National Dish Austria: Schinkenfleckerl (Recipe)
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Schinkenfleckerl is Viennese home cooking at its most comforting: square pasta Fleckerl, diced ham and a custard of egg and soured cream, baked until the top turns golden and the edges catch. It began as a way of using up yesterday’s noodles and yesterday’s ham, and it became one of the dishes Austrians are most sentimental about.
About Schinkenfleckerl
The Austrian Schinkenfleckerl is a genuine classic of everyday cooking. Square Fleckerl noodles, diced ham and a creamy egg-and-soured-cream custard combine into something greater than the sum of its parts. It is straightforward to make and works equally well for a special occasion or a Tuesday evening — the kind of dish that puts a piece of Austria on the table for the people you like most.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200 g Fleckerl noodles (square pasta; quadrucci or broken tagliatelle also work)
- 150 g cooked ham, diced
- 2 eggs
- 150 g soured cream or crème fraîche
- 100 ml milk
- 80 g grated Emmental or mountain cheese
- 1 small onion
- Butter, for the dish
- Salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
Shopping for the ingredients
Proper Fleckerl are sold in Austrian and German supermarkets and by good Italian delis as quadrucci; failing that, snap tagliatelle into squares. Buy the ham in one piece and dice it yourself — it keeps far more texture than pre-cut cubes. A well-matured Emmental or an alpine cheese brings the nutty depth that makes the topping worthwhile.
Preparing the dish
Cook the noodles in plenty of salted water until just al dente — they will continue cooking in the oven, so stop early. Dice the onion finely and the ham into pieces roughly the size of the pasta squares. Whisk the eggs with the soured cream and milk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and butter your baking dish generously. Heat the oven to 190 °C.
Step-by-step instructions
- Cook the Fleckerl until just al dente, then drain well.
- Sweat the diced onion in a little butter until translucent, add the ham and fry briefly.
- Whisk the eggs with the soured cream and milk; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Combine the noodles, onion and ham, and tip into the buttered dish.
- Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top.
- Scatter over the grated cheese.
- Bake at 190 °C for 25–30 minutes, until set and golden brown.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Gluten-free pasta works well here — cook it a touch under, as it softens quickly in the custard. For a lactose-free version, use a plant-based cream and a lactose-free hard cheese; the egg still sets the bake reliably. Check that your ham is free from additives if you are cooking around intolerances.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Leave out the ham and the dish becomes a Käsefleckerl, a genuine Austrian variant in its own right — add sautéed mushrooms or leeks for savoury depth. A fully vegan version works with plant-based cream, a spoonful of cornflour in place of the eggs and a good melting vegan cheese; the texture is softer but the comfort survives intact.
More tips and tricks
The prized part of a Schinkenfleckerl is the crust, so use a wide dish rather than a deep one — more surface means more crispy edges. Do not over-boil the pasta, and let the bake rest for five minutes after it leaves the oven so the custard firms up and cuts cleanly. A knob of butter dotted over the top before baking never hurt anyone.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Some cooks fold in a spoonful of mustard or a handful of chopped parsley, others add sautéed mushrooms or peas. Smoked ham gives a deeper flavour than cooked ham, and a mixture of the two is arguably best. In Vienna you will also meet versions enriched with a little more cheese and a splash of cream — nobody will object.
Ingredient substitutions
Any short pasta with flat surfaces stands in for Fleckerl: farfalle, small penne or broken lasagne sheets all work. Soured cream can be replaced by crème fraîche, quark or Greek yoghurt. Gruyère, Comté or a mature Gouda are all fine substitutes for the Emmental.
Drink pairing ideas
A crisp Austrian Grüner Veltliner is the natural partner, its pepperiness cutting through the richness. A light lager does the same job. For something alcohol-free, sparkling apple juice — Apfelsaft gespritzt — is what many Austrian families put on the table alongside.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve Schinkenfleckerl straight from the dish while the top is still crisp, with a green salad dressed in pumpkin seed oil beside it — the classic Austrian counterpoint. A little chopped chive over the top adds colour. It reheats well the next day, which many people insist is when it tastes best.
A bit of history
Schinkenfleckerl belongs to the old Viennese repertoire of Mehlspeisen and thrifty pasta bakes that fed the city’s households through the 19th century. Fleckerl themselves are among the oldest pasta shapes in Central Europe, and pairing them with ham and a baked custard turned leftovers into something worth waiting for — a genuine window onto Austrian cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Schinkenfleckerl
Schinkenfleckerl is a baked pasta dish of square noodles, ham and a soured cream custard, crowned with melted cheese. It asks for nothing exotic, comes together in well under an hour and delivers exactly the kind of comfort Austrian home cooking is famous for. Make it once and it will join your regular rotation.
