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Easy German Spaetzle Recipe – ready in only 15 minutes and a great German side dish for all kinds of recipes! It’s super easy to make from scratch and downright delicious.Â
Spätzle is a special kind of egg noodle that is often enjoyed as a side dish with gravies or sauces but also the main ingredient in other dishes like the famous Käsespätzle. Toss them with a little bit of melted butter and you have an easy but so delicious side dish that the whole family enjoys! They taste like chewy egg noodles and can be made savory but also sweet.
Have you tried spaetzle before? No? Then prepare yourself for an amazing treat. This easy homemade spaetzle recipe is the only one you ever need and a great alternative to rice, noodles, or potatoes. It can be made in advance which makes preparing a meal for the whole family less stressful.
Germany has great cakes like my German Apple Streusel Sheet Cake and my Plum Cake with Streusel but there’re also many delicious savory dishes like Schnitzel, pork roast, and dumplings.
Spaetzle are one of my favorite dishes! They make a great side for everything that comes with a sauce or gravy like goulash or beef stroganoff but are also a delicious main dish with melted cheese and crispy fried onions or with a simple mushroom gravy.
The word Spätzle literally means “little sparrows” in English but they are also called Knöpfle in Germany because they look like little buttons. You can get them in many different sizes and shapes in Germany.
My mother-in-law always makes a bigger version that is called Spatzen (“sparrows“). They taste like the little ones but are sized like small potatoes and you don’t need special equipment to make them.
A few years ago we always bought pre-made spätzle because we thought making them at home from scratch was too difficult and time-consuming. But after making the first batch, we can’t eat the pre-made ones anymore. It’s so easy to make them at home and they taste so much better! Spaetzle are made with flour, eggs, and milk (or water) – you could say they are German egg noodles.
The easiest way to make them at home is by using a spaetzle maker. There are many different ones but the one we use is a board with holes in it which comes with a scraper (like this one). It’s super easy to use even if you’ve never done it before!
But you can also make spaetzle without a press and use a colander or steamer with large holes instead. You probably have one of these at home anyway!
HOW TO MAKE SPAETZLE FROM SCRATCH
You put a few spoons of dough on the board and slide the scraper back and forth, the batter drops through the holes into the simmering water and after a minute or so the spaetzle are done. You need to use a big pot because they will rise to the surface when they’re done.
After you used about half of the batter you probably need to drain the first batch to make room in your pot for the other half otherwise they will stick together and don’t cook completely. If you don’t use them immediately add a little butter while they’re hot and store them in an airtight container.
To reheat, melt some butter in a pan and toss them in it to warm through. They’ll get a bit crispy which makes them even more delicious in my opinion. And if you have leftover spaetzle you need to try my easy Kaesespaetzle recipe.
The batter for this easy German side dish is mainly made of eggs and flour. In Germany, you can buy special Spätzle flour which is a little bit coarser than all-purpose flour but normal all-purpose flour will do the job just fine. But please don’t use self-rising flour for this recipe or you’ll end up with a big mess.
You could make them only with eggs but it’s easier to add a little bit of water or milk. There seems to be a big discussion if water or milk is better (or more traditional) but I like to make mine with milk because they taste better in my opinion but if you’re allergic to milk you can easily substitute the milk in my recipe for water.
You could also add some more spices to the batter but traditionally spaetzle don’t have much taste of their own because they are supposed to be eaten with flavorful foods like gravy or cheese. One way to spice things up a bit is to add herbs like parsley, chives, or basil to the batter.
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Easy German Spaetzle Recipe
Equipment
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, milk, and salt. Stir until the batter is well combined and develops bubbles. You can also use a mixer. The batter should neither be too thin nor too thick or it will be difficult to make the spaetzle with your spaetzle maker. Let the batter sit for 5-10 min.
- Put a colander into a bowl to drain the Spaetzle once cooked and bring a large pot of water over high heat to a boil, add about 1 Tbsp of salt to the water, and reduce temperature to a simmer.
- Press batter through a spaetzle maker, a large holed sieve or colander into the simmering water.
- Work in batches, after using about 1/3 of the batter stop adding new spaetzle and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Stir occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the spaetzle to the colander so that excess water can drip off.
- Serve the spaetzle immediately or saute them in butter to crisp them up a little. If you don't serve or saute them right away, add 1 or 2 Tbsp of butter to the hot spaetzle to prevent them from sticking together.
Notes
- This makes a big batch of Spaetzle that is perfect for a big family dinner. You can also half the recipe by adjusting the servings below the image in the recipe card.
- You can use milk or water to make Spaetzle. Using water is more traditional but they taste richer with milk which I prefer. You can also use a combination of water and milk.
- Clean used equipment with cold water, the dough is very sticky and gets stickier when using hot water.
- Leftover Spaetzle can be stored, tossed with some melted butter or oil, in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, saute them in some butter.
- Instead of a spaetzle maker, you can also use a colander with large holes and a silicone spatula or scraper.
- UPDATE 10/23/19: The recipe has been re-tested because of reader feedback and the amount of milk has been increased from 1/3 cup+2 Tbsp to 3/4 cup of milk.
Nutrition
Here are a few more delicious German recipes:
I remember standing on a chair watching my great-grandmother cut her knopfle by hand from a dinner plate into the boiling water. She was born in Switzerland. Our family loves them with melted butter. Only my great-grandmother, my mother and I eat ours with grated SapSago cheese. Everyone says it stinks, but it tastes great! We prefer ours made with milk as well.
I made this spaetzle last night and it came out AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing
My mother-in-law came from Germany and spaetzle were always made for New Year’s with the pork and sauerkraut and a ton of gravy. (even though we had them throughout the year.) We just cut them from the bowl we mixed them in. Dipping a sharp knife into the boiling water every so often. Couldn’t make enough of them.
My mother made these and they are one of the favorites that I continued to make when I had children. Now they make them for their families. Mom just put a blob m 70 now and ton the edge of a cutting board and cut them into the simmering liquid with a paring knife. I wouldn’t worry too much about buying a spaetzle maker. They are delicious no matter what you do!
There are gluten free flour in the markets now, can it be made with that type without the gluten? I have baked with the gluten free in the past.
Hi Stu, I don’t have any experience with using gluten-free flour in this recipe but here is a link to a gluten-free spaetzle recipe: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-spaetzle/ I hope that helps! – Julia
I lived in Austria for a few years and grew to adore spatzle (especially Kasespatzle made with Appenzeller cheese!). I am a Celiac so now am GF. I have used Namaste GF flour for my recipe. Note that this flour is much more absorbent than regular flour so the amount of flour has to be adjusted down (by about 25-30%). I also add white pepper and a dash of nutmeg as I was taught.
I can’t wait to make these! I’ve been buying the pre-made noodles from Aldi but it’s always a gamble on when they have them available. My husbands grandmother moved to the US from Germany and my favorite dish is roast with onion gravy served over top of the spatzle noodles! For that recipe she always says to cook them in butter after boiling to make them crispy, it’s what’ adds more flavor to the dish. I could eat that every week haha! My kids scarf it down too, although my poor husband grew up on it so he doesn’t enjoy it as frequently as we do.
Can I make it without a Spätzle maker?
You could use a large colander with holes anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2-inch wide.
Set it over the pot of boiling water. Pour 1/4 of the batter into the colander and press it through the holes with a flexible spatula. – Julia
This is the same recipe I use for dumplings. I just drop small plops into my beef stew after it is cooked and let it simmer for a few minutes. The flour thickens the beef stew broth while the dumplings cook and the the dumplings cook in all that wonderful flavor. Its one of the few meals that nobody in my family of 6 disagrees with! I’ve also used this in chicken soup.
I make them by spreading some of the batter up the side of the mixing bowl and using a wet spoon scrape bits of it into the boiling water. Work quickly and dip the spoon into the water occasionally to keep the batter from sticking. They are done when they rise to the top.
You spoke about a different type of flour used in Germany. My mother was from Denmark but made great Spatzle. She used a combination of semolina and AP flour (about 1/3rd to 2/3rd) it worked great. she would top her spätzle with a cornflake crumb topping made by melting salted butter (I like European cultured President butter) sprinkle cornflake crumbs and a bit of garlic powder. Toast in pan until crumbs turn a deep golden .brown. When serving toss the spätzle with additional melted butter and sprinkle with cornflake crumbs and chopped parsley. Great with all typed of german meats.
Never made spaetzle before from scratch but these were sooo delicious! Great recipe!
My family has made these since I was a child. My father added some nutmeg and parsley to the dough, We place grated swiss cheese, bread crumbs and melted butter on top. The cheese melts and is yummy. Dad had his family spatzle pot which is with another family member. I have tried many alternatives, but found the German one on Amazon is the best. A cousin from Switzerland recommended it. Can’t wait to make again.