This recipe for vegan Spinach Spaetzle is not only easy to make but also rich in iron and calcium. The Spaetzle are served with a delicious cheese sauce and fried onions. A great German/Austrian dish veganized!
Spaetzle are a very popular dish in the german-speaking area. Spätzle or often called Knöpfle, are normally made with a lot of eggs, so I was pleasantly surprised that it worked that well, when I made a vegan version of it. I do have another Spaetzle Recipe on the blog, but this one is a tiny bit adapted and it's with Spinach! Yumm! Also I've been trying to cook with ingredients that do have a lot of iron. I love the green color of the Spaetzle. ^.^
I've added some cheese shreds & a little bit of soy cuisine to the Spaetzle afterward to make a creamy, dreamy cheese sauce. And, of course, some fried onions on top! Alternatively, you can serve the Spaetzle with a simple soy cream sauce, add them to Goulash, ... There are a lot of possibilities, but I really love Spinach Spaetzle with vegan cheese!
This is the consistency the dough/batter should have. It's a sticky, slimy & gooey dough, but this one works best! Oh, and look at the vibrant color ^.^
If you have a Spaetzle Maker, you won't have any problems making the Spaetzle and it's very easy. However, there are different devices you can use: A Spaetzle Board, a Spaetzle Press, a Spaetzle Lid or like I did, a Spaetzle Maker.
Spinach Spaetzle
Ingredients
Ingredients for the spinach spaetzle
- 2 cups all-purpose-flour
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 1 cup water + more for boiling the spaetzle
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ground pepper
Ingredients for the cheesy sauce
- ½ cup of your favorite vegan cheese shreds I used Wilmersburger
- a splash of soy cuisine Alpro
- salt to taste
- ½ onion
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water until it's ¾ full and bring it to a boil.
- Meanwhile wash the spinach and put it in a blender along with the cup of water and blend until completely smooth and thin.
- Put the flour in a mixing bowl, add in the spinach water, salt & pepper and whisk until it's a sticky dough (like in the photo above).
- Once the water is boiling you can place the Spaetzle Maker on top of the pot.
- Fill it the Spaetzle Maker with the dough and move the it up and down until all the dough is pressed into the water. (Depending on the size of your Spaetzle Maker you may have to make the Spaetzle in two rounds)
- The Spaetzle will swim on the surface once they are done (which should be in a minute or two).
- Use a skimmer to transfer the Spaetzle in a drainer, pour some cold water over them to prevent them from sticking together, drain and carefully add them in a hot, lightly oiled pan.
- Cut the onion in rings and fry the rings in a separate pan.
- Add the cheese shreds and a splash of soy cuisine to the Spaetzle and stir. Add salt to taste.
- Once the cheese melted the dish is ready to serve.
- Transfer the Spinach Spaetzle on a plate and top with the fried onions.
Notes
Nutrition
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Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
Spaetzel! I've only made it once, and it definitely wasn't vegan. For some reason I always confuse it with gnocchi...not sure why because they are from completely different countries' cuisines :D haha. I think it's the textural similarity. Anyways, this looks delicious: easy, egg free, and green! Much, much healthier than the last time I made it :)
bianca says
Spaetzle are usually made with a lot of eggs so it was great so see that they turn out delicious as well, when making a vegan version of them. Gnocchi are made out of potatoes and Spaetzle are made out of flour & water basically, but they look kind of similar, so I totally get that :) And you're so right about the texture! I loved how they kept their green color from the spinach. I think they even look healthy :D Thank you so much for your lovely comment and I've love to hear how they turned out for you if you give this recipe a try :)
Nicole @ Vegan Nom Noms says
This looks so yummy! I've been meaning to try my hand and making spätzle for ages. Living in Germany and all it's long overdue!
bianca says
Yes! You should totally make those. It's practically your obligation to make Spätzle when living in Germany :D
Alice@Aliciouslog says
More green food - I see a clear choice of colour here :)
Spätzle (or Nockerl) used to be among my favourite foods. When Mum asked me what I wanted to eat on my birthday, it was usually Eiernockerl (spaetzle with eggs). Since becoming vegan I haven't had any spaetzle at all but this recipe looks like something I could make too. Since I picked a few handfuls of wild garlic yesterday, I'll probably use it instead of the spinach though. Already looking forward to it...mhhmmmmm :)
bianca says
Hah! Yes! I've been craving spinach lately and I bought huuuge packages full of it so I had enough to make all my favorite dishes with spinach. Green Power ^.^ I've always loved Spätzle too and I never thought I'd eat it again, but believe me, it works great without the eggs! You could even add in some kala namak (indian black salt) to make them taste more eggy. Wild garlic is a great idea as well! Yumm, I bet this tastes amazing :D