When it comes to quick and easy meals on a weeknight, cooking from scratch at home does not have to mean spending countless hours in the kitchen. Half an hour is usually all that is, (roughly) needed to put together a healthy, filling, and nutritious meal. Cheese spaetzle, or Kase spaetzle as it's known in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is a popular noodle dish often served in casserole form.
Featured in Ideas for Winter Dinners
Ideal on a cool fall evening or after a day of skiing, it is essentially a homemade Mac & Cheese recipe!! You'll get the best results if you use homemade spaetzle noodles, but store-bought ones may be substituted if you wish. I make my Käse spaetzle noodles from scratch the night before, and then simply assemble this cheese spaetzle recipe and pop it in the oven to bake!
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Table of Contents
Caramelizing Onions
Käse spaetzle are served in many restaurants, pubs, and mountain chalets, as a quick and filling meal. Traditionally this spaetzle dish is served with caramelized onions and topped with Emmental Cheese, (though any cheese may be used) and breadcrumbs before being baked in the oven.
If you have never caramelized onions before, doing so is very easy! You could even just use fried onions instead if you prefer a crispier texture! True caramelized onions are velvety soft, and deliciously sweet, making them the ideal addition to offset the sharpness of the cheese! The instructions here make roughly one cup of caramelized onion.
To caramelize your own onion, roughly Julianne the 4 onions into thick strips. Most people make the mistake and trying to caramelize the onions over too high of a heat, causing the onion to stick to the bottom of the pot and creating a bitter flavor. To avoid this fill the pot with the Julianne onion, and cover the pot with a lid while cooking over medium heat.
Keeping the moisture from the cooking onions in the pot prevents them from scorching and increases the internal temperature which is needed to caramelize the natural sugars present in the onion.
Cook the onions like this for about 15 minutes, until they start to turn translucent. Stir the onions to make sure they are not sticking as they caramelize, and then put the cover back on and keep cooking for another half hour.
At this point, you will notice that the onions have started to caramelize and turn a brownish color. Remove the lid and keep cooking the onions uncovered to remove excess liquid. Keep an eye on the pot for the last 15 minutes of cooking to prevent the caramelized onion from scorching! Cool the onions when finished, or use them right away in the following kase spaetzle recipe.
Homemade Käse Spaetzle
If you do take the time to make these käse spaetzle from scratch you will be blown away by the depth of flavor the combination of caramelized onions and Emmental cheese creates. To make this recipe you'll need:
- 1 batch of homemade German spaetzle made with a spaetzlehobel (spaetzle maker), or a package of store-bought spaetzle
- 1 cup of caramelized onions (as described above)
- 4 oz shredded Emmental cheese
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- Herbs to garnish (optional)
To make this easy käse spätzle recipe, make your own spaetzle from scratch, or cook a package of store-bought ones.
- Chef Markus
It's best to make the spaetzle themselves the day before, which makes the spaetzle easier to fry in a pan. Otherwise, let the spaetzle cool a little and melt the butter in a pan.
Add your spaetzle noodles to the pan and lightly fry them until they start to turn a light golden color.
Note: This is an optional step, and the spaetzle noodles can simply be mixed and baked with the caramelized onions and cheese without frying first.
Add the caramelized onions to the pan, and give the pan a quick toss to mix everything together. Season the kase spaetzle with salt and pepper. You can serve the kase spaetzle right away, making sure to top the dish with cheese and herbs.
If going the casserole route, mix the pan-fried spaetzle noodles with half the shredded Emmental cheese and caramelized onions. Top the dish with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake the kase spaetzle casserole in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
That's it! While the recipe may sound complicated, it really is quite straightforward. Simply cook your homemade spaetzle and caramelized onions the night before for quick assembly the following day!
More German Recipes
If you loved this German recipe, try out some of my other traditional German foods such as these:
- Hearty German Goulash
- German Schnitzel
- Jägerschnitzel (Hunter's Schnitzel)
- Braised German Red Cabbage Recipe (Rotkohl) with Blueberries & Cloves
- German Meat Fondue (Fleischfondue)
- Spaetzle Noodles
- German Glühwein - German Mulled Wine
- How To Make German Style Sauerkraut
- German Cucumber Salad - Gurkensalat
- German Rosinenbrot (Raisin Bread)
- German Sugar Candied Almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln)
- or my Grandmother's Apple Pie!
Made the recipe? Comment & Rate it below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook. For more from scratch recipes, follow me on Facebook & Pinterest.
Recipe
Käsespätzle with Caramelized Onions – The Ultimate Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 batch of homemade German spaetzle or a package of store-bought ones
- 1 cup of caramelized onions as described above
- 4 oz shredded Emmental Cheese
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- Herbs to garnish optional
Instructions
- Cook the spaetzle as indicated in the recipe, or on the package and pre-heat your oven to 375°F.
- In a pan with butter, fry the cooked spaetzle noodles until lightly golden brown.
- Mix the fried spaetzle with the caramelized onion and half the Emmental cheese. Portion into two casserole dishes and top with remaining Emmental cheese and bread crumbs.
- Bake the käsespätzle for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted on top.
- Garnish with fresh chopped herbs such as parsley and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Norah Curtis
We made this Kasespatzele tonight, along with the pork schnitzel. We added kale, garlic and cream to the Spatzele. We used our own duck eggs and substituted GF flour mix. The duck eggs are wonderful for all kinds of pasta. I was worried that the GF flour wouldn’t work but it did! I use the large holes on a cheese grater instead of a pan with holes. Awkward but it worked. It was all so delicious. Reminded us of pre Covid times when we cycled the Rhine radweg. Greetings to Rosemary, a childhood friend, from Nanaimo. All photos and instructions are so helpful. Excellent recipes!
Chef Markus Mueller
Thank you Norah! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipes and that it reminded you of some memorable life experiences you've had! Thanks for saying hi!
Cindy S
I just happened to have a block of Emmental in the fridge - my favorite after a trip to Switzerland this spring - so I caramelized an onion and tried my hand at your spaetzle. Can't wait to put it all together tomorrow! A little applesauce and I'll feel like I'm back on Pilatus, thank you!
Markus Mueller
Yum! I just finished the last of my Emmental with this recipe. It sure is a great way to reminisce about working in Langenthal! Take some pictures and tag me on social media!
Ayngelina Brogan
This kicks mac and cheese's ass! I didn't know you could buy packaged spatzle, I'll have to take a look.
Markus Mueller
Not all grocery stores carry them, but you can sometimes find them in the international food section!