Egg Noodles substitute

Best substitute

Tagliatelle or Fresh Fettuccine

Use the same amount by weight as the egg noodles you are replacing

Best for beef stroganoff

Close match

Tagliatelle or fresh fettuccine are the closest, one for one by weight, because tagliatelle is itself an egg pasta. Dried fettuccine or linguine work at the same ratio if you finish them in the sauce with a tablespoon of butter to make up the richness. For soup, use orzo or broken spaghetti. The reason plain pasta feels wrong under goulash or stroganoff is that the egg does three specific jobs: it makes the noodle tender and slightly soft rather than firmly al dente, it makes it taste richer, and it leaves a more porous surface that soaks up gravy.

Other egg noodles substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Dried Fettuccine or Linguine
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Ordinary semolina ribbon pasta, the same width and roughly the same cook time, available in every shop.
What changes
Best for
stroganoff, goulash, chicken soup, casseroles, buttered noodles
Right shape, no egg. The difference you will notice is that it is leaner and springier, and the sauce sits on the surface rather than soaking in. Two fixes help a lot: drain it a minute early and finish it in the sauce for a minute so it absorbs some liquid, and stir in a tablespoon of butter or sour cream per serving to add the fat the egg would have brought.
3Pappardelle or Lasagna Sheets Cut Into Ribbons
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Very wide pasta, or plain lasagna sheets sliced into half-inch strips with a knife, which is a legitimate old trick for making broad noodles out of what is in the cupboard.
What changes
Best for
goulash, Sauerbraten, beef in gravy, mushroom sauces, rustic braises
Excellent for broad-noodle dishes because the wide ribbons carry gravy well, and many pappardelle brands are made with egg. Wide ribbons want more room and more stirring in the first minute or they stick together in sheets. The pieces feel more substantial and slightly chewier than a soft egg noodle.
4Spaetzle or Kluski Dumplings
Different texture
Use the same amount by volume, but serve about a quarter less
Soft German or Polish egg dumplings, made from a loose batter of flour, egg and milk, which do the same job of soaking up gravy and are even eggier than egg noodles.
What changes
Best for
goulash, Sauerbraten, schnitzel with gravy, beef braises, chicken paprikash
The same food family, taken further in the same direction. They hold gravy beautifully and taste richer. The dish becomes noticeably more dumpling-forward and starchier, and because they are denser than noodles a full-volume portion feels heavy, so cut it back by about a quarter. Brown them in butter afterwards for the best version.
5Orzo, Ditalini or Broken Spaghetti
Taste and texture differ
¾ the weight, soups only
Small pasta shapes for the specific case where the egg noodles were going into a soup rather than under a sauce.
What changes
Best for
chicken noodle soup, beef and vegetable soup, brothy dishes
A genuine improvement in one respect: small firm shapes hold up in leftovers where egg noodles go soft and slimy overnight. What you lose is the silky ribbon texture that makes chicken noodle soup comforting, and the soup reads more like a pasta soup. Use less by weight because these shapes swell more in broth.
6Wide Rice Noodles (Gluten-Free)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Flat rice stick noodles of the kind used for pad thai, soaked or briefly boiled, for anyone avoiding wheat.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free stroganoff, goulash, soups, buttered noodles
The softness and slipperiness are closer than you would expect, and they take sauce reasonably well. There is no egg richness and no wheat flavour, so the dish tastes lighter and slightly sweeter, and they turn gummy and stick together in leftovers. Rinse them after cooking and toss with a little butter or oil before saucing.

What is Egg Noodles?

Egg Noodles is the flat wheat ribbon pasta enriched with whole egg, sold dried as curly nests or broad flat strips and known as Eiernudeln in German and as kluski in Polish kitchens, where the egg is what makes the noodle richer, softer and more tender than plain semolina pasta, so it clings to gravy and stays pleasant in soup.

Cooking tips

Egg noodles cook fast and the window between tender and mushy is about a minute. Start tasting at five minutes, and if they are going to sit in gravy or bake in a casserole, drain them while they are still slightly firm.
Salt the water more lightly than you would for pasta if the noodles are heading into a salty gravy or a canned-soup casserole. Egg noodles are more absorbent than semolina pasta, so they take up more of whatever liquid they sit in, salt included.
Do not rinse them. The starch clinging to the surface is exactly what makes stroganoff and paprikash sauces cling instead of sliding off into a puddle at the bottom of the bowl.
For a casserole, undercook the noodles by two to three minutes. They will finish in the oven while absorbing sauce, and fully cooked noodles collapse into paste after half an hour at 350F.
Go by weight, not by cups. A bag of curly egg noodle nests looks like an enormous amount next to the same weight of fettuccine, and measuring by volume is how people end up with double the noodles the recipe intended.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use regular pasta instead of egg noodles?

Yes, and fettuccine or linguine are the obvious choices because they are the same shape. What changes is texture and richness: without egg the noodle is springier and leaner, cooks firmer, and lets sauce sit on the surface instead of soaking in, which is why stroganoff made with plain pasta can feel like sauce on spaghetti rather than a single dish. Two easy corrections get most of it back: drain the pasta a minute early and finish it in the pan with the sauce, and stir in a tablespoon of butter or sour cream per serving.

What is the difference between egg noodles and pasta?

Both are wheat dough, but egg noodles are made with whole eggs and usually softer wheat, while most dried Italian pasta is semolina and water. The egg does three things: its proteins set quickly so the noodle stays tender and slightly soft rather than firmly al dente, the yolk's fat and lecithin make it taste richer and help sauce cling, and the resulting surface is more porous so it drinks up gravy. That is precisely why goulash, stroganoff, Sauerbraten and chicken soup call for egg noodles. Italian egg pastas such as tagliatelle sit in between and are the best substitute.

Can I just leave the noodles out?

You can, as long as you replace the starch that was going to carry the sauce. Goulash, stroganoff and Sauerbraten all work beautifully over boiled or mashed potatoes, over rice, or with dense bread and butter alongside, and in many parts of Central Europe potatoes are the more traditional partner anyway. What you cannot do is serve the sauce on its own, because these dishes are built around a bland absorbent starch balancing a rich, sour, paprika-heavy gravy. In chicken noodle soup, add extra vegetables, rice or barley instead.

Are egg noodles gluten-free?

No. Standard egg noodles are made from wheat flour, and the egg does not change that. For a gluten-free version, wide flat rice noodles are the closest in softness and slipperiness, gluten-free tagliatelle made from corn and rice flour is the closest in shape and flavour, and both will taste lighter with less richness. Some gluten-free brands also make egg-enriched noodles, which are the best of both. Check labels rather than assuming, since gluten-free pastas vary a lot in how well they hold up to gravy.

How do I make egg noodles from scratch?

It is genuinely easy and takes about twenty minutes of work. Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, adding a splash of milk or water only if the dough refuses to come together, knead it for five minutes until smooth, rest it covered for thirty minutes, then roll it thin, flour it well, roll it up loosely and slice it into ribbons. Boil for three to four minutes in well-salted water. Homemade noodles are softer and more absorbent than anything in a box, which is exactly what a goulash wants.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Egg Noodles substitute

Other egg noodles substitutes

2Dried Fettuccine or Linguine

3Pappardelle or Lasagna Sheets Cut Into Ribbons

4Spaetzle or Kluski Dumplings

5Orzo, Ditalini or Broken Spaghetti

6Wide Rice Noodles (Gluten-Free)