Rivel soup is a cherished dumpling-dappled tradition in Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish kitchen.
Jump to RecipeFamily friend - and great friend of Amish365 - Paula Cohen, made this popular Amish soup in her kitchen and shared her experience with us. Rivel soup is perfect for these cold-weather days. Read Paula's take on authentic Amish rivel soup and her recipe, which is pretty much the same as most others I have seen, below.

But before we get to Paula, let's answer the question:
❓What are Rivels?
Answer: rivels are tiny dumplings boiled in broth. If you answered correctly, you are an Amish cooking champ!
Rivels are so popular in Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish kitchens. Rivels are just doughy lumps or little dumplings, but they are the ultimate comfort food on a cold winter days. A small bowl of rivel soup and some bread....Wow! And this soup takes so little prep time, that it makes the reward all the better. You can make this on the stovetop over medium heat inside your cozy kitchen and enjoy the comfort. You can make this in a dutch oven also, if you are doing a big batch. My mother in law would do that.
This Authentic Amish rivel soup recipe is an old fashioned recipe that you'd find in your great grandmothers kitchen. In Pennsylvania Dutch cooking rivels are right up there with chicken corn soup in terms of tradition. Now a purist will leave the recipe as it is, but there are versions that call for rice, carrots, diced celery, corn kernels, and even chicken meat cooked until fork tender. And you can add seasonings beyond what are called for here: dried parsley, a bay leaf, cloves of garlic, or black pepper are all things you can experiment with.
This is a very basic soup scratched of the lean early American years. Water is the main base, but you can experiment with chicken broth, beef broth, or turkey broth or a bouillon cube to add some additional flavor. But, again, for rivel purists, keep the recipe as it is below!
By Paula W. Cohen
Of German heritage, my grandmother, Mrs. Frieda Auchauer Matheny, had a cold weather, stick-to-the-ribs soup. Rivel Soup was made using her “pinch and dab and cook until it looks done” method of cooking. This gives all future generations plenty of lee-way on what amounts of ingredients are used. I still use the eye-ball method of cooking so these measurements are a generalization of what goes in my favorite comfort food.
PAULA'S PRO TIP: I believe you can never use too many onions so don’t skimp. For thicker, richer, broth, use 2 c. milk and 2 c. ½ and ½.
🥣 Rivel Soup Ingredients
- 4 cups water, boiled
- 3-4 large potatoes or 6 smaller ones cut in ½ in cubes
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 4 cups milk
- 1 t. salt
- 1 stick butter
- Pepper to taste
Rivels
- 3 eggs, beaten well in a medium bowl
- 1 t. salt
- 1 c. flour
📋Instructions
Rivels
- Mix eggs and salt, add flour a little at a time stirring until mixture is of a sticky noodle consistency.
- Set aside.
- HINT: place some flour in a bowl and dip your fingers in the flour before handling the dough.
Soup
- Boil 4 cups of water in 5 quart pot.
- Add potatoes and onions and cook until potatoes are firm but cooked.
- Add milk, salt, and butter.
- When soup begins to boil, drop in scant teaspoon-sized drops of rivel dough.
- Keep stirring so that the rivels do not stick together.
- Lower heat and simmer 3-5 minutes.
- Serve in bowl and top with a small pat of butter and pepper to taste.
- NOTE: Potatoes absorb salt so you may want to add more to your taste after serving. Serves 6-8. It refrigerates well and is easily zapped in the microwave for leftovers.
🥣 More Amish Soup Recipes
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish rivel soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 4 cups water, boiled
- 3-4 large potatoes or 6 smaller ones cut in ½ in cubes
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter
- Pepper to taste
Rivels
- 3 eggs, beaten well in medium bowl
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
Instructions
- Rivels: Mix eggs and salt, add flour a little at a time stirring untilmixture is of a sticky noodle consistency. Set aside.
- PAULA'S PRO TIP: place some flour in a bowl and dip your fingers in the flour beforehandling the dough.
Soup
- Boil 4 cups of water in 5 quart pot.
- Add potatoes and onions andcook until potatoes are firm but cooked. A
- Add milk, salt, and butter.
- When soup begins to boil, drop in scant teaspoon-sized drops of rivel dough.
- Keep stirring so that the rivels do not sticktogether. Lower heat and simmer 3-5 minutes.Serve in bowl and top with a small pat of butter and pepper to taste.
Arlene McBride
Always enjoy reading your article, the recipes you share are amazing and have tried lots of them. Thank you so much
Laura Ludovici
Made this and it is delicious. Only thing here in Berks County, PA we call rivels tiny little things like a rice grain almost. These dumplings are like my German great aunt's. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Debbie
After boiling the potatoes, do you leave the water in the pot or drain? My German grandma didn't make Rivvel soup for us, but I'd like to make it!
Kevin Williams
Sorry, Debbie, I try my best, but sometimes I miss a comment. Don't drain the water from the potatoes, that is used also. It's a great soup!
Debbie
I guess I won't comment or ask questions anymore. They don't get posted or answered.
Mel
I live in Indiana and my mother makes this soup but she didn't know the history of it. Her family is German, and through the years everyone ended up calling them "rivlets." I was searching through recipes online and was disappointed that most of the potato soups were overly creamy or had chicken stock. But what I always loved about this soup was that the potato provides most of the flavor, and the thickening comes naturally if you cook it long enough. I was so excited when I saw that this recipe is the same way we make it! The proportions are exactly the same--I used to side-eye my mom about all of that butter--but it looks like that's exactly the way it's supposed to be! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Kevin Williams
Thanks for sharing your rivel experience, I hope this recipe works for you, it's a good one!