Some people compare this dish to American “mac ‘n cheese”, but I think the two are very different. In Germany, this käsespätzle recipe is typically offered as a side dish, but it can also be served as a main. However, spätzle is usually served as a main dish with some kind of meat and sauce. With a good spätzle maker, you will be surprised at how easy this dish is to make! Fabi’s mom got one for me for Christmas last year, and it has made life sooo much easier 🙂 You can find them on Amazon pretty cheap (see below). Tip: Rinse bowl and spätzle maker with hot water right away to avoid batter drying on the dishes….this takes forever to clean off!
German Käsespätzle
Prep time
Cook time
Total
Type: Main
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- 2 qt water
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ cup swiss cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Beat eggs and milk together with a fork.
- Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Slowly add flour a little at a time and mix with a fork.
- Once all flour is added, dough should be elastic.
- Let stand for 5 minutes while bringing a 3 qt pot filled with water to boil.
- Add dough to spätzle maker and press through. Let the dough hang into the water (be patient, it will fall off by itself, no need to cut it off).
- When noodles rise to the top, they are done. Strain well with a straining spoon and drop into a bowl.
- Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet.
- Add chopped onions and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Add spätzle and sprinkle swiss cheese on top.
- Stir until all cheese is melted.
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I love Käsespätzle but have never tried it myself. If you don’t have a spatzle maker, what else can you use? This looks fantastic!
Great question! Before I got one, I used to flatten the dough on a cutting board and slowly scrape off thin pieces with a knife…its much harder this way, but can work!!
Tried this the other night-fantastic! It was perfectly cheesy 🙂 I just bought the spatzle maker because I tried doing it with a cutting board and it was too messy/sloppy/time intensive for me. I am looking forward to trying again with the new gadget!
You’ve inspired me to order this the next time we’re somewhere that offers it. I’m not a big spaetzle fan, but with cheese? That sounds yummy! Cheese makes everything better. 🙂
Hi, I am from Germany (Regensburg, Bavaria) and my husband is from Iowa. Needles to say I LOVE Spätzle but honestly they are a pain in the b*** to make. So I have to admit (and I know they are not as good as Knöpfle or home made ones) I buy them at Aldi’s here in town. Aldi has been a blessing for me.. I would not know how to live here if it wasn’t for a good german coffee or some gummy bears or even german chocolate here and there.
Also have you tried baking them.. I use heavy cream and melt a stinky kind of cheese.. (whatever I can get) on the stove in a pot and add some seasoning and give it to the spätzle. Top it with Swiss Cheese and Mozarella and of course fried onions with some butter and bake it for 30 minutes or until golden brown. BUT it’s only good that time.. warm it up and the sauce dissolves.. Thanks for your fun blog!
I totally agree, I don’t make it very often because it takes some time and can be quite messy! But the results are always wonderful, so its worth it when I DO make it! 😀 When I travel to Germany I always bring back tons of CHOCOLATE! 🙂
My son visited Germany a couple of years ago and this was his favorite while there, so of course I had to learn how to make it. We already loved spatzle so adding cheese to it seemed like a no-brainer. One little note on your directions: I didn’t spot “onion” in the ingredient list. I slice ours and then carmelize them to serve over the top. Prost!