Pumpkin and sage spaetzle turns a humble German noodle into a savory autumn dinner that feels both rustic and special. The little dumplings get pan fried in butter until golden, then tossed with roasted squash and apple and crowned with beer braised brats.
Why This Pumpkin Sage Spaetzle Belongs on Your Fall Table
- Tender homemade noodles flecked with real pumpkin and fresh sage
- Brats braised low and slow in Guinness for deep flavor
- Roasted apple and squash add a sweet, fork-tender bite
- A cozy, crowd-pleasing meal for German food fans
If you have never made spaetzle, do not worry about getting perfect shapes. The dough is forgiving, and even the lumpy ones taste wonderful once they hit the hot butter.
Keep an oiled bowl ready so cooked spaetzle never clumps together while you finish the batch.
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Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin and Sage Spaetzle
- The pumpkin sage noodles soak up brown butter and turn nutty and rich at the edges.
- Roasted Granny Smith apple keeps each bite bright against the savory brats.
- Everything finishes in one skillet, so the flavors mingle right before serving.
Ingredient Notes
These are quick notes on the pieces that matter most, since the exact measurements in the recipe card cover the rest. A few of these ingredients do double duty, so read the labels before you shop.
- Pumpkin puree: plain canned puree, not pie filling, so the noodles stay savory.
- Fresh sage: minced into the batter and saved for garnish on top.
- Guinness: used to braise the brats and again to deglaze the pasta.
- Sugar pumpkin and Granny Smith apples: roasted together for sweet and tart contrast.
- Brats: pork or your favorite kind, browned in the beer reduction.
You will want a large skillet or a wok, a dutch oven for the brats, and a slotted spoon. A spaetzle press helps, but a colander with wide holes works just as well.
How to Make Pumpkin and Sage Spaetzle
Making pumpkin and sage spaetzle comes down to a few simple stages that you can stagger as you go. The batter rests while the brats braise and the squash roasts, so nothing feels rushed.
- Whisk the batter and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Braise the brats in beer over medium high heat for 25 minutes until the liquid reduces.
- Roast the apple and squash at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes until fork tender.
- Drop the batter by the rounded teaspoon into boiling water and cook each batch 2 minutes, then shock in ice water.
- Pan fry the noodles in butter, deglaze with beer, then toss everything together and top with brats.
This recipe serves 6, and the batter scales up cleanly if you double it. You can boil the spaetzle a day ahead and keep them oiled in the fridge, then pan fry just before dinner.
Storage Options
Leftover pumpkin sage spaetzle keeps well and reheats nicely in a hot skillet with a little butter. Store the brats separately if you can, so they do not dry out.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze plain boiled spaetzle for up to 2 months before pan frying.
- Reheat in a skillet over medium for 5 to 7 minutes until warmed through.
Variations & Substitutions
This savory pumpkin spaetzle is easy to make your own. Swap a few ingredients and it bends to whatever you have on hand.
- Use a dark ale or non-alcoholic stout in place of the Guinness.
- Try chicken or apple sausage instead of brats for a lighter plate.
- Swap butternut squash for the sugar pumpkin with no other changes.
- Add a pinch of nutmeg to the batter for a warmer, rounder flavor.
What to Serve with Pumpkin and Sage Spaetzle
Pumpkin and sage spaetzle is hearty enough to stand alone, but a few cozy sides round out the meal. Lean toward fall flavors that echo the squash and beer.
- A crisp green salad with a sharp mustard vinaigrette.
- Quick braised red cabbage for a classic German pairing.
- For more pumpkin sage flavor, try these stuffed shells in a pumpkin sage bechamel.
- Round out the spread with this cozy baked stuffed pumpkin for the table.
Before you head to the recipe card, here are a few questions that come up most often with this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pumpkin and sage spaetzle
It is a German style noodle made from a soft batter that includes pumpkin puree and fresh sage, then boiled and pan fried in butter.
Do I need a spaetzle press to make it
No, a colander with wide holes or even a rounded teaspoon dropped into boiling water works fine.
Can I make the noodles ahead of time
Yes, boil them a day early, toss with a little oil, refrigerate, and pan fry right before serving.
What beer works best for the brats
A stout like Guinness gives rich flavor, but any dark ale will braise the brats well.
This dish is comfort food with a little German charm, perfect for a chilly night when you want something warm and satisfying. Make it once and the buttery noodles will earn a spot in your fall rotation.
Pan Fried Pumpkin and Sage Spaetzle with Beer Braised Brats
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Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 7 eggs
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves minced
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 12 oz bottle of Guinness beer
- 1 lb brats
- 2 Granny Smith apples diced
- 1 cup sugar pumpkin diced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 Tbsp butter divided
- ½ large onion diced and divided
- 1 cup Guinness divided
Instructions
- Prepare spaetzle batter.
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour, eggs, pumpkin puree, sage, milk and salt. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for one hour.
- Place brats in a dutch oven and pour 12oz of Guinness over top. Cook over medium high heat for 25 minutes uncovered. Liquid will reduce down greatly. Turn brats every now and again. Place on plate and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400º. Place apples and pumpkin on a cookie sheet. Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until fork tender. 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a bowl.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a few pinches of salt to the water. Place a bowl of ice cold water near cooking area. Drop spaetzle batter by the ¼ rounded teaspoon into the boiling water. Cook for two minutes and remove with slotted spoon. Place into cold water for a minute to stop the cooking process and then drain them and place in a bowl with a little oil to keep them from sticking together. Continue this process until all of the pasta is cooked, being sure never to crowd the pot so they don’t all stick together.
- Once all of the pasta is cooked, place 3 Tbsp of butter into a large skillet and heat to medium high. Add ½ of the onions and cook for several minutes. Add half of the spaetzel and pan fry until golden. Add ½ cup of beer and toss to coat. Remove from pan and repeat the process with the second half of the pasta.
- Once all of the pasta is pan fried, put all of the pasta back into the skillet and add the pumpkin/apple mixture and toss. You might have to do this in two batches if your skillet is not large enough. A wok is helpful if you have one. Take a taste test and add salt if you think it is needed.
- Pour pasta onto a serving platter and place the cooked brats on top. Garnish with sage leaves.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you believe I have never had a brat before. I almost feel embarrassed admitting that. This sounds like something I would love.
That looks so good! Definitely the kind of meal that my hubby would love.
Welcome to the pumpkin bandwagon!
I’ve never had a brat before! I need this in my life.
You actually made me hungry! that looks delicious
I have never tried a brat before. Not sure what they taste like but your dish looks pretty darn good.
Oh spaetzle, how I love thee… And PUMPKIN spaetzle? Oh yeah. I need that in my belly. This whole meal sounds absolutely perfect, actually.
Thanks for this yummy recipe! Your pictures are beautiful!
How creative! Love this!
Good afternoon Melanie! This ‘Pan Fried Pumpkin and Sage Spaetzle with Beer Braised Brats’ dish looks and sounds absolutely wonderful! I would love to try this right now. I’ve had beer basted brats before but not braised brats in Guinness!
I’ve never tried anything like this, but it looks sooooo delicious. I can’t wait to try this!!!
That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! EVER! I’ve GOT to make this. It’s got everything I love, and it’s the perfect dish for fall.
Looks very good.. i tried brats for the first time about a month ago and i liked them allot.. thanks for the recipe!
This looks so yummy! I will have to make this for my family.
That looks delicious! That is definitely a 5-star breakfast.
There really IS a set of food blogging laws and one of the laws is definitely about pumpkin, I swear. I’m really glad you followed those laws and posted this! because it looks amazing!
I’ve never thought to fry pumpkin or eat any pumpkin that isn’t even pureed, what a great idea!
I’m going to admit…I’ve never made spaetzle!! Next time you make it – I’d love a cooking lesson!
Looks and sounds (and I bet tastes) wonderful. I love those colors. YUM. Maybe Chris Stow could whip this up for us!
I’ve never once cooked spaetzle, so I’m sure mine would look even more ear-like than yours! But, adding in pumpkin sure makes it sound even more amazing!
I’ve never had spaetzle before and I need to change that. Plus I love sage and pumpkin which I think is a perfect pairing so this recipe is pretty much calling out my name. Must make asap!
This sounds great, looks like I can have it on my low carb diet too! yum!
I have not tried these before. They look delicious i will try making them this weekend.
We’re having friends over for dinner on Halloween before trick-or-treating and I was trying to come up with the perfect recipe for the season that incorporated fall. THANK YOU for this! I’m definitely making it on Friday night though I can’t say my version will be as gorgeous as yours!
What an interesting dish. It’s certainly not like anything I’ve had before!
I have never had this type of dish! I have always heard good things, but I had never thought to make it on my own! Thank you for the recipe.
The dish is presented very well. It looks really tasty and would surely have people wanting more.
Very glad to see you got your pumpkin recipe on. I havn’t yet, Hahaha. You have done a good job and I have always loved spaetzle.
This looks absolutely delicious, but too complicated for me to make…
Never had this dish before. Maybe I can test-try it before Halloween.
That looks amazing. My mouth is watering right now and I;d love to try this out. Thanks for the recipe.
I never really had this before but I bet its one good meal to give a try
That sounds like a unique spin on an old favorite. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us, it looks delicious!
I adore spaetzle and I adore savory pumpkin recipes. You’ve combined them into something magical here. LOVE! I just have to try this! Pinning!!!
Now this is my kind of comfort food! forget mac and cheese. I just posted on pumpkin spazele, too!
You definitely have a way with words! I love pumpkin, but what caught my eye was “fresh sage leaves.” I grew sage in my garden this year and it went wild. However, summer recipes don’t usually include sage, so was happy to find this!
Those Brats looks so yummy. I would enjoy eating them in this dish or by themselves.
This looks and sounds amazing indeed. I would love to try to make this dish because I have never made a German dish like this before. Thanks for sharing.
I saw this photos on your facebook and I was just waiting for it to appear on the blog! It looks so good! I’ve never had spaetzle but I want to try it! I just had a talk on the blog about how everyone loves sweet pumpkin instead of savory! I love both!
Holy heck…I love everything about this recipe. Pumpkin and sage are a match made in food heaven, and the salty, meaty brats would be the perfect accompaniment.
Wow this looks amazing!! Spaetzle is one of my favorite German dishes!
I’ve actually always wanted to try spaetzel. This looks like a wonderful meal. I really like the addition of apple.
That recipe looks delicious. I have to say, I am a sucker for anything that has sausages in it. Very bad for you but tastes so good.
This looks absolutely AMAZING! I think I’ll be making this sometime this week!
WoW that looks really delicious. I’m so hungry now after reading this post.
I will give this recipe for sure a try
Okay this is so cool. I just love this recipe. You stole my heart with the beer braised brats.
HOLY COW that looks amazing! I’ve made spaetzel once and I kinda killed it. I’d try again if it includes pumkin! and YUMMMMM on Brats
My grandma used to make Spaetzle all the time! It was sooo good!
I LOVE this dish! I saw you post it on your FB and I have been craving it ti looked so amazing. I really need to make some spaetzle.
Such a great dish! I just love all the pumpkin creations this time of year. So inspired!
Oh boy, I can smell that all the way over here and I’m getting mighty hungry! I bet that would go tasty with a piece of garlic bread and a tall cold glass of milk then just leave me alone to enjoy!!! mmmmm
My husband loves Spaetzle so I will definitely share this with him! Yum.
I have never tried spaetzle before, but it looks like it’s time to remedy that situation, because this looks incredible. Is it sort of like a noodle or gnocchi?
This… OMG… You just don’t understand how much I want to try this! Hahaha. Thank you so much for sharing! This will be on the dinner menu =D
oh wow – I’m putting this on my menu for next week. It looks amazing! I’m a huge fan of spaetzle and these fall flavors sound wonderful.
I have a new love for spaetzle and can’t wait to try your version. Perfect pairing for brats!!
I love that these are beer braised brats!!!
I have to admit I have never eaten pumpkin but this loos so amazing I may have to try it.
this is seriously one of the BEST pumpkin pasta dishes I have ever seen! I ate dinner not too long ago and this made me re-hungry!
I’m very vegetarian, but I’ll have to admit that looks really good!
Oh, wow! This is one gorgeous dish! I’m sure my hubby would fall over if I served him this.
Hubby would totally love this recipe. He loves these kind of meals and actually makes them himself.
Yum yum! For sure my friends will love this
These look amazing. My hubby will love the brats. Thanks for sharing!
This looks INCREDIBLE! Love spaetzle.