Main dish

Cheese Fondue with Apple Cider

Melted cheese fondue with a mixture of fun things to dip in it! Fondue parties are the best and this fondue is made with apple cider, Fontina and Gruyere!

To recipe
cheese fondue
Recipe insights & TIPS

Every good NewYear's Eve party should have cheese fondue and plenty of veggies for dipping!

cheese fondue

Have you ever had cheese fondue? If you're a big fan of gooey, melted cheese (who isn't?) you need to make this happen! It's not that hard to put together and it's so much fun because it brings everyone together around one pot, so make sure you like who you invite to your party! But cheese fondue isn't just for parties, you can make this a dinner option and I bet the kids will love it. There's no need for knives or forks and stabbing things and dipping them in cheese is something any kid would probably love to do!

Making the cheese fondue.

With only a few ingredients you'd think this would be stove to table in five minutes, actually, there's a fair bit of stirring involved but it's so worth it. It's important to add the cheese gradually and not add any more until the last batch has almost melted. Making fondue takes patience and you might think things are taking too long but hang in there because the cheese will eventually melt and become thick and shiny. As soon as you take the cheese away from its heat source it'll begin to cool and become thicker. You can bring it back to the original consistency by placing back on the heat and adding some more liquid such as cream or milk and whisking constantly.

melted cheese for fondue

What kind of cheese should I use?

Personally, I love to use strong flavor cheeses so Fontina, Gruyere and mature cheddars are all good choices. Fondue is a Swiss recipe so naturally, you'll see a lot of recipes using Swiss cheese but I think it lacks flavor. It's really up to you, but just make sure the cheese you end up using is a good melting cheese, so stay away from any hard cheeses.

What should I use for the liquid?

Fondue usually calls for white wine to be mixed with the cheese, but since I had some hard apple cider in the fridge, I used that instead and it worked out perfectly. Make sure that you're using the alcoholic apple cider and not the apple juice kind.

cheese fondue in a pot

What can I use for dipping in my cheese fondue?

This is the fun part of making fondue in my opinion. When all of the mixing is done, you're almost ready to eat! I recommend preparing all of your sides before you even start making the cheese fondue because once that fondue is ready, you'll want to serve it right away. Be mindful that you're dipping things in thick heavy cheese so you need to use items that can stand up to that and not break or end up falling from the fondue fork right back into the cheese. Here's a list of my favorites.

  • Fresh fruit such as apples, pear, and melon.
  • Potatoes preferably the small baby whole potatoes. You can buy really good varieties that can be easily cooked in the microwave in a few minutes.
  • No fondue would be complete without some really good crusty bread. Some of my favorites are sourdough, rye and anything heavy on seeds. Slice it into thick cubes and start dipping.
  • Tofu, tempeh or veggie sausages.
  • Vegetables like broccoli, green beans, cauliflower. I prefer to quickly blanch them in some hot water rather than eat them raw but don't cook them more than a few minutes. All of these can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.
  • Mixed mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. I'd keep the asparagus long and just dip them like that, instead of cutting them up.
bread dipped in cheese fondue
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Recipe

Deliciously melted cheese fondue with a mixture of fun things to dip in it! Fondue parties are the best and this cheese fondue is made with apple cider, Fontina, and Gruyere for maximum flavor!

Course:
Main dish
COOKing TIME:
30 minutes
Total TIME:
45 minutes
CUISINE:
American
PREP TIME:
15 minutes
SERVINGS:
4

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1/2 pound Fontina cheese grated
  • 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese grated
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch divided
  • tofu
  • crusty bread
  • broccoli
  • sliced apples
  • Baby potatoes

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. In a pot bring the apple cider to a simmer and then turn the heat to medium
  2. Toss the Fontina cheese with one tbsp of the cornstarch and toss the grated Gruyere with the remaining tbsp of cornstarch.
  3. Add the Fontina cheese gradually to the warm apple cider whisking as you do. Don't add any more until the last cheese has melted, it'll still be stringy.
  4. Once all of the Fontina has been added begin adding the grated Gruyere in stages.
  5. Keep whisking until the cheese has melted and the fondue becomes thick and less stringy, but more like a cheese sauce.
  6. You can serve the fondue in another container or just keep it in the pot that it was cooked in.
  7. If the cheese fondue begins to thicken too much after it's been away from the heat, place it back on the heat and add about 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream or milk and stir over the heat for a few minutes until the consistency becomes thinner.

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