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Nokedli are Hungarian noodles which are very similar to German Spätzle. Best part is that they come together in absolutely no time and taste divine. Serve them drizzled with butter, or as a side dish to any saucy dishes.
For Hungarians, Nokedli is always served with traditional dishes like Chicken Paprikash, Goulash or Pörkölt. I personally would put them in Hungarian Mushroom Soup as well.
What is Nokedli
Nokedli are homemade egg noodles that come together very quickly. You’ll only need a few simple ingredients like eggs, flour, salt, and a little bit of water (depending on the consistency).
First, you drop the dough into boiling salted water and….voila…noodles are done. Admittedly though, there are few different techniques on how to make the Nokedli, which you can find below.
Hungarian noodles are similar to their cousin German Spätzle, which are also served with all sorts of meat sauces or gravies. But these egg noodles are popular throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
In Poland, for instance, you’d call them “lay-down noodles,” because they’re submerged in hot boiling water by laying them down with a spoon (we Poles are creative).
What is needed to make Hungarian noodles
As mentioned above, for the ingredients you’ll need:
- Flour
- Eggs
- Water
- Salt
- Sour cream (optional)
TIP1: Although not a traditional ingredient, sour cream can do a world of good for these awesome noodles. The fat in sour cream can help break down the gluten, so the noodles come out super soft and not chewy or hard.
TIP2: if you have the time, let the dough rest for 30 minutes before dropping them into the water. The noodles will be even softer.
The amount of water will vary depending on the size of your eggs. If you want to pour the dough through the holes, see on the pictures below what the consistency of it should be. If you use the knife technique described below your dough should be thicker.
Add flour, egg and cream to the bowl
Add a little bit of water and mix
Your dough is ready
Hungarian Nanny Testimonial (!)
I made these Nokedli the other day for dinner with Pörkölt (a traditional Hungarian beef and onion stew, which will be featured on the blog soon) and gave it to my nanny to try. Mind you, she’s an older Hungarian lady who was born and raised in Hungary. When I mentioned that I intended to make these, she proclaimed to have eaten them every day. So, the bar was raised.
Well, obviously this dish would’ve died in my kitchen if it failed to meet the mark. Actually, she said these were exactly how her grandma used to make. That’s quite the testimonial!
She was also super surprised to learn that I found the Nokedli maker on Amazon. She has never seen one in the US and whenever she wanted to make the noodles, she would use one of the methods described below to make them without the device (FYI, I know what I’m getting her for her birthday).
Techniques to make Hungarian Nokedli
Basically, to make these noodles you’ll need to bring a big pot of water to boil. Salt it as you would water for pasta, and then drop the dough into it. Here are a couple of techniques on how to do this:
- In my opinion, the easiest way to make these noodles is by using the Nokedli or Spatzle maker. The one I found on Amazon is absolutely amazing. See how I make it here:
Add first batch of dough to the Nokedli maker and move it along
Add another batch and move the square part along to push the dough down to the hot water
And your noodles are ready when they come to the surface and boil for a minute or two
- But if you don’t want to have another piece of equipment in your kitchen try one of these methods:
- The back of a cheese grater, with big holes; where you can pour the dough through and use a spatula push it down into the boiling water;
- A colander, with big holes, with a similar technique as above; pushing the dough through the holes into the boiling water;
- Placing the dough on a wet cutting board (angled above your water) and then cut little pieces of dough with the back of your knife straight into the boiling water. If you decide to use this technique, your dough should be slightly thicker than the one you would push through the holes (use less water or no water at all).
If this is a dish that you remember from your childhood, please share your experience(s). And if your family uses a different technique, please share it with all of us in the comments below – other readers would greatly appreciate it.
Other Homemade Recipes to Try
If you like this homemade European recipe from scratch you may also like:
- Pierogi with Sauerkrout and Mushrooms
- Pierogi with Potatoes and Cheese
- Mushroom “Ear” Pierogi
- European Potato Pancakes
- European Breakfast Rolls
Find your printable recipe here:
Nokedli (Hungarian Egg Noodles)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Flour All-purpose
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt Kosher
- 2 Eggs Large
- 2 tbsp Sour Cream Optional
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup Water
Instructions
- Place flour with salt in a bowl and whisk.
- Add eggs and sour cream and start mixing.
- Add water starting from 1/2 cup and you can go as much as to 3/4 cup.
- Mix all the ingredients but don't overdo it. The lumps are fine.
- Bring a big pot of water to boil and salt it as much as you would salt the water for pasta.
- Using one of the methods described in the notes pour the dough onto the boiling water.
- Let the noodles come to the surface and boil for a minute. Remove from the pot and serve.
Notes
- The easiest way to make these noodles is by using the Nokedli or Spatzle maker.
- But if you don’t want to have another piece of equipment in your kitchen try one of these methods:
- The back of a cheese grater, with big holes; where you can pour the dough through and use a spatula push it down into the boiling water;
- A colander, with big holes, with a similar technique as above; pushing the dough through the holes into the boiling water;
- Placing the dough on a wet cutting board (angled above your water) and then cut little pieces of dough with the back of your knife straight into the boiling water. If you decide to use this technique, your dough should be slightly thicker than the one you would push through the holes (use less water or no water at all).
Nutrition
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This is making me drool. Sorry not made it yet so can’t rate it but I do have many memories as a child of my late nanny’s fried making nokedli and most times she did she would make sure to invite me as she knew I was crazy about them. Hers however were huge rectangular blocks so guess she cut them. They were always serves with the sauce from a pork roast. So good! She wasn’t Hungarian though but I can’t remember what country around there.
I have a potato ricer that comes with two stainless steel disks. One is fine for mashed potato and the other is with larger holes for lovely little nokedli. You just add the dough and squeeze then cut it off as it’s going into the water. I can’t wait to try your recipe ASAP!
These articles should came with a warning, do NOT read just b Dinnertime. I wish we had decent restaurant that served food from that part of Europe. Unfortunately Fort Lauderdale doesn’t have one
Wayne
I made these with your Hungarian Goulash recipe and it was amazing! 5 stars.
It was my first time making these so I followed the recipe to the letter. I had to make it twice. It only needed 2 tablespoons of water in addition to the eggs and sour cream.
My Nagymama and Nagypapa used to make nokedli as a child. Brings back so many memories, I would have a big bowl topped with sour cream. Now as an adult I enjoy with other recipes such as chicken or mushroom paprikash . Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent!
My husband’s grandparent were from Hungary, and made Hungarian Sour Cream Chicken Paprikash. Your recipe is about as genuine as it gets!!
However, my mom-in-law made the recipe from the grandparents and it did not have alot of paprika….wondering if two tablespoons are too many or just right for a one chicken recipe. Seems it was pinkish and not real RED.
I tried my recipe which is similar to yours (no tomato sauce or paste) and added two tbsp paprika and 1 tsp garlic which I love. It was delicious! Thank you so much!!