Spätzle – Noodle Dumplings

Serves: 4 – 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. In a small bowl or measuring jug, whisk the eggs and set aside for now. Sift the flour, nutmeg, pepper, and salt in a large bowl, and then add the oil, eggs, and UP TO 1 cup of water. Stir until well-mixed so you get a very soft (but not runny) dough. Do not overstir. If you take a wooden spoon and scoop some of the dough up, it should only very slowly fall off the spoon when you turn it upside down. If needed, add more flour or water to soften or harden up the dough.

Use a spätzlebrett/spätzle maker/colander/ wet chopping board/whatever you prefer to form and drop tiny dumplings into the boiling water, in batches. Here’s a video example I found, I wish I was as quick as this lady!

Simmer the spätzle for a minute or so until it floats, then use a slotted spoon to remove from the pot and drop into a bowl of cold water. Drain and set aside. You can now either keep these to freeze or fry later, or fry them now in a large frying pan with some butter until they are golden.

My Notes

I’m told the authentic recipe is just eggs and flour, but the above is how my family makes it. I typically serve it with fried onions and a dash of Maggi so it tastes like what my Oma used to make for me. 🙂

If you have any leftovers, try making Käsespätzle! 🧀

(I’m adding the umlaut-free spelling of spaetzle in here to make it easier to search for this recipe.)

Eggless Spätzle

If you prefer eggless, I've also made Egg-free Spätzle!