Authentic Amish Rivel Soup

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

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 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.

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

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

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