Notes about Recipes in this book

• Butter lettuce salad with yogurt dressing (Kopfsalat mit joghurt-dressing)

  • anya_sf on January 17, 2025

    I was excited to make this as it's my favorite salad from Germany. I used lactose-free 2% Greek yogurt, which needed more thinning (I used milk rather than more cream). Maybe due to the yogurt I used, the dressing was too sweet and I ended up adding lemon juice. Next time I'd start with half the sugar. Otherwise quite enjoyable. Half the dressing was enough for a medium head of butter lettuce.

  • lkgrover on February 11, 2025

    Loved this simple lettuce salad with yogurt dressing. I used a whole milk yogurt (not Greek), and just a pinch of additional sugar.

  • twoyolks on May 21, 2025

    I did not love this. There wasn't enough acidity to make it work. It was too creamy with too little flavor.

  • Stephenn31 on January 08, 2026

    Turned out a bit thick for me, but it was a simple dressing. I added a bit of lemon juice.

• Austrian potato paprika stew (Erdäpfelgulasch)

  • kbrooks on October 01, 2025

    Delicious! Made this with all Angus beef hotdogs and russet potatoes. Increased the vinegar and sour cream to 1/4 cup each. Easy peasy.

  • lkgrover on December 07, 2025

    Excellent stew, perfect for a cold & snowy winter day. I used garlic sausages, and included the optional caraway seeds.

  • Jhein12 on May 08, 2026

    Used kielbasa

• Farmer's breakfast: meat and potato hash (Bauernfrühstück)

  • lkgrover on June 16, 2025

    Good, easy breakfast with eggs, potatoes, and speck (or bacon).

  • Stephenn31 on February 21, 2026

    Good cold weather breakfast. I made with bacon and added a bit of left over peppers just before the egg.

• Fresh cheese (Quark)

  • pattyatbryce on December 16, 2024

    Super easy to make and turns out a nice country cheese. Would definitely make again.

• Creamy fruit quark (Quarkspeise)

  • pattyatbryce on December 16, 2024

    Great for breakfast. I did use the sugar and cream. My fruit was a banana, because it's what we had on hand. Berries would be awesome or anything a tad sweet would work well.

• Cucumber salad (Gurkensalat)

  • bernalgirl on December 24, 2024

    I cut the sugar by half and my family enjoyed this simple salad — I grew up with this salad so the floppy cucumbers weren’t a surprise to me and I prefer chives to dill.

  • aceedubs on February 19, 2025

    Huge hit with the fam. Daughter ate thirds. And took some for lunch. Going into the regular rotation, especially in the summer with brats.

• Creamy cucumber salad (Cremiger gurkensalat)

  • bernalgirl on December 24, 2024

    This salad was a feature of my childhood, especially in summer when the cucumbers were plentiful. I love it much better with chives than dill and liked the proportions of this recipe.

• Red beet salad (Rote beete salat)

  • bernalgirl on December 16, 2024

    This simple salad really lets the beets shine through. I’m not a hugs fan of caraway but liked it here, as well as the mandoline-thin sliced beets. I thought the vinaigrette needed more vinegar but otherwise would make again as written.

  • pattyatbryce on December 16, 2024

    Simple, but nice punch from the caraway seeds. Adds an interesting element to the plate as I rarely use it (but always enjoy). I roasted the beets instead of boiled due to stovetop constraints and other items being cooked. We'd definitely make again.

  • Jhein12 on March 13, 2026

    Simple and delicious

• Shredded cabbage salad (Krautsalat)

  • twoyolks on June 14, 2025

    The salad is supposed to sit in the dressing overnight but I only managed to do 2 hours. I really enjoyed this. It's simple but fresh and tasty.

• Kohlrabi-apple salad (Kohlrabisalat mit apfel)

  • Lepa on October 28, 2025

    We loved this salad. It is so refreshing and delicious! I made 1/2 and it was plenty as a side salad for our family of four.

• White asparagus salad (Spargelsalat)

  • ShayLRoss on May 25, 2026

    I used the jarred white asparagus that I got from Aldi, since it was suggested as an alternative. This salad is okay, definitely made to be paired with something heavy and oily to cut through it. I would like to try it again with fresh white asparagus when it comes back into season, and also with the green asparagus.

• Swabian potato salad (Schwäbischer kartoffelsalat)

  • Lepa on November 20, 2024

    We were not a fan of this potato salad. I thought it would be like a potato salad my mom makes from Slovenia with an oil and vinegar dressing but this didn't taste as sharp as that one. We threw half a bowl away, which is a rare occurence in our house.

• Onion and sausage soup (Rheinische zwiebelsuppe)

  • bernalgirl on January 30, 2025

    A hearty soup for a winter evening. I added the optional cabbage as well as thyme and a pinch of chile flakes, and used leftover chicken apple sausage — which maybe makes it another soup, but I would absolutely make this again with beef franks.

• Potato-sausage stew (Kartoffelsuppe)

  • twoyolks on December 31, 2025

    This is a German version of potato leek soup. It's good but I've had better potato leek soups.

  • ebalk02 on March 09, 2026

    Agree with the other commenter. This is fine, but nothing to write home about. Probably wouldn't make this one again.

• Lentil soup with sausage and prunes (Linsensuppe mit pflaumen)

  • pattyatbryce on December 23, 2024

    Perfect winter bowl of warmth. I used kielbasa for the sausage because the knockwurst wasn't available and the headnotes mentioned garlic and so it seemed a good switch. Next time, I'll get the proper sausage, but I bet it will be just as good. Who doesn't love sausage and lentils?

  • JoanN on February 14, 2025

    Delicious, and wonderfully filling and comforting on a cold night. Lovely subtle sweet-and-sour thing going on here with the prunes and vinegar. Makes it stand apart from the usual lentil soup.

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 28, 2025

    I used one pound of Rancho Gordo Puglia lentils for this and bockwurst - the closest sausage I could find. Very delicious and cozy!

  • Plumberful on February 26, 2026

    This is a favorite soup in our house! The subtle sweet and sour flavor from the prunes and apple cider vinegar is perfect. Thanks to Luisa Weiss, I try to keep Suppengrün on hand.

  • rmardel on March 04, 2026

    I grew up in a German family, eating lentil soup, but this lentil soup is nothing like those childhood soups. I used a full package of Rancho Gorda pardina lentils, which meant I needed an extra 2 cups of broth to make it appear more like the photo in the book. My potatoes were a tad too small, but otherwise this soup is just fabulous. It is somehow both hearty and light. The subtle sweet and sour notes contribute to a very sophisticated flavor palette. Delicate and nuanced are not words I would have previously applied to a lentil soup but they are perfectly apt here.

• Thick pea stew (Erbseneintopf)

  • bernalgirl on December 24, 2024

    I generally make split pea soup in the instant pot, which always results in beautifully cooked creamy peas. I followed her recipe, adding about 1/2 teaspoon thyme and a pinch of chile flakes. I simmered it for the suggested time before adding the potatoes, then cooked at high pressure for 16 minutes. I browned the hotdogs and topped the soup with them. We all loved the potato and celery root, and I suspect I’ll be making this recipe regularly.

  • Plumberful on January 16, 2026

    This is now our favorite pea soup and I’ve made it several times. It makes a very hearty, tasty meal on a cold winter’s day. I love the idea of Suppegrün and now regularly keep leeks, carrots and celeriac on hand for soups and stews. I used uncured smoked kielbasa from a local farm, instead of hot dogs.

  • Lepa on February 17, 2026

    We loved this pea soup. The texture and flavor is wonderful. I didn't like the hot dogs at all. Next time I will use browned kielbasa instead, as suggested by the other reviewer.

• White bean stew with bacon, green beans, apples, and pears (Westfälisches blindhuhn)

  • ShayLRoss on May 26, 2026

    This was an interesting soup, a mix of sweet and savory. My pears were not as firm as the recipe called for and I used pre-cooked beans, which likely limited the flavors. If I decide to make this again, I'll start with dried beans and see how that goes.

• Beef barley soup (Graupensuppe)

  • bernalgirl on December 24, 2024

    I used beef chuck as I could not find shanks but that would be even better. My only change was a dose of white wine at the sauté step and a bit of thyme and chile flakes. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

• Swabian noodles with mountain cheese and caramelized onions (Käsespätzle)

  • pattyatbryce on December 18, 2024

    A tad plain. Boosted by eating with something with more flavor/acid. Needed a touch more club soda than written, but otherwise very easy dough to work with.

  • bernalgirl on March 13, 2025

    I served the spätzle without the cheese alongside pan-charred asparagus and German beer sausages. The dough is really loose, seems too liquidy to cut into ribbons but it worked perfectly through the holes in my spätzle contraption. These are wonderfully light in texture. Next time I will transfer them to a colander before the serving as the bottom of the dish got a little soggy.

• Savory meat patties (Buletten)

  • rmardel on December 09, 2024

    These are fabulous! the paprika and mustard bring a savory roundness and umami to the meat. These are so good we want to just pick them up and eat them like snacks.

  • Lsblackburn1 on October 08, 2025

    Delicious! I used panko for the bread crumbs. Easy to make ahead and fry up later. Served with a sweet and spicy mustard.

• Meatballs in lemon-caper sauce (Königsberger klopse)

  • bernalgirl on December 09, 2024

    This is simple winter comfort food. The gently simmered meatballs are tender and the sauce adds a gentle balance — this is food for when your tastebuds need a break. The recipe makes *a lot* of sauce, so I’m thinking of trying it on salmon.

  • pattyatbryce on December 16, 2024

    We really enjoyed this and recommend the beet salad and mashed potato to accompany as mentioned. Did take a bit of time to prep, but very easy to bring together.

  • aceedubs on February 19, 2025

    The meatballs were amazing--my new base recipe. I'm not sure what I did to mess up the sauce, but I ended up needing 7 cups of water to get it to a sauce consistency. The sauce was delish though. I think if I make this again, I will halve the sauce recipe and use less flour all around. We paired this with mashed potatoes and the gehrkinsalat (cucumber salad) recipe in the book because my fam isn't a fan of beets.

  • Lsblackburn1 on November 19, 2025

    Tasty! I thought that the meatballs wouldn’t be able to fit in the water to simmer, but they did! Served with mashed potatoes and roasted veg

  • anya_sf on December 15, 2025

    A solid version of one of my favorite German dishes. I used 1 lb/450 g each meat, and just 1/2 large onion (= 1 small?) and thought that was enough onion. Had to use black pepper instead of white. Poached in a wide Dutch oven, the liquid was fairly shallow and the meatballs just barely fit, but it worked. I held back on some of the lemon in the sauce and never added it all as it was plenty sharp. Overall very enjoyable over mashed potatoes.

  • krwhte on January 12, 2026

    The recipe turned out well, but took quite a long time from start to finish; lemon sauce was best on day 1 and lost some of its sharpness as leftovers.

  • Stephenn31 on February 08, 2026

    The meatballs were really tender and juicy being poached. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be enough liquid but it was perfect. Brilliant idea to use the poaching liquid in the sauce. The recipe for me made too much sauce and ended up a bit too gloopy and less silky. But the lemon and caper was great

  • Jhein12 on March 06, 2026

    For me the anchovy flavor was too strong. My meatballs tasted fishy. The sauce also became much too thick.

• Stuffed peppers (Gefüllte paprika)

  • bernalgirl on December 16, 2024

    Update: To the sauce add 1 teaspoon paprika, a pinch of chile flakes and 1 teaspoon salt to the sautéed onions along with the tomato paste. For the filling: sub 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, basil, and Turkish oregano in place of marjoram (which I don’t have), and double the paprika.

  • Jhein12 on May 08, 2026

    Loved these. The leftovers were delicious too.

• Austrian beef stew (Wiener saftgulasch)

  • angrygreycat on February 02, 2025

    Excellent taste and melt in the mouth tender. I served with Spaetzle. Definitely will make again

• Pork and sauerkraut stew (Szegediner gulasch)

  • bernalgirl on December 23, 2024

    I grew up with original Hungarian dish, it’s a family favorite and this recipe is absolutely delicious. My changes: cut the pork into slightly larger pieces, add three cloves of minced garlic, eliminate the caraway, double both paprikas and bloom them in a slurry of the sauce from the stew, and add parboiled red potatoes (unpeeled and cut into bite-size pieces if larger) when adding the sauerkraut. Do not skip the sour cream, and pass a shaker of cayenne pepper or similar to add heat to taste.

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 22, 2025

    I used 2 large sweet onions - definitely enough. My sauerkraut had caraway, so I didn’t add any extra. Served this over egg noodles - not potatoes. Very delicious. My German husband loved it!

  • Stephenn31 on October 25, 2025

    This was excellent! I made it in the slow cooker at the cottage, and it smelled wonderful all day. Next time I'll bring the sauerkraut to a boil on the stove, or leave it in the slow cooker longer. Delicious flavours from simple ingredients. The hot paprika had an unexpected but nice kick to it. Definitely add the sour cream (or I added some creme fraiche that I had) at the end to balance out the flavours. I had a fair bit of sauce left and wish I had good break to soak it up with.

  • Lepa on November 25, 2025

    My family in Slovenia makes a similar dish so I was excited to make/try this. It was very good! I followed the recipe exactly and ate it, as suggested, with boiled potatoes. I had huge onions so I only used three...

  • fprincess on February 22, 2026

    Very nice comforting stew. I like the contrast between the richness of the cream the piquancy of the sauerkraut. Used smoked paprika for the sweet and reduced the amount by about 1/2. Served with boiled potatoes. Made for the SD cookbook club.

• Swiss sliced veal and mushrooms in cream sauce (Zürcher geschnetzeltes)

  • Jhein12 on May 08, 2026

    I make this often but use chicken breast.

• Sliced chicken with peppers and paprika (Paprika geschnetzeltes)

  • anya_sf on October 07, 2025

    Chicken tenders (halved or quartered) were a convenient option. I cooked them in one batch, not quite all the way through, then let them simmer in the sauce for a few minutes at the end. Added some peas for a green vegetable. Otherwise some chopped parsley would be a nice garnish. This was very tasty served over mashed potatoes.

  • ShayLRoss on May 17, 2026

    Great way to use up peppers! I used sliced chicken thighs and topped the dish on buttered egg noodles. The flavor is not super strong (the paprika is very good), it's more on the mild side and good for a weeknight dinner.

• Herbed pork roast (Schweinebraten)

  • twoyolks on December 26, 2025

    The pork came out tender and juicy. I did not have a lot of liquid left with my roasted vegetables so I had to thin the sauce puree with chicken stock. I found that the celery root gave the sauce a distinct celery flavor.

• Stuffed cabbage rolls (Kohlrouladen)

  • ndschmidt on March 07, 2026

    Seriously the best cabbage rolls I’ve ever had. Subbed 80/20 ground venison and venison stock for beef but otherwise followed recipe exactly. My wife described it as the best ever meatloaf wrapped in cabbage. And the sauce was fantastic.

• Chicken fricassee (Hühnerfrikassee)

  • angrygreycat on January 31, 2025

    Nice tasting and sauce. Very similar to another recipe I have for Chicken Ala King. Not exactly sure which I like better as it has been a while since I made the Chicken alal king

  • Stephenn31 on March 02, 2026

    Easy dish. I also used the broth instead of water to cook the rice. It could use a bit more flavour. The egg-yolk emulsion at the end gave it a nice creaminess without the cream. But a nice warming cold-weather meal. Serve with a salad or something fresh.

• Spiced braised beef (Sauerbraten)

  • ndschmidt on February 11, 2026

    Made with a venison roast.

• Swabian meat and spinach dumplings (Maultaschen)

  • krwhte on February 16, 2025

    These turned out great! Not as complicated to assemble as the number of steps suggests. Dumplings held their shape well when cooking, regardless of whether they were fully sealed at the ends after cutting. Used a pre-mixed pound of ground beef/pork/veal.

• Pan-fried cod and potatoes in mustard sauce (Hamburger pannfisch)

  • pattyatbryce on December 23, 2024

    Really fun change of pace. Not sure why you need to fry the cod first. My fish ended up a tad overcooked by doing both. I think just putting it into the sauce would be plenty enough. We'll definitely make again.

  • Lepa on January 14, 2025

    This was good but took forever because I didn't realize I had to use boiled potatoes so I had to stop and make them before proceeding. Don't make my mistake! We ate this with a green salad with a sharp vinaigrette, which was great with the rich flavors here.

  • lkgrover on February 09, 2025

    Excellent cod with mustard sauce, and potatoes on the side. I used baby potatoes (which I did not peel), which may have decreased the preparation time.

  • korkyporky on February 17, 2025

    So good and different than how we usually eat fish.

  • Stephenn31 on March 05, 2026

    Don't oversalt the potatoes or fish or it will be overly salty. A delicious dish, a bit like fancy fish and chips.

  • Jhein12 on March 18, 2026

    A favorite

• Sour cherry bread pudding (Kirschenmichel)

  • shylastrath on June 30, 2025

    Topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and the cherry sauce from Ripe Figs. Added fresh nutmeg and only used 60g of sliced almonds (not slivered).

• Apple bread pudding (Scheiterhaufen)

  • Jhein12 on May 07, 2026

    Good for breakfast. It isn't very sweet.

• Torn souffléed pancake with plum compote (Kaiserschmarrn mit zwetschgenröster)

  • Jhein12 on May 07, 2026

    The compote is delicious

• Creamed kohlrabi (Kohlrabigemüse)

  • bernalgirl on December 24, 2024

    Th kohlrabi ended up grainy, the batons were an anwkward shape in the sauce, and I didn’t find the sauce complimentary. It might be better on cauliflower.

• Creamed Savoy cabbage (Wirsinggemüse)

  • pattyatbryce on December 23, 2024

    Excellent side dish. We really enjoyed even if we used a regular cabbage.

  • bernalgirl on February 12, 2026

    Delicious! I used regular green cabbage but otherwise followed the recipe. Lighter than expected.

• Braised red cabbage with apples and onions (Rotkohl)

  • Lsblackburn1 on October 08, 2025

    A bit more complicated than other red cabbage recipes, but worth it. I put the cloves and juniper berries in a cheese cloth.

  • korkyporky on December 26, 2025

    So good! Perfect accompaniment to beef stew for Christmas.

  • twoyolks on December 27, 2025

    I've tried other red cabbage recipes and this is by the far best I've made.

  • ndschmidt on February 11, 2026

    By far the best version of rotkohl if ever made or had.

  • ebalk02 on March 04, 2026

    This was very delicious, but next time I will put the juniper berries and cloves in a cheesecloth as suggested by another commenter.

  • Jhein12 on May 08, 2026

    Very good and it freezes well too.

• Braised green cabbage with onions and bacon (Bayrisch kraut)

  • twoyolks on December 26, 2025

    This was a pretty good version of braised green cabbage with a lot of flavor.

• Wine-braised sauerkraut

  • Stephenn31 on February 08, 2026

    A nice braised sauerkraut recipe. I used bacon so there was no need to add extra salt

• Fried potatoes with onions and bacon (Bratkartoffeln)

  • bernalgirl on January 01, 2025

    We don’t eat like this all the time so this was a treat. The recipe — using pre-cooked potatoes — comes together quickly and compliments each ingredient. We enjoyed this with grilled fish, I’d also like it with sausages.

• Bread dumplings (Semmelknödel)

  • bernalgirl on January 01, 2025

    This was the first recipe I made, using leftover sourdough bread and celery stuffing from Thanksgiving. My friend’s German mom made a bread dumpling that I adored which had celery and sage — those were very dense and these were surprisingly light. They were a great addition to turkey noodle soup.

  • ndschmidt on February 11, 2026

    Made the variant with pretzel rolls and served with goulasch. So good!

• Potato-buttermilk casserole (Buttermilchgetzen)

  • bernalgirl on February 14, 2025

    A surprisingly light potato casserole, easy to put together. I used diced pancetta, which is easier for me to find than the type of speck she describes. I thought it needed some seasoning, I’d consider augmenting with whatever works with the rest of the meal.

  • Jhein12 on May 07, 2026

    Really tasty

• Boiled peeled potatoes (Salzkartoffeln)

  • Lepa on November 25, 2025

    This is a simple recipe but so good with the right accompaniments. We ate this with the Szegediner Gulasch and it was delicious.

  • fprincess on February 22, 2026

    Simple yet precise recipe. Accompaniment to the goulash.

• Mashed potatoes (Kartoffelpurée)

  • anya_sf on December 15, 2025

    Good, less rich version of mashed potatoes. They turned out very fluffy. I'd never put nutmeg in mashed potatoes before, but enjoyed it here as a base for Konigsberger Klopse.

• Seidenklöbe

  • ebalk02 on March 04, 2026

    Nothing wrong with these in terms of flavor, but mine really started falling apart and were quite soft. Not sure what I did wrong. Will try next time with a ricer instead of mashing.

• Chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce (Schokoladenpudding mit vanillesobe)

  • ebalk02 on March 08, 2026

    A good, basic chocolate pudding. Nothing fancy, but it works!

• Bohemian steamed dumplings (Böhmische knödel)

  • Jhein12 on May 08, 2026

    Sadly extremely bland to me. Will not make again.

• Christina Mueller

  ...a primer on German flavor and the joy of home-based cooking. While recipe testing, I felt very much the hausfrau, one with lace curtains in the window and a pot of coffee at the ready.

  Full review