• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
dirndl kitchen
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
    • Main Courses
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Bread & Rolls
    • Pastries
    • Cakes
    • Sides
    • Drinks
    • Christmas
    • Oktoberfest
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • About
  • Meal Guide
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
      • Main Courses
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast
      • Bread & Rolls
      • Pastries
      • Cakes
      • Sides
      • Drinks
      • Christmas
      • Oktoberfest
    • Lifestyle
      • Travel
    • About
    • Meal Guide
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » German Recipes

    Rahmspinat Nudelauflauf mit Bratwurstbällchen: German Creamed Spinach Pasta Casserole with Bratwurst Meatballs

    Published: Feb 26, 2021 · Modified: Apr 26, 2022 by dirndlkitchen · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This German pasta casserole is one I want to take a bath in! I love everything about it from the loads of creamy spinach to the rustic bratwurst meatballs.

    Rahmspinat Auflauf

    About this Recipe

    dirndl kitchen rahmspinat nudelauflauf mit bratwurstbällchen german pasta casserole recipe9

    dirndl kitchen rahmspinat nudelauflauf mit bratwurstbällchen german pasta casserole recipe7

    This Is A Sponsored Post That Contains Affiliate Links

    I wasn't always a spinach fan. But creamed spinach is what got me hooked. I remember eating lunch at a friend's house when growing up and her mom served creamed spinach with I can't remember what else (Leberkäse and a fried egg is a good guess - oh how I miss Leberkäse!). And that's not the point. The point is that I remember that day as the day when I fell in love with spinach. Suddenly I was in love with all things spinach such as spinach stuffed ravioli (I even made these myself when I was 8! It turned out to be more of a spinach soup, but we still had fun!), frozen spinach pizza (I'd always burn the roof of my mouth on this one because I wouldn't stand waiting for it to cool enough to eat! But I remember it being so good and garlicky!) and also Maultaschen, which I have posted on my blog before!

    Today I decided to take my spinach love to the next level and create a pasta dish that screams creamy, garlicky spinach, combined with the rustic flavors of crisp-sautéed Bratwurst in meatball shape and so many different kinds of the best cheeses. I even got a little extra excited and made my own spinach pasta using my KitchenAid attachment to go along with it! I believe it was worth it if you want to spend your time making pasta (it's so therapeutic to me!), but to make this a quicker and still super satisfying experience, you can of course just use prepared pasta (and you can buy spinach pasta that's prepared as well, although plain pasta is great too!). Feel free to choose any pasta shape, but I think a long, wide pasta like tagliatelle or fettuccine are exceptionally great in this pasta casserole.

    Also, if you want to make this extra German, you can use my Bratwurst recipe, omit the hardest part (stuffing them into casings!), and just use ground meats (so you don't have to use a meat grinder) and finely chopped bacon etc. in the making of your Bratwurst meatballs! Buying good, fresh brats from your local butcher is of course a great option as well and the route I took, especially since I already made my own pasta too (I used beer brats, but I am already dreaming about using all kinds of different brats next!). Please make sure it's fresh, raw bratwurst though, so you can then remove the casing and shape the meatballs. You'll love this, I promise!

    For the creaminess and cheesiness in this dish I went FOUR different routes. Cream and cream cheese are finding their way into the spinach, which gets mingled with the pasta, then shredded gruyère is sprinkled atop to crisp up during baking, and finally pecorino (you can also use parmesan if pecorino is not available) is grated over the top after it comes out of the oven piping hot. I love this fancy cheese grater, which will make you feel like you're at an Italian restaurant.

    This dish also boats with vitamins and minerals like vitamin A and C, potassium and iron, mostly from the crazy amount of spinach you're using. So eat up and feel good about this über creamy, spinach-garlicky pasta dish! My 2-year-old loved it too and I bet you could turn any spinach sceptic into a spinach lover with this casserole!

    Scroll on down for the recipe, now in printable version.

    Rahmspinat Auflauf Essentials

    Drink Pairing:

    Bärenjäger Dunkel

    dirndl kitchen rahmspinat nudelauflauf mit bratwurstbällchen german pasta casserole recipe10

    The Bratwurst screamed beer at me, so I gave in and gave it what it wanted! A refreshing local Dunkel from KC Bier Co. was chosen and a shot of delicious Bärenjäger honey liqueur was chosen to lightly sweeten and enhance the rustic flavors of this bratwurst, gruyère and pecorino cheeses. Try this out at home with a Dunkel from your local brewery and of course Bärenjäger, a natural German honey liqueur.

    To find out where Bärenjäger (also available in Honey Bourbon!) is available in your area, fill out the short product finder form.

    Prost!

    More German Pasta Recipes

    Pesto Pasta Salad

    Make This

    Maultaschen

    Maultaschen in vegetable broth - so good!

    Make This

    Kohlrabi Spaghetti

    Kohlrabi Spaghetti served in a bowl with green onions and chopped pumpkin seeds

    Make This

    Next Up:

    Griessklösschensuppe

    Next up is a traditional and easy German soup recipe with dumplings that's very popular with kids too. Make sure to subscribe to my blog now, so you're not missing out when this new Griessklösschensuppe post goes live!

    dirndl kitchen rahmspinat nudelauflauf mit bratwurstbällchen german pasta casserole recipe7

    Rahmspinat Nudelauflauf mit Bratwurstbällchen: German Creamed Spinach Pasta Casserole with Bratwurst Meatballs

    This German pasta casserole is one I want to take a bath in! I love everything about it from the loads of creamy spinach to the rustic bratwurst meatballs.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Baking Time 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Dinner, Main Course
    Cuisine German
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 805 kcal

    Equipment

    • Casserole Dish
    • Immersion Blender
    • Cheese Grater
    • Serving Tongs
    • Grater for Nutmeg

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 500 g fresh pasta tagliatelle or fettuccine
    • 200 g fresh, raw bratwurst from the meat counter
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 450 g fresh spinach that's one giant clamshell, reserve one handful to fold in with pasta before baking
    • 1 onion chopped
    • 1 garlic clove minced
    • 1.5 teaspoon vegetable bouillon
    • 150 ml heavy whipping cream
    • 100 g cream cheese
    • freshly grated nutmeg to taste
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 75 g gruyère cheese finely grated
    • 50 g pecorino cheese finely grated (can sub Parmesan if you can't find it)

    Instructions
     

    • Remove the casing from the bratwurst and shape into meatballs. Cook over medium heat until browned from all sides, about 10 minutes.
    • In the meantime, sautee the onion in the butter over medium heat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
    • Now turn the heat to low, stir in the spinach and let it wilt in steps until it's all worked in. Reserve one handful of spinach to fold in with the pasta before baking.
    • Add the cream and blend (I like to use an immersion blender for this) until smooth.
    • Add in the vegetable bouillon and cream cheese and heat until all the cream cheese has incorporated. Season with salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg.
    • Cook the pasta according to directions (cook to al dente, so on the low end of the recommended time).
    • Add the cooked pasta to the spinach mixture and stir together, adding the reserved handful of spinach.
    • Transfer to a casserole dish (if your pan is oven-safe, you can also bake it in there and save yourself some clean-up!).
    • Top with the meatballs and gruyère cheese, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Top with freshly grated Pecorino cheese (can sub Parmesan cheese), then serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 805kcalCarbohydrates: 79gProtein: 27gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 215mgSodium: 673mgPotassium: 1132mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 11590IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 202mgIron: 8mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Sponsored Content and Affiliate Links Disclosure

    I received compensation from Niche Import Co. in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.

    More German Recipes

    • Amazing Homemade Currywurst
    • The BEST Fried Chicken Wings (Flieten)
    • Raclette in Summer
    • The BEST Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce (Jägerschnitzel)

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Sophie Sadler dirndl kitchen headshot

    Hallo, I'm Sophie!

    I am so happy that you are here at my German food and recipe blog named dirndl kitchen! Let's cook and bake authentic German recipes to help us feel closer to Germany!

    I moved from Germany to the United States in 2009 and soon started to terribly miss the German food (okay, my family, too)! I still miss a nice weekend brunch with crusty Brötchen (rolls) and Teilchen (pastries), Döner Kebab and German cake and coffee time at 15 o'clock! So I decided to educate my fellow Germany-missing friends by writing about German food and traditions. I do so in a fun way with easy-to-follow recipes! I hope you stay a while and bookmark some recipes, so we can cook and bake together.

    Mit viel Liebe (with much love)

    More about me →

    Trending

    • Authentic, Soft German Pretzels (Brezeln)
    • Döner Kebab Recipe (Chicken Version)
    • German Potato Salad with Würstchen
    • How to make Donuts (German Berliner)
    • Pretzel Beer Bubble Bread
    • Easy German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
    • Rumtopf Tagebuch: German Rumpot Recipe
    • Creamy Pasta Salad Recipe (Nudelsalat)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for new recipes

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 dirndl kitchen