There are many ways you can prepare for fasting on Yom Kippur. Some of the methods that work best for us are drinking a lot the days leading up to the fast, eliminating spicy and salty foods, decreasing caffeine intake during the week proceeding Yom Kippur, and eating wisely before the fast starts.

Eating wisely means choosing foods that will keep you fuller for longer. Certain foods like potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, oats, fruits, lentils, and nuts do just the trick!

Below are some of our favorite recipes that include these super foods!

We hope these foods satisfy and fill you up so you can worry less about your grumbling tummy and more about the meaning of the day.

For tips on how to fast safely see HERE.

1. Beef and Gnocchi by Chayie Schlisselfeld

Hearty, filling, and only requiring a few minutes of hands-on prep time in the kitchen, this slow-cooked beef cheek with gnocchi and carrots is sure to make an appearance on your dinner menus all through the winter.

2. Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad by Brynie Greisman

The orange vinaigrette makes this salad irresistible. It can be served room temperature as a salad, or warmed as a side. Whenever I serve it, my family and guests are happy to have a really healthful choice with no sugar.

3. Rice and Lentil “Meat” Loaf by Sina Mizrahi

This “meat”loaf is so hearty and flavorful, you’ll forget there’s no meat in it. It’s also a perfect way to repurpose leftover rice and lentils that you have on hand. The recipe is simple, yet is packed with many nutrients you’ll feel good about serving your family.

4. Nourishing Vegetable Soup by Rorie Weisberg

Fasting can take a lot of you. So refuel with this nourishing and restorative soup. It's hearty and filling and will also help you rehydrate after fasting!

5. Whole Wheat Oatmeal Muffins by Elky Friedman

These wholesome oatmeal muffins make an ideal breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up.

6. Braised Apples with Crumble and Ice Cream by Adina Schlass

I’m not much of a baker, so by the time I get to dessert I just want the easiest thing possible: something that doesn’t require any fancy machines, that I can throw into a bowl and call it a day. I love warm fruit at the end of a heavy meal, so this is my easiest go-to dessert!

7. Lemony Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner by Molly Hagler

There is nothing better than a sheet pan dinner. This is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It comes together quickly and comes out delicious!

8. Potato Cauliflower Soup by Sara and Yossi Goldstein

This creamy and nourishing soup is the perfect way to begin your Shabbat meal!

9. Oatmeal Cherry Muffins by Miriam (Pascal) Cohen

In my opinion, there’s no better way to start a summer morning than with one of these muffins and a tall glass of iced coffee. They’re easy to make and easy to pop out of the freezer and grab as you head out the door.

10. Classic Kreplach by Carol Ungar

Kreplach aren’t Jewish wontons. The traditional dumplings are a kabbalistic food expressing the nature of Divine judgement. The white dough covering stands for Divine mercy, while the red meat filling stands for Divine justice. In Jewish mysticism, red, the color of blood, represents strict justice while white, the color of milk, represents mercy and love. Kreplach incorporate both, and on Yom Kippur, when G-d inscribes the judgement, we want the justice to be covered with mercy, like the meat of the kreplach encased in its blanket of white dough. Chickens are used during the pre-Yom Kippur atonement ritual of kaparot, which can be performed by swinging a live chicken over one’s head and reciting a prayer that declares that the chicken is going to its death in place of the person performing the ritual (traditionally, the chicken used for the ritual is slaughtered and donated to the poor for the pre-Yom Kippur meal). The stark drama of the kaparot ritual demonstrates the fragility of our existence and inspires us toward repentance. For this reason, it’s an ancient tradition to float kreplach in chicken soup eaten at the pre-fast meal.

11. Onion and Potato Blintzes by Sina Mizrahi

Blintzes are a summer meal your entire family will enjoy: light, yet satisfying. And they come in different flavors and variations — with these six delicious recipes, you will have a great deal of variety for several milchig meals. Start with the basic blintz recipe.

Originally published September 2023. Updated and improved September 2025.