German Liver Dumplings Soup – Oma's Leberknödel Suppe

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

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Oma's Soup with liver dumplings, aka Leberknödel Suppe, a very traditional German Soup.

Soup with liver dumplings, aka Leberknödel Suppe, is such a traditional German soup that brings back so many memories.

I remember my Mutti serving this and me always being surprised how good it tasted even though it was liver! Served with some nice fresh crusty homemade artisan bread, it makes a nice light supper.

A typically Bavarian soup, this is usually made with beef or calves liver and a strongly flavored beef broth.

Liver Dumpling Soup tips ...

• Don't have a food processor? Then use a blender. Or, use a grinder to grind the liver (if you freeze the liver first, this will be easier)
  
• You can season your dumplings in a variety of ways. Try using sage, coriander, basil, zested lemon peel, or nutmeg.

Super Easy Way to make Dumplings

Use a cookie scoop to make these liver dumplings, aka Leberknödel Suppe, a very traditional German Soup.

As long as your dumpling dough is the right consistency to hold together, use a cookie scoop to easily make the dumplings. Here, I use a 1½ inch cookie scoop. 

Using the scoop is a very quick and mess-free way to make equal sized dumplings. 

What a perfect way to include liver into the diet. Liver is a very concentrated source of vitamins and is high in protein. It's well known to be an excellent source of iron, as well.

However, finding liver recipes that are delicious can be difficult. I find it interesting when I hear that children usually love this soup. So, give this one a try. 

Or, try this one. It's been a favorite at our house for many years.

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Below are two recipes for liver dumplings, first mine and then Dino's (a Facebook fan who lives in Germany),

Oma says,

I really like the way Dino made his soup as shown in the photo below. Although my soup uses a clear beef broth, adding Suppengrün, in other words, some leek, carrots, and onions, to a store-bought broth is a great way to make it even better. 

Ready to make Oma's Liver Dumpling Soup?

Print Recipe

German Liver Dumplings Soup – Oma's Leberknödel Suppe

Soup with liver dumplings, aka Leberknödel Suppe, is such a traditional German soup that brings back so many memories.

I remember my Mutti serving this and me always being surprised how good it tasted even though it was liver!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings:

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• ½ pound calves liver, raw
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ teaspoon marjoram
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 6 cups beef broth (well-seasoned)

Instructions:

1. Using a food processor, combine the liver, butter, onion, parsley, and seasonings and process until smooth. 
2. Add the breadcrumbs and eggs and process until well mixed. 
3. Form dumplings, adding a bit more bread crumbs (or flour) if needed, for dumplings to hold together. Form into dumplings.
4. Bring broth to boil. Add dumplings and reduce heat to a simmer. Dumplings will be done in about 20 minutes and they should be floating. 
5. Serve soup, garnished with parsley.

Notes/Hints:

• Use a 1.5-inch cookie scooper to form the dumplings. Simply scoop and drop into the soup. No messy fingers!

*  *  *  *  *

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

Dino's  Leberknödel Suppe

Dino Schmidt shared his recipe on our Facebook page. He's in Germany and can buy his Leberknödel already prepared. Here's his posting and the English translation.

Rezept:

1. Die Leberknödel kaufe ich schon fertig.
2. Ich laße die Knödel sehr lange ziehen, erst aufkochen lassen, dann bis zu 3 Stunden köcheln, simmern oder ziehen lassen.
3. Ich würze mit etwas Brühe, Muskatnuß, Petersielie (den brate ich etwas in Butter an).
4. Auch noch hinzu Suppengrün, Kartoffeln, Zwiebel.

Recipe:

1. Use purchased liver dumplings.
2. Simmer on low (very low), for about 3 hours, the dumplings. (Ziehen is like a tea bag sitting in hot water, stewing) 
3. Season with broth and nutmeg. Fry some parsley in butter and add to soup.
4. Add Suppengrün (soup greens), potatoes and onion.

Suppengrün: Is purchased in Germany as a bundle and usually has a leek, a carrot, and some celery root. Parsley, turnips, and onions are sometimes included.

I like the way Dino cooks. It's like a bit of this and a bit of that. Just like my Oma and my Mutti did, and now how I usually cook as well. Thanks, Dino, for sharing this with us!

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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.