German Noodles & Rice – Oma's Nudeln und Reis

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

German noodles, aka Nudeln, make kid-friendly dinners, especially the German version of "Mac and Cheese" called Käsespätzle. 

This was among the quick, easy pasta recipes my Mutti would make. Packaged dry spätzle noodles (THE traditional German noodles) were not available when we lived in northern Ontario. So Mutti needed to make these from scratch. 

German rice, aka Reis, is also an easy side dish. Whenever Mutti made this, I used to think we were eating Chinese food. I didn't realize that it was used much in Germany as well. Now, I really like making it in my Instant Pot pressure cooker. So easy and so PERFECT.

Below is Käsespätzle - a German version of Mac and Cheese – only BETTER!

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Potatoes and dumplings are the most popular starches served throughout most of Germany. But, there are differences depending upon regions. Since my Mutti came from the Berlin area, we grew up with lots of potatoes. Having noodles and rice were not that common.

However, in southern Germany (is it because they're closer to Italy?) noodles and pasta are very common, especially the famous Spätzle. 

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When cooking spaghetti, cook some extra for another dinner. Use the extra in a Baked Spaghetti dish. This is an easy vegetarian meal, but it also tastes great with some leftover meat added. Smoked German sausage would be a wonderful addition!

Want to learn how to make noodles? They is an interesting recipe for "Schupfnudeln" meaning "finger noodles" that uses potatoes in the dough.

Delicious! I first encountered these very different noodles at a high-class restaurant overlooking the vineyards in the Erlenbach area. They were served with wild deer and mushrooms. Ahhhh . . . German food!

Oma says,

I used to think we were eating 'Italian' when Mutti cooked noodles, thinking that noodles and pasta were the same thing. The basic difference is that noodles contain eggs. 

It wasn't till I travelled to Germany that I realized how popular noodles are, especially in the southern part of the country. There, the main starch used with meals is some type of noodle.

And, that's what Mutti often did as well. When we came home for lunch on schooldays, we'd often had some sort of noodle dish. Mutti would add just a bit of meat left over from dinner the night before, put a can or two of veggies in. Finished.

Oma's German Noodles & Rice Recipes

Cheese Spätzle

German Spätzle - make your spätzle from scratch

Schupfnudeln (Potato Noodles)

2-Step Rice: Boil & Steam

Pressure Cooked Rice - PERFECT!

Oma's Easy Baked Spaghetti Casserole

"Noodle Nests" - easy pasta casserole recipe

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.