Vegetarian Fondue Ideas: What to Dip, Sauces and Amounts

Hello lovelies,

for me, fondue belongs to winter like the first snow. Back in Switzerland, a cheese fondue set sat on our table for years, and one New Year's Eve we served a chocolate fondue with a big platter of fresh fruit for dipping. Nobody ever missed the meat, because cheese fondue is meat-free by nature, and every other style works just as well with vegetables, tofu and good sauces.

The real question before a fondue night isn't the pot, it's everything around it: what goes into the pot, what goes on the fork, and how much of it? That's exactly what I'm answering today, with our basic cheese fondue recipe, an amounts table and the sauces that are always on our table.

If you'd rather build your own little pans, you'll find the alternative in my post on vegetarian raclette with 20 pan ideas. Either way, your plan will be ready long before the holidays and New Year's Eve.

Vegetarian fondue: which kinds are there?

4 styles of fondue are completely vegetarian: cheese fondue, fondue chinoise with vegetable broth, oil fondue and chocolate fondue. Only the classic meat fondues are out, and there are great tofu and vegetable alternatives for them.

• Cheese fondue: melted cheese with white wine, or with broth for an alcohol-free version, served with bread, potatoes, vegetables and fruit.
• Vegetarian fondue chinoise: a flavorful vegetable broth in which tofu, mushrooms and vegetables cook, served with several sauces.
• Oil fondue: battered vegetables or tofu cubes, fried in hot oil.
• Chocolate fondue: dark chocolate melted with plant-based cream, served with fruit and small baked treats.

The right pot depends on the style: cheese goes into a caquelon, a wide, heavy fondue pot, while broth and oil need a metal pot. That's worth knowing before you buy or borrow a set.

What do you need for cheese fondue?

For cheese fondue you need 7 oz (200 g) of cheese per person, dry white wine or vegetable broth, garlic, a little cornstarch and bread for dipping. This is our basic recipe for 4 people:

• 1.8 lb (800 g) of cheese, for example moitié-moitié made from 14 oz (400 g) of Gruyère and 14 oz (400 g) of Vacherin Fribourgeois
• 1¼ cups (300 ml) of dry white wine, or for an alcohol-free version, 1¼ cups (300 ml) of vegetable broth with the juice of half a lemon
• 1 garlic clove, halved, to rub the inside of the pot
• 4 teaspoons of cornstarch
• 4 teaspoons (20 ml) of kirsch, if only adults are at the table
• Pepper, nutmeg and 1.3 lb (600 g) of day-old bread

Moitié-moitié means half and half, and it's our favorite mix for the caquelon. Gruyère on its own tastes stronger, while Vacherin Fribourgeois makes the fondue especially creamy.

I grate the cheese coarsely, rub the pot with the garlic and heat the wine or broth in it. Then I add the cheese a little at a time, stirring in a figure eight until everything is smoothly melted. Finally, I stir the cornstarch into a splash of cold liquid and add it, together with the kirsch when it's an adults-only table.

Cheese fondue without wine

Cheese fondue works without wine and kirsch too, as long as you replace the liquid and add some acidity. That's our version whenever kids join us, because the alcohol doesn't simply disappear when you heat it.

When alcohol is stirred into a hot liquid, about 85 percent of it remains, according to the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors. Even after 15 minutes of simmering, 40 percent is left, and after 30 minutes, 35 percent.

So instead of wine, I use vegetable broth with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and leave out the kirsch entirely. The acidity keeps our fondue nice and creamy, and the kids don't miss a thing.

What to dip in cheese fondue

The best things to dip in cheese fondue are day-old bread, small potatoes boiled in their skins, lightly blanched vegetables, pears and apples, and something tangy like pickles and pearl onions. These are the dippers on our table:

• Bread: rustic country bread, baguette or rolls, cut into cubes with a bit of crust so they stay on the fork.
• Potatoes: small, waxy potatoes, boiled in their skins.
• Vegetables: broccoli and cauliflower florets, carrots and bell peppers, lightly blanched, plus raw mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
• Fruit: pears, apples and grapes, their freshness goes beautifully with the cheese.
• Tangy: pickles, pearl onions and baby corn.

I like to bake the bread myself. Our rye rolls with flaxseed can rise overnight in the fridge, and baked the day before, they have exactly the firmness bread needs for fondue.

Vegan pretzel balls for dipping are a real eye-catcher on the table. You can freeze these little pretzel bites and bake them off in portions, so they're ready in no time on fondue night.

After all that cheese, something fresh is welcome. The fennel arugula salad with pear and feta is ready in 20 minutes, and the pear ties it right back to the fondue.

Rye Rolls with Flaxseed

Pumpkin baguette

Vegan pretzel balls

Fennel Arugula Salad with Pear and Feta

How much cheese and bread per person?

For cheese fondue as a main course, we plan 7 oz (200 g) of cheese and 5.3 oz (150 g) of bread per person, and big eaters get 9 oz (250 g) of cheese. As a starter, or with lots of sides, 3.5 to 5.3 oz (100 to 150 g) of cheese per person is enough.

For fondue chinoise, I plan 5.3 to 7 oz (150 to 200 g) of tofu and about 10.5 oz (300 g) of vegetables and mushrooms per person, and about 6 cups (1.5 liters) of broth is enough for 4 people. For chocolate fondue, it's 1.8 oz (50 g) of chocolate and about 5.3 oz (150 g) of fruit per person.

How many calories are in cheese fondue?

According to the Swiss Food Composition Database, 7 oz (200 g) of moitié-moitié delivers 762 calories and 49.9 g of protein, and with 5.3 oz (150 g) of white bread the total comes to 1,125 calories. Cheese fondue is a festive meal, and that's how we eat it: not every week, but with real enjoyment.

The number that stands out again is the salt. One serving with 7 oz (200 g) of cheese and 5.3 oz (150 g) of bread contains about 5.6 g, and the WHO salt recommendation for adults is less than 5 g a day. That's why I never add salt to the fondue, and our table always has vegetables, fruit and a salad next to the bread.

Fondue chinoise is lighter: according to the Swiss Food Composition Database, 7 oz (200 g) of firm tofu brings 296 calories and 29.4 g of protein. The prepared vegetable broth itself has only 6 calories per 100 g there.

Vegetarian fondue chinoise: broth, tofu and vegetables

For a vegetarian fondue chinoise, you cook tofu, mushrooms and vegetables in a flavorful vegetable broth and dip everything into different sauces. The more flavorful the broth, the better everything cooked in it tastes.

For an Asian touch, I make the broth like the one for our vegan umami ramen with shiitake: onions, garlic and ginger are sautéed, then dried shiitake mushrooms simmer along for 1 to 2 hours, and the miso goes in at the end. You can easily make this broth the day before.

This is what goes into our pot:

• Tofu: firm tofu cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes, marinated or smoked.
• Mushrooms: cremini, shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, whole or halved.
• Vegetables: broccoli, thinly sliced carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, snow peas and bok choy.
• Also good: vegetarian tortellini, which cook in the broth in just a few minutes.

I marinate the tofu first, ideally in the marinade from our grilled tofu mushroom skewers, made with olive oil, tamari, garlic and maple syrup. Tofu and mushrooms soak in it for at least 2 to 3 hours, or even overnight.

To help the tofu soak up the marinade, press it first. How long it needs is in my tofu guide to pressing and marinating.

Give the mushrooms only a quick rinse or brush them clean, and you'll find everything else in my guide to cleaning and browning mushrooms. And the best part comes last: the broth has collected flavor all evening, and we drink it as a soup at the end.

Oil fondue

For a vegetarian oil fondue, you fry battered vegetables or tofu cubes in hot oil. You'll need a metal pot, and an electric fondue pot with adjustable temperature is the safest choice. A beer batter works well, and for kids I mix the batter with sparkling water. We make this version less often, because the broth is lighter and leaves less smell in the house.

The best fondue dipping sauces

Fondue calls for 3 to 5 sauces: one with garlic, one fruity, one with curry and something fresh with herbs or yogurt. With fondue chinoise, the sauces are the real highlight, and almost all of them can be made the day before.

• Garlic: creamy, with lemon and fresh thyme.
• Fruity: a chutney, ideally with a little heat.
• Curry: mild and slightly sweet.
• Fresh: with yogurt, cucumber and herbs.
• Mediterranean: with avocado, tomato and olives.

I make the garlic dip the same way as for our garlic bread with garlic dip: a creamy vegan base with lemon juice, garlic and fresh thyme.

Fruity with a little kick, our mango chutney with chili keeps for about 1 week in the fridge, so I like to make it a few days ahead.

For the curry sauce, I use the date curry dip from our 4 favorite vegan dips. The dill mayonnaise from the same post turns into a quick cocktail sauce with a little tomato paste and a squeeze of lemon.

Fresh and nutty, the cucumber tahini dip with herbs can be mixed the day before. The cucumber strips go in just before serving so they stay crisp.

If you like Mediterranean flavors, make the Mediterranean avocado dip with olives, which is ready in 10 minutes. I mix it right before we eat, because it tastes best fresh.

Garlic bread with garlic dip

Cucumber-Tahini Dip

Mediterranean avocado dip

Mango Chutney

Chocolate fondue: what to dip?

The best things to dip in chocolate fondue are fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries, pineapple, mango and grapes, plus small baked treats. I melt the dark chocolate with plant-based cream over low heat, which makes the fondue glossy and vegan.

One New Year's Eve we served a chocolate fondue with a big platter of fresh fruit, and this is exactly how the table looked:

• Fruit: bananas, strawberries, pineapple, mango, pears, mandarins and grapes.
• Baked treats: banana bread cubes, mini pancakes and shortbread cookies.
• Crunchy: mini pretzels, dried apricots and vegan marshmallows.

Our mini banana pancakes with caramel sauce are made for the fondue fork: banana slices coated in batter, ready in 35 minutes.

I cut leftover banana bread with walnuts and chocolate into cubes, ideally a day old, so they hold on the fork. In a well-sealed container, it keeps for 3 to 4 days at room temperature.

For kids, chocolate fondue is the highlight. At a friend's place in Switzerland, it was the treat at children's birthday parties for years, and the most important thing is low heat, so the chocolate doesn't burn.

Vegan fondue: how to make it without cheese

Fondue chinoise with vegetable broth and chocolate fondue with dark chocolate and plant-based cream are naturally vegan, while cheese fondue needs a substitute. Ready-made vegan fondue mixes are now available in the refrigerated section of many stores.

To make your own, use a cashew melt made from soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard and a little starch, which melts in the caquelon and stretches just like cheese. Nothing changes when it comes to dipping: bread, potatoes and vegetables work just as well.

All the sauces in this post are vegan, and so are the pretzel balls, the mini pancakes and the banana bread. That way, everyone can enjoy fondue night, no matter how they eat.

How to plan your fondue night

Fondue night is most relaxed when the sauces, bread and marinade are ready the day before, so on the day itself you only chop and heat. This is our plan:

• 2 to 3 days ahead: make the mango chutney, buy the cheese and tofu.
• The day before: bake the bread, mix the sauces (except the avocado dip), marinate the tofu and mushrooms, make the broth, grate the cheese.
• On fondue day: chop and blanch the vegetables, cube the bread, prep the fruit for dessert.
• Right before dinner: mix the avocado dip, melt the cheese in the caquelon, light the burner.

With cheese fondue, we like to drink black tea, and the adults often have a glass of white wine. How long black tea should steep is in my guide to brewing tea the right way.

And the leftovers? At our house, leftover cheese becomes a gratin the next day, extra bread turns into croutons and the broth becomes soup.

Lovelies, fondue is the coziest meal of winter for me: one pot in the middle, everyone gathers around, and nobody is stuck in the kitchen all night. Whether it's cheese, broth or chocolate, good dippers and a few homemade sauces are all it takes, no meat needed. And if fondue becomes your holiday meal, my timeline for a make-ahead holiday dinner helps with the rest of the planning.

Tell me in the comments: cheese, broth or chocolate, which fondue is your favorite?

Yours, Verena

Recipes to try

Grilled tofu mushroom skewers with salad

vegan Umami Ramen

Mini Banana Pancakes with Vegan Caramel Sauce

Banana bread with walnuts and chocolate