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    Home » Recipes » Plain Culture

    Authentic Amish Rivel Soup

    Published: Dec 2, 2022 · Updated: Dec 2, 2022 by Kevin Williams | 5 Comments

    Rivel soup is a cherished dumpling-dappled tradition in Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish kitchen.

    Jump to Recipe

     Family 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.

    Jump to:
    • ❓What are Rivels?
    • 🥣 Rivel Soup Ingredients
    • 📋Instructions
    • 🥣 More Amish Soup Recipes
    • 🖨️ Full Recipe

    Authentic German Rivel Soup

    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!

    Amish Rivel Soup
    Delicious, easy, rivel soup! We found it on the menu at Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen in Mt. Hope, Ohio.

    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.

    Diced potatoes are a key ingredient

    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

    1.  Mix eggs and salt, add flour a little at a time stirring until mixture is of a sticky noodle consistency.   
    2. Set aside.
    3. HINT:  place some flour in a bowl and dip your fingers in the flour before handling the dough.

    Soup

    1. Boil 4 cups of water in 5 quart pot.
    2.  Add potatoes and onions and cook until potatoes are firm but cooked.  
    3. Add milk, salt, and butter.  
    4.  When soup begins to boil, drop in scant teaspoon-sized drops of rivel dough.  
    5.  Keep stirring so that the rivels do not stick together.
    6.  Lower heat and simmer 3-5 minutes.
    7. Serve in bowl and top with a small pat of butter and pepper to taste.  
    8. 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

    Winter's Day Soup

    Bupli

    Amish Turkey Soup

    One-Kettle Soup

    🖨️ Full Recipe

    Amish rivel soup

    This is classic winter comfort soup, rich in Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. The basic version of the recipe is potatoes, onion, a water-based broth, and tiny dumplings, but you can add your own touches this special soup!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Soup
    Cuisine American, Amish

    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.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « Old-Fashioned Amish Molasses Cookies
    Can The Amish Use Electricity? »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Arlene McBride

      January 27, 2019 at 1:35 pm

      Always enjoy reading your article, the recipes you share are amazing and have tried lots of them. Thank you so much

      Reply
    2. Laura Ludovici

      February 02, 2019 at 10:29 am

      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.

      Reply
    3. Debbie

      January 08, 2022 at 12:23 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        January 11, 2022 at 2:18 pm

        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!

        Reply
    4. Debbie

      January 11, 2022 at 2:11 pm

      I guess I won't comment or ask questions anymore. They don't get posted or answered.

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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