By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- 5(147)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Unless you have an Eastern European heritage or a penchant for replicating the hearty cuisine of German beer halls, it may never have occurred to you to make spaetzle at home. I have both, and the small, squiggly egg dumplings are one of the first carb-heavy, comfort-food dishes I crave when the weather turns cold.
Making spaetzle is simpler than you may think. Mixing the ingredients is as easy as making pancake batter and uses pantry staples.
The only potentially tricky part is turning the batter into fluffy little dumplings. There are several approaches to this. Some people like to make a thick dough and grate it through the holes of a cheese grater. But if you keep the spaetzle mix as runny as cake batter, you’ll be able to push it through a spaetzle maker (or colander) into a pot of boiling water fairly quickly.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1medium savoy cabbage (1½ pound)
- ¾teaspoon whole caraway seeds
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3large leeks, thinly sliced (3 cups)
- 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Large pinch chile flakes
- 1thyme branch
- 2teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or more to taste
- 1¾teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
- 180grams all-purpose flour (1½ cups)
- 100grams rye flour (¾ cup)
- 2large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 to 1½cups whole milk, as needed
- 8ounces Gruyère or Emmentaler cheese, grated (2 cups)
- Ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
406 calories; 22 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 18 grams protein; 599 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Discard the outer leaves of cabbage; quarter, core and slice the rest. Using a mortar and pestle or the flat of a knife, lightly crush the caraway seeds. Melt the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly colored, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the caraway, garlic, chile and thyme; cook 1 minute. Add the cabbage and cook, tossing frequently, until very tender and wilted, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with vinegar and ¾ teaspoon salt or more to taste. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Step
2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and 1 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 cup milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. The consistency should be that of a sticky cake batter. As the batter sits, it will absorb more liquid; add more milk as needed to keep it loose.
Step
3
Working in batches, press the spaetzle through a spaetzle maker or a colander into the boiling water. (If using a colander, either hold it with oven mitts so you don’t burn yourself over the steaming water, or get a friend to help). As the spaetzle rise to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the skillet with the cabbage. Once all of the spaetzle has been added, toss the mixture well.
Step
4
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Scrape the mixture into a 1½-quart gratin dish. Scatter cheese over the top. Bake until golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Grind a generous amount of black pepper all over the top of the gratin, then serve.
Ratings
5
out of 5
147
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Cooking Notes
Andrea Götz
This dish looks absolutely amazing even though in Southern Germany we would never - and I mean never - use milk to make Spätzle. We always use water. The batter gets better just like Melissa did by using a wooden spoon and beating it until it shows bubbles. We never let it sit, Spätzle are best when made right after the bubbles show up. So I always have a big pot with boiling water ready so I can put them through my Spätzlemaker when the batter is bubbling.
Kathy
This was delicious. The leeks and cabbage melt into the dish and the fresh pasta also makes it creamy with relatively low fat. I made it as written except I let my spaetzle cook a bit after they rise to the top as they keep expanding and getting bigger. Then I scoop them out. Using the cheap and handy spaetzle maker for half the batter at a time, it just takes minutes to cook them. I will make this again. It is an upscale relative of mac and cheese!
Melissa Clark
Yes that will work well.
Lynne
This was an absolutely delicous dish. I will make it frequently. I may mix the Emmentaler with a softer cheese that melts better next time, but the flavors of the original recipe can't be improved upon.
Steve
I enjoyed using the flour, which gave the spaetzle added flavor.
Eliz.
If you happen to find Alsatian spaetzle (Valfleuri is one brand) at Home Goods/TJ Maxx, this recipe offers a great way to prepare it. I recommend letting the cabbage cook even longer and increasing the herbs just a bit. Half of the cheese is fine for half a pound of noodles, three leeks and 1.25 lbs. cabbage. Delicious
Eliz.
If you happen to find Alsatian spaetzl
Linda
This is so good! Added a bit of diced ham to the mix.
chris
Love it. Often dice up some brats and put them in too, or use jarlsberg inteag of gruyere when I'm feeling cheap.
RudisHuman
No spatzle maker? On a small flat dish (salad/dessert plate), put a big spoonful of spatzle dough. In 1 hand hold the dish so the dough ebbs to the side. In other hand use a knife to "shave" off dollops of dough into the boiling water. How much? They will grow! Try to be consistent anyway so they all cook same time.My Swiss family all do this, then put the drained spatzle into a frying pan w/butter (+bread crumbs?) to dry, keep warm til all cooked.
Kate
Made 1st time according to recipe. 2nd time increased caraway seed and salt. Proportion of spaetzle to cabbage is spot on so is cheese. Guests raved and wanted recipe. A real winner! Plus…..it was fun making spaetzle. Easy too.
Emerald City Queen
Does anyone know if this dish could be prepped a day in advance or would it get too soggy?
Andrea Götz
This dish looks absolutely amazing even though in Southern Germany we would never - and I mean never - use milk to make Spätzle. We always use water. The batter gets better just like Melissa did by using a wooden spoon and beating it until it shows bubbles. We never let it sit, Spätzle are best when made right after the bubbles show up. So I always have a big pot with boiling water ready so I can put them through my Spätzlemaker when the batter is bubbling.
Kathi
This method of making spätzle looks like the most inefficient way for me as a South-German. :D In Germany we use different tools to make spätzle or "knöpfle" (simply little spätzle-'heads'), but you can totaly use a wet cutting board with a sharp kitchen knive - there are a lot of tutorials out there how to scrape ("schaben") spätzle from a board - the most traditional method by the way :)
Judyo
This was delicious. The leeks and cabbage melt into the dish and the fresh pasta also makes it creamy with relatively low fat. I made it as written except I let my spaetzle cook a bit after they rise to the top as they keep expanding and getting bigger. Then I scoop them out. Using the cheap and handy spaetzle maker for half the batter at a time, it just takes minutes to cook them. I will make this again. It is an upscale relative of mac and cheese!
Amanda
Discovered while I was looking for uses for a [prolific] rye sourdough starter, this dish was also a forgiving refuge for sneaking a couple on-the-edge endives in with all my favorites: leeks, cabbage, caraway. I’ll be giving this recipe a home in my kitchen notebook, normally reserved for family secrets. Delish!
Brooke
The flavors are spot on here! Another great recipe from Melissa! I used the steamer insert from my cheap rice cooker to make the spaetzle, the holes looked the same size as the specialized tool in the video. Worked perfect. I kept the cabbage and leeks mixture and the spaetzle and cheese separate in two casserole dishes since the hubby doesn’t like cooked cabbage. It worked out great! I served it with pork chops smothered in mushroom gravy. Might be a New Year’s Day tradition!
mods
Delicious! Only changes were to use a bit of bacon fat in partial place of the butter and to top the cheese with some toasted breadcrumbs/ crumbled croutons. Probably could begin veg sauté with bacon or lardon and I may try that next time but it’s still fabulous without.
Anne
Before putting through spaetzle maker (or improvised), Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.
KCDC
So good. Have made this a couple of times.During quarantine, I didn’t have any caraway seeds so I tried yellow mustard seeds. It was excellent!
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