One of my favorite traditional German dishes, spätzle are probably the easiest "noodle" recipe you can make at home. This spätzle recipe takes roughly twenty minutes to prepare and uses everyday ingredients you may already have in the pantry.
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Table of Contents
What Are Spätzle?
Spätzle noodles, are sometimes also called Knöpfle, or Chnöpfle, depending on which region of Germany or Switzerland you are in.
They are soft egg noodles, (almost like mini dumplings) that are traditionally found in the south-western region of Swabia (the Bavaria and Baden Wurtemburg region), in Germany and are considered a specialty there.
An Authentic German Spätzle Recipe
There are generally three different ways to cook spätzle noodles at home. Each variation stems from a different region where they were first made. I am going to focus on only one way to do them here, as it is the easiest to do at home even if you have never made noodles (of any kind) in your life.
One of the reasons that I love spätzle, is that the noodles themselves are so versatile. They can be served on their own, simply pan-fried in butter with a bit of fresh garlic, or turned into a mini casserole and baked in the oven with various ingredients.
A personal favorite of mine is the traditional Swiss spätzle pfanne. Caramelized onions mixed with the pan-fried spätzle noodles, topped with cheese and then baked. What's not to like!?
How long do cooked spätzle keep?
Spätzle store very well in the fridge in an airtight container for future use, and are ideal for meal prep when cooked in batches.
Spätzle noodles will easily be kept for 4-5 days if cooled properly after cooking and kept refrigerated.
Homemade Spätzle Recipe
To make these German spätzle you will need:
- 250 grams of all-purpose flour
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon of salt (I used fresh ground sea salt)
- 60 ml of water
That's it! Pretty simple eh!?
1. Measure out your ingredients while bringing a large pot of water to boil on the stovetop. This way you can multi-task and the water will be boiling by the time you finish mixing the dough.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix them very vigorously with a wooden spoon or spurdle. If you find that the dough is too dry you can add another little splash of water. I've added roughly another 30 ml of water to my dough here.
Note: Whether you will need to add more water or not can depend on the size of the eggs you used, and the measuring cup you used to measure the water, (not all measuring cups are created equal) as well as the flour itself, which may absorb moisture differently.
The dough is ready to go when it is smooth, and drops of the wooden spoon in large clumps. It is ok if the mixture is a little thicker, (like a very thick pancake batter) this will simply result in a denser and less fluffy noodle. This is something you can adjust in the future, depending on your preference.
The Easiest Way To Cook German Spätzle
As I mentioned above there are three different methods of cooking spätzle. For two of them, you do not need a "spätzle maker".
- The first method uses a handheld pasta extruder to push the dough through small holes, which will result in longer spaghetti-like noodles.
- The second method employs a flat cutting board, and a small palate knife, from which you scoopépush small pieces of dough directly into a pot of boiling water.
- And finally, the third method uses a perforated dish or plate to pass the batter through. You can do it with any pasta colander, (or perforated pan) that has large holes in it.
Traditionally you would use a spätzlehobel also known as a spaetzle-maker, but lacking that you can improvise as I have with the perforated pan.
This last method is by far the easiest!
Let's Get Cooking!
Once the water is boiling, the spätzle dough is pushed through the colander (or a spätzlehobel) right into the boiling water. It's easiest to use a flat plastic scraper for this but a rubber spatula will work as well.
You will know the spaetzle are done cooking when they float to the surface. At this point, you want to take them out of the water either with a slotted spoon or a sieve so that they do not overcook. For this reason, it's best to boil the noodles in smaller batches.
Once the spätzle noodles are cooked, you can serve them right away with whatever toppings you choose, or cool them down and save them for later. If you plan on pan-frying them, cooling the spaetzle first works well, and results in a crispier noodle.
Serving Spätzle Noodles
Wondering what to serve these spätzle noodles with or as? We have some suggestions for you!
Serve spätzle with:
Or turn the spätzle into a casserole:
More German Recipes
If you loved this German spätzle recipe, try out some of my other traditional German foods such as these:
- Jägerschnitzel (Hunter's Schnitzel)
- Braised German Red Cabbage Recipe (Rotkohl) with Blueberries & Cloves
- German Meat Fondue (Fleischfondue)
- 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 & Instagram: @earthfoodandfire . For more from scratch recipes follow me on Instagram & Pinterest
Recipe
Traditional German Spaetzle Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 grams of all purpose flour
- 3 whole whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon of salt I used fresh ground sea salt
- 60 ml of water
Instructions
- Begin by measuring out all your ingredients, and putting a pot of salted water on the stove to boil.
- Sift the flour, and mix in the salt. Add the eggs and then add all 60ml of the water. Mix really well with a wooden spoon until the dough reaches a smooth, yet slightly runny consistency. If the dough is too dry add slightly more water until the dough reaches a thick batter-like consistency.
- Using a perforated pan or spätzlehobel, push the dough into the boiling water, creating mini Käsespätzle. The noodles are done when they float to the surface.
- Serve the spätzle noodles with other traditional German foods such as pork schnitzel or German style goulash!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Lisa
First time making Spaetzle and is was easy and very delicious. Served it with Hungarian goulash. Will definitely make again.
Chef Markus Mueller
Glad to hear you enjoyed the spaetzle recipe Lisa! It's surprising how easy it is to make!
Carol CAMERON
I love making special I make a triple batch spread it out on a cookie sheet let it cool and then freeze it for later use I also like to use it in soup chicken pepper cosh Ville pepper cosh and all by itself with some purple cabbage or sauerkraut and some smoke sausage
Chef Markus Mueller
That's great Carol! Glad you like the recipe. And thank you for the tip on freezing the spaetzle for later!
Diana L.
I’ve see someone use a cheese grater before, the large shredding side. I guess it’s the same idea. Since I’ve checked off home made gnocchi off my ‘food’ bucket list, I’ll have to replace it with spatzle! ????
Amanda
I've never had spaetzal (I also can't really name any traditional German recipes) but I need to try! I am knee deep in planning a trip to Eirope with friends which includes an entire week in Germany! I want to be able to REALLY appreciate the yummy food!
Jared @ thehesitantchef.com
Markus, this is a great tutorial! Spaetzle is one of my all time favourite comfort foods. I like it simple sauted in butter with salt and pepper. Yum.
Markus Mueller
That's my favourite way to eat it as well! Just sauteed until golden brown!. Adding some cheese never hurts either!
janet @ the taste space
Nice to see your spaetzle. My mom makes the best spaetzle and when I asked for the recipe, I thought it was going to be a family heirloom. Turned out it was from the Joy of Cooking. Gotta spread the spaetzle love. 🙂
Markus Mueller
The first time I made spaetzle at home I was very surprised to see how simple the recipe was, I had always thought it was this complicated process!
Haley
Great and easy recipe! I didn't have anything like the pan you used so I just put the mixture in a ziploc bag, cut a hole in the corner, and squeezed it out, using a spoon to cut it into pieces. It worked pretty well although it probably took me a bit longer. End result tasted great and was a big hit with my family.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Haley! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe despite not having a perforated pan. If you have a perforated strainer (metal strainer with holes) that works well too! Happy cooking! Chef Markus
Meaghan
Love spaetzle!!! I have not attempted to make my own before, but your recipe has inspired me to try 🙂
Markus Mueller
Glad to hear it! It really is very easy! Regardless of what implement you use to shape your spaetzle!
Ulrike
Hello Meaghan,
I never made my own either....until Markus put the recipe on his blog. It's easy to make and taste so much better:-)
Carrie
Love spaetzle!! I lived in Germany as a child for 3 years and lived on it!! Have never tried to make it so will give this one a go.
Markus Mueller
Let me know how it turns out Carrie!
Nicole | Culinary Cool
Spatzle is one of my all time faves - it's so easy to make. I love it with some garlic and butter and served with rouladen.
Markus Mueller
Yum! now I want to make rouladen!
Christiane
Hallo,Markus,das ist der erste Mal,dass ich einen Blog lese! Er gefällt mir,wenn ich auch deinen heutigen Text nur schwer verstehe - zu viel Fachchinesisch☺
Norbert
Hi Markus,
You are great . I like this.
Keep on going this way.
Matthias Volkers
Super Blog. Macht Spaß zum Lesen und tolle Bilder. Gruß aus der Schweiz