Maultaschen — Swabian Meat Pockets
A German dinner built around fresh pasta sheets and ground pork — on the table in 90 minutes.
✓ USDA-verified nutrition data
529 calories
47g protein
47g carbs
17g fat
3g fiber
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fresh pasta sheets
- 0.5 lb Ground pork
- 0.5 lb Ground beef
- 10 oz Frozen spinach
- 1 Yellow onion
- 2 Eggs
- 0.5 cup Breadcrumbs
- 6 cups Beef broth
- 0.5 tsp Nutmeg
Steps
- Squeeze the thawed spinach bone-dry, chop it fine, and mix it with the pork, beef, minced onion, one egg, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, salt, and plenty of pepper. The filling should be well-seasoned — bland filling is the classic maultaschen failure.
- Lay out a pasta sheet and brush the edges with beaten egg. Pipe or spoon the filling in a log down the center, leaving a 1-inch border.
- Fold the sheet over the filling, pressing out all air pockets as you seal — trapped air makes them burst in the broth. Crimp firmly, then cut into 3-inch pockets.
- Simmer gently in the beef broth, never boiling, for 12 to 15 minutes until the pasta is tender and the pockets float.
- Serve two ways: ladled with the broth as soup, or sliced and pan-fried in butter with onions and topped with a fried egg — the Swabian hangover cure known as “geröstete Maultaschen.”