Fondue Recipes for a Dinner Party

If you’re hosting a fun and unique dinner party and want to learn how to fondue with some of the best fondue recipes, I’ve got you covered with this complete guide! We have everything from cheese and chocolate to meat with oil and broth, along with lots of great fondue dipper ideas.

How to Make Fondue

If you didn’t live through the 1960’s and 70’s you might not be familiar with how to make fondue. We are here to help! Fondue is one of the best ways to socialize at a dinner party while enjoying a variety of delicious foods. You can make fondue as healthy or indulgent as you’d like, and we are here to share a variety of amazing fondue recipes.

What is Fondue

Fondue by definition is a dish in which small pieces of food are dipped into a hot sauce or a hot cooking medium such as oil or broth. The only special equipment you will need are fondue pots and sticks.

You can serve a single fondue recipe for an appetizer or host a retro fondue party with the whole shebang, including cheese fondue, hot oil, broth and dessert fondue.

History of Fondue

Fondue originated in Switzerland as a way to stretch families resources. Some cheese mixed with a bit of wine was served with stale bread. The bread softens as it is covered in cheese fondue and results in a delicious and frugal meal. Later on it became a meal enjoyed by the more affluent, despite it’s origins. This wonderful tradition was introduced to Americans in the 1960s.

What equipment do you need to fondue

In addition to a fondue pot, there are a few things you will need to successfully host a fondue dinner party. Here is the equipment that will help your fondue be a success.

Fondue Pot

Fondue Forks

Fondue Plates – Check out eBay for a cool selection of vintage plates!

Extension Cords – You will need a couple cords to run the pots to your outlets safety.

What pots to use for Fondue

I was fortunate enough to inherit my Mom’s fondue pots from the 70’s, but if you aren’t so lucky you can buy a variety of different fondue pots. There are electric fondue pots or pots that are warmed with candles or Sterno. Electric is my preference because you are able to control the heat my better.

I love my vintage pots for oil fondue because they have a tray around the edge that is perfect for setting your cooked meat for a few minutes to let any excess oil drip off. They just don’t make them like they used to!

Amazon is the obvious choice, where you can find just about any kind of modern fondue pot. Target also carries some electric fondue pots which are great for adding to wedding registries like my sister did!

If you want to really go retro for your fondue party and embrace the 60s and 70s vibe, then I suggest heading to eBay. Not only will you spend a fraction of what new pots currently sell for, you will find some unique and colorful pots!

One word of caution when it comes to vintage pots. Their electrical isn’t as good as current pots, so you will want to pay attention to how many pots you have plugged into a single breaker. Our family has definitely tripped a few breakers in our day hosting fondue parties. Woops!

How to make fondue without a fondue pot

If you don’t have a fondue pot, you can easily serve cheese fondue in a small ceramic dish or cast iron pot. You want to serve it in something thick that will retain heat well. Ideally you would have a heat source underneath, such as a a chafing dish over candles or a single portable burner.

If you don’t have a heat source, then you may need to return the pan to the stovetop if the cheese isn’t devoured right away. Heat it up a few minutes until it is a smooth consistency again and let your guests dig in.

If you are wanting to make broth or hot oil fondue, then you will need a heat source. Use an electric burner, a hot pot or even try your Instant Pot with an abundance of caution!

How to use Fondue Forks

One fun element to fondue is the colored forks that are usually included with a fondue pot set. They typically include two forks per color. This lets you cook one item of food in the broth or oil and then perhaps use the other fork for dipping some bread in cheese.

Whatever you do, don’t eat off of the forks. Not only is it unsanitary because they are being put back in the oil, broth and cheese pots, but it can be incredibly hot as well! No need to burn your mouth. When your food is done cooking, use your dinner fork to take it off the fondue fork and onto your dinner plate.

Tips for Fondue

There are a couple important things to keep in mind when enjoying Fondue. First and foremost is cross contamination. It is important for everyone to keep in mind that the raw meats should only be transferred directly from their original bowl right to the pot of oil or broth. Don’t ever place any raw meat on your dinner plate!

Here are a few more of my tips and tricks to having a successful fondue dinner party

Secure the cords to the electric pots so no one accidently trips on a cord and knocks over a pot of hot oil or broth.

Give each guest 2 forks so they can cook one item in broth or oil and while they are waiting, dip items in the cheese.

Spend a few minutes at the start of the dinner partying explaining how fondue works to your dinner guests and how to use their forks properly. Most people haven’t tried fondue before and will appreciate the guidance.

Don’t overdo it! I’m often guilty of this and I want to add a hundred different variety of meats, sides, sauces, etc. At the end of the day, that just makes it overwhelming or your guests. Stick to a few meats, a few sides and a few cheese dippers. This will offer more variety than you expect. It will make your guests happy and you will be happy to not have to prep so much food and do so many dishes!

Don’t serve too much booze with fondue or everyone will forget food safety and which color fork they have. Not speaking from experience or anything… 🙂

Cheese Fondue Recipes

When most people think of cheese fondue, the classic Swiss cheese fondue comes to mind. While it is an amazing recipe that my family always gravitates towards, the possibilities for cheese fondue recipes are endless! Here are a few great cheese fondue recipes to try at your next fondue party!

Meat Fondue Recipes

If you are looking for a main course for your fondue party, you will likely want to add a pot of hot oil or broth that you can cook meat in. Growing up, we only ever had hot oil fondue parties, which were delicious. The one major downside to oil fondue is that it will leave your house smelling like the inside of a kitchen restaurant for a couple days.

If you are looking for an alternative or addition to oil fondue, you can simply heat some broth or stock in the fondue pot. If you want to get a bit fancier, then you can add some flavors to the broth with a recipe like this Coq Au Vin Fondue.

How much fondue should I make

A fondue dinner for 4 is fabulous and a romantic meal for 2 is impressive, but this meal also can work for larger groups. I have served fondue for up to 10 people at a time. I honestly wouldn’t recommend hosting a fondue dinner for many more than that. It starts to become logistically difficult with electric cords, pots, etc.

For every 4-5 people at your dinner, you should have one pot of oil or broth fondue and one cheese fondue. When I hosted 10 people I served one pot of broth, one pot of oil and two different cheeses.

I serve about 4 ounces of meat per person. So If I am hosting 4 people and serving three different kinds of meat, I would serve about 6 ounces of each meat. If I was serving meat at a traditional dinner, I would plan for 8 ounces per person, but because of the nature of how slow you eat fondue and the wide variety of foods. Four ounces per person has always been enough, even for my farm family with big appetites!

Fondue Dipper Ideas

Fondue dippers are what add lots of variety and flavor to your dinner party. You can get really creative and marinade a variety of meats in different flavors, or keep it simple and buy mostly ready to serve items. Here is an extensive list of different fondue dipper ideas for a variety of fondues.

Cheese Fondue Dippers

One of the great parts of a fondue dinner party is that you can use many of the components together. Cook some of the items in the oil or broth and then bring them over to your favorite cheese fondue to dip in!

Cubed Bread – French, Rye, Sourdough

Chips

Granny Smith apples

Raw Vegetables

Cubed Ham

Cooked Vegetables (vegetables that are cooking in the oil or broth are fantastic dipped in the cheese)

Cooked Pasta (chicken ravioli cooked in the broth is great in cheese fondue)

Hot Oil Fondue Dippers

One thing I like to include with a hot oil fondue is a bowl of tempura batter. This allows people to bread items like shrimp, vegetables, etc. before cooking them in the oil. This adds a great variety to the dinner. Just be sure everyone knows that it is batter, so someone (like my brother one year) doesn’t try use it as a dipping sauce! 🤦‍♀️

Meat Dippers for Oil Fondue

When serving meat, be sure they are all cut in cubes or are small enough for a bite sized piece.

SteakChickenMeatballsShrimpAndouille SausageLeftover medium rare Prime Rib (serve Prime Rib for Christmas, and then make fondue for New Year’s Eve with the leftovers!)

Frozen Dippers for Oil Fondue Fondue

Just about anything you can find in the appetizer section of the frozen aisle will work for oil fondue.

Onion RingsCheese CurdsBreaded RavioliSweet Potato FriesTater TotsBreaded ShrimpJalapeno PoppersFish NuggetsBreaded Chicken

Vegetable Dippers for Oil Fondue

• Prime Rib

Broth Fondue Dippers

Most of the meats and vegetables that you can cook in hot oil also work great in broth. In fact, many of them are even better in broth! They aren’t full of oil and they cook into a nice tender piece of meat. The only foods that don’t work in the broth are breaded items.

Meat Dippers for Broth Fondue

PotstickersWhite FishSalmonFilled PastaShrimpThinly Sliced Marinated SteakThinly Sliced Marinated PorkLeftover medium rare Prime RibHotdogs- if you have some kids at dinner, this is a fun addition for them!

Vegetable Dippers for Broth Fondue

PotatoesBroccoliZucchiniSummer SquashCauliflowerGreen BeansCarrot SlicesAsparagusMushrooms

You can easily serve the meats without any marinade and just include some great dipping sauces for flavor. Or you can plan ahead a bit and marinate your meat in a variety of flavors to offer something a little extra special.

If you want to keep things quick and simple, head to the grocery store and buy a couple bottled marinates. If you want to take the extra step and make your own, check out some great marinade recipes below that would work with different fondue meats.

Chicken is always better with a marinade in my opinion. It doesn’t have much flavor and can take on just about any flavors and spices. I will usually cut up one large chicken breast and divide it between two different marinates for some easy variety.

• Balsamic Chicken Marinade
• Greek Chicken Marinade

Notes

If you have more than 4-5 guests, you should serve two pots of oil.

Serving: 0.25 cup oil | Calories: 520 kcal | Fat: 56 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 32 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g