This Easy Cheese Fondue recipe with white wine is a great appetizer to enjoy at home for Valentine’s Day, game day, New Years Eve, or cozy date nights. You only need a few ingredients to make the most silky, smooth, delicious cheese fondue.
The most important ingredient is obviously the cheese. Stick with firm cheeses such as Gruyere, Emmentaler, cheddar, and Swiss, and be sure to grate your own from a brick. The white wine and lemon juice help break up some of the proteins in the cheese to make sure you get the most creamy fondue cheese possible. For cheese fondue dippers, I like to serve with chunks of sourdough bread, pretzels, crackers, veggies, meatballs, and so much more.
Here's a step by step video on how to make Homemade Cheese Fondue for any special occasion!
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Easy Cheese Fondue Recipe
This Easy Cheese Fondue recipe is for all of the cheese fanatics out there! Picture this: gooey, melty cheese bubbling away in a pot, just waiting to be paired with a variety of Cheese Fondue dippers. From crusty bread to crunchy veggies, each bite is a taste of cheesy heaven. So grab your fondue forks and get ready to indulge in the ultimate cheesy extravaganza.
Our fondue cheese is made with a combination of Swiss, Gruyere, and cheddar cheeses. White wine and lemon juice add flavor but also help keep the fondue as creamy and smooth as possible. This appetizer is perfect for date nights and Valentine’s Day, but can also be fun to make with kids.
Want to make it a complete fondue event? Try our Chocolate Fondue for dessert!
Fondue Cheese Ingredients
- Cheese - the most important thing to remember when picking cheese for fondue is to use brick or block cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has additives that prevent it from melting into a creamy sauce. For this recipe I used a combination of Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, and cheddar cheese.
- Cornstarch - this is tossed with the grated cheese to help thicken the fondue.
- Garlic - you will need one large clove or about ½ teaspoon of garlic oil from a jar of minced garlic. Cut the clove in half and rub on the inside of the pot.
- White Wine - you can also use apple juice. The acids in the wine help stop the fondue from being too stringy.
- Lemon Juice - this balances the flavors and prevents the cheese from becoming too stringy once melted.
- Dijon Mustard - just a little dijon mustard really balances the flavors.
- Pepper - fresh cracked black pepper works great.
- Nutmeg - you will need just a pinch of ground nutmeg.
How to Make Cheese Fondue
- Grate the cheeses. Grate the cheeses using a box grater or an attachment for your food processor. Add grated cheeses to a large bowl and toss in the cornstarch. Mix well, coating all the pieces of shredded cheese. (Note: Don't use pre-shredded cheese - it contains an additive that will prevent your fondue from being silky smooth)
- Season the pot with garlic. Peel a large garlic clove and then cut it in half. Rub all over the inside of a large dutch oven. (You can also add about ½ teaspoon of garlic oil from a jar of minced garlic)
- Cook the fondue. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in a handful of the shredded cheese and gently mix until the cheese is melted. Continue adding the cheese small handfuls at a time, letting the cheese melt before adding more to ensure a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir the dijon mustard, pepper, and nutmeg into the melted cheese mixture.
- Serve. Serve immediately, or transfer to a fondue pot, along with an assortment of cheese fondue dippers such as pretzels, baguette rounds, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, apples, and grapes. Enjoy!
Best Cheese Fondue Recipe Tips
- Cheese fondue can be made 1 day in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Reheat gently over a double boiler, adding additional white wine or apple juice as needed to thin the fondue and reach the right consistency.
- Swap 8 ounces of wine for beer
- Don’t overcook or it ill get stringy
- Acid in wine, and lemon juice, helps to stop the fondue from being string by breaking up the protein chains in the cheese
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make fondue with just about any kind of firm cheese, including fontina, Gruyere, cheddar, Swiss, Emmentaler, Comte, etc. Just be sure you don’t use pre-shredded cheese because there are additives that prevent the cheese from melting into a creamy sauce.
To make a cheese fondue recipe without wine, you can substitute apple juice. Or, you can substitute about 8 ounces of the wine for beer if you want to adjust the flavor a bit. Adding either wine or apple juice, along with the lemon juice, is important because it helps break up the proteins in the cheese that could make it stringy as it melts.
The best way to reheat cheese fondue is gently over a double boiler, adding additional white wine or apple juice as needed to thin the fondue and reach the right consistency. You could also add it to a crockpot and set it to warm.
Cheese fondue can be made 1 day in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Before serving, gently reheat over a double boiler.
You can definitely make and enjoy fondue at home without a fondue pot. However, electric fondue pots really aren’t that expensive and make it so that you can enjoy your cheese fondue at a leisurely pace rather than racing to finish it before it starts to thicken up.
Storing and Reheating Cheese Fondue
- Refrigerator: store leftover cheese fondue in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To reheat: gently reheat over a double boiler, adding additional white wine or apple juice as needed to thin the fondue and reach the right consistency.
Easy Cheese Fondue Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Swiss Cheese brick (not shredded)
- 8 ounces Gruyere Cheese brick (not shredded)
- 8 ounces Cheddar Cheese brick (not shredded)
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1½ cups White Wine plus more to thin the fondue if needed. Apple juice works too.
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice or juice from one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
Instructions
- Grate the cheeses using a box grater or an attachment for your food processor. Add grated cheeses to a large bowl and toss in the cornstarch. Mix well, coating all the pieces of shredded cheese. (Note: Don't use pre-shredded cheese - it contains an additive that will prevent your fondue from being silky smooth)
- Peel a large garlic clove and then cut it in half. Rub all over the inside of a large dutch oven. (You can also add about ½ teaspoon of garlic oil from a jar of minced garlic)
- Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in a handful of the shredded cheese and gently mix until the cheese is melted. Continue adding the cheese a handful at a time, letting the cheese melt before adding more to ensure a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir in the dijon mustard, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Serve immediately, or transfer to a fondue pot, along with an assortment of cheese fondue dippers such as pretzels, baguette rounds, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, apples, and grapes. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
More Cheese Appetizer Recipes
- Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball
- Spinach Dip Bread Ring
- Cheese Filled Peppers
- Puff Pastry Cheese Twists
- Cowboy Queso Dip
- Pepper Jack Queso
- Baked Cranberry Brie
- More Cheese Appetizers
- More Best Appetizers
This classic Cheese Fondue is the perfect indulgent appetizer for Valentine's Day, date nights, or cozy weekends at home. It's made with three kind of cheese, white wine, and tastes great with chunks of sourdough bread, pretzels, veggies, fresh fruit, and so much more.
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