What to Eat with Fondue – Dippers, Sides and Drinks

How it works

What to eat with fondue starts with cubes of bread, the classic thing to dip in the cheese. The 51 ideas go on to potatoes, vegetables, meats, pickles and fruit, with sweet dippers for a chocolate pot and five drinks.

Read the full guide

What goes on a Swiss table

The Swiss way with a cheese fondue: a piece of bread goes on a long fork and is swirled in the pot. Vegetables and other foods are sometimes dipped too. A Swiss restaurant may set pickled gherkins, onions and olives beside it.

Cut everything to one bite

A dipper has to hold on a fork and go in whole. Bread with crust on every cube stays put, and soft fruit and cake hold better cold. Dry anything wet, or the cheese or chocolate slides off.

Cook potatoes, sausage and chicken before they reach the table. A cheese pot coats food and does not cook it.
Give everyone a small plate for pickles and salad, so the long fork is only for dipping.

Questions and answers

What do you eat with fondue?

Bread first: cubes of baguette or another crusty loaf. Then small boiled potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, cured ham and tart apple slices, with gherkins and pickled onions on the side.

What do you dip in chocolate fondue?

Slices of fruit, cake or pastry. On this list that means strawberries, banana, pineapple, orange segments and cherries, then pound cake, brownie bites, shortbread, waffle pieces, pretzel rods and marshmallows.

What do you drink with fondue?

Black tea is one of the drinks recommended with cheese fondue. The list also has sparkling water with lemon, sparkling apple juice and white grape juice, and cold milk for a chocolate pot. Every drink here is free of alcohol.

What is the crust at the bottom of the fondue pot?

It is called la religieuse, French for the nun: a thin layer of cheese that toasts on the bottom when the pot is kept warm to the end. It is crisp like a cracker, and people nearly always lift it out and eat it.

What do you eat with a meat fondue?

Dipping sauces. In fondue bourguignonne, pieces of meat are cooked in a pot of hot oil and the sauces are served on the side. When the pot holds broth instead, thin slices of meat are served with a salad.

All 51 ideas

Bread and potatoes 8

Baguette cubes Cut every cube with some crust on it, so it stays on the fork.
Breadsticks No fork needed: dip the end and bite.
Roasted baby potatoes A crisp skin gives the cheese something to cling to.
Rye bread cubes Dense and a little sour, it stands up to a strong cheese.
Small boiled potatoes Boil them in their skins and spear them whole.
Soft pretzel pieces Tear them to one bite each. The salt on the crust does the seasoning.
Sourdough cubes A day-old loaf is firmer and soaks up less, which is what you want here.
Toasted focaccia squares Toast them first so the soft middle does not fall apart in the pot.

Vegetables 11

Asparagus spears Steam them and hold the cut end: a dipper with its own handle.
Bell pepper strips Cut them wide, like scoops, and use them raw.
Broccoli florets A quick dip in boiling water keeps them bright and takes off the raw edge.
Button mushrooms Raw or quickly fried. The cap carries a spoonful of cheese.
Carrot sticks Raw for crunch, or briefly boiled if you like them softer.
Cauliflower florets Roast them until the edges brown and they taste almost nutty under cheese.
Cherry tomatoes Spear them through the stem end so they do not slide off into the pot.
Fennel wedges Crisp, with a light aniseed taste under the cheese.
Radishes Peppery and cold, a sharp bite between rich ones.
Roasted Brussels sprouts Halve them before roasting so the flat side browns.
Zucchini rounds Grill or fry thick slices first. Raw ones are watery.

Meat and seafood 8

Air-dried beef, sliced thin Roll a slice round a bread cube before you dip.
Cooked chicken cubes Grilled or roasted, and cut to one bite.
Cooked shrimp Leave the tail on to dip by hand, or take it off to dip by fork.
Cured ham Wrap a strip round a potato or a breadstick.
Salami slices Fold each slice in four and spear it through the layers.
Small cooked meatballs Use firm ones, or they break up in the pot.
Smoked sausage coins Fry the slices first so the edges crisp.
Steak bites Sear them and let them rest before they meet the cheese.

Pickles, fruit and salad 7

Gherkins Small sour pickles for the plate, eaten between dips.
Green grapes Cold from the fridge, a sweet break from the cheese.
Green salad with a sharp dressing Lemon or vinegar in the dressing is welcome beside a pot of cheese.
Olives Green or black, with the stones out, in a bowl of their own.
Pear slices Use pears that are still firm, so the slice holds on the fork.
Pickled pearl onions Sharp and sweet at once. Set a bowl beside the pot.
Tart apple slices Cut them just before serving. A squeeze of lemon stops them browning.

For chocolate fondue 12

Banana slices Cut them thick and dip them soon. They brown if they wait.
Brownie bites Chocolate on chocolate. Use the firm edge pieces.
Cherries on the stem The stem is the handle. Warn everyone about the stone.
Dried apricots Chewy and tart, and they never fall off the fork.
Marshmallows Big ones on a fork. They soften in the warm chocolate.
Orange segments Peel off as much of the white pith as you can.
Pineapple chunks Pat them dry first, or the chocolate slides off.
Pound cake cubes A firm cake is best. Chill the cubes first so they hold together.
Pretzel rods Salty against sweet, and long enough to dip without a fork.
Shortbread fingers Dip one end only, and quickly, before the biscuit softens.
Strawberries Leave the green top on as a handle, and dry them well so the chocolate sticks.
Waffle pieces Toast them so they stay crisp under the chocolate.

Drinks 5

Cold milk The plain choice beside a chocolate fondue.
Hot black tea Some say black tea is the drink to have with cheese fondue.
Sparkling apple juice Apple juice topped up with sparkling water and poured cold.
Sparkling water with lemon Cold and sharp between bites of melted cheese.
White grape juice Serve it cold in a small glass.