Spaetzle and Käsespätzle

Spaetzle, written Spätzle in German, are soft, irregular egg noodles from Swabia, a region shared by Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia. With cheese and fried onions they become Käsespätzle, often searched for as kasespatzle. Here is what makes them Swabian, and the spaetzle recipe from our editors in US measures, plus the Allgäu cheese version.

What are spaetzle?

The dough is not rolled out but beaten into a thick batter of flour, eggs, water and salt that goes straight into the pot. The EU description of the protected product names an irregular shape and a rough, porous surface as typical. Hand-scraped spaetzle from a wet wooden board still count as a mark of quality; at home, a press or a grater-style Spätzlehobel is easier.

Spätzle or Knöpfle?

In everyday use, Knöpfle, literally little buttons, are made with the grater, while Spätzle are the longer strands from the board or press; so says the tourism association of Bavarian Swabia. In the EU register, though, both names describe one product from the same dough, they are interchangeable, and usage differs by region.

Swabian spaetzle, a protected name

Since 2012, Schwäbische Spätzle and Schwäbische Knöpfle have been a protected geographical indication (PGI) of the European Union, covering all of Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian region of Swabia. The application dates the tradition to the 18th century, citing the Württemberg councillor and physician Rosinus Lentilius, who in 1725 counted Knöpflein and Spazen among the dishes made from flour. Back then the dough was mostly made from spelt, whose high gluten content let it hold together without eggs in hard times; only with growing prosperity did spaetzle become a food for feast days.

Käsespätzle: the Allgäu cheese version

In the Allgäu the cheese version is called Kässpatzen, and the regional tourism board calls it the Allgäu's unofficial national dish. Its recipe uses Allgäu Bergkäse, Emmentaler and Weißlacker, a pungent cheese with a protected designation of origin; a Bayerischer Rundfunk program advises using Weißlacker sparingly and criticizes stirring in cream. At the Oktoberfest, cheese spaetzle are on the menu in almost every tent, according to oktoberfest.de; in 2026 the Hofbräu-Festzelt charged €19.90 for them. See also Oktoberfest food.

Spaetzle recipe from our editors

Serves 4 as a side. Active time about 35 minutes, including about 15 minutes of cooking, plus 20 minutes resting. The dough works with board, press and grater. According to Bayerischer Rundfunk, German Spätzle flour makes them firm to the bite; with regular all-purpose flour (German type 405) you can add a little semolina for more bite. Serve them with saucy dishes such as sauerbraten or Schweinebraten.

Ingredients

• 3⅓ cups (400 g) German Spätzle flour (coarser doppelgriffig wheat flour) or all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs (German size M)
• about ⅔ cup (150 ml) lukewarm water
• 1 tsp salt, plus plenty of salt for the cooking water
• nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2 tbsp butter for tossing

Instructions

1. Put the flour, eggs, 1 tsp salt and a pinch of nutmeg in a large bowl. Stirring all the time, add just enough water, a little at a time, to make a thick, smooth dough. Beat the dough with a sturdy wooden spoon for about 5 minutes, until it forms bubbles and only slowly tears away from the spoon.
2. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. For scraping from a board it may be a little softer, for a press rather firmer; adjust with a tablespoon of water or flour.
3. Bring about 4 quarts (4 l) of water to a boil in a wide pot and salt it generously. Set out a bowl of hot, lightly salted water in which the finished spaetzle will stay warm.
4. From the board: wet a spaetzle board, spread a portion of dough thinly on it and scrape narrow strips straight into the simmering water with a scraper or a wide knife, dipping the knife briefly into the cooking water now and then. With a press or grater: fill in the dough in portions and press or grate it directly over the pot into the water.
5. As soon as the spaetzle rise to the surface, let them cook for about 1 minute more. Lift them out with a skimmer, drain them briefly and put them into the bowl of hot water. Process the rest of the dough the same way.
6. To serve, drain the spaetzle well and toss them briefly in the butter in a skillet. Serve hot right away with a roast and gravy.

Käsespätzle (Kässpatzen) for 4

Serves 4 as a main course. Total time about 65 minutes: 10 minutes for the dough, 20 minutes resting while you prepare the onions and cheese, and about 35 minutes to cook, layer and melt. The dough is the basic recipe above, only in a larger amount. Without Weißlacker the Käsespätzle are milder.

• 4 cups plus 2 tbsp (500 g) German Spätzle flour or all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs (German size M)
• about ¾ cup (180 ml) lukewarm water
• 1 tsp salt, plus plenty of salt for the cooking water
• 5 oz (150 g) Allgäu Bergkäse (mountain cheese)
• 3½ oz (100 g) Allgäu Emmentaler
• 1¾ oz (50 g) Allgäu Weißlacker, or another 1¾ oz (50 g) Bergkäse
• 3 large onions
• 3 tbsp clarified butter (German Butterschmalz)
• 1 tbsp butter for the dish
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ bunch chives

1. Make the dough from the flour, eggs, water and 1 tsp salt as in steps 1 and 2 of the basic recipe (without nutmeg) and let it rest for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 212 °F (100 °C), conventional bake. Butter a large ovenproof dish or bowl and warm it in the oven. Coarsely grate the Bergkäse and Emmentaler, cut the Weißlacker, rind removed, into small cubes and mix all the cheese.
3. Peel and halve the onions and cut them into thin strips. Fry them in the clarified butter in a wide skillet over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them often, until golden brown; salt lightly at the end and drain on paper towels.
4. Cook the spaetzle in portions in plenty of generously salted water as in the basic recipe, about 1 minute after they rise, and lift them out still dripping.
5. Put each portion into the warm dish, scatter a handful of cheese over it, season with pepper and return the dish to the oven until the next portion is ready. Keep layering until the dough and cheese are used up; the top layer is cheese.
6. Finally, drizzle 4 to 5 tbsp of the cooking water over the spaetzle and leave the dish in the oven for about 10 minutes more, until the cheese has melted completely.
7. Toss the Käsespätzle thoroughly once, until the cheese pulls into strands. Sprinkle with the fried onions and finely cut chives and serve at once.

Alfons Schuhbeck's trick

The Käsespätzle that the Munich chef has published use a dough without any water: coarse Spätzle flour and a high share of eggs, seasoned with nutmeg. A bay leaf and a chili flavor the cooking water, and the cheese is melted into the spaetzle in a pan with a little broth instead of being layered in the oven. The complete recipe is on schuhbeck.de (in German).

More dishes: Bavarian food. German versions: Spätzle and Käsespätzle.