German Braised Beef & Spaetzle Recipe
If you’ve never had homemade spaetzle, we need to talk. These soft, chewy little German dumplings are what happens when pasta and gnocchi have a baby — and when you ladle slow-braised beef and a rich, wine-laced sauce over the top of them? That’s the kind of meal that makes you wonder why you ever ordered takeout.
This German Braised Beef and Spaetzle recipe is all about the slow-cooked beef and sauce ladled over dumpling-esque spaetzle. We’re talking chuck roast braised for four hours with mushrooms, red wine, and a whole head of garlic until it falls apart with a stern look. The sauce gets thick and velvety from all that low-and-slow magic, and the spaetzle soaks up every drop like tiny flavor sponges.
Yeah, this one takes some time — but the actual hands-on work is about 20 minutes of prep before you let the oven do the heavy lifting. The spaetzle comes together while the beef braises, so by the time that roasting pan comes out, you’re ready to plate. It’s German comfort food at its absolute peak, and honestly, it’s easier than it looks.
PREP TIME
20 mins
COOK TIME
4 hrs 15 mins
SERVINGS
8
Ingredients
Braised Beef
- ~2 lbs beef chuck roast
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- 1/2 stick butter
- 32 oz whole mushrooms, quartered
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 1 cup thyme, loosely packed
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 Tbsp stone ground mustard
Spaetzle
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
German Braised Beef & Spaetzle
Braised Beef
- Preheat oven to 325º
- Cut roast into 4 equal pieces. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat butter in pan over medium-high heat. Sear beef on all sides (~2 minutes per broad side and ~1 per edge). Remove from pan and set in roasting pan. Surround with uncooked mushrooms. Set aside.
- Using pan beef was seared in, sauté carrots, celery, and onion until they begin to get tender. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook for ~1 minute. Stir in mustard, wine, and beef broth. Remove from heat.
- Pour pan mixture over top of beef and mushrooms in roasting pan. Be sure to place a bit of the veggies on top of the beef. If the liquid does not cover 3/4 of the beef height-wise, then add more beef broth and wine to taste. Tightly cover roasting pan with two layers of foil. Braise in oven for at least 4 hours.
- Remove pan from oven and shred beef. Be sure to keep beef in middle of roasting pan so that plates can be properly built.
- To build plate, place homemade spaetzle in large pasta bowl. Top with shredded beef. Ladle braising sauce over beef. Enjoy.
Spaetzle
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until blended.
- Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until all dry mix is absorbed and dough becomes smooth.
- Cover dough and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Take a small wooden cutting board and run water over it. A moistened surface will help with the spaetzle making process. Place about 1/2 cup of batter on cutting board and spread it over the surface in a thin layer.
- Run a pastry scraper under cold water and begin using it to scrape small noodle-sized slices of the batter into boiling water.
- Using a strainer spoon, remove the spaetzle as it floats to the surface of the water and set aside in a buttered dish.
- Repeat steps 5-7 until all dough is used. For best results, wet your wooden board and pastry scraper regularly.
Tips for Nailing the Braised Beef and Spaetzle
Sear your beef like you mean it. Don’t rush the sear — you want a deep, dark brown crust on every side of those chuck roast pieces. That’s where all the flavor lives. If the pan isn’t screaming hot and the butter isn’t foaming, you’re not ready. Two minutes per broad side, one minute per edge, and don’t move the meat until it releases on its own.
Don’t skip the resting time for the spaetzle dough. After you mix it, let it sit covered for 30 minutes at room temperature. This lets the gluten relax and the flour fully hydrate, which gives you that signature chewy-but-tender texture. Skip this step and your spaetzle will be tough and gummy — nobody wants that.
Keep your cutting board and scraper wet. This is the biggest spaetzle-making hack. The dough is sticky by nature, and a dry board turns the whole process into a wrestling match. Run water over your board and pastry scraper before each batch, and the dough slides right off into the boiling water.
Let the braising liquid do its thing — don’t peek. Once that roasting pan is sealed tight with two layers of foil, resist the urge to check on it. Every time you lift the foil, you lose heat and steam. Four hours at 325° with the lid on tight, and the beef will be fork-tender and falling apart exactly the way it should.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
The braised beef actually tastes better the next day. Like most braises, the flavors deepen overnight as the sauce and meat hang out together in the fridge. Make the beef a day ahead, store it in the braising liquid, and reheat it on the stove over medium-low until it’s warmed through.
Make the spaetzle fresh, but you can prep the dough ahead. Mix the dough up to 24 hours before you plan to cook, cover it tightly, and refrigerate. When you’re ready, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before scraping it into boiling water. Cooked spaetzle keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days — just toss it in a hot buttered pan to warm it back up.
Leftovers keep beautifully for up to 4 days. Store the beef and sauce together in an airtight container, and keep the spaetzle separate so it doesn’t get soggy. Reheat the beef in a pot on the stove and the spaetzle in a skillet with a little butter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cut of beef is best for braising?
Chuck roast is our go-to — it’s got the right amount of fat and connective tissue that breaks down over four hours into that melt-in-your-mouth texture. You could also use bottom round or short ribs, but chuck gives you the best balance of flavor and shreddability. Don’t use a lean cut like sirloin — it’ll dry out long before the four hours are up.
Do I need a spaetzle maker?
Nope — we use a cutting board and pastry scraper, which is actually the traditional German method. You wet the board, spread the dough thin, and scrape little noodle-sized pieces directly into boiling water. It’s more rustic-looking than a spaetzle press, but the texture is the same and you don’t need any special equipment.
Can I use a different wine for the braising liquid?
Stick with a dry red — something like a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Pinot Noir works great. Avoid anything sweet or oaky, which can make the sauce taste off after four hours of reduction. The general rule is if you’d drink it, you can braise with it. And yes, the alcohol cooks off during braising.
Can I make this in a slow cooker instead of the oven?
You can, but the oven gives you better results. Sear the beef and build the sauce on the stovetop the same way, then transfer everything to the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. The oven method gives you more even heat and a slightly richer sauce, but the slow cooker works when you need to set it and forget it.
PAIRINGS:
German Braised Beef & Spaetzle
Oktoberfestbier
Cabernet Sauvignon
Made This Recipe? Leave A Review!
No Title
Hello this sounds delicious. I’m going to use sourdough starter for my spaetzle. I’m curious what type of wine is recommended for your recipe? Did you mean cooking wine? White or red? Thank you!
Response from Hangry In Love
Thanks so much for the review! Sourdough sounds incredible. Also—thanks for catching our error on only writing “1 cup wine” lol. It should be “1 cup dry red wine”. We’ve corrected the recipe to reflect that. Let us know how the sourdough substitution turns out!
No Title
It smells delicious …first time making it.
It does not say when to add the mushrooms
I added them at the end
Response from Hangry In Love
Thanks so much for the review! And good catch on the missing mushroom instructions lol. We added them uncooked to the roasting pan once the beef was seared and added to the pan. Glad you enjoyed it!