Shabbos Chanukah Menu: A Make-Ahead Plan When Chanukah Starts Friday Night

In 2026, Chanukah starts on a Friday night. The first candle is lit on Friday, December 4, which in the New York area means candle lighting just after 4 PM, about as short as a Friday gets. And the eighth candle falls on Friday, December 11. Two Shabbos Chanukahs, two very short Fridays.

This plan gets the cooking done by Friday noon, so the afternoon is for setting up the menorah, not frying.

The menu

Course	Dish	Make-ahead	Label
Challah	Store-bought or make-ahead challah	Dough frozen or made Thursday	Pareve
Soup	Chicken soup with make-ahead matzo balls	Both from the freezer	Meat
Main	Lemon za’atar chicken thighs or brisket	Marinate Thursday, or brisket from the freezer	Meat
Chanukah side	Make-ahead latkes with applesauce	Fried and frozen weeks ahead	Pareve
Side	Potato kugel or roasted vegetables	Kugel from the freezer	Pareve
Dessert	Sufganiyot, fried Friday morning or rewarmed from frozen	Dough or fried donuts frozen	Pareve

This is a meat menu with pareve sides. No dairy, so latkes get applesauce.

Earlier in the season

The more you bank in November, the calmer December 4 is.

• Fry and freeze a double batch of latkes (some for Friday night, some for the Motzei Shabbos party).
• Freeze chicken soup and matzo balls.
• Bake and freeze a kugel, or cook and freeze a brisket.
• Make applesauce and freeze it in 2 cup containers.

Thursday night, December 3: about 30 minutes

Task	Minutes
Move soup, matzo balls, kugel or brisket, and applesauce from freezer to fridge	5
Marinate the chicken in a zip-top bag (if making chicken)	8
Cut vegetables and salad; store dry	10
Set out the menorah, candles or oil, and matches in a safe spot away from curtains	5

Friday morning, December 4: done by noon

When	Task
8:30 AM	Oven on. Chicken or brisket in. Kugel in to reheat.
9:30 AM	Soup on the stove with the matzo balls.
10:00 AM	Latkes from the freezer onto racks, 425 F for 10 to 12 minutes, then out to cool or keep warm according to your family’s Shabbos practice.
10:30 AM	Sufganiyot: fry if you froze dough, or rewarm and fill frozen donuts.
11:30 AM	Kitchen cleaned, hot plate or blech set up per your rav’s guidance.

Latkes are at their crispiest right out of the oven. If they will sit until dinner, they will soften a bit. That is the trade for not frying on a Friday afternoon, and most families gladly take it.

Motzei Shabbos: the latke party

The second candle is lit Saturday night, December 5. That is the perfect latke party night: the house is clean from Shabbos, and the latkes come straight from the freezer into a 425 F oven. Use our make-ahead Chanukah party menu or the dairy Chanukah party menu for that night.

A note on halacha

Lighting order, how long the menorah needs to burn, and how food is kept warm on Shabbos all have halachic details that vary by family. This page is about the food. Please ask your rav about everything else.