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Home » German » Spinach Spaetzle

Spinach Spaetzle

By Hank Shaw on April 1, 2021, Updated June 6, 2022 - 16 Comments

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5 from 12 votes
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Spaetzle, or, more properly spelled spätzle, are little German or Austrian dumplings that are easy to make and fun to eat. They are also versatile, meaning you can use alternate ingredients to get different flavors, as in this case with spinach spaetzle.

I’ll walk you through how to make green spätzle, and I am using that term because pretty much any soft, green, leafy thing can be used to do it.

A bowl of spinach spaetzle with peas and bacon.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

This post is called spinach spaetzle because chances are that is what most of you will use to make this recipe. But I used stinging nettles in the photos. If you are interested in using them, start by reading this tutorial on cooking with nettles. The only differences between spinach spaetzle and these dumplings are that nettle spätzle are slightly briny, and the green with nettles is a touch bluer.

Other than spinach or nettles, good choices to play with would be parsley, chervil, lambsquarters, orache, New Zealand or Malabar spinach, chard, dandelion greens, sorrel, angelica, and dill. Now if you want to take spätzle out of the Northern European tradition, you could get funky and use cilantro, perilla, or even epazote or hoja santa.

Know that chard is about as tough a leaf as you want here. Collards won’t work, for example, unless you cook the hell out of them first, which you can certainly do if you want. The reason is because normally, when you make something like spinach spaetzle, you just blanch the greens quickly, shock them in ice water and puree.

The wet, thick, vivid green mass then gets mixed with flour of some sort, plus eggs and some seasoning. You then push the batter — and batter it is, not a dough — through, ideally, a spätzle maker, which costs less than $15, or a perforated pan, or a colander — or you can get all German grandmother and flick little bits off a cutting board into boiling water.

Closeup of a bowl of spinach spaetzle with peas and bacon.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Once the dumplings float, give them another minute, then move them to a baking sheet to cool. Toss with a little oil so they don’t all glob together. You can eat spinach spaetzle like this, or, do what I do, and fry them in bacon fat. Yes, you want to do this…

It is common practice to fry spätzle after boiling. This gives the dumplings a little crunch on one side and adds another layer of flavor.

If you want a sauce, keep it simple: Toss some broth and maybe saffron — it’s pretty and the yellow contrasts nicely with the vivid green of spinach spaetzle — scrape up any browned bits in the pan, maybe add some peas and another herb, and finish with a touch of vinegar or lemon juice.

This is a damn good meal in and of itself, but it’s also a wonderful side dish for all sorts of springtime meals. Give it a go!

Bitten by the spätzle bug? I also make butternut squash spätzle and acorn flour spätzle.

Closeup of a bowl of spinach spaetzle with peas and bacon.
Print Recipe
5 from 12 votes

Spinach Spaetzle

Keep in mind this is a recipe that works with any soft, leafy green. See the headnotes for details. Once made and oiled, you can keep spaetzle in the fridge for a few days.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time50 mins
Course: Main Course, Pasta, Side Dish
Cuisine: German
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 416kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

SPAETZLE

  • 8 ounces baby spinach, or other, similar green
  • Salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

TO FINISH

  • 4 ounces bacon
  • 1 cup peas
  • Pinch of saffron (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well; it should tasty quite salty. Get a bowl of ice water ready. Plunge the greens into the water and boil for 1 minute (up to 4 minutes for chard). Move to the ice water to shock.
  • Chop the greens roughly, leaving them wet. Put into a blender and puree. If you need to add some ice water to get the blades to turn correctly, do that. You want the puree to be as thin as heavy cream.
  • Add the remaining spätzle ingredients (except the oil) to a bowl. Pour out 1 cup of puree. If you have extra you can use it in some other recipe, but it should be pretty close. Mix well. You want the batter to be slightly thicker than pancake batter. The key to remember is that you want to be able to pour it into a spätzle maker without it flowing through the holes too fast.
  • Get that pot of water boiling again and make the spätzle. A spätzle maker has a little hook on it to anchor it to the edge of a pot. Rock the hopper of the maker back and forth to make the dumplings. You'll likely need to do this in several batches. When the dumplings float, give them another minute and then move to baking sheet. Toss with a little vegetable oil. When the spätzle are all done. make sure they are slightly oiled so they don't all stick together. In this way, they can be stored in the fridge a few days.
  • When you are ready to eat, fry the bacon in a large pan. Remove, eat one piece, and chop the rest. Leave as much fat in the pan as you want, at least 2 tablespoons. Add the spätzle to the pan and sear hard for a minute. Shake the pan and keep searing until about 1/3 of the spätzle has some nice browning. Move to a bowl.
  • Add the broth and bring to a boil, scraping off any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add the saffron if you're using it. Add back the spätzle, and the peas and bacon. Toss to combine and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 407IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 3mg
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Filed Under: Featured, Foraging, German, How-To (DIY stuff), Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Debbie JoDebbie Jo says

    January 13, 2023 at 6:25 am

    I adore your recipes and humor.
    I am sadly unable to consume gluten and it breaks my heart. Do you have a go-to for gluten free flour? In this case I REALLY want to make nettle spaetzle this year.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      January 13, 2023 at 9:06 am

      Debbie: I am no expert on that, but I hear there is something called a “one to one” gluten free flour you can buy — I’ve seen it at my supermarket here — that is intended to sub in 1:1 for regular flour. Maybe try that?

      Reply
  2. Avatar for Jenna AveryJenna Avery says

    May 11, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    Hi there! I’m making this right now with nettles and I have a lot of extra pureed greens… Do you think I can freeze it for future use? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      May 17, 2021 at 10:08 am

      Jenna: yes, you can. Sorry for the late reply but I was away!

      Reply
  3. Avatar for KarenKaren says

    April 12, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    I’ve tried making spaetzle from other recipes before and really struggled with it. This turned out perfectly and the flavor combination was amazing. Thank you for another great recipe!

    Reply
  4. Avatar for Melissa Rene DavisMelissa Rene Davis says

    April 10, 2021 at 5:22 am

    another fab recipe. we forgot to add our peas. won’t forget the next time we make this. chopped the chard stems and sauted them with onion and bacon. NOM! our only add will be to try a bit of crushed red pepper next time too.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for Bonnie WareBonnie Ware says

    April 8, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Thank you for another stunning recipe. Mr. Shaw. Besides coming out perfectly (I’ve had a few spaetzle failures), the flavor…. Wow! I’ve made many different pastas with spinach powder but have never blanched and pulverized it to add to the dough/batter. You can bet I’ll be using this method of getting spinach into dough whenever I can.

    I added chopped carrots to the dish, just for color, and served it with lamb shanks. There could not have been a better side.

    This weekend we’ll see what the leftover spinach smoothie does for pancake batter.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Lynn WilfertLynn Wilfert says

    April 6, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    Absolutely the best spring fun. So good and delicious. Thank you Hank

    Reply
  7. Avatar for Sam E.Sam E. says

    April 6, 2021 at 6:30 pm

    Delicious!

    Reply
  8. Avatar for El L.El L. says

    April 6, 2021 at 6:25 pm

    We had a bag of spinach we needed to use up, along with some foraged nettles, and made this the other night with them: absolutely delicious! We didn’t have any homemade stock on hand and wound up doing a “dry” version enriched with a little foraged ramp butter along with the bacon and peas — this made for a fabulous, vibrantly green spring dinner.

    Reply
  9. Avatar for Carol ThomteCarol Thomte says

    April 1, 2021 at 3:27 pm

    I especially like “eat one piece” of bacon. Thanks for the smile! I will try the recipe, probably with nettles.

    Reply
  10. Avatar for giancarlo cenciarinigiancarlo cenciarini says

    April 1, 2021 at 11:28 am

    bravissimo! sono impressionato how you could make a great dish even out of simple spaetzels. Un grande maestro di cucina….the elvis presley of spaetzels…..complimenti from far away vanvouver island,canada.

    Reply
  11. Avatar for Stephan RegenfussStephan Regenfuss says

    April 1, 2021 at 8:20 am

    Mahlzeit!

    Reply
  12. Avatar for Vicky HeiseVicky Heise says

    April 1, 2021 at 7:09 am

    Can you use a colander to make the spatzle? And have you used mesquite flour?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 1, 2021 at 7:34 am

      Vicky: You can. Try to use a colander with the largest holes. I have not made spätzle with mesquite flour, but that sounds like a cool idea! You may still need some wheat flour in the mix to bind things, but I am no 100% sure of that. Worth experimenting, no?

      Reply
  13. Avatar for Lee HoyLee Hoy says

    April 1, 2021 at 4:33 am

    This looks fantastic! I really want to try this with lambsquarters. There is so much growing here!
    Really enjoy your blog and I’ve sent your posts to a number of friends.
    Keep up the good work.
    Lee Hoy

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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