Where I’m from in Stuttgart, Germany this dish 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 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’ll freely admit that Swabian cuisine is Germany’s best. And I couldn’t agree more.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to homemade Spätzle. The biggest difference is the texture but the flavor also can’t compare. I don’t think we ever used the bought stuff in our home, we always made them from scratch. I have many memories of my brother and I helping her make Spätzle for this dish and others.
Though using the board and scraper method is traditional, most Germans prefer the convenience (and speed) of a Spätzle press, and that’s what we’ve always used.
For this Kaese Spaetzle, however, I made them using the old-fashioned way with the Spaetzle board and scraper. But not exactly by choice – we recently moved to our new home and I still haven’t located the box with my Spaetzle press. So today you’re getting the traditional, bona fide Schwäbische Käsespätzle!
Chewy homemade German egg noodles with caramelized onions and oozing Swiss cheese…….
Comfort food really doesn’t get any better!
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 – our sweet little German girl. 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 Spätzle, southern Germany, and how to make the best homemade Spätzle, see my post for Homemade German Spätzle.
Ready to make some Käsespätzle?
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!
- 1 batch Homemade German Spätzle (can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready use, then let warm to room temperature before baking). Can also use a large bag of store-bought, but homemade strongly recommended.
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 very large onions, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 12 ounces shredded Emmentaler or Jarlsberg (combine some Gruyere for extra flavor)
- Salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Butter a 9x13 (or a little smaller) casserole dish.
- Layer ⅓ of the Spätzle in the bottom of the dish followed by ⅓ of the cheese and ⅓ 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.
My husband is going to love this. I will surprise him with it soon
I love this recipe. I’ve had spätzle a few times, but never in a mac n cheese! This has to be amazing.
I’m with your sweet little girl–I’d want to eat this for breakfast, too. I look forward to trying this very soon.
I’m down for any type of macaroni and cheese! Yours look positively delightful!
Oh! I just love the caramelized onions in this – how delicious!
I adore spatzle and I can see why your little girl wanted this gorgeous cheese-y dish for breakfast!
I think I adore your version WAY more!! SO delicious!
Oh man I really want this mac and cheese! I love that it uses homemade spaetzle. There is so much love in this dish!
Ach! Schmecht gut! Meiner Opa kommt aus Stuttgart Sud–Aichtal/Grotzingen. Und ich habe fur drei Jahre im Deutschland gewonnen. Spatzle sind die beste! Und mit Kase–ausgezeichnet! :o)
(yeah, my German is a bit rusty, but I love busting it out every so often–especially to espouse my love of German food!)
Dee Dee, hey das freut mich zu hören! Ich komm auch aus Stuttgart und obwohl meine Mutter gebürtiger Bayerin ist, ist sie auch in Stuttgart aufgewachsen. I’m totally impressed your German is still that good, especially after having lived in Germany only 3 years. So happy to meet a fellow German food lover! 🙂
I grew up eating very traditional items like spaetzle, leberkas, weisswurst, and my favorite Schwabishe food–what we call “onion pancakes”. They’re thin egg crepes with green onions in them, but then you wrap them around cold cucumber and potato salad. Have you or your mother ever heard of these? We’ve never found anyone else familiar with them, but they were a staple in my grandparent’s house, and still are when my dad gets the motivation to make them. Schmect sehr gut! :o)
Dee Dee, those onion pancakes sound delicious (seriously, I’m going to have to try them!) but no, we’ve never heard of them. I’m pretty certain they must have been your grandparents’ own creation. So treasure it as a culinary family heirloom! 🙂
I’ve never been a huge fan of mac & cheese, but THIS!!! This is completely different! I can’t wait to try it!
I haven’t had restaurant or homemade Spätzle before but I need it! Anything with cheese and noodles is right up my alley!
Solch eine hübsche kleine Dame! She’s adorable. This German Mac-Cheese looks amazing, way better than anything I’ve seen on this side of the pond! You’re right, there’s nothing in the world like homemade spätzle… except maybe German potato dumplings! Can you tell I have a German heritage? I grew up on Apfel Kuchen and Kartoffelsalat. 🙂
Nein, Chris, ich hatte keine Ahnung! Obwohl “Scheuer” offensichtlich Deutsch ist. Very cool! You’ll have to tell me about your German heritage sometime and which part your family came from!
This was prepared by my family when we were visiting the region (20 years ago) and seeing the recipe here brought back the memories of a delicious meal. At dinner I commented that this would be really good for breakfast, and everyone laughed at me, but the next morning there it was, warmed up and sitting next to my plate. I was correct it was delicious for breakfast. I think your baby girl and I are on to something. Thank you for the recipe, it will definite be making an appearance on my table
Those sound like wonderful memories, Jackie. I’m sure making this will be a nice stroll down memory lane for you. And yes, I had some leftovers for breakfast this last time well 🙂
oooooh man. All of that cheesy goodness!!
German Mac and Cheese! I never would have thought to call Käsespätzle like that, but it fits! Funny! 🙂 This is one of my kids’ favorite meals as well, I can never go wrong with Käsespätzle.
Another homerun from the Daring Gourmet! For my birthday dinner I requested German food from my fiancé. Having tried several of your recipes in the past, she knew she couldn’t go wrong coming here for inspiration. This Kasespatzle was AMAZING! You are absolutely right, the onions are what really make it. We had this along with your Senfbraten and I was in heaven. My mother is an amazing cook and even she said it was one of the best meals she’d ever had. Great work!
I’m so happy it was such a hit, Steve, and happy belated birthday! Käsespätzle AND Senfbraten…it sounds like you have a terrific fiancé, congratulations! 🙂
Kimberly, I have an all-day work meeting at a friend’s house coming up Monday and I wondered if I could layer the casserole Sunday and refrigerate overnight, take to her home Monday, and bake it there? It seems like something that can sit and wait, but it seemed worth asking first.
Hi Valerie, yes you can absolutely do that and thanks for asking because I’m sure others will wonder the same thing. Happy cooking and please let us know what your colleagues think of the Käsespätzle!
Gott im Himmel schemckt sehr gut! I made this for Christmas eve dinner and everyone loved it. My mother often made spatzle, but never added the cheese or the onions. The onions absolutely make this a hit, and as Kimberly says, don’t skimp on them. Although my heritage is German, I live in the southwest and make tamales every Thanksgiving weekend. I always considered them the ultimate comfort food, but das Kassespatzle ist jetzt der Konig. Not sure how to say “comfort food” in German. Gemutlich essen???
This made me smile, Hanswurst, thanks so much for the feedback! 🙂
Vielen Dank für das leckere Rezept. Ich hatte es fast schon vergessen. Ich bin mit Spätzle und Zwiebelkuchen aufgewachsen. Komme aus Tuttlingen. Echter Schwabe aber lebe schon 60 Jahre in Kanada. Wie made the “Mac and cheese” with left over ham or bacon mixed in. Maybe my mothers variation. Thanks again.
Hallo Rosita und vielen Dank! Das freut mich dass es dir gefallen hat. Und es freut mich auch noch ein Echter Schwabe kennenzulernen 🙂 Combining ham and bacon sounds delicious, thanks for sharing your mother’s variation! Kind regards, Kimberly
Hallo Kimberly, ich kommen von Heilbronn und bin ein echter Schwab.
Ich bin auch aufgewachsen an Linsen und spaetzle und
Knacksurst oder saitenwurst
Hallo Marianne! Linsen und Spätzle mit Saitenwurst is one of my many favorite Swabian dishes. I make it the way my Oma and mother taught me, with bacon, vinegar and just the right touch of sugar. Delicious! https://www.daringgourmet.com/swabian-style-german-lentils-with-spaetzle-schwabische-linsen-mit-spatzle/
Sounds delicious! For kasespaetzle, you don’t sauté the spaetzle before layering in the casserole dish? It just goes in after the boil?
Thanks,
Mark
Thanks, Mark! Correct, no sauteing first, just straight into the casserole dish after boiling. Happy cooking!
So, if I made the spaetzle the day before and had it in the refrig, how does that effect the baking time? Or should I heat it a bit first? If so, how do you recommend heating?
Btw, your food and site are SO wonderful that not only did I buy the spaetzle maker (I’ve always wanted to make spaetzle), but I’m now looking at German classes at the local night school. I always regretted that I didn’t study German and with the whole German food world out there, I’m thinking “Better Late Than Never!!”
Keep up the beautiful work!!
That is so exciting and thank you so much! 🙂 For the refrigerated Spätzle, I would just take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for a few minutes. No need to reheat it and it won’t really make a difference in the baking time. Have fun with your German classes and upcoming cooking adventures! 🙂
My husbands family is from Switzerland and we make a dish almost exactly like this but use elbow noodles and salt and cook on a double boiler for about 3 hrs. I have never seen a recipe so close to ours. We have always called them Swiss noodles. I am going to have to try the fresh pasta and baking it. Wow!
Hi Jessi, I think you’ll really love the texture of the fresh Spätzle and few things beat the crispy browned edges of the baked Swiss cheese – heaven! 🙂
Hello. This looks amazing and like something I would cook. I wanted to ask if a “regular” ricer would work? I say regular because I can’t change the size of the holes. They are around the size of thick spaghetti.
Thank you.
Hi Omar, you’ll probably have a real struggle trying to get the dough through the ricer, I wouldn’t recommend it.
My Dad was a cheesemaker and when he came here he made his with brick, Swiss and Limburger. It was also made on the stove top, not baked. The pan was not fun to clean, but it was so good!
Anything with lots of strong cheese is heaven in my book, Audrey! 🙂
Ich komme aus Heilbronn am Neckar,also auch ein Schwabe.Meine Mutter hat das öfter gekocht.Vielen Dank für die Erinnerungen