Melted raclette sandwich with raclette cheese, prosciutto, Dijon mustard, pickles, and green onion is one of our favorite family recipes, especially for fun holiday recipes, birthday party ideas, New Year’s Eve foods, or for winter recipes / winter solstice activities. Making raclette is fun for kids activities and and it’s a unique recipe for parties!
How To Make A Raclette Sandwich
Melting cheese on a sandwich seems like an easy recipe, right? Making raclette sandwiches is one of our favorite family cooking activities, especially as holiday recipes or a fun winter activity. (Raclette cheese is easier to find around the Christmas season.) This is like the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich with a twist that any cheese lover will enjoy!
How To Make Raclette
- Raclette cheese
- French baguette
- Cornichon pickles (or mini dill pickles or Gherkins)
- Green onions (scallions)
- Dijon mustard
- Proscuitto (optional, or other cured meats like ham, salami, etc.)
- Pickled onions (optional)
Keep scrolling for the printable raclette recipe card. Also, if you’ve never made raclette, check out our making raclette tips and info after the recipe printable, too!
Making Melted Raclette Sandwiches Step-By-Step
We first had raclette at a local pop-up Christmas Village and we’ve been in love with this creamy cheesy dish since then and now make raclette throughout the year at home. It a simple sandwich that’s especially fun for holiday parties or for cozy winter activities on snowy days! We love a good graze board, but this is a great alternative to a charcuterie platter if you’re looking for something different.
Making Raclette Step 1: Decide On How You Will Serve Raclette
You can serve melted raclette cheese on bread or baked potatoes (or boiled potatoes).
We like to serve our raclette on French bread or baguette because we like it more as a sandwich (or an open-faced sandwich), but honestly? Melted raclette cheese is great on so many things!
Making Raclette Step 2: Assemble Your Ingredients
Before your melt raclette cheese, assemble your raclette “fixins.” Since we make raclette sandwiches, we use:
- Crusty bread (or favorite slices of bread – the best bread is a sturdy bread to hold all that gooey cheese)
- Melted raclette
- Slices of prosciutto
- Cornichons (pickles)
- Fancy mustards (Dijon, spicy brown mustard, honey mustard, etc.)
- Pickled onions
- Green onions
These items are a pretty traditional way to eat raclette and what we’ve found to be some of the best ingredients. This is the way we’ve seen most traditional raclette sandwich ingredients when at festivals or Christmas events.
YOU CAN BUY RACLETTE HERE IF YOU CAN’T FIND IT LOCALLY
(This is good as a salami raclette sandwich, too!)
Making Raclette Step 3: Prepare Your Crispy Bread Or Cooked Potatoes
Once your raclette maker is heated, the rest of the process goes pretty fast. You will want to have your bread (or potatoes) ready for your melted cheese and toppings before you start the process.
We slice our baguette or French bread in half lengthwise and then get it a little crispy under the broiler for around 2 minutes.
(Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn or get brown. We want just a light toasting for a crispy combination with our melty cheese! So just a little for a crispy baguette.)
We slice our bread into small sandwich sizes because we like to add different toppings.
Making Raclette Step 4: Melt Your Raclette Cheese
This is the fun part, especially if you’re using a raclette maker at home!
Melt your cheese in a small nonstick pan, in the microwave, or in the small paddle trays in the bottom of a raclette maker.
While the cheese is melting in the raclette maker, use the top raclette grill to heat your proscuitto, pickled onions, or vegetables so that they’re ready once the
RECIPE TIP: You don’t have to heat any of those things! It’s a personal preference. For example, I like to heat prosciutto and pickled onions, but not the green onions. My husband likes to heat everything to go on his cheese raclette sandwich.
Making Raclette Step 5: Assemble Your Raclette Dish
Slide the melty cheese onto your bread or potatoes (or vegetables).
You can put your toppings anywhere (my husband prefers them under the melted raclette, but I put my toppings on top of the sandwich cheese.)
Enjoy the ooey-gooey melted cheese goodness!
(Then, go back for more!)
What kind of cheese is good for raclette?
Raclette cheese is traditional, preferred cheese for a classic raclette dish. However, there are several alternative cheeses you can use if you’re unable to find raclette:
- Gruyère: A Swiss cheese with a nutty flavor and excellent melting qualities.
- Emmental: Another Swiss cheese, known for its mild, slightly nutty taste and good melting properties.
- Fontina: An Italian cheese with a rich and buttery flavor, melting smoothly.
- Comté: A French cheese that is semi-hard with a nutty and slightly sweet taste.
- Jarlsberg: A Norwegian cheese with a mild, nutty flavor and good melting characteristics.
- Mozzarella: While not traditional, mozzarella’s melting quality makes it a viable option for a gooey, stringy texture.
- Provolone: This Italian cheese has a sharp and tangy flavor, and it melts well.
- Brie: That’s right, we’ve even used brie in our raclette maker!
Any good melting Swiss Cheese or cheese that is creamy when it’s melted is a good alternative if you can’t specifically find raclette cheese.
RECIPE TIP: Be sure to look in the specialty cheese area of your local grocery stores. Also, Aldi and Costco or Sam’s sometimes carries raclette cheese during the holiday season.
What are cornichons?
Cornichons are a type of miniature dill pickles. They are often referred to as “French pickles.” While dill pickles and cornichons share similarities, there are some differences in terms of flavor and size. Cornichons are smaller and crunchier than traditional dill pickles and they are pickled with tarragon, mustard seeds, and pearl onions. Cornichons are tangy and have a slightly sweeter flavor than regular dill pickles.
If you can’t find cornichons (they are sometimes expensive, too), use mild-flavored mini dill pickles instead.
When we make raclette at home, we use a very affordable tabletop raclette machine.
What is a raclette maker?
A raclette maker is a kitchen appliance specifically designed for preparing raclette, a traditional Swiss dish. The dish involves melting cheese and scraping it onto various accompaniments like potatoes, vegetables, and cured meats (like prosciutto or salami).
A raclette maker typically consists of two main components:
- Heating Element: The top part of the raclette maker has a heating element or a grilling surface. Many home table-top raclette makers may also have a non-stick grill or griddle for cooking other ingredients like vegetables, meats, or seafood.
- Lower Section: The lower section of the raclette maker usually includes a heating element or a space to keep the cheese warm. It usually has small individual trays or paddles for melting individual portions of cheese.
How To Use A Raclette Maker At Home:
- Slices of Raclette cheese are placed in individual trays (on the bottom).
- If your raclette maker has a tabletop grill, heat the vegetables, pickled onions, prosciutto, etc. on the top part while the raclette cheese is melting under the lower heating element.
- Once melted, the cheese is scraped onto bread or boiled potatoes and the other toppings are added like pickles (cornichons), gree onions or pickled onions, mustard, and more.
Raclette makers come in various sizes, from small household models to larger ones suitable for entertaining a group. Some modern raclette makers also have features like adjustable temperature controls, non-stick surfaces, and interchangeable grill plates.
We LOVE our raclette maker! We get ours out on special occasions or sometimes when I feel like we need to add some fun into a dinner or the weekend.
One of my favorite things about a mini raclette table is that making raclette is an interactive experience, which means everyone is engaged over dinner and interacting. It’s great for party foods!
THIS IS THE AFFORDABLE RACLETTE MAKER THAT WE HAVE
You don’t necessarily need a special raclette grill, but if you think this is something you’re going to do regularly (or even a few times a year), definitely get a home raclette heater! (There’s also this really cool one that includes a fondue pot, too! I wish I would’ve gotten that one instead!)
How do you serve raclette without a machine?
You can melt raclette cheese at home in a grill pan, non-stick skillet, broiled in an oven-safe dish, or even by heating in the microwave. Then, use the melted raclette as you would in traditional raclette sandwiches, on raclette potatoes or vegetables, or even just as melted cheese dip.
Recipe For Prosciutto Raclette Sandwich With Pickles
The most fun of making a sandwich from raclette cheese is letting everyone pick their own sandwich toppings. That’s what makes this fun for a family dinner night idea or for fun party food ideas!
RECIPE TIP: If you want a vegetarian recipe, leave off the prociutto. It’s just as good without it!
Prosciutto Raclette Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 6- inch baguettes
- 12 slices of prosciutto
- 6 ounces raclette cheese slices
- Dijon mustard to taste
- Cornichons*
- Green onions chopped, for toppings
- Pickled onions optional, for toppings
Instructions
- Slice the baguettes lengthwise and lightly toast in the oven. (We broil ours at a low temperature for 1-2 minutes to just give it a little crunchy bread feel, but not brown it.) Remove from oven and allow to cool to handle.
- After bread has cooled enough to touch, cut bread sections in half (to make four small sandwiches) OR leave them for 2 large sandwiches.
- Add Dijon mustard on one side of bread. Layer 2-3 slices of prosciutto and pickled onions (optional) on top of mustard. Set aside.
- In a small non-stick pan over low heat, melt the raclette cheese. (We use 2-3 slices for each sandwich.) Stir occasionally so it does not burn.
- When cheese is completely melted, slide it onto the sandwiches on top of mustard, proscuitto, and pickled onions. Top with Cornichon pickles, green onions, and other slice of bread. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All About Making Raclette 101 (Raclette FAQs)
What kind of food is raclette?
Raclette is both a type of cheese and a traditional Swiss dish.
Raclette Cheese:
Raclette cheese is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese that originates from Switzerland. It has a creamy texture when melted and a mild, nutty flavor. The cheese is often used in traditional Swiss and French cuisine, particularly in dishes like fondue and, of course, raclette. There is also a French raclette cheese that
Raclette Dish:
Raclette, the dish, involves melting the Raclette cheese and serving it with various accompaniments. The most common way to prepare raclette involves melting the cheese and scraping it onto boiled or steamed potatoes or on bread.
Typical accompaniments to a traditional raclette include pickles (cornichons), cured meats, onions, sliced vegetables, and sometimes bread.
The process often involves a dedicated raclette machine, which has a heating element to melt the cheese and individual trays or paddles for each person to melt their portion. If you’ve had raclette at a festival, you may have seen them heating a large round of raclette on a huge machine and scraping the cheese off of there.
Raclette is a really fun social and interactive dining experience where everyone can customize their plate with melted cheese and various toppings. Kids love making raclette!
What is traditionally served with raclette?
- Boiled Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, or Steamed Potatoes: Potatoes are a classic pairing with raclette. They provide a hearty base for the melted cheese.
- Cornichons (Pickles): These small, tangy pickles add a burst of acidity and crunch that complements the richness of the melted cheese.
- Cured Meats: Sliced cured meats such as ham, prosciutto, or salami are often served alongside raclette. The saltiness of the meats pairs well with the creamy cheese.
- Sliced Vegetables: Vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms / pickled mushrooms, and onions / pickled onion can be sliced and served raw or lightly sautéed. They add freshness and texture to the meal.
- Mustard: Dijon or whole-grain mustard is a common condiment served with raclette. Its sharp flavor cuts through the richness of the cheese.
- Bread: Some people enjoy serving crusty bread or baguette with raclette, providing an additional vehicle for enjoying the melted cheese.
- Pearl Onions: These small, sweet onions are sometimes included as an accompaniment.
- Fruits: Fresh fruits like apple slices are great with raclette and balance the richness of the cheese.
What goes in raclette?
- Raclette Cheese
- Boiled or Steamed Potatoes:
- Cornichons (pickles)
- Cured Meats (ham, prosciutto, or salami)
- Sliced Vegetables: (bell peppers, mushrooms, pickled onions, etc.)
- Dijon Mustard
- Bread
- Onions (pearl onions, green onions, pickled onions)
- Herbs (fresh herbs like parsley or chives)
What cold cuts for raclette?
Cured meats are really good with raclette, but you can use any of the following for great results:
- Prosciutto
- Salami
- Cured ham (thinly sliced ham)
- Pancetta
Do you eat bread with raclette?
Using bread is our favorite way to eat raclette! We make our raclette into sandwiches on crunch French bread, but you can use melted raclette as a dip for bread, too.
What does raclette cheese taste like?
When melted, raclette cheese is creamy and smooth and has a combination of mild, nutty, and slightly sweet flavors. There are different types of raclette cheese (from different countries or regions) and the flavors may be more mold or more mild based on where the cheese is from.
Is a raclette the same as a fondue?
Raclette dishes and fondue are both traditional Swiss dishes that involve melted cheese, but they are prepared differently. Raclette is melted raclette cheese served on bread, potatoes, or vegetables, with different toppings and accompaniments added.
Fondue cheese generally mixes together a couple of different types of Swiss cheese and also adds in other ingredients like garlic and white wine.
Fondue is served in a communal heating pot where breads, vegetables, meats, and fruits are dipped into it. Raclette is served over the top of potatoes or bread.
I do not recommend substituting a pre-made fondue (like this, the ones that came in packages to heat up) as raclette. We tried one year when we could not find raclette and
Great Recipe With Raclette Is A Charcuterie Board
How To Make a Graze Board
- Hard salami
- Prosciutto
- Hummus
- Cheeses (variety cubed and sliced)
- Olives (variety)
- Melba toast
- Radishes
- Dips (variety)
- Naan
- Celery
- Small pickles (sweet and spicy)
- Olive oil and herbs
- Fruit (variety)
- Bell peppers
- Bites / small slices of bread
- Rye rounds
- Chocolates
- Pickled okra
- Crackers (different sizes and flavors)
- Sliced baguette
- Nuts (variety)
- Pepperoni
- Cucumbers
GET THE FULL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING EASY GRAZE BOARDS
Have fun making and eating your raclette sandwich!
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