Meanings
- pluralsingularBoiled ball- or oval-shaped dumplings with a filling, with the dough either being potato-based or made of choux pastry, or sometimes curd-based, and filled with fruits (whole strawberries, prune plums, apricots, pieces of apples), mushrooms, curd cheese, meat, and other ingredients, popular in Central and Eastern European countries, the fruit-filled variant being eaten as dessert, a main dish, or a side dish.
At Breaker Breaker, try the pierogi, pyzy (potato dumplings filled with smoked duck), kluski Slaskie with mushroom gravy, rolled pork belly sandwich and strawberry-filled knedle.
2026 March 29, Sam Flemming, “From cross-cultural barbecue collabs to Polish comfort food: Atlanta pop-ups you can’t miss this week”, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, volume 78, number 88, Atlanta, Ga., →ISSN, →OCLC, page E2, column 44 more examples
The meal accompanying the beer will probably be what is just about the national dish – a beef or pork goulash in a golden-to-dark gravy with dumplings known as knedle that resemble slices of rectangular, crustless white bread rather than the round balls of dough more familiar to Americans.
1990 March 4, Joanne Furio, “Fare of the Country: In Czechoslovakia’s Hearty Pubs, Goulash and Beer”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Apr 2010Knedle, by the way, is a kind of pierogi which, translated literally, means “small pies.” While knedle and kluski are easy to make, knedle can be special ordered from Polish delicatessens that handle catering such as The Polish Place Deli, […] Uncooked knedle can be frozen in airtight containers for up to six months but must be dusted with flour first.
2008 October 2, Pamela Silvestri, “Kneading kluski and knedle […]”, in Staten Island Advance, Staten Island, N.Y., →OCLC, page E11, column 1Stocked with imported dill pickles, celery salad, grated beets, sauerkraut, and farmer’s cheese, Star Bakery & Deli supplies pierogies, sernik (cheesecake), knedle (plum-filled dumplings), and still more paczki for the road.
2008 November 12, Genevieve Rajewski, “A little bit of Poland just a train ride away”, in The Boston Globe, volume 274, number 135, Boston, Mass., →ISSN, →OCLC, “G” section, page 25, column 3“My inbox is always open,” says [Alice] Zaslavsky, referencing a direct message she had received that morning from a woman wondering if lamb shmaltz would be too intense for knedle. (The answer was yes.)
2025 June 7, Laura Brehaut, “The joy of salads […]”, in National Post, volume 27, number 179, Toronto, Ont., →ISSN, →OCLC, page FP19, column 2
Origin
- Czech, Polish, and Slovakknedle
- Englishknedle
From Czech, Polish, and Slovak knedle, etc. Doublet of knaidel, knödel, and quenelle.
More words from Czech, Polish, and Slovak
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
knedle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knedle
“knedle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knedle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knedle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knedle.
Source: knedle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.