Oma's Easy Homemade Egg Noodles (Spätzle)

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

This German spaetzle (spätzle) recipe is my go-to side dish—easy, tender, and perfect with gravy or just buttered and crisped.

Published: August 01, 2009, Updated: May 4, 2025

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Oma's German Spätzle recipe, homemade and delicious. Not only is it traditional, but it is so much fun to make. Unleash your crafty side, and try making this yummy dish!

This easy German spaetzle recipe (aka egg noodles) is the perfect side for dishes like sauerbraten, rouladen, goulash, or schnitzel.

With just a few ingredients, you can make homemade spätzle...no German deli required! Some even call them dumplings, but really, they’re their own delicious thing.

You might want to make a double batch. These little noodles taste even better the next day, reheated in melted butter. So go ahead and treat yourself. This authentic German spaetzle is simple, comforting, and truly German food at its best!

Top Tips for Best Results

1. Rest the Batter: Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to improve texture.
2. Use the Right Tool: A spaetzle maker or colander with large holes works best.
3. Cook in Batches: Boil in small batches to prevent sticking.
4. Finish with Butter: Sauté cooked spaetzle in butter for added flavor

Spätzle Trivia

• Spätzle are a true Swabian classic, especially beloved in southern Germany—in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
• The name spätzle comes from the Swabian word for “little sparrows,” which is what these noodles were said to resemble.
• These egg noodles aren’t just popular in Germany—they’re also traditional in Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary.
• In Hungary, they’re called nokedli, and in Switzerland, the button-shaped version is known as knöpfle (“little buttons”).
• Traditionally, the dough was scraped by hand from a wooden board into boiling salted water.
• These days, we have options! You can use a colander with large holes, potato ricer, food mill, cheese grater, or any of the handy spätzle makers out there.

In modern German cookbooks, spätzle is often a convenience food...just cooked from a package. But here in my part of Canada, it’s not always easy to find. So if I want spätzle, I make it from scratch. And you can too!

The photo below shows my käsespätzle, made with the recipe below. Think of it as an upscale German version of mac and cheese...rich, cheesy, and absolutely yummy. Kids love it. Grown-ups do too!

Go to recipe for Cheese Spätzle ->

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Is special equipment Needed to Make Homemade Spätzle? 

On one of my trips to Germany, I brought back a stainless steel lid-and-scraper combo. It makes spätzle so much easier than the old-fashioned way of scraping dough off a board with a knife (yes, the way Oma did it!).

The easiest method is using a spaetzle maker or press, and if you plan to make these little dumplings often, it’s definitely worth having one.

That said, you can still make spätzle using tools you probably already have! Try a potato ricer, food mill, or even a colander or cheese grater...just use a spatula or spoon to push the dough through the holes

Spätzle Press, perfect for making the funky little spätzle noodles.

How To Make Homemade German Spätzle

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

In a large bowl, mix all-purpose flour with a pinch of salt using a wooden spoon.

Mix eggs into flour mixture until well combined.

You can certainly use an electric mixer, if you prefer, as I do here. I've used my dough hook, but a regular beater would work as well.

Use a mixer or do it by hand.

Add just enough water (or milk) to make a nice smooth, light, and firm Spaetzle dough. You don't want to add too much water, so the best way is to start with just a little bit and work your way up as needed.

The consistency of the dough will be dependent upon which method you use to form your noodles. How thin or thick the dough needs to be is something that will be ascertained through experience. Once it has reached the right consistency, let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Using an assembly line makes it easy to cook spätzle

Using a Spätzle maker, push the dough through directly into the pot of boiling water.

Use a Spätzle maker, sort of like a food ricer with bigger holes.

If you don't have a Spätzle maker, or the Spätzle lid and scraper below, please see above for other options.

Use a Spätzle lid and scrapper to push dough through holes

The tiny noodles will float to the top of the water once they are done. 

The finishes spätzle will float on the top when they are finished cooking

Remove with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain excess water.

Drain the spätzle carefully and you're ready to either brown them or just serve them this way.

If you are making your Spaetzle ahead of time, stir in a little butter to keep them from sticking together and store in an airtight container. They'll keep in the fridge for a few days. They also freeze really well.

To reheat, melt some butter in a large skillet or frying pan and add the cooked Spaetzle (or frozen Spaetzle) to heat through. This will crisp them up a little and add a buttery flavor. Yum!!

How To Serve Spätzle

Spätzle are so versatile! You can top them with crispy fried onions and bacon, or serve them with rich gravies—like my Jägerschnitzel-Sosse, a heavenly sauce made with bacon and mushrooms.

They’re also great as a noodle soup swap. Just toss them into your favorite broth-based soup for something extra comforting.

And of course, you can never go wrong with turning them into käsespätzle ...cheesy, gooey, and absolutely lecker.

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Oma's German Spätzle Recipe – Easy Homemade Noodles

This easy German spätzle is the perfect side for many dishes! Serve with pork chops and red cabbage, or fry in butter with herbs and parsley for extra flavor. Delicious!

Prep Time:

25 minutes

Cook Time:

5 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Servings:

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
• 2 large eggs
• about ½ - 1 cup (120-240 ml) water
• fresh parsley to garnish

Instructions:

1. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.
2. Add eggs and mix well.
3. Gradually add just enough water to make a smooth, light, and firm batter. The amount will depend on how 'dry' your flour is.
4. Let the  batter stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
5. Push batter through a spätzle maker, directly into the boiling water. 
6. Spätzle noodles will float to the top of the pot when they are done (will take a few minutes). Remove with slotted spoon to a colander to drain excess water.
7. These are often served with lightly sautéed diced bacon or crispy fried onions. Or, fry in a bit of butter, season with your favorite herbs and garnish with parsley for an extra special side dish.

Notes/Hints:

• Although not the traditional method, you can make the spätzle batter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• You can subtitute ½ - 1 cup milk for the water.
• If you don't have a spätzle maker, you can use another kitchen tool such as a potato ricer or food mill, or simply use a spatula or wooden spoon to push the spätzle batter through the large holes of a colander or cheese grater. Or, you can make these small dumplings the traditional way by scraping the dough off a wooden board with a long knife… just like Oma used to do!
• If you are making your spätzle ahead of time, stir in a little butter to keep them from sticking together and store in an airtight container. They'll keep in the fridge for a few days. They also freeze really well.
• To reheat, melt some butter in a large skillet and add the cooked spätzle (or frozen spätzle) to heat through. This will crisp them up a little and add a buttery flavor. Yum!! Season with your favorite herbs and garnish with parsley.
• Another fabulous way to serve these is to turn them into cheese spätzle.

*  *  *  *  *

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

Recipe updated on May 4, 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.