One of the most beloved of all Swabian dishes, Kasespatzle (German Cheese Spaetzle) is everything great comfort food should be!
How to Make Kasespatzle
Where I’m from in Stuttgart, Germany, Kasespatzle is a classic – a quintessential Swabian comfort food dish. Homemade Spätzle are layered with gobs of shredded Emmentaler and geröstete Zwiebeln (caramelized onions) and then baked in the oven. I guess you could say it’s Germany’s version of mac and cheese.
Käsespätzle (cheese spaetzle) was a favorite dish in our home and we always looked forward to it when my mom would make it. Though Bavarian by birth she spent her later childhood through young adult years in Stuttgart and she’ll freely admit that Swabian cuisine is Germany’s best. And I couldn’t agree more. Here is a thoroughly authentic Kasespatzle recipe just like my mom always made it.
Nothing compares to homemade Spaetzle and I highly recommend making it yourself. Get our recipe for Authentic German Spaetzle.
If you love pasta and cheese and caramelized onions you will definitely LOVE this Kasespatzle!
Chewy homemade German egg noodles oozing with Swiss cheese and topped with butter caramelized onions…..
Comfort food really doesn’t get any better than this!
We had this for dinner and the next morning our 3 year old daughter requested it for breakfast! You’ve never heard so many exclamations of “oooh” and “yummmyyyy” before. She’s taking after her mommy and Omi (German grandmother). She even devoured every last bit of caramelized onion and then went about her play, zapping things with her magic wand.
If you’d like to know more about Spaetzle, southern Germany, and how to make the best homemade Spätzle, see my post for Homemade German Spaetzle.
Ready to make some Kasespatzle?
Let’s get started!
Melt the butter in a medium-sized heavy stock pot or Dutch oven.
Add the onions and stir occasionally for 20-30 minutes until deeply caramelized. Halfways into it sprinkle with a little salt and sugar to help with the caramelizing.
Get them really nice and brown.
While the onions are cooking make the Spätzle.
Make one batch of my Homemade German Spätzle.
Set the Spätzle aside until ready to use (they can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use).
Shred the cheese.
Käsespätzle is only as good as the quality of Swiss cheese you use. Do yourself a favor and get the good stuff. No, the American Swiss cheese just doesn’t cut it. Get some European-imported Swiss cheese. Emmentaler and Jarlsberg are both good options. I often like to combine it with some strong Gruyere for extra flavor.
The other key: Lots and lots of deeply caramelized onions. Don’t skimp on these. Use two jumbo-sized onions. The more caramelized onions, the better the Käsepätzle will be.
Butter a 9×13 (or slightly smaller) casserole dish. Place a third of the Spätzle in the bottom of dish, followed by a third of the cheese and a third of the caramelized onions. Sprinkle some salt over each layer.
Repeat until you’ve completed all the layers, ending with the cheese and the onions on top.
Bake the Spätzle uncovered at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the some of the edges have just started to get crispy.
Serve immediately. A light sprinkling of chopped parsley always adds a bit of color and class.
Enjoy!
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German Cheese Spaetzle (Schwäbische Käsespätzle)
Ingredients
- 1 batch Homemade German Spätzle (about 5 cups cooked Spätzle, can use store-bought if preferred), can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready use, then let warm to room temperature before baking.
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 very large onions chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 12 ounces shredded Emmentaler or Jarlsberg (Swiss-like from Norway, mild) (you can also add some Gruyere for extra flavor)
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Butter a 9x13 (or a little smaller) casserole dish.
- Layer 1/3 of the Spätzle in the bottom of the dish followed by 1/3 of the cheese and 1/3 of the caramelized onions. Repeat, sprinkling each layer with some salt, ending with cheese and onions on top.
- Bake for 10 minutes or longer until the cheese is melted and the edges are just beginning to get a little crispy.
- Serve immediately.
- Makes great leftovers.
Vicky says
This looks fantastic. Will be my first time making spatzle but my youngest son requested pork schnitzel so i thought i’d go the whole hog lol. I got some emmental but they also had some smoked gruyere in the store today so i got some and will add that as well. Really looking forward to trying it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Vicky, your family is in for a real treat! Please let us know how it all goes!
Dolores Pap says
THE star dish at our Father’s Day celebration!
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything better.. :-)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Woohooooo!! That’s so awesome, Dolores, thank you! :)
Clare Fletcher says
4 Stars because I think it would be helpful to rewrite the directions. This recipe is so authentic and delicious just like everything else on the website. But, if you scroll past the story and just look at the ingredients and instructions, you will miss how to caramelize the onions… I left out the sugar all together because it was no where in the official “instructions” at the bottom of the page. Nevertheless, it was still super tasty.
Christopher C. says
I would make it from scratch, but I ended up buying a bag of the dry Bechtle Spatzle. I do have Ementaler and Gruyere cheese. I will add bacon as well. Maybe, I’ll make it from scratch next time. But for now, I just want to know know how many cups of cooked spatzle should I use for this recipe? Thank You!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Christopher, you’ll need about 5 cups of cooked Spätzle which is about one large bag of dried Spätzle.
Sue/CA says
I’ve made this recipe 3 years in a row for an Octoberfest party.
Delicious. I suggest using another large onion when cooking them.
The first two years I used a cheese grater over a pot to make the Spaetzle. But this year I bought the inexpensive pan and scraper off Amazon. It worked perfectly. The recipe is right on…. I didn’t add any extra flour.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Sue, I’m so happy to hear that and appreciate the feedback!
Annette says
I am from Mainz, Germany and will search for Käsespätzle in every restaurant when I go back to visit. I only had a little bit of Emmentaler, so I added Manchego cheese and it turned out fabulous as well!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Annette, thanks so much for the feedback!
Jenn says
This dish is absolutely fabulous. A huge hit! I used jarlsberg and it was perfect.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Jenn, thank you so much!
Nancy Roop says
Can I assemble this the day before, refrigerate,
and bake the next day?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Absolutely, Nancy! Happy cooking!
Debbie Chadwick says
I made this for dinner tonight did not have enough Emmentaller so I used Jarhlsburg and a little Limburger. It was soooooo good. Do you have a recipe for Jaeger sauce for schnitzel?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Debbie, thank you, and that touch of Limburger sounds yummy! Yes, here’s the Jägerschnitzel recipe and in the recipe box is a link to the gravy:https://www.daringgourmet.com/authentic-german-jagerschnitzel-hunter-schnitzel-with-mushroom-gravy/ Read that note at the bottom of the gravy recipe about omitting the vinegar and thyme. Also, if you prefer a creamy gravy for your Schnitzel simply add a dash of heavy cream at the end.
Steve King says
Im Allgäu wir essen Käsespätzle von nur eine große Schüssel im Mitte de Tisch. Alle hat eine Löffel und wenn’s Käsespätzle fertig ist (viele Arbeit!) dann Auf Geht’s bis alles weg sind. Ein guten Gurkensalat da zu mit eine Scheibe Schwarzbrot und unser Leben ist sehr gut. Meine Oma und meine Mutter hat immer de besten Käsespätzle gemacht. Gute Zeiten! Lecker!
Garrett says
Thanks for sharing. This is an incredible dish. I have this as much as possible when I am in Germany. Yes, I will have it several nights when I am on my vacation there. Some nice German woman while climbing the Ulm Church Steeple wrote the name on a business card and I just show it to the waiter when I get to the restaurant and see if they have it. Once in Rothenburg they did not have it on the menu but the chef made if for me anyway. It is sooooo good…. Like Macaroni and cheese on STEROIDS!!!! I love this dish and can’t wait to get back to Germany this summer. Really amazing country with so much to offer. The schnitzel and Bavarian pretzels and beer and apple strudel are also amazing!!! And pork hock.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Agreed, Garrett, there are so many delicious dishes and Germany itself is absolutely breathtaking! Käsespätzle has always been a favorite of mine, it’s SO good!