Try Spinach Spaetzle For A Fun Twist On The Classic Recipe!
Have you ever had spinach spaetzle? The bright green cousin to our homemade spaetzle recipe is definitely worth making!
Unsurprisingly, our spinach spaetzle recipe packs freshly chopped spinach into the classic eggy-flour dough used for spaetzle dumplings.
Spinach spaetzle is more of a fun and healthy twist on spaetzle – much healthier than German Kaesespaetzle! It can be enjoyed as a side to a saucy dish or simply pan fried with butter!
We really like the taste of spinach so incorportating it into another love of ours – German spaetzle – made a whole lot of sense.
The end taste is very fresh – like a pesto – which can be quite fragrant on its own. Of course, the eggy dumplings still have their signature density and consistency.
One tip we have for any spaetzle recipe is to have a proper Spaetzle maker. A proper grater just makes the task of creating spaetzle so much more enjoyable and efficient.
Recipe Tips
This is a pretty easy recipe, but there are a few things you should keep in mind when making spinach spaetzle:
- Blanch the spinach or use raw: You can either use the spinach raw and chop it into very fine pieces. Alternatively, you can also blanch the raw spinach for a couple of minutes (aka add it to boiling water) and then chop it up.
- Mix long enough: Since you are using spinach in this recipe, it might mean that you have to mix slightly longer than when making basic spaetzle to get the right consistency for the dough. This is normal.
- Cook the dough in batches: Since you don’t want the noodles to stick together, we would recommend cooking the dough in batches. Just use a couple of spoonfuls at a time, scrape them through the spaetzle maker into the hot water, cook them, and then remove them from the hot water before continuing with the next batch. Since they could so quickly, it won’t take long at all.
- Substitute frozen spinach for raw spinach: If you don’t have raw spinach, you can also use frozen spinach. Just defrost it, squeeze out the excess liquid and then chop it into small pieces.
How to Make Spinach Spaetzle – Step by Step Instructions
If you’d like to make Spinach spaetzle, you can check out the spinach spaetzle recipe card at the bottom of this post.
For those who want to follow along with each step in the recipe, you can follow the process photos below. This way, you’ll know whether you’re on the right track or not!
First, wash the spinach and dry it. Then place it into a food processor.
Chop the spinach into very small pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also just use a knife and chop it very fine.
Add the flour to a medium-sized mixing bowl and make a small well in the middle. Then add the eggs, salt, and nutmeg into the bowl as well.
Stir the ingredients together – either with a wooden spoon or with the normal beaters of your electric mixer – until loosely combined.
Now add the chopped spinach and continue to stir.
Once evenly mixed, slowly pour the water into the bowl while mixing vigurously.
We would recommed adding the water in small amounts since the moisture content of the spinach determines how much water you’ll need.
Keep mixing until you have an elastic, lump-free dough. When moving a wooden spoon through the dough, you want it to create “holes” (see photo above).
If it is the case, the dough has the right consistency.
Now fill a medium to large pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat once it is bubbling so the water just simmers.
Place a couple of spoonfuls of spaetzle dough onto your spaetzle maker and scrape the batter through the grater into the pot with hot water.
Let the spinach noodles boil for a few minutes while stirring occasionally. They will float to the top when they are done.
Remove the cooked spaetzle with a large straining spoon and place them in another bowl.
Repeat the scraping and cooking with the rest of the dough until you have used up all of it.
You can serve the egg noodles as a side to a dish with gravy (mushrooms or meat, for example) or fry them in some butter and enjoy them on their own.
Storage Tips
If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container with a lid in the fridge for a few days.
You can reheat them by frying them with some butter in a frying pan. Alternatively, you can also drop the in a pot of hot water for a couple of minutes.
Spinach Spaetzle
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 medium-sized eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup water, possibly slightly more
- 3 ounces spinach
Instructions
- Wash the spinach and put it in a food processor. Blend the spinach until it’s in finely chopped pieces. You can also use a knife to finely chop the spinach – but a processor is just faster and easier.
- Place the flour into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Make a small well in the middle of the flour.
- Add the eggs, salt, and nutmeg into the middle of the bowl. Stir the ingredients together using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until loosely combined.
- Now add the chopped spinach into the bowl and continue to mix the content together.
- Once evenly mixed, add the water into the dough. We recommend adding the water in small amounts. Depending on the moisture content of the spinach, you may have to add a tiny bit more or less water. You may also have to mix a little longer than when making normal spaetzle. The spaetzle dough is ready when it has an elastic, lump-free consistency. The dough should stick to a wooden spoon when passed through and create air pockets as you fold the dough in the bowl.
- Grab a large pot, fill with water and a pinch of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat once it bubbles so that the water holds an active simmer.
- Grab your Spaetzle maker/grater and spoon portions of the Spaetzle batter onto it. Use a scraper to scrape the batter through the grater into the boiling pot. The spinach spaetzle will float to the top of the pot when they are done cooking. Cooking time isn’t long for small spaetzle – around 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the green spaetzle dumplings with a large straining spoon and toss them in another bowl. Repeat from step 7 until you have used all the spaetzle dough.
Notes
- This recipe makes approximately 2 1/2 cups of egg noodles.
- After you take the cooked spaetzle from the pot, you can shock them in cold water. If you do this, just reheat them in a frying pan with a little bit of butter. This is especially useful if you don’t plan to eat the spinach spaetzle right away.
- We’d recommend using a proper spaetzle maker when making spaetzle but you can also use two spoons to drop bits of dough into the boiling water.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
These look yummy. I’m about to do this recipe. What’s the purpose of shocking the spetzel?
If you don’t plan on using the spaetzle right after making them, shocking them in cold water reduces the chance of them sticking together. It’s definitely not required though! Let us know how you like the spinach spaetzle when you’ve tried the recipe! /Lisa
These turned out so well! I’ll definitely be making them again; great, simple recipe thank you, they even got the seal of approval from my 3 year old ☺️