Comfort food at large! Cheese Spaetzle noodles are easy to prepare if you have spätzle noodles at home.
Prepare this dinner meal in one pan within minutes!
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What are Cheese Spätzle?
Cheese Spaetzle are Spätzle noodles prepared with caramelized onions, covered with cheese and served in a pan.
Käsespätzle is the German word which just means cheese spaetzle.
Spätzle noodles are also called German pasta, even though they are very Austrian too.
In fact, this standalone dish in a frying pan is a traditional food dish in Austria, neighboring province South Tyrol (Italy), Bavaria and Swabia (Germany).
The Swiss call them Knöpfli, but cheese spaetzle are not a thing there.
Traditionally cheesy Spätzle were prepared in a large skillet because that same skillet was placed in the center of the table and everyone would dig in with their spoons.
People have been making them in casserole dishes too in modern times.
No matter which vessel you choose, your german mac and cheese can be ready in a few steps.
How to make Kaesespaetzle?
You can get ready-made spaetzle from Aldi or you can use frozen homemade spaetzle.
Here are 3 basic steps outlined to get you going. The recipe card with all the details is at the bottom of this post.
Step 1
Sauté and caramelize onion slices in butter until they are brown and crisp.
Take onion out of the pan.
Step 2
Fry spaetzle noodles in pan with butter.
Step 3
Spread caramelized onions, salt, black pepper and grated cheese over the spaetzle in the pan.
Step 4
Keep over the heat and cover the pan so that the cheese melts, or place into the oven if you use a cast iron pan.
Serve hot with chopped fresh parsley as a garnish.
Variations
You can add other ingredients to your egg noodles too! Here are some idea:
- bacon - cut small and fried crisp with the onion
- bell pepper
- sweet or smokey paprika powder
- spinach - chopped, sauteed and mixed into the noodles
- wild garlic (aka ransoms weed) - just like the spinach
- use lard instead of butter
Choice of Cheese
The cheese is everything in this dish!
The cheese defines the flavor and makes it taste WOW.
You want a flavorful cheese, something like a strong Cheddar, Emmenthal, or even Gruyere or Raclette cheese.
Traditionally, a smelly mountain cheese is used. Something well seasoned, full-bodied, and with a sharp taste.
More cheesy recipes from the region
Please feel free to share with us your knowledge and point of view further below in the comment section!
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with Spices and Herbs
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Cheese Spaetzle Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 7 ounce Spaetzle Noodles cooked
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to aste
- ½ cup Cheese grated
- Parsley or chives fresh chopped
Instructions
- Cut onion into slices or rings.
- Heat up a pan and melt 1 tbs butter. Fry onion golden and crispy. Take out onion fro slices/rings the pan and keep aside
- Bring skillet back to the heat and melt the remaining 1 tbs butter. Add cooked spaetzle noodles to the pan (make sure they are not wet!) and fry noodles on all sides.
- Season with salt and black pepper. Spread crispy onion over the noodles in the pan.
- Sprinkle grated cheese over noodles.
- Keep the skillet over slow heat, cover with a lid and let the cheese melt OR if it's an oven-friendly skillet (check info that came with your skillet) keep in the oven under the grill.
- Serve hot, garnished with some fresh parsley or green chopped chives.
I cooked Spaetzle noodles I found at Aldi’s and just followed the recipe. Easy and delicious!
Awesome! Glad to read that you enjoyed them. 🙂
I have a single serving container of spaetzle in the freezer which I was going to serve with some duck breast but this is an even tastier version. (Or maybe I'll just make another batch of spaetzle and have both.)
I'm concerned about burning the onions while caramelizing them. What heat setting should I should on my cast iron frying pan?
I think you can safely fry the onion crispy with a cast iron frying pan. Just add enough butter or olive oil (butter tastes better in this dish but it's easier to do it with oil). In case just fry the onion until translucent but of course, it tastes all the way better when the onions are crispy golden fried. I usually always fry on low heat on gas, because I don't like to burn onions too much. Some people like my grandmother in Austria would burn the onions dark because that's how they would cook and they enjoyed it that way. But those times during and after the war were different too.
I made the dish the same day I posted this. It was delicious. I went with 2 tbsp of butter in total but should probably have cut back a bit since I didn't have a lot of spaetzle/nokedli. I used old yellow cheddar.
Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated! Happy to read that you enjoyed it. Next time you could try the cheese spaetzle with a different cheese. The dish changes character with the cheese used and so it reinvents itself all the time again. That's why I love this simple meal, because it can taste differently each time just because of another cheese. 🙂
I've never made spaetzle, but have always wanted to try it! This looks phenomenal!
I had Spaetzle for the first time when I was in Austria in December and I'm so glad I found this recipe so I can make it at home! So yummy!
Oh then you know the good stuff in life. 🙂
I've never made spaetzle, but I've always wanted to try. I think you just gave me the confidence I needed!