Matzo farfel substitutes

Put plain matzo sheets in a zip-top bag or a bowl and crush them into rough quarter-inch to half-inch pieces with your hands or one press of a rolling pin. Stop while the pieces are still visible and irregular.

Best for

Passover kugel, matzo granola, Passover stuffing, matzo brei, apple crisp topping

This is not a substitute, it is the same thing, and it is why the boxed product is a convenience item rather than a necessity. The only difference is uniformity: commercial farfel is more evenly sized. Do not use a food processor, which turns matzo to meal in about four seconds.

Finely ground matzo. It is the same material at a completely different particle size.

Best for

kugel, binding, coating, when farfel is unavailable

The texture changes a lot. Farfel gives a kugel with distinct layers and chewy edges; matzo meal gives a smooth, dense, almost bread-pudding texture that some families actually prefer. It absorbs more liquid, so use less and hold back some of the milk or broth. It is a real substitute with a real consequence, not a like-for-like swap.

Tear day-old bread into half-inch pieces and dry it in a low oven, or use the coarsest dry breadcrumbs you can find.

Best for

kugel outside Passover, stuffing, casserole topping, granola

Behaves almost identically, soaking up custard and setting into layers the same way, and it tastes better because bread has more flavor than matzo. Bread is leavened, so this is not an option if the reason you wanted farfel was Passover. Bread also browns faster, so check the top 10 minutes early.

Snap crackers into rough pieces. Water crackers, matzo-style crackers and unsalted saltines are all close in composition to matzo.

Best for

kugel, stuffing, casserole topping, quick fix

The pieces are thinner and more fragile than farfel, so they soften faster and can turn mushy in a long bake; add them to the custard for 10 minutes rather than 30. Salted crackers make the dish noticeably saltier, so cut the recipe's salt in half and taste. Not kosher for Passover.

Crush gluten-free matzo or oat matzo exactly as you would regular matzo.

Best for

Passover kugel for gluten-free guests, stuffing, granola

Oat matzo is nuttier, softer and browner, and it makes a slightly heavier kugel with a pleasant toasty flavor. Gluten-free matzo made from potato and tapioca starch is more fragile and can go gluey, so handle it less and bake it a touch shorter. Both work, both taste different from wheat matzo.

Egg barley is tiny toasted pellets of egg noodle dough, also sold as farfel in many delis and supermarkets. It is confusingly the same word for a completely different food.

Best for

baked egg barley and mushrooms, side dishes, soups, noodle-style farfel recipes

This is the key distinction to get right. If your recipe simmers farfel in broth like a grain, it means egg barley. If your recipe soaks farfel in egg custard for a Passover kugel, it means broken matzo. Swap the wrong way and you get either raw pasta in a kugel or soggy matzo in a pilaf. Egg barley is also leavened wheat pasta and not kosher for Passover.

Break plain rice cakes into pieces or use unsweetened puffed rice.

Best for

matzo granola, crunchy toppings, snack mixes

Useful only where farfel is providing crunch rather than structure, which means granola and toppings. Rice puffs go soft the moment they meet liquid, so they are useless in a kugel. They are also much lighter, so a cup weighs far less; go by volume and expect a more delicate crunch.