This Shabbat dinner planner offers five complete Friday night menus, each serving 6 to 8 people, with appetizers, mains, sides and desserts that work together: a classic Ashkenazi menu with chicken soup and matzo balls, a Middle Eastern menu with braised lamb, a short rib dinner, a lighter fish menu, and a holiday-style brisket menu with tzimmes.
Plan Ahead
Most soups and braised dishes taste better the next day, so make them on Thursday. Prepare desserts and appetizers ahead, and leave only reheating and simple salads for Friday. Having a rotation of menus takes the guesswork out of shopping and cooking.
Kosher Notes
Every menu here is meat (fleishig), so desserts and sides must be pareve. Chopped liver needs special preparation: liver can’t be koshered by soaking and salting and must be broiled over an open flame, so buy it already koshered (broiled) from your butcher. If you serve fish as a first course, many people use separate plates. Check that wine and all ingredients carry a reliable hechsher.
Scaling
Each menu can be scaled up or down for your guest count.
Ingredients
What I use for this recipe
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Method
- Start with chopped liver on challah points as appetizer. Serve alongside chicken soup with fluffy matzo balls.
- Roast chicken pieces with herbs until golden and crispy, about 1 hour at 375°F.
- Prepare potato kugel in advance and reheat before serving. Add sautéed green beans as a vegetable side.
- Finish with honey cake and tea for a classic Shabbat dessert.
- Begin with warm pita and homemade baba ganoush, plus olives and pickled vegetables.
- Braise lamb shoulder with Middle Eastern spices, tomatoes, and dried fruits for 2.5 hours until tender.
- Serve over fragrant rice pilaf with almonds and herbs. Add roasted cauliflower with tahini drizzle.
- End with baklava or date ma'amoul cookies with mint tea.
- Start with mushroom and barley soup, rich and warming for cold evenings.
- Braise short ribs low and slow with red wine and aromatics for 3 hours until fork-tender.
- Serve with creamy barley risotto and roasted root vegetables. Add a simple arugula salad.
- Finish with chocolate flourless cake and fresh berries.
- Begin with a colorful Israeli salad with fresh herbs and lemon dressing.
- Prepare cedar plank salmon or pan-seared halibut with lemon and herbs.
- Serve over herb quinoa with roasted seasonal vegetables. Add steamed asparagus or broccolini.
- End with fresh fruit tart or lemon sorbet for a light finish.
- Start with gefilte fish or smoked salmon with all the traditional accompaniments.
- Slow-cook brisket with onions and sweet seasonings for 4 hours until it pulls apart easily.
- Serve with honey-glazed carrots (tzimmes) and roasted sweet potatoes. Add braised red cabbage.
- Finish with apple cake or rugelach with coffee for a festive ending.
Notes
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