This Homemade German Spaetzle recipe shows you how to make these delicious, German egg noodle dumplings. They are the perfect side dish to go with all your Bavarian favorites!
No, this is not a picture of scrambled eggs.
What is spaetzle? You ask. This is a picture of homemade German spaetzle noodles, a special type of egg noodle dumpling that will make both your mouth and your stomach very happy.
This is a great dish to include in any German or Oktoberfest themed dinner party.
Your German dinner party could include Sauerbraten and Fondue, cabbage and German Potato Salad, and a German Apple Strudel.
Add to that this Bavarian Lentil Soup and a ginormous pot of homemade spaetzle, and you are good to go.
Here’s a photo of the spread:
WAY too much food.
Okay, back to the Homemade German Spaetzle:
So if you’ve never had spaetzle before, you are in for an amazing treat. The first time I tried it I had no idea what to expect.
I don’t think I realized that it was a pasta, so the wonderful toothy-chewy texture really surprised me.
Spaetzle is basically like really condensed egg noodles.
If you HAVE had spaetzle but have never made it, you are also in for an amazing treat.
The first time I made it I completely destroyed my stove.
And by destroyed I mean made it really messy. I didn’t actually ruin it or anything.
The process also took me a good hour, at which point I had really worked up an appetite for some carbs, so I guess it all worked out in the end.
I decided to get smart about my spaetzle making and bought one of these awesome-amazing-super-duper-toys off of Amazon.
I’m not usually one for kitchen gadgets which only serve one purpose, but I’m making an exception for this tool.
This little baby allows me to make spaetzle any time I want in under 15 minutes as long as I have eggs, milk, flour, and salt.
Best money I’ve spent in a LONG time. Click here to see the latest prices on the spaetzle-maker.
How to Make Spaetzle
Here is how to make spaetzle and you will see that it is very easy to make it at home.
Assemble the ingredients.
In a medium bowl add the eggs, milk, and salt.
Then, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt.
Add in the flour.
Stir until well combined. If it is too runny, then add a little more flour. If it is too thick, then add a little more milk.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place your spaetzle maker over the top.
Then pour half of the batter into the cup of the device.
Quickly slide the cup back and forth to allow the batter to drop through.
Repeat with second half of batter, working quickly, until all the batter is cooking in the pot.
Set the spaetzle maker aside and give the dumplings a good stir in the pot. Let them cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until floating on the surface.
Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.
Toss with butter and spices.
Serve warm.
I love serving this with German food (uh, obviously), but it’s also great alongside venison steaks, pork chops, or underneath a big serving of beef stew.
Heaven, I tell you!
Here’s the Recipe!
Homemade German Spaetzle
This Homemade German Spaetzle recipe shows you how to make
these delicious, German egg noodle dumplings.
They are the perfect side dish to go with all your Bavarian favorites!
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt. Add in the flour and stir until well combined. If it is too runny, then add a little more flour. If it is too thick, then add a little more milk.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place your spaetzle maker over the top, then pour half of the batter into the cup of the device. Quickly slide the cup back and forth to allow the batter to drop through. Repeat with second half of batter, working quickly, until all the batter is cooking in the pot.
- Set the spaetzle maker aside and give the dumplings a good stir in the pot. Let them cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until floating on the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Toss with butter and spices. Serve warm.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1 cupAmount Per Serving Calories 283Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 147mgSodium 768mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 10g
Nutrition information has been auto-calculated for your convenience.
These German noodles are also spelled: Spätzle or spätzle, but often misspelled as: spätzle, spatzel, spatzels, spatzels, spaetzel, spaeztle, spatzles, spetzel, spetzle, spätzel and spatezel.
Comments
they turned out perfect thank you! I fried them with onion and cabbage and they were amazing!
Lori,
Frying them with onion and cabbage!!! You have my mouth watering!
– Linda
Loved this! Had the gadget, from my mother-in-law, but nice to see HOW to use it! Previously, I’ve made it from packaged noodles from the store – this was better, and I could make it dairy-free to accommodate family needs
Served it with Sauerbraten and cabbage – a hit with the whole family!
I missed it sooo much in my German back ground, good recipe, I had it with a cow au vin, worked great! Thanks
Made it tonight with steak and your German potato salad – both were a huge hit with the family. Did not have the gadget so just pulled pieces off. My mother describes here German grandmother making by letting the dough run through her fingers? this was a but too dry/sticky for this but the taste was just perfect! Thank you for an amazing meal! Will have leftovers tomorrow with Weissworst. 🙂
Jen,
You are brave to do this without the gadget, but glad it worked out well.
– Linda
I enjoy your blog very much.I come for a recipe and stay for the stories …I appreciate your time! My daughter is grown and married and has children of her own but her favorite dish as a child was always Spaetlze which she always called baby dumplings and my recipe/ratio was always exactly the same as yours. Perfect!
Danke für das Rezept. Ich liebe Spätzle.
English Translation:
Thanks for the recipe. I love spaetzle.
I’ve made spaetzle many times, but couldn’t remember the proportions and your recipe came up first in google. Another commenter was correct, this recipe needs more liquid. I used about twice as much. A bit runny is good, it shouldn’t need to be forced through whatever tool you use. For those that are using a ricer, those holes are usually too small. The holes should be about a quarter of an inch in diameter or 6-7mm. Some colanders are just right for this job.
I agree that the liquid proportion is off. It should be 2/3 cup milk for that much flour. Please update the recipe. Once the liquid is adjusted correctly, it is a good recipe. I always brown them in butter or bacon fat after boiling to give them some texture and crunch.
Hi Greg,
Yes, the recipe should say 2/3 cup milk instead of 1/3, now it does.
Thanks,
– Linda
Made this for the first time and it turned out great! I used a potato ricer and was able to cook it in three small batches. Will be making it again. Thanks for the recipe!
Original Spätzle recipe is only flour, eggs, a pinch of salt and a splash of sparkling water. One egg for every 100 grams, (about 3.5 ounces) of flour.
00 flour might be better than all purpose flour.
What is the consistency of the dough supposed to be?! I attempted to make half the recipe and ended up throwing it away because it was just a sticky mess!
It should be pretty think, so that it will flow through your spaetzle maker, but not be runny.
For years before I got my speatzle machinen, I used a flat grater and a soup can open at both ends. The grater sat nicely across the pot of boiling water and one just ran the can of mix back and forth across it.
One thing I like to do when I take it out of the pot is toss it in a skillet with some butter and let it get a bit crisp it takes it to another level.
That is how I learned to make it. My Swiss Cooking instructor did it that way then dressed the product with parmesan cheese and nutmeg.
From the picture of your spread and the amount of butter, I would say this recipe serves 8-10.
Sounds delicious by the way.
Where does the 4 T of unsalted butter come into the recipe? Is it room temp, melted? There’s no mention of it other than in the ingredients.
Room temperature is best. It’s used to toss with the hot spaetzle at the end. Check out the last line of the instructions 🙂
I more of less followed you recipe, I used a potaoe ricer to deliver the dough/batter to the water. My ancestry is Spanish/Cuban, I sauteed in olive oil and garlic and chopped green onion. Finished off hot beer brats and mushroom soup as a casserole.
Most comforting.
Can’t help but feel that the gadget takes all the fun out of it! My grandmother always made it by putting a big lump of the dough on a cutting board and then kind of sliding a knife sideways toward the hot water, taking a little of the dough each time and plopping it in. It was a real technique. When we were kids, she’d let us try and of course they’d all be too big or too small. But it was fun. And kind of fascinating to watch.
We’d always have it with gravy and fried breadcrumbs. Sometimes with the spätzle fried a little in the frying pan, but not usually. Haven’t had it in so many years. I’ve been hunting for recipes because it’s just about time I did.
I’m trying your recipe now, with help from my Little One! My dad always made homemade spaetzle and I could never bring myself to buy it pre-made. The only thing I noticed while mixing is that your recipe seemed way too thick (too much flour) for what I’ve made in the past, but then again it could be because of my “helper” hah. We added some more milk and 2 more eggs and now it looks like what I remember. Can’t wait to eat it, thank you! I also always use the spoon method because, like you, I try not to spend money on kitchen gadgets when I can make do without. I also can’t wait to try your fondue and beer-cheese soup recipes!
Oh and one more thing! I’ve made it both with just tossing in butter/spices OR frying with butter after cooling. Both are good, but I happen to like it fried after cooling better. Because everything fried is better….heh. Bad habits.
Im Giving this a try right now. Putting the dumplings into chicken paprikash. I bought this handy tool as I saw it on your blog. Hopefully much quicker than my previous method!
Oooh spatezle and paprikash sounds so good right now!
Hey Anetta,
Do you know how may servings your recipe makes?
Thanks!
Taura
Hi, Taura – about 4 to 6 servings
They r damn good
My family has always made spaetzle and topped with carmelized onions(in butter), grated swiss cheese and bread crumbs. YUMMY!
That sounds amazing!!
The recipe sounds really good. I subbed the flour with whole wheat flour and it was delicious.
If you don’t have a spätzlemaker (and don’t mind a bit bigger pieces) you can sub the milk with buttermilk and use a spoon to portion spätzle for spätzle. Just cut a bit of dough off (only the tip of a table spoon) and dump it in the boiling water. That’s how I make them (when I’m not too lazy and buy them in the first place). They will take longer but you can make them without the spätzle maker. Aaand in austria (and I think in germany too) we use spätzle even for sweet food like “opfespotzn” (apfelspätzle/ applespätzle – they are like little dumplings with applesauce… with thick appleslices) but for those we don’t add pepper… of course..
Thank you for the recipe (as I said I always boght them or made the cheap water/flour/salt-version)
Thanks for all the tips, Petra!!
I like your approach to spaetzle a very simple type of pasta or dumpling which I really miss and I am now making them in Tokyo using the simple spoon. I must try to find some real apfelsauce.
But I remember from Vevey in Suisse spaetzle with basil sauce mit Parmegianna
I would stuff my face too!! This looks delicious!!
Thanks, Gaby! It was a blast to put all this together.