My homemade spaetzle

Here’s my recipe for homemade spaetzle—delicious and easy to make! Spaetzle are small egg noodles that I discovered during a trip to Germany.

They’re commonly made in Alsace as well as in southern Germany (where they’re called Spätzle). A plate full of spaetzle looks a bit like a sparrow’s nest (Spatzen in German), which is where they get their name! In the Franche-Comté region, they’re also known as “guilles d’âne.”

Spätzle pairs very well with a wide variety of dishes. They make an ideal side dish for meats in sauce, such as the famous roast beef, sauerkraut with all the trimmings, or slow-cooked stews, as they absorb the juices and flavors wonderfully well. They can also be enjoyed as a main course, topped with melted cheese, mushrooms, or caramelized onions, for a meal that’s both indulgent and comforting.

Spaetzle dough is very easy to prepare, especially if you have a food processor or blender to mix it. However, if you don’t have the right tool, you’ll need to cut it with a knife or a fluted pastry wheel, which is quite tedious and doesn’t yield the best results.

If you make spaetzle often, I recommend getting a specialized tool: a spaetzle grater—you can’t make this stuff up! If you don’t have a specialized grater, you can also use a food mill, choosing the plate with the largest holes.

There you go—in any case, I hope this recipe for homemade spaetzle inspires you to give it a try!

Enjoy, and thank you in advance for your comments!