German Spätzle Noodles Recipe (with bacon and toasted breadcrumbs)

German spätzle noodles are easy enough to make, but need a bit of time and elbow grease. Learn how to make this traditional German recipe with buttery toasted breadcrumbs and crisp bacon.

WHAT’S SPÄTZLE?

German spätzle noodles are a type of pasta made with fresh eggs. Spätzle is found in quite a few European countries apart from Germany, like Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. These noodles are something I was fortunate enough to grow up with and are high up on my list of comfort foods. They made an appearance on special occasions and were usually served with beef rouladen, schnitzel, or a potful of goulash. Of course, when my mom cooks, she cooks to feed an army, so my brothers and I would be eating spätzle leftovers for days. More about what to do with spätzle leftovers later, that is, if you even have them!

SIMPLE SPAETZLE RECIPE VIDEO

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FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

Regrettably, cooking is one of those things I didn’t learn how to do from my mom. It’s up there with sewing, knitting, and learning how to play the accordion. What can I say? I was too busy watching television or playing video games with my brothers! My mom, on the other hand, paid attention in the kitchen when my Oma (my mom’s mother-in-law) was making spätzle one day. I wish I could ask my Oma who passed the recipe down to her, but I can only imagine. It was a long time coming, but now I, too, know how to make spätzle, and I have every intention of passing the recipe along to the next generation one day.

IS IT SPÄTZLE OR SPAETZLE?

Both are acceptable forms of spelling, actually! Spaetzle made it’s debut because the “ä” with the umlaut was hard to type up. Spaetzle was the spelling alternative, so really, spätzle is the correct way to spell it. At least, this is what my mom tells me because I asked her the same question!

HOW DO I MAKE GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES?

As the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin the cat, and it holds true in spätzle making as well. There are at least three techniques that I know of:

THE WET CUTTING BOARD

The old-fashioned way involves a wet cutting board and a knife, and I must say, it’s pretty crazy to watch. Here’s a cool video demonstrating that technique:

Neat, right? I like that you don’t need any special equipment to make the spätzle, but imagine how long it would take to perfect the technique! I plan to give this technique a whirl one day.

THE SPÄTZLE PRESS

This is the technique that my mom and I favour. A spätzle press looks similar to a potato ricer, but don’t be fooled! It’s not the same thing. I enjoy wielding the spätzle press. I find its heft comforting, and I think it’s fun to squeeze out noodles. It’s fast, efficient, and straightforward. The downside of the press is that they’re not cheap. A good press will set you back a pretty penny, but will last you a lifetime. This is what my mom uses.

THE GRATER

This is another method I haven’t employed, but I probably wouldn’t bother with it because I like long spätzle noodles. If you’re looking for mini dumpling spätzle, this is the route to go. It all tastes the same at the end of the day, so it’s a good option if you can’t afford a press or don’t want to spend time mastering the wet cutting board method. While I can’t vouch for it, I did find this spätzle maker on Amazon.

GETTING READY TO MAKE SPÄTZLE

Making spätzle isn’t that hard, but it can be a bit time consuming. The job is made a lot easier when you’re properly set up. Here’s a list to help you prepare:

BRING OUT YOUR FOOD PROCESSOR

Naturally, you can mix the dough by hand, but it’s a whiz to make in the food processor. There’s a little bit more clean up, but nothing that a little cold water can’t rinse out.

LOCATE A SPATULA, YOUR PRESS, AND A SLOTTED SPOON

The spatula will help you scrape the dough out of the food processor bowl into the press. The press will give you your coveted noodles, and the slotted spoon will fish them out of the pot of hot water.

HAVE THREE BOWLS HANDY

One bowl is going to be for the German spätzle noodles that get sifted out of the boiling water. The second is going to be for your cold water bath, and the final bowl is to house the finished spätzle.

FIND A COLANDER

Once the spätzle has cooled and the starches have been washed away in the cold water bath, you’ll need to strain your noodles. If you’re like me, you have something like five colanders lying around the kitchen.

LOCATE A COUPLE OF CLEAN, DRY DISHTOWELS

You’re going to want to dedicate a part of your counter space to dry spätzle as it’s being made. Lay down one towel to receive the freshly drained spätzle and position the second towel on top of the noodles.

THE WORKFLOW FOR MAKING GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES

Okay, so you’ll have a big pot of water boiling, and once your dough is ready, you’re live. Once your first batch of noodles are ready, it’s time to enter the zone:

• Sift out the spätzle
• Slip the spätzle into the bowl of cold water
• Strain the spätzle
• Refill the water bath bowl
• Get the next batch of spätzle cooking
• Lay out the strained spätzle to dry on the kitchen towels
• Repeat this process, transferring the dried spätzle to your holding dish to make room for the next batch of cooled and strained noodles.

Did you get all that? Don’t worry, if you scroll back up there’s a video tutorial!

BEST PRACTICES FOR MAKING GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES:

• Before washing your doughy equipment, rinse it with COLD water first. Otherwise, you will have a fair bit of scrubbing to do.
• Optionally, you can rinse the spätzle press with cold water before you add the dough to make it less sticky.
• Spätzle freezes well! Consider making a double batch to have a quick, easy side for Sunday dinner.

WHAT DO YOU EAT SPAETZLE WITH?

When my mom and I make spätzle, we almost always toss it in buttery toasted breadcrumbs and crispy bacon crumble. It’s so satisfying! I already listed a couple of meals to enjoy German spätzle noodles with, but let’s take a look at some of the other ways you can enjoy this dish:

• Serve it with homemade beef rouladen, schnitzle or sauerbraten.
• Try a sweet version. Toss it with apple sauce, cinnamon and sour cherries.
• Toss it in soups and stews
• Make spätzle carbonara
• Fry it with spinach in butter and serve it with runny breakfast eggs.
• Make a spätzle poutine

MAKING A SPÄTZLE POUTINE

The idea of a spätzle poutine naturally crossed my husband’s mind when we were wondering what to do with our German spätzle noodle leftovers. I wasn’t surprised. As a Québecois, Big Papa (my husband), is a fan of poutine. Poutine, by the way, is a popular fast-food dish in Québec and Canada. The recipe is simple: fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Here, we will be using our spätzle instead of fries!

THE CHEESE

Fresh cheese curds (the kind that squeak) are best for this dish. In my youth, I grew up with poutines featuring grated cheese instead of curds, but I now see how misguided the chefs who served these “poutines” were. Use grated cheese if you must, but to me, cheese curds are a must for the true poutine experience! 

THE GRAVY

As for the gravy, you can simply use any gravy leftovers you may have from your Rouladen or otherwise, or store-bought gravy, canned or powdered. To assemble your spätzle poutine, make or heat your gravy along with your leftover noodles, and layer the spätzle and cheese. Pour the gravy on top and presto! You can also add other toppings; perhaps mushrooms, if you chose a mushroom gravy. Follow your poutine dreams, they know the way!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Have you had German spätzle noodles before, or anything similar? Have you ever made them? If so, what’s your favourite method? What do you like serving them with? I hope you’ll let me know in the comments below.

SHOP THIS POST:

The spätzle press

The spätzle grater

The food processor

GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

6 eggs

1/2 cup cream of wheat

1 tsp salt

> 1/4 cup water (as much as is needed)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup breadcrumbs

8 rashers of bacon

GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES INSTRUCTIONS

1. Begin heating a large pot of salted water and beat the eggs in a food processor.
2. Add in the flour and cream of wheat and process until combined.
3. Pour in a bit of water and mix it in with a spatula to move the dough around, then add the salt.
4. Blend everything together with the food processor, adding more water if needed.
5. When the water comes to a boil, swirl in the first batch of spätzle and give it a stir.
6. While the spätzle cooks, prepare a cold water bath and get a colander ready.
7. When the spätzle starts foaming in the water, scoop it into a bowl and transfer everything to the cold water bath.
8. Strain the spätzle and refill the water bath bowl for the next batch.
9. Start the next batch of spätzle
10. Lay out a clean, dry dishcloth and layer the strained spätzle on top of it. Cover it with another dry dishcloth.
11. Move the dry spätzle to a bowl to make room for the next batch. Repeat this process until all the spätzle is made.
12. Make a batch of extra crispy bacon for the crumble (this is optional).
13. Melt the butter in a pan and toast the breadcrumbs.
14. Toss the spätzle with the toasted breadcrumbs and bacon crumble.

PRINTABLE GERMAN SPÄTZLE NOODLES RECIPE CARD

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Love and gratitude,