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Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings)
A thick egg batter beaten until bubbly, rested, then pushed through a Knöpfli sieve into boiling water to make little soft button dumplings, tossed in butter and served with game or anything in a rich sauce.
Swiss · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 20 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~396 cal · 13g protein · 59g carbs · 11g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Knöpfli, Chnöpfli in Swiss German dialect, means little buttons, and these small, irregular egg dumplings are one of the everyday side dishes of German-speaking Switzerland. They are made from the same batter as their longer, thinner relatives, Spätzli, and the difference is only in the shape: the batter is pressed through a sieve with round holes so it drops into the water in short, rounded drops.
In autumn they are the classic side for the game season, set next to Wildpfeffer, game stewed in a dark wine sauce, and they turn up all year beside stews and other meat in a rich sauce, because they soak it up so well. Swiss cooks also bake them with cheese or fry them with bacon and mushrooms.
The batter is flour, eggs, salt and a mix of milk and water, beaten with a wooden spoon until it is smooth, elastic and full of air bubbles, then left to rest before it is scraped through the sieve into simmering salted water. The dumplings are done as soon as they float.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt, plus plenty for the cooking water
- 3 eggs
- 100 ml milk
- 100 ml water
- a pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
- 30 g butter
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped, optional
Instructions
- 1Mix the flour, salt and nutmeg in a bowl and make a well. Whisk the eggs with the milk and water, pour into the well and stir, then beat hard with a wooden spoon for several minutes until the batter is smooth, elastic and full of bubbles and pulls away from the bowl.✎ Chef’s noteThe batter should be thick but should drop slowly from the spoon. Add a splash more water if it is too stiff to pass through the sieve.
- 2Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- 3Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a simmer. Set a Knöpfli sieve (or a colander with round holes) over the pan, add a quarter of the batter and scrape it through with a spatula or scraper.
- 4Cook until the dumplings rise to the surface, 2 to 3 minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon into a colander. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- 5Melt the butter in a wide frying pan, add the drained Knöpfli and toss for 3 to 4 minutes until hot and lightly golden in places. Scatter with parsley and serve with game stew or any dish with plenty of sauce.
Swiss German home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bern. Bern is farm-kitchen Switzerland, home of rosti, the golden pan-crisped potato cake once eaten by farmers for breakfast. Alpine dairy dominates: hard mountain cheeses, cream sauces, and cured meats served on wooden boards with pickles and dense bread.
🗺️
Switzerland. Fondue's status as the national dish is younger and more deliberate than it looks: the Swiss Cheese Union promoted it hard from the 1930s onward, at a time when the country wanted a shared symbol and a use for surplus cheese. That does not make it less good, but it does mean an alpine-peasant origin story should not be assumed.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Switzerland
RöstiSwitzerland’s golden potato cake, crisp outside, tender inside, flipped whole and served with pride.
Swiss Cheese FondueA communal pot of melted Gruyère and Emmental with white wine and garlic, for dipping bread.
ÄlplermagronenAlpine macaroni baked with potato, cream, and cheese, topped with fried onions and served with applesauce.
Browse all Switzerland recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Skillet or frying pan, Whisk.
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings)?
A thick egg batter beaten until bubbly, rested, then pushed through a Knöpfli sieve into boiling water to make little soft button dumplings, tossed in butter and served with game or anything in a rich sauce.
Where does Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) come from?
Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) is a Swiss dish from Bern, Switzerland.
Can Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chnöpfli (Swiss Knöpfli Dumplings) take to make?
About 1 h 5 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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