Oma's German Pancake Soup  (Flädlesuppe)

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

Published: April 7, 2021, Updated: April 28, 2025

German pancake soup (flädlesuppe) is SO simple and SO good. I didn’t grow up with it, but once I tried it, I was hooked!

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This Flädlesuppe, German pancake soup recipe, is a comfort food that many Germans recall from their childhood. A hearty broth poured over rolled crepe-like pancakes. Heavenly!

This German pancake soup, flädlesuppe, is pure comfort food that many Germans remember from their childood. It’s just rich broth poured over rolled, crepe-like pancakes ... and it’s heavenly!

It might sound odd at first, but it’s really like homemade noodles in broth, only even better.

Top Tips For Best Result

1. Use Quality Broth: The soup's flavor hinges on a rich, flavorful broth. Homemade is best.
2. Thin Pancakes: Aim for crepe-like thinness for authentic texture.
3. Fresh Herbs: Garnish with fresh parsley or chives.
4. Serve Immediately: Combine pancakes and broth just before serving to prevent sogginess.
5. Gluten-Free Hack: Substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free blend for the pancakes

Flädlesuppe comes from Swabia (central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg and the southwest of Bavaria) in southern Germany, where leftover savory pancakes were sliced into strips and added to broth for a quick, cozy meal.

Usually a good beef broth is used, sometimes with a few matchstick carrots, celery root, or leeks added. Always finished with fresh parsley or chives.

Traditionally, extra pancakes were made the day before. For a quick meal, just heat a good-quality broth, slice the pancakes, pour the broth over, and sprinkle with herbs.

No leftovers? No problem! The pancake batter comes together in minutes, and you’ll have a hearty soup on the table in no time.

Usually a simple beef broth is used. Other times, thin matchsticks of carrots, celery root, or leeks are quickly cooked in the broth and included in the finished soup. Always though, fresh parsley or chives finishes the dish.

The usual way of making these is to make extra pancakes (without sugar) the day before. That way, when you want to make a quick soup the next day, you're ready to go. Easiest is to heat some purchased broth (the best quality you can buy, not the cheap kind). Cut up the pancakes and put into a bowl. Pour the hot broth over and sprinkle with herbs. Easy. Quick.

However, sometimes the craving for the soup comes and there aren't any leftover pancakes waiting to be used. So it's a quick recipe even from scratch, that really only takes a couple of minutes to make and heating the broth. Lunch is ready!

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How to make German Pancake Soup Recipe:

(Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.)

It's really as simple as making crepe-like pancakes. The batter is fairly thin. It's a straight-forward simple recipe. Flour, egg, milk, and salt. And of course, butter, for frying.

This Flädlesuppe, German pancake soup recipe, has easy ingredients to make for a quick meal.

Just give these a quick whisk until a thin batter results.

You'll see that I have an unusual whisk. At one of the Ferienwohnungen (vacation homes) we stayed at, the kitchen had one of these funny-looking whisks. 

What they didn't have was a mixer. So when I wanted to make some whipped cream, this is what I had to use. I was surprised how quickly the cream whipped with this. Naturally, my shopping instinct was aroused and I bought one to bring back home with me. 

Make the pancake batter.

Once the batter is ready, these flädle (southern German), pfannkuchen (northern German), and frittaten (Austrian) are fried in some butter (for flavor, it really does need to be butter). 

You'll get enough to easily serve 4 people and probably have pancakes left over. They are delicious spread with jam and rolled up. Yum.

A stack of pancakes ready to make Flädlesuppe, a German pancake soup recipe.

Once you have a nice pile of crepes ... I mean pancakes ... I mean flädle ... start rolling them up.

Roll them up quite tightly and then cut into strips. You can cut them as wide or as narrow as you like. These are how I do mine:

How to cut the pancakes ready to make Flädlesuppe, a German pancake soup recipe.

Place the tightly rolled strips of pancake into the bottom of each bowl. The one I was cutting here started to unroll as I took the photo. Right after clicking the photo, I rerolled it so that the 'noodles' look like the rest in the bowl.

Make sure your broth is ready ... steaming hot. 

This German pancake soup recipe, Flädlesuppe, is such wonderful memory that many Germans recall from their childhood. A hearty broth poured over rolled crepe-like pancakes. Heavenly!

Then pour the steaming hot broth over the 'noodles'. A sprinkle of fresh herbs as a garnish and serve immediately.

My Favorite Broth Choices

You can use a rich beef broth for this German pancake soup, but chicken or vegetable broth works just as well. Pick your favorite. There’s no wrong choice.

Sometimes I cook a few julienned veggies right in the broth or toss in leftover bits of meat. However you do it, check the seasoning and adjust with a little Maggi, nutmeg, or fresh black pepper if needed.

Make sure the broth is steaming hot to warm the pancakes in the bowl, and serve right away for the best flavor.

Stock vs Broth for Pancake Soup

Stock is made from bones, broth from meat and veggies. Stock is a bit thicker thanks to the collagen from the bones.

What do I use? Usually a mix of both. If I have a nice meaty bone, that’s perfect. Sometimes I brown the meat or roast the bones first for a deeper flavor, and browning a halved onion gives a beautiful color too.

For pancake soup, broth is traditional, but honestly, I’ve used both. Just pick whichever you like best. Just make sure it’s rich and flavorful, since the pancakes won’t add much seasoning themselves.

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Oma's German Pancake Soup  (Flädlesuppe)

German pancake soup (flädlesuppe) is SO simple and SO good. I didn’t grow up with it, but once I tried it, I was hooked!

Prep Time:

5 minutes

Cook Time:

10 minutes

Total Time:

15 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup (120 milliliter) milk
  
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter or oil
• 4 cups (960 milliliters) broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
• parsley or chives for garnish

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, salt, egg, and milk together in a bowl, making a fairly liquid batter.
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of batter and immediately swirl/tilt the pan so that the batter forms a thin layer over the bottom. 
3. Fry until lightly golden, just a few minutes, flip and fry other side about 30 seconds. Remove to plate and repeat with remaining dough. You may need to add a bit more butter.
4. Let the pancakes cool while you heat the broth to simmering. Adjust the seasonings, if needed.
5. Roll each pancake and cut into thin slices. Place the rolled up slices in the bottom of each bowl (usually 1 pancake each).
6. Pour the hot broth over top, garnish with parsley or chives and serve immediately.

Notes/Hints:

• Alternatively, cook julienned veggies, such as carrots, celery root, or leeks in the broth first.
• Steam veggies separately and add them to the finished soup. 
• Add little pieces of leftover meat. 
• Season the broth with Maggi, nutmeg and/or freshly ground black pepper.

*  *  *  *  *

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Recipe Updated: April 28, 2025

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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.