Making gluten free Spaetzle is something I’ve always wanted to try , but never seemed to find the right opportunity. When we were invited to a holiday potluck with a German theme, I knew I’d found the occasion!
Considering the dietary restrictions of all the guests, I was asked to bring a filling dish that would be gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian AND fit into the German theme for the evening. Gluten Free German Spaetzle fit the bill perfectly!
This simple egg noodle is unique mostly in how it’s made: by pressing the batter through a colander (or potato ricer) to form smallish wormy-looking noodles which cook quickly in water. Often served with meat, these versatile noodles can be found in all kinds of dishes ranging from sauerkraut to soup, beer to spinach and liver.
Making the noodles themselves with my gfJules Flour is easy — my flour adds just the right stretchiness you need to hold the dough together without any of the grit found in lots of other gluten free flour blends.
I actually found the colander method to be easier, and most of us have a colander in our kitchens already anyway. Check out how fun this is to press the dough through the colander right into the boiling water!
The noodles only boil for about 3 short minutes, then you skim off the top when they float and remove to a bowl. It couldn’t be easier. Wait, I already said that. I guess I really must mean it!
Given the vegetarian request at our table, I gathered as many vegetables as I could find: 1 eggplant; 6 large carrots; 2 zucchini; 1 yellow squash; 2 red peppers; 2 onions; 2 cups of okra; 1 portobello mushroom; and at the last minute I added 2 pounds of tomatoes. I diced and roasted them all for 1 1/2 hours in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary and thyme. Served over my gluten free spaetzle, it made for a delicious, warm and hearty German-themed vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free meal!
You won’t believe how easy these noodles are to make (even gluten free!) until you try them for yourself. The nutmeg gives them a unique flavor—they weren’t bland and could handle many different types of sauces well.
What a blessing that this challenge was presented to me; I now have a new favorite dish for parties and to add to our family meal rotations – and one I can share with you! Don’t ever let a dietary restriction hold you back, either. Start with an easy recipe like this one and use it as a jumping-off point to create your own wonderful dishes to share with others any time of year!
Gluten Free German Spaetzle Recipe
This simple egg noodle is a delicious foundation for nearly any sauce, veggie combination or meat. Made with my gfJules Flour, it's easy to convert this traditional recipe to gluten free, as well!
Ingredients
- 2 cups gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
Instructions
Whisk together the gfJules gluten-free flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Crack the eggs into another bowl and stir together with the milk to combine the yolks and whites. Pour the egg-milk mixture into the flour bowl while stirring slowly until incorporated and there are no lumps.
Fill a large pot of water halfway and add a dash of salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and set a large colander on top of the pot.
Spoon spaetzle batter into the colander and press through the holes with a rubber spatula; the formed noodles will fall into the hot water. Prepare in batches so as not to overcrowd the noodles—stir gently to separate them.
Cook for approximately 3 minutes. Some recipes indicate that the noodles float when they are ready, but with gluten-free noodles, many will float immediately, so just leave them in the water for 3 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon, skimmer or spider whisk.
Put cooked noodles into another colander and briefly run cold water over them. Set aside in a bowl while cooking the remaining batter.
Just before serving, heat a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil and stir the noodles to coat and heat. Serve warm topped with any sauce, vegetables or meat, or serve plain as a side dish.
Serves 10 when topped with roasted vegetables or meat.
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Made this last week for my family. Have been making spaetzle for years and had not done so since my daughter was diagnosed gluten intolerant. To those criticizing the recipe having used other flours, gf flours are not interchangeable! It takes practice to get used to different flours for different purposes.
I followed this recipe to the letter and had soft tender spaetzle that everyone loved and were surprised were gluten free. Thank you for this and for bringing back a family favourite to our table!
Oh Natalie, I’m so very happy to hear that you and your family were able to enjoy delicious gluten free spaetzle! It’s such a gift to be able to return to family favorites again after someone goes gluten free, and not have to sacrifice anything in taste or texture. You are right that all gluten free flour blends are quite different and many people — especially those new to gluten free — expect that they can simply substitute one for another. At least you (and others having made this gluten free spaetzle with my gfJules Flour) know they can always have authentic tasting spaetzle anytime they like, if they just use my flour — no disappointment there! 🙂
Happy baking!
~jules
I was so excited to see this post until I saw how many eggs are required. Because of an egg allergy, are there any egg substitutes possible?
PS – one my favorite recipes is for buttermilk biscuits. They always turn out beautifully. Thanks for everything.
Barbara
Hi Barbara – so glad you’re loving that gluten free buttermilk biscuits recipe!! And no eggs! 🙂
Regarding the eggs in this recipe, I haven’t had a chance to experiment with substitutes, but check out my article on gluten free egg substitutes and select one or more from there (I like using a mixture of subs when this many eggs are being replaced). I would think a commercial egg sub would need to be at least one of the choices, and perhaps aquafaba or flax egg for another? If you give it a go, let me know how it turns out and what you end up choosing. Best of luck!
Oh, and if it doesn’t work so well, you can always make gluten free ravioli with my recipe since it doesn’t call for eggs at all!
~jules
I think I’m the only one that has the worst luck with this flour. I tried the spaetzle recipe with a different flour once and Jules told me it would work fine with her flour. So I recently ordered a 4# bag of expensive GFJules and my spaetzle was awful! They were so hard and I was making them for paprikas. I could hardly stir the batter and followed the recipe to a T except I didn’t add the nutmeg. I finally added some baking soda in and it helped immensely.
Hi Denise, sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe – I’m wondering if there was an issue with measuring or something? So glad you were able to get it to work out by adding baking soda though! What other recipes have you had a chance to try with my flour since ordering? I don’t know why this one would give you trouble, but I do hope you give it a chance in some others!
~jules
I recently began cooking gluten and dairy free for my wife, as she required this change. I found this recipe easy as I have made spatzle before using regular flours. I even used oat milk to make it dairy free. The consistency was perfect for my spatzle dropper, and three minutes gave the nice shape and firmness. The flavor was quite good and they served nicely with the chicken paprikash I had prepared. Thanks!
I’m thrilled to hear you had such great success with my gluten free spaetzle recipe, David! Good to know that, too, that this recipe works in your spaetzele dropper! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. It sounds like a lovely meal you prepared!!!
~jules
As a professional chef for 20 years I have never come a recipe as horrible as this one! The measurements are all wrong and the dough turned out completely wrong! I have made plenty of spaestzle in my life and now that my girlfriend has gluten allergies I have been trying new recipes for her..my professional opinion/ warning is that u don’t waste ur time trying to use this recipe!! And her disclaimer is that u need to use HER brand of gf flour just trying to reap benefits of her product..sorry ur not fooling me..DO NOT USE THIS RECIPE!!
Hi Bobby, the trouble with going from extensive training with gluten flour to diving into working with gluten free flours is that it’s a completely different world and it’s hard to shake off all the experience and expertise you have acquired over the years to begin again. I have no doubt you have made quite a lot of delicious gluten spaetzle in your day, and you are a good man to want to cook gluten free for your girlfriend now that she has to be gluten free; it will definitely take some getting used to, though. Sometimes it’s quite a bit easier for those who have never cooked or have less experience to learn to cook and bake gluten free because they will read the directions and follow exactly what is written without second guessing the recipe author. Since you are coming at it from a position of gluten experience, you are likely doubting the reasoning for the methods and techniques, as well as the need for specific ingredients. I suggest you have a look at this article on gluten free flours and the differences between individual flours and the various blends and how they work together; it will help you understand exactly why there is such a vast difference between blends and why one is not exchangeable for another. It will also explain why you would have a massive failure if you used a blend that was very different from the gfJules Flour used to develop this recipe. You simply cannot use another gluten free flour blend and expect it to behave the same as if you used one brand of all purpose wheat flour — they are completely different animals altogether.
I hope this helps you on your journey to learn to cook for your girlfriend and to understand that gluten free cooking is brave new world of cooking. It’s not difficult, it’s just totally different. I suggest you follow the recipe authors’ listed ingredients, techniques and measurements until you get the hang of the batters and doughs and then begin to venture out on your own to put your own spin on things. I think you will find less frustration and greater success with time that way. I wish you every success, Bobby.
~jules
I would like to make homemade GF pasta with your flour in my pasta machine. Would this recipe work for that?
CAN i MAKE A BATCH AND FREEZE WHATÈS LET OVERé
Hi Ralston, you can freeze the noodles, yes, but they will be all stuck together, so monitor them closely when you bring them out of the freezer to boil so that you make sure they all separate and boil. Enjoy!
~jules
I tried this recently and I didn’t care for it. I was rather surprised. First that it had that much pepper for just 2 Cups or flour, and we it was pretty strong. Mine turned out hard, not soft at all. Not sure what I did wrong. I make a spaetzle type noodle for my chicken paprika’s but I wouldn’t be able to use this recipe. Are they supposed to be hard and not soft? So, ok…before I posted I read some reviews and I hadn’t received your flour yet so I did use a different GF flour. Would it have made that big of a difference!? PS. Still too much pepper. Lol #ImHungarian
Hi Denise, I appreciate the feedback and pepper (nutmeg as well) is a personal preference, for sure. Just take a note and be sure to add less next time! Regarding the texture of the noodles, they are definitely supposed to be soft! The gluten free flour blend you use makes a HUGE difference. I know you’ll see what I mean as soon as you make this recipe again with my gfJules Flour and you see how soft and light the noodles are. Check out this article on gluten free flours so you know why the blend you use make such a big difference. I can’t wait to hear how your second attempt goes with my gfJules blend!
~jules
I second Jules about using only her flour. It’s so soft and delightful to work with. You’ll know it instantly. It’s just like ‘old times,’ before eliminating gluten!
Do you think it would work if I used chia seed “eggs”?
(1Tbl chia seeds soaked in 1Tbl hot water)
Hi Susan, not sure, as I haven’t tried making any homemade gluten free pasta recipes that call for eggs with a substitute. It’s worth a try, or you could take a look at my article on vegan egg substitutes and see if there’s another you would rather try.
~jules
We loved this recipe the second we saw it. Unfortunately we hadn’t tried your gfJules flour yet, so tried this recipe with one of the big store brands. Failure. We really missed spaetzle since our whole house went gluten free a few years ago. So we decided to try your flour. WOW! What a difference! The dough felt like normal, and when we pressed it through the colander, amazingly, it held together perfectly. A quick boil and we were all on cloud 9. Thanks Jules for your endless stream of recipes and your amazing flour. We’ve made these and raviolis, have breaded fish and pork chops, and we’ve even begun baking more–all because food is GREAT again. None of our friends do anything but compliment us when we feed them our gluten free foods. We’ll never use another kind of GF flour EVER. You’re a God-send.
I’m so happy to hear you didn’t give up, Emily!!! Bring on the great gluten free pasta (and everything else!).
~jules
This looks delicious. I bet it would work GREAT with the sauce left when I cook chicken breasts in the crockpot with gf cream of chicken soup, mushrooms and onions.
Yes, Deb – that would add yummy savory flavor!
~jules
Do you know how many carbs are in these spaetzles? Thank you.
Sorry I don’t have the nutritional content on this recipe, Barbara. You can plug in my gfJules Flour to an on-line nutritional calculator for more information on this recipe, specifically. https://shop.gfjules.com/products/gfjules-all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-1-5-lbs-pack-of-1
~jules
This recipe looks amazing (like all your recipes by the way ;-))
Do you think I could substitute the eggs? With flax-eggs maybe?
Thank you so much for sharing all these delicious recipes!
Aw, thanks Isabelle! I’d try flax eggs first and see how that goes. It’s a little more difficult with shaped noodles when not using eggs. My ravioli recipe works great without eggs, but I’ve had trouble with doughs being extruded or pressed like this one through a colander when eggs aren’t used. Fingers crossed it works for you though, since the noodles don’t have to stay long. Let me know how it goes!
~jules
I am from Germany, when I was told by my Doctor I had to go GF, my response was “that’s not possible, I’m German”, LOL. It wasn’t easy at first, but finding really good quality GF flours like the ones from Jules has been the saving grace. I just made these Spaetzles yesterday. In Bavaria where I’m from, I only ever used water in my recipe for Spaetzle, no milk. So using this recipe, I did the same, I only used water, no milk. They came out really good. I also did not use the nutmeg, as that is also not something traditional for me. So, next week, maybe I’ll try to make Kasespaetzle, now that really sounds good. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I was so happy to have spaetzles again!
I love your response to your doctor! I know how you feel – when there are traditional or family recipes that are a part of your soul and heritage, it’s just so wrong to imagine ever having to go without. So happy you don’t have to any longer! I can’t wait to hear about the Kasespaetzle! Now you have me really intrigued!
Happy baking (again)!
~jules
I know this post is quite some time ago but have you tried making strudel yet??
Thank you for the gluten free version. Recently found out my daughter has got signs of gluten intolerance/sensitivity. Thus new to all this GF recipes.
I’m from Germany and I’m anxious to try this as I’ve recently gone GF due to medical issues. But…. in traditional Spaetzle I’ve never used milk, only eggs, flour and salt. I’m wondering since you’ve posted this have you made any more not using the milk? Or is it because of the GF flour the milk is needed?
Can’t wait to try this with goulash. I used to make spatzle when I lived in Germany years ago. After becoming GF, I sure missed this wonderful dish.
Oh, noodles! LOVE! Those look great. Nothing tastes better than homemade noodles. Thanks for sharing what looks like a great GF version.
Absolutely, Julie! I hope you get to try them soon!
~jules
Wow, that was a lot of food preference boxes to check off! I’ve never attempted to make my own pasta {yet?
}, but you made it look effortless and I admire your dedication to the process. The result looks like such a hearty meal!
Thanks, Audrey! This recipe is surprisingly easy. I hope you try it someday soon. It’s delicious with nearly any toppings, too!
~jules
Will cow’s milk work in this recipe?
Hi Nichole
I’m from Windhoek, and normal cow’s milk do work, and for those that prefer no type of milk a little bit of water works too.
Made speatzle on many occasions, layered like lasange with mushrooms, fried onion and grated cheese. Bake in oven to melt cheese. Yummy !