My Knoephla Soup Recipe: A Taste Of North Dakota In Iowa (2024)

I felt a little North Dakotan so I made some knoephla soup.

This past weekend, I enjoyed followingBeth ofRhubarb & Venison, Tracie ofBasin Electric, and Sarah ofHome With The Lost Italianas they explored Fargo as part of theND Bloggers & Writers Workshop hosted by the Department of Commerce. I’m happyI could meet them at last summer’s workshop before we moved to Iowa.

I’m finding manyfavorite places in North Iowa, but I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic as theyvisited some of our favorite Fargo places likePinch & Pour, Unglued, TheHodo, Sarello’sand Atomic Coffee. Then,I foundmyself craving knoephla soup.

I’ve never found knoephla soup outside of North Dakota. Sure, I’ve eaten chicken and dumplings in entrée and soup form before but learned that inNorth Dakota, it goes by knoephla. This soupcomes from the food traditions of the German-Russians who settled in North Dakota andI can’t think of any Fargo restaurant that does not serve it regularly.

My favorite knoephla soups came from Home Plate Cafe in Fredonia and Josie’s Coffee Corner in Fargo. Knoephla soup often appeared on our culinary school lunch menuand Iwas thrilled when I was assigned to prepare it one morning.

I giggled this winter when I ordered a cup of chicken and dumpling soup at the local sports barPapa’s and it tasted exactly like knoephla soup. It was a really good cup, too, and would have held it’s own in North Dakota.

In culinary school I made soup so often that I could make it in my sleep. I build soups by sight, feel and taste instead of measuring ingredients. If you’d like a more exact recipe, scroll down to the recipe at theend of this post I wrote for Simple, Good & Tasty about Quantity Lab in Culinary School.

Here’s what I whipped together last night, though I might have made too much soup. Our pot was big enough to serve a large family so I froze the extra. Actually, I take that back.You can’t have too much knoephla. Especially if you live outside of North Dakota.

Cooks Notes:

These homemade dumplings are denser and chewier than frozen knoephla dumplings. They remind me more of spaetzle. Frozen dumplings are widely available in North Dakotan grocery stores. The raw dumplings will expand during cooking so don’t cut them too big.

Make as little or as much soup as you’d like. I add a lot of vegetables and gently cream the soup. Thismeans preparingit with chicken broth and adding just enoughcream to provide a butterfat shimmer but not maketoo heavy. I prefermy soup thinner but you can add more roux for a thicker texture. Extra roux can be saved in the refrigerator for later use thickening soups or sauces.

Use chicken stock or water with chicken base added to it. I typically buy the highest quality chicken base I can find because it’s less expensive than purchasing boxes of broth. You can even find organic chicken bases. The higher quality bases will contain chicken and require that you store them in the refrigerator after opening. Of course, if you make your own broth, then use that.

Good bowls have a butterfat shimmer.

Ingredients:

Roux
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour

Knoephla Dough
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Soup
Olive oil or butter
Carrots, about three medium, diced
Celery, about three ribs, diced
1 small onion, diced
Waxy red or yellow potatoes, diced (about two cups)
Chicken broth or water + high quality chicken base
Cooked chicken, two-three cups
Salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Garlic powder (or a little fresh garlic)
Sugar, a couple pinches

Instructions:

  1. First, make the rouxwhich willthicken the soup. Melt a stick of butter in a saute pan. Slowly whisk in the flour until it resembles the texture of wet sand (you might not need the entire 1/2 cup flour). Cook briefly until the flour is no longer raw but is not brown. Remove from heat and cool.
  2. In a large pot, saute the carrots, celery and onion in a little butter or olive oil until softened. Seasonwith salt and pepper.
  3. Cover with stock or water and add potatoes.
  4. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. In the meantime, make the knoephla dough.
  5. To make the knoephla dough: Whisk together the eggs, baking powder, salt and water. Slowly stir in the flour with a fork until the dough forms a ball. Incorporate flour by hand until the dough resembles dough that is softer than bread dough and slightly stickier. Cover and rest for about 15 minutes. Roll into ropes and cut into small dumplings. Spread the dumplings onto a sheet pan and dust with flour so they don’t stick together.
  6. When the potatoes are tender, add the cooked chicken.
  7. Gradually whisk in spoonfuls of the roux. Be patient and allow the soup to come back to a simmer. The roux will thicken as the soup heats. If you add too much roux too quickly, your soup might be overlythick.
  8. When you like the thickness of the soup, add as much cream as you’d like.
  9. Continue to taste your soup and check for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, garlic, chicken base if using water, and sugar to taste.
  10. Drop in the dumplings. They’ll float to the surface when they are cooked.

Related

My Knoephla Soup Recipe: A Taste Of North Dakota In Iowa (2024)

FAQs

What is the origin of Knoephla soup? ›

Maybe you just moved to North Dakota or for whatever reason; just haven't heard of, or tried, this soup. Knoephla soup is a dumpling soup that is German in origin. It is served in a chicken stock and usually contains celery, carrots, and potatoes.

How long is knoephla soup good for in the fridge? ›

I will tell you that this soup is better made with a broth from a smoked or roasted bird, though. Knoephla soup will keep a few days in the fridge, but be sure to reheat it slowly or the cream could break.

What is the nutritional value of Knoephla soup? ›

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 249 calories, 13g fat (8g saturated fat), 57mg cholesterol, 762mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 1g fiber), 6g protein.

How do you spell Knoephla soup? ›

Knoephla, also spelled knephla /ˈnɛflə/, is a type of dumpling, commonly used in soups. The word is related to the modern German dialect word Knöpfle, meaning little knob/button.

How does chicken soup taste? ›

It is mildly flavored with Indian spices and can be adjusted to suit your taste. You can add veggies of your choice like potatoes, corn, carrots, peas, pumpkin & mushrooms. Simmering various kinds of veggies lend a unique aroma and taste to the soup. Chicken soup can be made in so many ways.

What does Knoephla translate to in English? ›

Knoephla are little dumplings. The term comes from a German word that means little knob or button.

What is the most popular soup in German? ›

Common soups in German restaurants include oxtail, beef or chicken broth with noodles, dumplings, or rice, goulash, split pea, cream of asparagus, turtle soup (Echte Schildkrötensuppe) and cream of lobster.

Can you buy knoephla? ›

Many of them are from Kroll's dinner, which has a killer version that you can supposedly buy by the bucket (?!), just in case you find yourself at one of those. This is probably one of the only areas where you can buy frozen knoephla at the grocery store, but not to worry, they are very easy to make.

Is 5 day old soup ok to eat? ›

Leftovers can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away. Frozen leftovers will stay safe for a long time.

Can you leave soup out overnight and eat it the next day? ›

Food should not be at room temperature for more than two hours. Shallow containers or small amounts of hot food can be placed directly in the refrigerator or rapidly chilled in an ice or cold water bath before refrigerating. Cover foods to retain moisture and prevent them from picking up odors from other foods.

What is the healthiest soup you can eat? ›

6 delicious and healthy soups
  • Chicken Vietnamese Pho.
  • Green spring minestrone.
  • Herb and yoghurt-based soup.
  • Lamb shank and barley soup.
  • Pumpkin soup with star croutons.
  • Lentil and vegetable soup with crusty bread.
Apr 26, 2020

How do you pronounce Knoephla soup? ›

Knoephla (pronounce nip-fla) Soup is a traditional German soup loved for it's little dumplings floating among the potatoes and carrots in this hearty stew.

Why is Chinese soup so good? ›

Made with natural ingredients such as herbs, plants and meats, Chinese soups are filling and tasty, and can help maintain your weight. You can drink Chinese soups in place of snacks, or simply have them as meal replacements.

What is the old name for soup? ›

After a linguistic long jump across the English Channel in the 17th century (and a concurrent vogue for breadless broths), the word came to us, and we started making "soups" instead of "pottages" or "broths." "Sop," just the piece of bread, had been hanging out in English since the at least the 11th century, but it ...

What is a chunky soup called? ›

Chowder is a thick, chunky soup. Traditionally, chowder is made with seafood or fish, but chowders made with poultry, vegetables, and cheese are also popular.

What is a clear soup called? ›

Clear soups are also called passed soups, as any chunks of ingredients are taken out of the soup, and you are left with a liquid soup. Consommé, a French clarified meat or fish broth, is a classic version of a clear soup.

Does chicken soup taste better the longer you cook it? ›

While broth and stock both get richer and richer the longer you cook them, the problem is that the chicken meat will dry out and get tough if you let it go too long. Vegetables will also have an unpleasant texture if you overcook them, turning mushy and falling apart.

What makes soup really tasty? ›

All soups and stews must have three major components in order to be tasty: an undercurrent liquid, aromatics, and volumizing ingredients. In every case, they're layered together until all of the flavors meld together in a harmonious, silky balance.

How to make can chicken soup taste better? ›

Adding cooked chicken to your soup isn't the only way to bulk it up and improve the flavor. You can also try stirring in some other additions. A similar option is to mix in some extra vegetables. Remember, heating up canned soup means you don't cook the broth as long as you would if you were making it from scratch.

Where did mock turtle soup come from? ›

Mock turtle soup is an English soup that was created in the mid-18th century as an imitation of green turtle soup.

Where did soup originate from? ›

20,000 BC. In Xianrendong Cave, Jiangxi Province, China, the first example of a soup bowl was discovered and thought to date back to 20,000 BC. The ancient pottery showed scorch marks, which would suggest the user was making a hot soup of some kind.

Where did chicken dumpling soup originate? ›

Some sources say that chicken and dumplings originated in the Southern United States during the era of the Antebellum South and was considered a mainstay during harsh economic times. One of the earliest versions of the recipe was cornmeal dumplings cooked with turnip greens.

What nationality is mulligatawny soup? ›

Although considered an Indian soup, Mulligatawny Mughlai soup is part Indian and part British. This soup got invented during colonial rule when the British kept requesting the soup as the first course. Originally this soup was just a thin sauce. But it bulks with vegetables and meat to suit British taste over time.

References

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