This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read our disclosure policy.
I want to share one of my favorite childhood comfort foods with you. Knoephla Soup is simply the best. It is of German origin and a Swabian classic dish. This Knoephla Soup recipe comes from the heart of my Grandmother’s kitchen and I hope Doris can impart a bit of that love on your family.
Knoephla soup is one of those recipes that both tastes delicious and brings me back to childhood. If you don’t know what knoephla soup is, you are in for a treat. If you do, this recipe is really a great from-scratch take on the classic German recipe that you know, love, and is part of our knoephla soup series. Try out this rich, buttery, creamy traditional German soup today and make some Knoephla soup!
What Is Knoephla Soup?
It is a chicken-based dumpling soup that has cream, butter, and a few different vegetables. Typically, you will find potatoes, carrots, and celery in the soup. Then, there are the dumplings, which make it Knoephla Soup. We previously wrote about the origins and history of German Knöpfle dumplings and this soup, so that can give you a good historical context.
If I were to plainly describe it, I would say it is a fat-filled, creamy, dumpling soup. Knoephla soup is hearty, tasty, and hits many comfort food check boxes. This is not a light recipe, although some changes could be made to lighten it up a bit. None of those changes I would recommend. 😉
Memories of Knoephla Soup
On a personal note, I have very fond memories of this soup. I know that many people looking at food blogs don’t want to hear the story and usually, I do not include stories. This one is different, as this soup holds a place in my heart. Scroll to the bottom if you just want to get to the recipe.
I cooked this soup with my grandmother, Doris, and remember being a young kid trying to help her make this soup. Food can bring people to a time-place and this brings me to my grandma’s kitchen in the early 1980s. I can imagine the first time I cooked this with her and visualize everything about their kitchen in Enderlin, North Dakota.
Not only does this recipe bring me closer to my loved ones that are no longer here, but I think it provides a connection with my heritage and the world. I am celebrating a dish that my ancestors made. Other people in my region are doing the same thing. When make knoephla, I feel like I am creating connections with my heritage and I hope I can share some of those feelings with you.
Me sharing this recipe with you maybe will inspire you to make it and we can have that connection. Just you, me, and Doris sharing this bond through food. No matter our backgrounds and how different we think we are, food is something we all share. A great dish can bring unlikely people together. Who knows. Perhaps, our bond will extend to your family when they taste this lovely soup.
Use Homemade Chicken Stock If You Can
We just got done sharing our Chicken Stock recipe and I would recommend using this, or a similar, recipe to make the best soup. I also understand that this could take some time and the boxed chicken stock is a reasonable substitute. If you do substitute your chicken stock, remember that your final product will be reflective of the ingredients you choose. If you pick a higher quality store-bought chicken stock, you are going to have a better soup.
Flour Roux For Thickening
This is not necessary, but I like to make my broth nice and thick. The flour dumplings and a rich stock are going to help with this, but one thing I like to do is to add some flour at the beginning, as well. If I make a little roux at the beginning, it can help create a knoephla soup that is thick and delicious.
The Dumplings
The dumpling recipe is relatively straightforward and requires only a few ingredients. These can be made while your potatoes and veggies are cooking. In my instructions, I roll them out, but I gotta tell you my occasional cheat. I will mix the ingredients in the bowl and instead of rolling them out, I will take a small spoon and when the time is appropriate, just spoon them up and dump them in the soup.
This only saves a few minutes and there are a few drawbacks. Since I am adding the dumplings over a longer interval, I do get some inconsistent cook times. Additionally, the size of the dumplings isn’t uniform which can have an impact on both cooking time and how big they are.
To be safe, just roll out your dumplings, but in the future just keep these small timesavers in your pocket for thought.
Knoephla Soup Leftovers Are The Best
Sometimes I think about making this soup and then just putting it in the fridge overnight because the leftovers are THAT good. I think what happens is that the flour from the dumplings sort of invades the rest of the soup and you get this super nice, thick dumpling soup. I absolutely adore knoephla soup leftovers and wouldn’t even consider making this soup without an expectation that I am making enough for leftovers.
Tips For Making This Recipe
- Using homemade chicken stock will give the best results, but boxed works well, as well.
- If you are running short on time, you can shorten the cooking process by not rolling out the dough and using a spoon to quickly make the dumplings. I recommend rolling, but I do this shortcut occasionally.
- Frozen dumplings would be fine for saving time, but homemade is better!
Products I Used In This Recipe
Did You Try This Recipe?
I am so glad you gave it a try or are going to. It is a very popular soup in my region and one of the dishes of my life I adore. If you like what we are doing here, please take a minute to subscribe to get updates via email, follow me on Instagram, and follow me on Pinterest. Let us know how your cook went in the comment area below and give us a rating.
Print
Knoephla Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 Hour
- Yield: 8 Bowls 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: German
Description
If you need a delicious, comforting, creamy, dumpling soup, Knoephla Soup is right up your alley. This German dish is very popular in some regions of the upper midwest and when you try it, you will know why.
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- 4 Celery Stocks, chopped
- 4 Carrots, Chopped
- 1/4 Cups flour
- 4 Medium Potatoes, Chopped
- 8 Cups Chicken Stock
- Salt to taste
- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
For Dumplings:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 Teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In large pot, add butter and put on low to allow butter to melt
- Once melted, add carrots and celery
- Cook on low for 5 minutes
- Stir in 1/4 cup flour
- Add 1 cup of Chicken Stock to the soup and mix to incorporate the flour
- Add rest of stock
- Add potatoes
- Turn to medium-high and cook until potatoes are tender (about 30-40 minutes)
- While potatoes are cooking make dumplings
- Mix all dumpling ingredients in a bowl and combine well
- Divide into two pieces just to make easier to work with
- Roll each piece out with your hand so it is approximately 1 inch in diameter and like a rope
- If needed sprinkle with flour to make easier to work with
- cut into 1-inch dumpling pieces and set aside.
- Add any needed salt to the soup.
- Once potatoes are tender, add dumplings to soup
- Cook for 5 minutes
- Remove from heat
- Add cream and stir
- serve
Notes
- Using homemade chicken stock will give the best results, but boxed works well, as well.
- If you are running short on time, you can shorten the cooking process by not rolling out the dough and using a spoon to quickly make the dumplings. I recommend rolling, but I do this shortcut occasionally.
- Frozen dumplings would be fine for saving time, but homemade is better!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 Total
- Calories: 414 Calories
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1892 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 11 g
- Cholesterol: 102 mg
How delicious! I’m drooling because it reminds me of the soup my grandpa used to make. He would make his own dumplings too, though we would never have such large veggies in it. I’m sure there are different variations.
It is so nummy.
I have never heard of this soup but boy it looks good! It would be perfect comfort food on a cold day and it seems like it would be so filling. I’ve never made dumpling before but you make it look approachable. Great recipe!
They are easy to make and this soup is totally worth it!
Traditional German/Swabian “Knöpfle” (“buttons”) are made of spelt/Dinkel flour – bc at ancient times (without a supermarket around) that crop was able to survive the cold winters at the Swabian Alb.
Wanna know if your area was known for having German food? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoX4SYHnmi0
:o)
So good! And easy. But…had to add onion, need the other holy trinity present. And I might lose my German’ness if I didnt include onions, lol.
I was wonderin….. 🙂 Thanks for trying it Christina!
Could you replace the flour with corn starch in the soup?
Could you replace white flour with a different kind. I’m not really suppose to eat white four, but if you can’t I don’t think some dumplings would matter (once in a while).
As much as I would love to say yes… I am thinking no. Maybe you could try wheat flour? You are definitely going to get a more distinct taste. I think white flour is a big part of the equation in this recipe.
A bakery in my college town serves up “potato dumpling” soup daily. I’m long out of college, but over the years, I’ve tried, but failed, to duplicate that soup. I just had some from that bakery recently and have a renewed effort to duplicate it. I feel very strongly that this is going to be it and I couldn’t be more excited! If only I’d known what it was actually called all these years! Thank you!
Let me know how it goes! If you are into creamy, butter, soupy goodness… I have a feeling this will hit the mark. 🙂
Thank you for this! I am from Dickinson, living in Ohio, and am often homesick. During this pandemic, this was the comfort food I needed. Thank you for helping me!
I 100% understand how this recipe can help bring a person ‘home’ and happy you found comfort in it. Stay safe!
Recipe turned out great! Love knoephla soup and this one doesn’t disappoint!
Thanks for giving it a try!