How to Host a Raclette Dinner Party

Learn all about hosting a raclette dinner party that will wow your friends: what tools you’ll need, what to serve, and the perfect raclette recipe.

If you’re anything like us, you think an ideal evening involves friends, wine, and an unreasonable amount of cheese. Hosting family and friends is the reason I’ve made a taco bar party and a Bloody Mary bar. And my love of cheese is the reason so many cheese boards and jalapeño poppers.

So let me introduce you to your new favorite dinner party: raclette night. It’s cozy, interactive, and wildly fun — and once you host one, your friends and family will absolutely ask when you’re doing it again.

Here’s everything you need to know to throw a raclette party that feels effortless (even though it absolutely revolves around molten cheese).

What is raclette?

Raclette is a Swiss dish made by heating cheese and scraping off the melted part. This gooey, melted cheese then gets served with all kinds of dippers.

Much like the dippers that are popular for beer cheese fondue, boiled potatoes, bread, and cornichons are traditional for serving with raclette.

If you love cheese as much as we do, you can see how much of a hit a raclette dinner party can be. You can have a laid-back vibe and still totally wow your friends with this one.

What you’ll need for a raclette dinner party

There are a handful of things I recommend getting or preparing for your raclette party:

• Raclette cheese (of course!)
• A raclette grill/raclette machine
• Sides/accompaniments
• Drinks
• Dessert

Let’s talk through each of these things so you know exactly what to buy.

Raclette cheese: What type of cheese to buy

A raclette party is named after the cheese, so if you’re hosting a raclette party, you should be serving raclette cheese (although I have listed cheese subsitutions below).

Raclette cheese is semi-hard cow’s milk cheese that is usually formed into a wheel. It is native to Switzerland, but versions are also made in other countries such as France, Germany, Austria, and more.

When you’re looking for raclette cheese, your best bet is a local cheese shop. In Charlotte, Orrman’s Cheese Shop is our go-to. A good cheesemonger will point you in the right direction and often has a few styles to choose from.

You won’t usually find raclette at a regular grocery store, but Trader Joe’s has carried it seasonally the past few years — grab it if you see it because it disappears fast. Whole Foods can also be a good option, and of course, the internet always comes through if you plan ahead.

Raclette cheese substitutions

If you can’t find raclette cheese near you, there are a few different cheeses you can use instead. A few of my favorites include:

• Cheddar
• Camembert
• Emmentaler
• Fontina
• Gouda
• Monterey Jack
• Guilloteau Angel Double Cream
• Gruyère

The raclette grill

A raclette machine or raclette grill is essential to any raclette dinner party. It’s how you will melt the cheese and drip it over your accoutrements (more on that below!). 

While a quick Amazon search will send you down a rabbit hole of shapes, sizes, and capacities — from small round versions to long rectangular setups that can feed a small village, our tried-and-true favorite is the classic 8-person Swissmar machine. It’s the perfect size for a dinner party without taking over your entire table, and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do: melt cheese beautifully while everyone laughs, drinks, and slowly loses track of how much they’ve eaten.

The sides

A traditional Swiss raclette is beautifully simple — potatoes, cornichons, and melty cheese — but over the years we’ve expanded the lineup to make sure everyone at the table can build something they love, whether they’re vegetarian, gluten-free, or just pacing themselves (bless them).

Below are a few of our favorite raclette accoutrements:

Cured meats

Traditionally, raclette is served with thinly sliced cured beef called Bünderfleisch. Since that’s tough to find stateside, you can swap in Bresola, which is its Italian equivalent.

Rather than serving it on its own, we like to showcase it into a larger charcuterie spread with other cured meats.

Potatoes

These are essential for a classic raclette dinner. Use small new potatoes or Yukon Golds in a pinch.

To prepare the potatoes, don’t peel them — just wash, remove the eyes, and boil in well-salted water until they are fork-tender.

Pickled vegetables

The sharp, briny bite of pickles keeps the cheese from becoming overwhelming. (Not that we mind, but still.)

• Cornichons: These are very traditional. You can typically find them in the grocery aisle with the other pickles.
• Pickled pearl onions: These are often also labeled as “cocktail onions” and can be found near the cocktail mixers.
• Pickled peppadew peppers: Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and perfect for adding a little heat. Serve whole or chopped for spooning. You can often find these adjacent to the pickles and olives, near other jarred and marinated items like roasted red peppers or marinated artichoke hearts.

Bread

When raclette is served as a street food, it is often served with bread instead of potatoes. A crusty French baguette is one of my favorite things for scooping the melted cheese.

Cooked proteins

Adding some more protein to the lineup adds substance, helping to “bulk up” your raclette dinner.

• Sausage: Bratwurst or Italian sausage are my favorites. Boil the sausages first (poke holes in the casing!), then slice into one-inch pieces and reheat on the raclette grill.
• Ham: This can be quickly reheated on the raclette grill.
• Chicken: Season/marinate and cook on the raclette grill or cook ahead in the air fryer, such as air fryer chicken breast.
• Steak: Use a steak marinade and grill on the raclette machine.
• Shrimp: Grilled shrimp skewers would be perfect. These cook quickly on the raclette grill.
• Bacon bits: Listen, no one said raclette night was about restraint!

Sautéed vegetables

Cooked peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and asparagus are all delicious with the melted raclette cheese. Slice or trim as necessary and sauté in olive oil with a pinch of salt until soft. Reheat on the griddle during the meal.

Raw veggies

I love the crunch from raw veggies. It serves as the perfect contrast to the hot, gooey cheese. Some of my favorites include broccoli, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and zucchini.

You’ll notice that some of these I also like to serve cooked. Serving both is a fun way for guests to try a little bit of everything and experiment with what they like best!

Condiments

We always add mustard to our raclette spread. We usually set out a few — Dijon and whole grain are classics. Lusty Monk (a North Carolina staple) is our favorite. 

Other spreads you could serve include things like fig jam and pepper jelly.

Green salad

Totally optional, but I think it is nice to offer guests a green salad, such as kale and white bean salad or goat cheese salad, to balance things out and keep it light.

What to drink

Traditionally, raclette is served with unoaked, high-acid white wine or warm tea. In Switzerland, it’s Chasselas. Great alternatives include Alsatian Pinot Gris or Chablis-style Chardonnay. Just skip anything heavily oaked or sweet.

The Swiss will tell you to avoid cold or carbonated drinks because they make cheese harder to digest. Our beer-loving friends disagree — and so far, everyone’s survived. We offer options, even if white wine remains our personal favorite. Save your cocktails and bloody mary bar for another day, though!

Don’t forget dessert

After a meal this rich, keep dessert light. A fruit tart is perfect, or orange slices marinated in Grand Marnier if you want something simple but special.

How much should you serve?

I recommend following a similar formula as making a charcuterie board when you’re deciding how much to serve at your raclette party.

For a dinner party, plan on the following per person:

For dinner: 4 ounces cheese + 2-4 ounces meat + 2 ounces potatoes + 2 ounces pickled veggies + 2 ounces sautéd/fresh veggies + 2 ounces spreads + 4 ounces bread

If you want to serve raclette as an appetizer, plan on the following per person:

For an appetizer: 2 ounces cheese + 1-2 ounces meat + 1 ounce potatoes +1 ounce pickled veggies + 1 ounce sautéd/fresh veggies + 1 ounce spreads + 2 ounces bread

With these ballparks in mind, it’s easy to plan out how much you need to buy based on the number of people you will be serving.

Preparation and planning tips

Leading up to the dinner party, prepare sides like cooked vegetables (except for the potatoes), marinate your proteins (except for seafood), and wash and cut fresh vegetables as needed. You can do this up to 1-2 days ahead of time and store everything in deli containers in the refrigerator.

Before guests arrive, set the raclette machine in the center of the table so everyone can reach their tray. If you’re feeding a crowd, place platters of cheese and bowls of sides at both ends of the table — this avoids constant passing and keeps things moving.

If you have raw proteins that you plan to cook on the grill during the dinner, try to arrange these away from raw items to prevent cross-contamination.

Marinate seafood no more than 30 minutes before you plan to eat.

Boil the potatoes right before you sit down. To keep them warm, line the bowl with a dish towel and fold it over the top.

We reheat sausages and cooked veggies right on the griddle, but a triple slow cooker works great if you have the space.

At the beginning of the party, make sure guests know what to do. Show them how to add cheese to their tray, melt it in the raclette machine, and then pour it over their desired accompaniments before eating!

Enjoy the leftovers

If you somehow end up with leftovers (congrats), chop up the cheese, potatoes, sausage, peppers, onions, and bacon. Toss everything into a baking dish and bake at 350°F until bubbly and melted. It’s an easy, wildly satisfying next-day casserole — and possibly even better than the night before.

Trust me: raclette night is the kind of dinner party that feels intimate, indulgent, and fun without being fussy. And once your friends experience it, they’ll be talking about it until the next invite.