10 Ways To Upgrade Your Next Fondue Night

The weather outside is freezing, but you're still in the mood for a special dinner. You may not want to go out to eat — whether because of the weather or because you're trying to save some cash — so you decide to make something special at home. But at the same time, you don't want dinner to take a lot of time and effort. So, what should you make? Well, if you're in the mood for a dinner that feels like a whole event, you may want to try making your own fondue at home. There's nothing better than dipping all of your favorite foods into melted cheese and chocolate, after all. And the best part? It's really easy to pull off, even if you're not always brilliant in the kitchen.

But just because you're making fondue at home doesn't mean you have to settle for a basic, boring version of the gooey, melted classic. By trying out a few of these suggestions, you can upgrade your fondue night so it feels like you're actually going out to eat. Luckily, most of these tips are quick and easy, making your next fondue night as simple as can be. Let's take a closer look, and before you know it, you'll be dipping chunks of bread into the perfect pot of melted cheese. 

Sure, fondue at home may seem like a great idea, but what if you don't actually have a fondue pot? Well, it turns out that you don't really need one anyway. If you're in a pinch but still want to capture that classic fondue flavor, just turn to your broiler. While it won't completely replicate a fondue pot, it'll get the job done and have you dipping bread, meat, and veggies into some steaming hot cheese in no time.

So, how exactly can you use your broiler in place of a fondue pot? Just heat up a soft rind cheese, like Brie, under your broiler until it starts to melt. Then, take it out and start dipping. You'll want to use a smaller amount of cheese than you might in an actual fondue pot, but the result will be the same, at least on the flavor front. This is a simple way of sharing fondue at a crowded dinner table or simply taking a time-intensive meal and turning it into an easy weeknight treat.

We often think of savory and sweet fondue as two completely different things. Savory fondue comes first, and it's dominated by cheese or sometimes even broth. Afterward, you get to indulge in sweet fondue, which usually features sweet ingredients that you dip in chocolate. But fondue night shouldn't have to be that rigid. If you're looking for a way to switch things up, consider pairing savory ingredients with chocolate fondue. After all, isn't salty and sweet a classic combo?

There are so many different savory ingredients you can dip into chocolate. Pretzels are an obvious choice, but potato chips deliver a similar crunch. Bacon and beef jerky both give your dessert fondue a meaty twist. And even fries, pickles, and avocados can make for interesting chocolate fondue dippers. Sure, these may not be the classics you've tried at your favorite fondue spot, but you might just be surprised at how delicious they are once they're dripping in melted chocolate.

There are countless chocolate fondue recipes online, and if you're looking for a simple version that doesn't require many ingredients, you can throw a chocolate fondue situation together with little more than the chocolate itself. But you shouldn't settle for boring chocolate fondue when there are such easy ways to take it to the next level. Perhaps one of the easiest — and most delicious — ways to upgrade your chocolate fondue is to add some Irish cream to the mix. Using a decent amount of Irish cream gives the chocolate added complexity as well as an ultra-creamy texture that provides a velvety coating of chocolate on anything it touches.

You'll start by heating up both your Irish cream and heavy cream, then add in the chocolate and stir while you wait for it to melt. With just one easy extra step, you have a deeply delicious chocolate fondue that can serve as the ideal dip for any sweet or savory ingredients you have on hand.

Have you ever made cheese fondue, hoping it would turn out perfectly creamy, only to notice unsightly lumps in the finished cheese? You're not alone. Chunky cheese is a common problem, and it can make the whole fondue experience less enjoyable. Luckily, it's not too difficult to take care of chunks in your cheese fondue. In fact, with just two simple ingredients, you can thin the mixture out and get rid of those clumps of cheese for good.

The first step you'll want to take is to gently raise the temperature of the pot. You don't want to turn it on to high heat all of a sudden. Rather, gradually increase the heat to encourage the cheese to melt. Then comes the important part. You're going to create a slurry with white wine and cornstarch, then stir that into the cheese mixture. This concoction will work to thin the cheese out, reducing those chunks in the process. In a matter of minutes, your cheese will once again be easily dippable.

We love cheese fondue, but after several bites, that rich, cheesy flavor and texture can get overwhelming, sometimes even affecting the way we taste other foods. Therefore, for the very best cheese fondue, you should find ways to temper that intense richness. One of the best ways to do just that is to add a splash of brandy to your fondue. No, it may not be a typical ingredient you'll find in cheese fondue recipes, but it offers a surprisingly delicious complexity to the dish that would be impossible to capture with any other ingredient.

The alcohol in the brandy will cut through the fattiness of the cheese, which helps to temper and balance the flavors. But brandy often features a subtle sweetness as well. When combined with the saltiness of the cheese, this is a flavor combo that works really, really well. So, make sure you have some brandy on hand the next time you make cheese fondue, and you may never go back to your virgin fondue recipe again.

You're getting ready for fondue night, and you have all your ingredients laid out. All the dippers are prepped, chopped, and ready to go, and you've even poured the drinks. The last step is actually making the cheese sauce. Even though you may be anxious to get that cheese on the table, there's one essential step you're not going to want to forget: grating the cheese. This is important to ensure a fondue that cooks evenly. Without taking the time to grate the cheese correctly, you'll likely end up with clumps of cheese in your fondue pot — probably not what you're going for.

Therefore, make sure you have your cheese grater on hand the next time you're prepping cheese fondue, and take that extra time to really make sure you're grating your cheese well. Of course, if you don't want to be bothered with grating all that cheese, you can always buy pre-grated cheese for an even easier fondue night.

When you really want your cheese fondue to shine, you can take one simple step that can seriously upgrade your dinner. Take some raw garlic and rub it on the inside of the fondue pot. That way, once you add in your cheese, it will take on some of that sharp, intense garlicky flavor. But for real garlic lovers, here's an even better idea: Just throw some raw garlic directly into the cheese itself. That will lend the cheese a fresh and bracing intensity that cuts through the cheese's rich and fatty flavor profile.

Whether you just want to add a touch of garlicky flavor by rubbing a clove or two on the inside of the fondue pot or you really want to give your cheese fondue a kick of flavor by actually incorporating raw garlic into the dish, this is a hack that will seriously elevate your fondue to something special. You can also use pre-minced garlic or even garlic powder, but fresh garlic is going to deliver the freshest, most intense flavor, so it's definitely our first choice.

Just imagine: It's fall, and the weather is finally starting to cool off. You're having a get-together and want to create a festive meal to celebrate the season. What better way to do that than to whip up some fondue to share with friends, family, and neighbors? But when you really want to impress your guests, ditch the fondue pot completely and instead serve your cheese fondue inside a pumpkin for a fun fall treat.

This may sound complicated, but it's actually much simpler than you may assume. All you have to do is thoroughly clean and hollow out a pumpkin, then heat your cheese on the stovetop until it's nice and melted. Then, simply pour the cheese into the pumpkin and start dipping. Alternatively, you can put your uncooked cheese in the pumpkin and roast it all together so the cheese actually starts to take on a pumpkin-y flavor. Either way, it's a presentation that's sure to get all of your guests excited for the season.

Plain old cheese fondue is always going to be delicious, but you don't always have to stick to the classics for maximum tastiness. That's certainly true when it comes to French onion fondue, a dish once famously served at Maude's Liquor Bar in Chicago. The restaurant didn't serve French onion soup in its classic form but rather turned the dish into a fondue experience, with a cheesy, onion-y concoction that contained only a splash of broth. Dip some bread into the mixture, and you have a hybrid soup-fondue experience that every fondue lover can get behind.

Unfortunately, Maude's Liquor Bar has since closed, so you're not going to be getting your hands on the restaurant's version of this dish anytime soon. Luckily, you can make it at home yourself, capturing those same flavors the restaurant made famous. You may never go back to your traditional fondue recipe again — you just can't capture those same flavors without those perfectly caramelized onions.

Let's face it: As delicious as fondue can be, it's sometimes too much. Too rich, too fatty, too intense. It can overwhelm the flavors of the other ingredients, and after a few bites, you may get tired of that richness. That's why it's a good idea to try to find ways to cut through and counteract that creamy intensity, and blue cheese is an excellent way to do it. Although blue cheese is also, well, cheese, it's less creamy and fatty than its fondue cheese counterparts. Rather, it has a drier, more crumbly texture that offers a nice textural contrast. Additionally, blue cheese is known for its funky sharpness, which can add an interesting flavor to a traditional fondue recipe. Try adding it to your own cheese fondue to see how it creates a whole new flavor profile.

And if you really want to take things to the next level, consider adding in some seafood to boot. Blackened crab and blue cheese take center stage in this iconic fondue recipe.