Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle

Name: Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1 cup All-Purpose Flour; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 1/4 cup milk or water; pinch salt; 4 cups water for the sauce pan.; a handful of fresh basil; 3 cloves of garlic; salt & pepper; drizzle of olive oil.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle. A delicious, fun German egg noodle recipe and great as a side dish anytime! Suggestions for adding cheese and bacon too. Sometimes the spelling is Spätzle in German (translated as 'little sparrows', I guess because of their shape when cooked!), Spätzli or Chnöpfli in Switzerland or Knöpfle or Hungarian Nokedli, Csipetke or Galuska.

Spaetzle is a very popular dish in Europe and records can be found of spaetzle as far back as 1725.

Table of Contents 📋 hide

1) Frequently Asked Questions

2) Ingredients

3) Instructions

4) Recipe Card

5) Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle

6) European Savory Main Meal Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Spaetzle?

Spaetzle is a type of soft egg noodle or dumpling. The ingredients are readily available, often already in your store cupboard, and budget-friendly too.

What do you eat with Spaetzle?

Spaetzle is usually served alongside the main dish which contains a sauce, so you could serve this with a lovely beef stew, or keep it simple and add grated cheese and fried onion, known as Käsespätzle. The cheese would most often be Emmental.

This site contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, check Privacy Policy.

Can Spaetzle be used in sweet dishes?

Spaetzle is so diverse! Some also serve this as a dessert, two of the popular ones are Kirschspätzle, which is spaetzle mixed with fresh cherries, and browned butter, sugar and cinnamon.

And the other popular dessert spaetzle often served as one dish, Apfelspätzle, which uses grated apples in the dough, then pan-fried in browned butter, sugar, and cinnamon.

So delicious! Cinnamon, of course, is a very popular spice used in Germany, Holland and other parts of Northern Europe, often mixed with sugar and sprinkled on all kinds of sweet treats!

How do you make the little spaetzle shape?

In the days before machines, people would often have what is called a 'hopper' which is a hand spaetzle maker.

The dough would be passed through this and dropped into the boiling water. And if you didn't have a hopper, then a colander or large hole grater would also work nicely.

For this recipe, we use a simple colander because that is one piece of equipment most of us have in our kitchens, so don't worry!
You won't need to go out and look for a fancy machine to have your own homemade garlic and herb spaetzle!

This is a great recipe if you're feeding a crowd or have hungry tummies to fill! It is very filling, so don't be deceived if you think there isn't much. As with most pasta, it can certainly fill you up fast!

You can also add extras such as bacon, to make the main meal, as you would with regular pasta.

Making spaetzle is fun, and the best part is that you can add whatever flavours you like! Here, I made spaetzle with Garlic and basil. You can, of course, spice it up or swap the herbs, add bacon, sprinkle with cheese, the possibilities are endless! So let's see how I made this!

Ingredients

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup milk or water
pinch salt
4 cups water for the saucepan.

For frying at the end

a handful of fresh basil
3 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper
a drizzle of olive oil.

Instructions

You need to be organised and have everything you need ready before you begin making the spaetzle.

1. Have a bowl with cold water nearby.

Have a colander to hand with a plate underneath it.

If possible, place this on your stove top next to your pan.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, preparation

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave for 20 minutes.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, showing batter consistency

3. Fill a pan with the 4 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of salt to the water.

4. Take the colander and tilt it, holding it over the saucepan. (holding with one hand), and pour the batter into the colander.

Use a rubber spatula and force the batter through the holes (in the side of the colander) so it drops down into the water.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, passing batter through a colander

When the spaetzle float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon and place in the pre-prepared bowl of cold water.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, showing shape and look of spaetzle in the pan of boiling water

Place the cooked spaetzle in a bowl of cold water as you can see below

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, adding to cold water

5. When you've finished making the spaetzle, empty the bowl of cold water they have been resting in into a sieve or colander and set aside.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle, draining cold water off spaetzle

6. Heat a fry pan with olive oil and garlic, and when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the spaetzle and toss until heated through.

Homemade Garlic and Herb Spaetzle. A delicious, fun recipe and great as a side dish anytime! | Lovefoodies.com

Season with salt & pepper. When hot, switch off the heat and add the fresh herbs, cheese, and any other toppings you like!

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our garlic and herb spaetzle recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Recipe Card