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German · Austrian

Käsespätzle

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Soft homemade egg dumpling noodles layered with melting mountain cheese and topped with deeply browned onions.

Käsespätzle is a German main course from Germany, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, egg and swiss cheese. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Käsespätzle
Photo: © 1971markus / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
Rest
15 min
Total
1 h 10 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
782

Ingredients

4 servings

Spätzle

For the cooking water

Assembly

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Beat the flour, eggs (opens in a new tab), water, salt and nutmeg (opens in a new tab) with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth, thick and starts to form bubbles. Rest for 15 minutes.

    • 5 min

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, melt the butter (opens in a new tab) in a frying pan and cook the onions (opens in a new tab) slowly until deep golden-brown and crisp at the edges.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. Press or scrape the batter into the water in batches (with a spätzle press, colander or by scraping from a wet board). When they float, cook 1 minute more and lift out with a slotted spoon.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Layer the hot spätzle in a warm ovenproof dish with the two cheeses and pepper (opens in a new tab), finishing with cheese. Keep in a low oven (opens in a new tab) until melted, about 5 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Top with the browned onions (opens in a new tab) and chives (opens in a new tab) and serve.

    About this dish

    Origin
    Swabia / Allgäu, Germany · Commonly attributedEqually at home in Austria's Vorarlberg and across the Alpine region.Also popular in Austria, SwitzerlandMore food from Germany
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Dumplings · Pasta
    Cooking method
    Boiled, Pan-fried, Oven-baked
    Taste
    rich, creamy, savoury, sweet & savoury
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · High-protein
    All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Child-friendly
    Cook more with
    All-purpose flour · Egg · Swiss cheese · Gruyère · Butter · Onion
    Techniques
    Baking · Pan-frying · Boiling · Simmering

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom swiss cheese, gruyère, butter
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    782 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 310 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 18%
    • Carbohydrate 43%
    • Fat 39%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy782 kcal252 kcal
    Protein35.1 g11.3 g
    Carbohydrate82.6 g26.6 g
    Net carbohydrate78.9 g25.4 g
    Sugars2.9 g0.9 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre3.7 g1.2 g
    Fat33.7 g10.9 g
    Saturated fat18.5 g6 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol271 mg87 mg
    Sodium1295 mg418 mg
    Salt equivalent3.2 g1 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    311 mg
    Calcium
    657 mg
    Iron
    5.8 mg
    Magnesium
    56 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    323 µg
    Vitamin C
    4 mg
    Vitamin D
    1.2 µg
    Vitamin B12
    1.9 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    332 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: nutmeg, chives.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Layer the spätzle while they are dripping slightly wet — the moisture helps the cheese melt into a sauce.

    Common mistakes

    • Making the batter too thin, which gives slippery, shapeless dumplings.

    Serve with

    • Serve with a green salad dressed with vinegar to cut the richness.

    Storage

    • Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

    Reheating

    • Fry leftovers in a little butter until crisp.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    Added at the end for aroma, freshness and richness

    Finishing & garnish

    • Chives, snipped (optional)2 tbsp · 5.9 g
    Used in step 5

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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