This traditional recipe teaches you how to make delicious and authentic German potato dumplings. These hearty dumplings are the perfect side dish for any meal. Serve them with beef rouladen, roast beef, or sauerbraten.
Soft and tender potato dumplings are a delicious and classic side dish everyone can enjoy. They can be served as part of almost any main course, German or not, or as part of a vegetarian meal, as long as you cook them in water or vegetable broth.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Potatoes: use russet potatoes for the most tender results.
- Flour: or potato starch. Potato starch can be difficult to find.
- Eggs: slightly beaten. They help hold the mix together and turn it into a dough.
- Nutmeg: just a touch for a hint of spice and depth of flavor
- Chicken broth: you can substitute water or vegetable broth
How to Make Potato Dumplings
Boil the potatoes whole with their skins on in lightly salted water until tender. Drain and cool them enough to peel with your fingers. Cut the potatoes into chunks and run them through a potato ricer. Mix the potatoes, flour, beaten eggs, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg until a thick dough forms.
Using a 3 tablespoon scoop, form the dough into balls. As you roll them, add 1-2 croutons to the center of each potato ball. Gently lower the potato dumplings into the simmering broth. Simmer the dumplings for 20 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with chives, thyme, sage, or parsley.
Preparation Tips
- If you prefer, you can peel your potatoes, cut them into chunks, and boil them. Drain well and then run them through the potato ricer.
- Traditionally, a crouton is added to the center of the dumpling. Supposedly, the crouton absorbs extra starch, making the dumpling fluffy rather than gummy. However, you don’t have to add the croutons.
- After cooking for a while, the potato balls will float. Even though they might float after 10-15 minutes, please cook them for the full 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- Bratwurst: and other smoked sausages like polska kielbasa or knockwurst
- Roast meats: such as beef roast and pork loin roast.
- Gravy: mushroom gravy, hamburger gravy, or onion gravy
- Side dishes: fried cabbage, braised cabbage, kielbasa and sauerkraut, or German cucumber salad
Storage and Reheat
German potato balls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. They can be reheated in simmering broth or water or covered in the microwave at reduced power. You can also slice them and fry them in butter. Everything tastes better in butter.
More Potato Recipes
German Potato Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Russet potatoes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth or water
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes whole with their skins on in lightly salted water until tender. Drain and cool them enough to peel with your fingers. Cut the potatoes into chunks and run them through a potato ricer.
- Bring the chicken broth or water to a boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Then reduce it to a simmer.
- In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, flour, beaten eggs, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg until a thick dough forms.
- Using a 3 tablespoon scoop, form the dough into balls. As you roll them, add 1-2 croutons to the center of each potato ball. Gently lower the potato dumplings into the simmering broth.
- Simmer the dumplings for 20 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with chives.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can peel your potatoes, cut them into chunks, and boil them. Drain well and then run them through the potato ricer.
- Traditionally, a crouton is added to the center of the dumpling. Supposedly, the crouton absorbs extra starch, thereby making a fluffy, not gummy dumpling. However, you don’t have to add the croutons.
- After cooking for a while, the potato balls will float. Even though they might float after 10-15 minutes, please cook them for the full 20 minutes.
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