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.
- To make the caramelized onions: 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. Halfway into it sprinkle with a little salt and sugar to help with the caramelizing. Get the onions nice and brown.
- 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. This makes great leftovers!
Nutrition
el says
Hi,
“Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 (or a little smaller) casserole dish.!
Steht auf metrisch, aber im Text ist immer noch US. Also wieder rumsuchen.
El
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
This site is based in the U.S. but I still take the time to provide metric conversions for most of my recipes. Simply click on “Metric” to the right of the ingredients list. As to the oven temperature and pan size, you can very quickly find those conversion through a simple google search. And that will take you less time than “wieder rumsuchen.”
Ameya says
Just tried this, Was super delicious :) Mixed emmentaler, cheddar and Jarlsberg. Gruyere isn’t available in India.
I added three large onions and brown sugar and it was magical. Looking forward to try your other recipes!
Ameya from you India
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Ameya, I’m happy that you enjoyed it!
Jennifer says
This looks so amazing. I’m wondering if it can be made ahead of time? Perhaps put it together ahead of time and then bake it just before serving? I’m having my first Oktoberfest party and I’m trying to figure out what can be made ahead of time and what can’t.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jennifer, absolutely. Everything can be made the day before, assembled in the casserole dish, and then baked just before serving.
Susan says
Made your Käsespätzle last night. So good! We left Stuttgart at the end of February and have mostly indulged in Mexican food of late. This was a welcome and delicious change. Should have doubled the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Susan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Lyndsay says
Hi, Kimberly! This looks delicious and I will be making it tonight, but I’m wondering why the instructions on caramelizing the onions are missing from the recipe. I see them in the blog post, but would be helpful to have them in the recipe. Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Lyndsay, I don’t know what happened there but I’m glad you caught it – thank you! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Happy cooking! :)
Peter Zimmer says
Looks yummy, will try it real soon. My question for you, and for most other cookbook and recipe writers is: Why don’t you give us a weight for those “2 very large Onions”? It would be helpful just in case we only have smaller onions on hand…
Last night I used your Spaetzle recipe with whole wheat, just 2 XL eggs and no stand mixer – mixed in a big bowl and beat with a wooden spoon, made them with a wet wooden board and knife, like my grandmother used to do (though not as fast and evenly). Also grated in some nutmeg,as she did. Super good… Left-over to fry for lunch.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad your whole wheat Spätzle was a success, Peter! That’s a fair question about the onions. And that same question would apply to many other vegetables called for in recipes, e.g., “two large carrots” (what is “large”?), “3 celery ribs” (how big?), “4 cloves garlic” (what size?), “1 small leek” (how small?), etc. I think the answer is simply that in most cases an exact weight isn’t necessary; whether you end up using more or less of that vegetable than is “intended” to be used, it will be fine either way. Such is the case with the onion in this Käsespätzle recipe. (I for one consider the caramelized onions to be the star of the show here so I use extra onions!)
Alison says
I can’t believe I didn’t leave a comment the first time I made this last April. It turned out so well! Delicious and just the comfort food I was craving. I finally got to use the spätzle maker I bought years ago. I’m making it again this week because real Emmental was on sale (like a crazy amount less than normal) at the grocery store. Thanks for your recipes. Next up, I want to try the zwiebelkuchen. :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Alison, I’m so glad it was a hit and I hope you enjoy the Zwiebelkuchen as well! <3
Deanne Ashton says
My hubby has spent a lot of time in and around Stuttgart for work and has fallen in love with Swabian cuisine. He’s not been able to travel and misses some of his favorite dishes. I just made this cheese spaetzle with some fresh spaetzle bought at Lidl (we live in Ireland now),and it was a hit! I’ll be cooking my way through your other German recipes in due course. I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog. Many thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Deanne, thank you!
Ingrid says
My husband and I lived in Mannheim for a time and käsespätzle was our favorite. My husband has since been diagnosed with celiac disorder, so hasn’t been able to enjoy käsespätzle in some time. I made your spätzle recipe with gluten-free flour and it miraculously turned out very well. Using this recipe for käsespätzle was also a wise choice. It was fantastic! Exactly how I remember it being in Germany. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That is so good to know, Ingrid, thanks so much for letting us know! I’m sure our readers will appreciate this info as well. I’m thrilled you enjoyed both of the recipes, thank you!
Anonymous says
Took it to a party and it was a big hit. They asked for the recipe.
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!