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Nokedli (Hungarian Dumplings)

How to make sour cream Hungarian dumplings that turn every recipe into a tangy delight. Serve with goulash or chicken paprikash.

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You canā€™t possibly make a traditional Hungarian dish without serving them with some tender, creamy Hungarian dumplings as well, so why not go the little extra effort and make them yourself?

Make sure to serve these Hungarian dumplings with a Hungarian Goulash, or maybe even a Chicken Paprikash instead.

Nokedli
Nokedli

Hungarian Dumplings

Hungarian dumplings aren’t exactly a uniform, consistent recipe across all of Hungary like pasta might be in Italy. Sour cream seems an inevitable ingredient addition for anything that comes out of Hungary or Ukraine, but it is actually a fairly controversial decision when it comes to making traditional dumplings.

Just like how the cuisine of the north and south of Italy differ wildly, so too do the dumpling preferences across Hungary. This recipe utilizes only sour cream and eggs mixed with flour to form the dumplings, something that many people might argue is somehow sacrilegious but makes complete sense for the recipes from a region that borders Ukraine.

This recipe uses a simple egg and sour cream mix to make tender, fall-apart dumplings that give a tasty bite to any Hungarian/Ukrainian dish you might serve this with.

Hungarian Dumplings Ingredients

Donā€™t forget to read the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts needed to make this.

  • Eggs
  • sour cream
  • Salt & pepper
  • Flour
  • Butter
Nokedli ingredients

How to Make Hungarian Dumplings

  • Combine the eggs, sour cream, and seasonings in a medium bowl with a whisk
  • Once completely mixed together, add in the flour slowly, a bit at a time
  • Continue adding flour until the batter is the consistency of a thick pancake batter
  • Bring a pot of salted water to boil
  • Once boiling, drop in a teaspoon-sized a dollop of batter at a time into the water
  • Boil the dumplings for about 7 minutes or until cooked to your taste
  • Drain thoroughly, then add back to the saucepan, along with the butter
  • Melt the butter with the dumplings, coating them liberally, and season generously
  • Serve with something filled with paprika and saucy
Nokedli in boiling water

Why Does This Recipe Only Use Sour Cream for Liquid?

A more boring variation might use a lot more eggs and flour, making something a bit more similar to pasta dough, and cook them by cutting the dough into thin strands in boiling water.

This method is a lot more like a German spaetzle and is a perfectly delicious accompaniment for all sorts of meals.

However, the sour cream in this recipe gives everything a really tender and delicious tang that makes them really tasty just eaten on their own with butter.

For best results, of course, you should serve them with something that comes with a lot of sauce and, ideally, plenty of paprika as well.

Nokedli and Hungarian goulash

What to Serve These Dumplings With

These dumplings are definitely designed to be served alongside a traditional Hungarian goulash or a chicken Paprikash but don’t feel limited.  My Grandma used to drop the longer, thinner type dumplings into her chicken soup instead of noodles, but you want them thicker for goulash, like a crock pot dumpling.

These dumplings could be used in place of rice, pasta, or bread for practically any recipe. Combined with some parmesan, butter, and black pepper and you have the makings of a weird, fusion cacao e Pepe.

Or, you could serve them with a Mornay sauce and end up with an Eastern European mac & cheese.

Enjoy these Hungarian dumplings however you like, but just make sure you remember to season them thoroughly ā€“ if you forget to add salt to these dumplings, you will realize it pretty quick!

Looking for more tasty Pasta recipes? Try these out:

Enjoy!

Love,

Karlynn

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How to make sour cream Hungarian dumplings that turn every recipe into a tangy delight. Serve with goulash or chicken paprikash.
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Hungarian Dumplings

How to make sour cream Hungarian dumplings that turn every recipe into a tangy delight. Serve with goulash or chicken paprikash.
3 from 2 votes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Course
dinner recipes
Cuisine
Dumplings
Servings
4 People
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter

Instructions
 

  • Combine the eggs, sour cream and seasonings in a medium bowl using a whisk.
  • Continue whisking until the mixture is starting to form gentle ribbons on the whisk and everything is incorporated.
  • While continuing to whisk, add in the flour slowly, adding more or less as needed.
  • Continue to add it until the consistency is like an especially thick and gloopy pancake batter.
  • Bring a pot of salted water to boil in a medium saucepan.
  • Dip a tablespoon into the boiling water to heat it up and coat it, and then scrape a tablespoon full of batter into the hot spoon, then drop the mixture into the boiling water, using another spoon to scrape it off. Continue until the batter is done.
  • Cook the dumplings in the water until they are done to your liking, at least 5 minutes, but up to 10 depending on how chewy you want them.
  • Once the entire batch is cooked, drain them thoroughly and add back into the still warm saucepan.
  • Add in about a tablespoon of butter and melt it, coating the dumplings evenly, seasoning them liberally with more salt and pepper.
  • Serve the dumplings as part of a traditional Hungarian dish, like goulash.

Recipe Notes

  • You can make these in any size or shape you want. My Grandma would make teeny, tiny dumpling noodles for soup, closer to spaetzle size, but larger ones are nicer for a goulash. Just cook them according to size!
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All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

Iā€™m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Terri

    The Real Person!

    Author Terri acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
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    The Real Person!

    Author Terri acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
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    says

    Oh thank you so much for this dumpling recipe, God wills, I want to make these oftenšŸ˜€

  2. Iulie says

    I am from Transilvania (Romania) and this was one of our favourite sides to any saucy meat dishes. In our family we called it Nokkerli and everyone loved it as do my Canadian born grandchildren. In fact I just made it yesterday wifh chicken paprikash but my favourite combination is sauteed mushrooms with lots of parsley (wild chanterelle are my absolute favourite). My recipy variant learned from my mom uses milk as liquid and I start by beating the eggwites (this makes extra fluffy dumplings) than add the yolks and I alternate adding flour and milk. I do not measure the quantities. Starting with two eggs I keep adding flour (about 3 tablespoons at a time) than milk (about 1/4 cup at a time) mixing to the desired consistency than flour and milk untill I obtain the desired amount of dough. Using a teaspoon I drop the dough half a teaspoon size in salted boiling water (the size will double as they boil). After every 2-3 dumplings I dip the teaspoon in cold water so the dough can easily slide into the boiling water untill bottom of dish is covered with a single layer of dumplings. When cooked the dumplings raise to the surface where I collect them with a strainer and transfer them into the warmed up sauce/stew. Repeat for next batch of dumplings .

  3. Julie Scriver says

    this sounds amazing! I have a little bit of stew left from a few days ago, lots of liquid, not much meat. This will be perfect to extend it for dinner!5 stars

  4. Rita says

    This site is covered with really annoying ads. And the recipe is buried somewhere and the “end”. Not with the effort.1 star

  5. Gig Duz says

    If you boil the knockels longer will that make them softer?

  6. Darcia Moskaluk-Rutkay president UWAC says

    Hi Carolyn my Ukrainian Baba made these when we did not have noodles for chicken soup, or during the winter when the basic soup, only had a bit of bacon and the holy trio of onion, celery, carrot, with a potato thrown in for good measure. Because my Tato needed soup every day.now I am married to a Slovak man who has taught us the name Halushky. Recipe is a tiny bit different and has variations. In our household Halusky means either chicken paprikash or the potato variance served with cottage cheese and bacon. (Excluding the bacon for our vegetarians in the family) my adult children still covet this recipe. (Our head chef son made us find him an original halushka pan in Hungary just as his Slovak Baba had.) The famous chef Michael Simon has featured them on his virtual kitchen show combine with braised cabbage. We now do it that way as well.

    • Cyzana says

      yes my background is Ukrainian and this is how my mum made her “noodles” for soup when there was no more home made soup noodles. Will make these with Hungarian goulash (my grandfather’s background) or paprikash. Yum!

    • Mr. Kitchen Magpie says

      Please provide more details about what’s happening. I am able to print fine so if you are experiencing issues and can let me know what is happening on your end that would be great. Thanks! Mike

3 from 2 votes

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