Whether you’re in official quarantine or social distancing to stay safe, your Shabbat may look very different from usual this week. Most of the recipes on this list can be made on Friday with typical home ingredients or are easily tweaked with substitutions, so you can pull together a delicious Shabbat even if you have limited grocery access.

1. Challah

If you’ve got flour, eggs, oil, and yeast, you’ve got Challah—white, whole wheat, or spelt.

2. Chicken Soup

Is it Shabbat without chicken soup? Sometimes called “Jewish Penicillin,” it’s the ultimate Jewish comfort food. You can throw some chicken and virtually any combination of root vegetables and herbs into a pot and let it simmer throughout Friday and end up with a delicious soup. Bulk it up with rice, barley, or noodles, and that’s a full meal right there.

3. Salad

Use any combination of vegetables you have access to, to add freshness and color to your Shabbat meal. Whatever you have at home, or whatever’s available at the store, you can work with. My go-to dressing is a standard vinaigrette: ¼ cup oil, 5 tbsp. lemon juice OR vinegar (balsamic works well), 2-3 cloves garlic, pinch of salt, pinch of black pepper, optional pinch of sugar. We have some other dressings here and dozens of salad recipes here. Got wilting vegetables? Pickle them to prevent waste.

4. Kugel

If you’re relying on pantry staples, noodle-based kugels—standard Ashkenazic Shabbat fare—can be a good way to go. If you don’t have egg noodles, use regular pasta. You can go savory, sweet, or peppery. There’s also brown rice kugel and traditional potato kugel.

5. Cholent

Cholent is pretty much any combination of meat, potatoes, beans, barley, onions, and spices, cooked overnight. You can use our recipe or create your own. Other stews that can stand up to a long cook time are also good fare.

Get Creative!

You don’t need recipes or exact ingredients for many foods. Look around at what you have and think about what could go together.

  • Any vegetables can be sauteed and mixed through pretty much any grain (rice, barley, millet, quinoa, pasta, etc.) for a filling side dish.
  • Wraps can be filled with anything that you like. You can use tuna or egg salad as your base (eggs must be cooked before Shabbat, and tuna cans should be opened prior too). Cold cuts and grilled chicken also work well. You can smear the wrap with mustard, mayo, pesto, baba ghanoush, or any variety of other condiments. Add lots of lettuce and whatever other vegetables you like. There are no rules and they can be assembled on Shabbat, turning the meal into an activity.
  • Have a hunk of meat sitting in your fridge or freezer? Throw it in the crockpot just before Shabbat with lots of sliced onions and a splash of bbq sauce (or other sauce of your choice). Cook until Shabbat lunch, then remove and shred the beef and you have the easiest shredded meat. Use it in sandwiches, tacos, or served over the grain of your choice.

Note: If you are unable to prepare Shabbat food, please reach out for help. Your local Chabad emissaries can help, so please alert them to your need as soon as possible.