes, until hot throughout.

If sauce seems too thin, simmer it uncovered for 8 to 12 minutes. For a thicker gravy, stir potato starch or cornstarch with cold water, whisk mixture into simmering sauce, and cook for 1 minute.

Add only as much thickener as necessary because gravy should flow around brisket rather than sit on it like tomato pudding.

Serving Suggestions

Serve brisket with tzimmes, roasted potatoes, or slices of challah ready to catch every drop of sauce. Make it one or two days ahead for easier slicing and a more relaxed holiday meal.

4. Whole Roasted Fish with Lemon, Herbs, and Pomegranate

Servings: 6

Serving a fish head at Rosh Hashanah expresses a wish to “be a head and not a tail,” meaning a hope to lead, move forward, and begin year with purpose.

Some families serve a fish head as one of several symbolic foods, while others prepare a whole fish so symbol remains connected to main meal.

Pomegranate seeds add another Rosh Hashanah symbol, traditionally associated with a wish for abundant merits and good deeds. Read more about both customs here.

Whole fish looks dramatic but is often easier to cook well than individual fillets because skin and bones help protect delicate flesh from drying.

Ask your fishmonger to scale and clean it while leaving head and tail attached. This request is routine, and it saves you from discovering just how impressively fish scales can travel across a kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 whole sea bass, snapper, or branzino, about 3 pounds, scaled and cleaned
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• Additional fresh parsley, for serving

How to Make It

Heat oven to 425°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with parchment. Pat fish dry inside and out, including cavity, because dry skin roasts more effectively while wet skin turns pale and rubbery.

Cut three shallow diagonal slashes into each side of fish, stopping when knife reaches bone. Season cavity and exterior with salt and pepper, working some seasoning into slashes. Rub 2 tablespoons olive oil over skin, then fill cavity with half of lemon slices, garlic, thyme, and parsley.

Spread onion and remaining lemon across center of prepared pan to form a loose bed, then place fish on top. This lifts it slightly from pan and perfumes flesh from underneath. Pour wine or broth around fish, avoiding its upper skin so oil remains in place.

Roast for 22 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness. Begin checking at 22 minutes by inserting a thin knife near backbone at thickest point, then look at flesh inside. It should appear opaque, moist, and separate easily from bone.

An instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest flesh should register 145°F. Remove fish as soon as it reaches that point because an extra ten minutes can turn delicate flakes dry.

While fish roasts, whisk remaining olive oil with honey and lemon zest. Let fish rest for 5 minutes, drizzle honey-lemon mixture lightly across its surface, and scatter pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley on top. Keep drizzle restrained so bright, clean fish flavor remains present.

To serve, lift top fillet away from backbone with a fish server or wide spatula, working from head toward tail, then carefully lift backbone to expose lower fillet. Check each portion for small bones before passing plates around.

Serving Suggestions

Present whole fish on a platter so its symbolism remains visible, then portion it at table.

Serve with herbed rice, roasted vegetables, or carrot tzimmes. If your family observes specific customs concerning fish and meat during one meal, serve it according to your household practice.

5. Traditional Honey Cake, or Lekach

Servings: 12

Honey cake, also called lekach, is a classic Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah dessert associated with wishes for a sweet year.

Its honey flavor grows fuller after a day of resting, which makes it an unusually considerate cake. It arrives early, improves while you handle everything else, and requires no last-minute frosting crisis.

Good honey cake should be moist, dark, gently spiced, and tender enough to slice without crumbling. Coffee deepens its caramel notes without making finished cake taste like a morning latte.

Use a honey you genuinely enjoy because its flavor remains noticeable after baking; this is not where that forgotten bottle shaped like a bear should finally meet its destiny if it tastes dusty!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup honey
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup neutral oil
• 1 cup warm brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons honey, for brushing

How to Make It

Heat oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom, then line bottom with parchment and lightly grease parchment. You may also divide batter between two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans, filling each no more than two-thirds full.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a large bowl for at least 30 seconds. Thorough mixing matters because no one wants one slice carrying all of baking soda while its neighbor receives all of cinnamon.

In another large bowl, whisk eggs, honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil until smooth and slightly thickened. Add warm coffee, orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest. Mixture will look quite loose, which is expected.

Make a well in dry ingredients and pour wet mixture into it. Whisk gently from center outward just until no dry flour remains, stopping as soon as batter becomes smooth.

Scrape bottom and sides with a flexible spatula to catch hidden flour pockets. Don’t beat it for several extra minutes, since unnecessary mixing can make crumb heavier.

Pour batter into prepared pan and tap pan gently against counter twice to release large air bubbles. Bake tube cake for 55 to 70 minutes, or loaf cakes for 45 to 55 minutes.

Cake is ready when top springs back after a light touch and a wooden skewer inserted near center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Cool cake in pan for 20 minutes, then loosen edges carefully with a thin knife and transfer it to a wire rack. Warm remaining honey for a few seconds so it brushes easily, then spread a very thin coating over warm cake.

Too much will make surface sticky enough to claim ownership of your serving knife.

Let cake cool completely before wrapping it tightly. If possible, wait until following day to serve it. Spices settle, honey flavor becomes rounder, and crumb turns noticeably softer after resting.

Serving Suggestions

Slice honey cake and serve it plain with tea or coffee, or add fresh apple slices and pomegranate seeds.

Keep it tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to four days, or freeze individual slices for up to two months.

These traditional Rosh Hashanah recipes create a table filled with golden challah ready for honey, glossy carrots carrying wishes for abundance, tender brisket bathed in rich onion gravy, beautifully roasted fish, and fragrant honey cake waiting for one more slice to be cut.

Each recipe offers more than good food. It brings a symbol, a family custom, or a piece of culinary history into celebration.

Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!