What is a Spaetzle?

Spaetzle is a type of egg noodles and small dumplings found in the cuisine of Germany and regions of neighboring Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary called csipetke, nokedli, galuska, (Spaetzle or Little Dumplings), in France (Alsace), and in the Province of Bolzano-Bozen.

Preparation of Spaetzle combined with Cheese and Onions

Spaetzle dough typically consists of few ingredients, principally eggs, flour, and salt. Often, water is added to produce a thinner dough. One traditional method of determining the correct proportions of ingredients is to use as many eggs as there will be people served, plus one egg. To the eggs an equal volume of water or milk is added. Then gradually enough flour is added to reach the desired consistency. This varies from a very soft, sticky dough to a very thick batter.


In addition to salt, spices such as nutmeg, dill, or caraway may be used, depending on what foods the spaetzle will accompany. For certain specialty dishes, the dough may be enriched with minced pork liver (resulting in Leberspätzle), spinach, or finely grated cheese. Small liver dumplings are frequent additions to soup. In Austrian cuisine, "Speckknödel" (with chopped bacon as ingredient) are added to soup. The consistency of the dough and the method used to form the pasta affects the resulting shape; common variants are button shaped spaetzle (small Knöpfle) and elongated, more noodle-like spaetzle. Handmade spaetzle is formed by scraping strips of dough from a cutting board or by pushing the dough through a mechanical device. Whichever method is used, the noodles are formed directly over a large pot of boiling water (usually) or broth, into which they drop. After boiling gently for about three minutes, the noodles rise to the surface, are drained and served immediately. Several types of special purpose spaetzle maker are available, that resemble a strainer, (or colander), a potato ricer, a food mill or coarse grater. Common spaetzle shapes are long thin noodles, thick small dumpling with an elongated shape and small oval or round dumplings (knöpfle, which means buttons). All are more or less irregular. (Commercially made noodles marketed as spaetzle may bear little resemblance to handmade spaetzle, being more or less regular in shape, and dried.)