How raclette works: a step-by-step guide

Last updated: 1 November 2026

Short answer: buy 200 to 250 g of raclette cheese and the same weight of potatoes per person, boil the potatoes in their skins for about 35 minutes until just tender, take the cheese out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before eating, and melt it in the pan, but not for too long [1].

Raclette Suisse calls raclette "absolutely suitable for beginners": only the potatoes are cooked beforehand, everything else happens at the table [1]. Below is the evening in order, once with a tabletop grill and pans, and once from a half wheel.

1. Shopping

• Cheese: 200 to 250 g per person [1][2]. If you scrape from a wheel, add 300 g in total, because you can never scrape a wheel all the way down [2].
• Potatoes: the same weight as the cheese, so 200 to 250 g per person [1][2].
• Other sides: Swissmilk allows roughly 150 to 200 g per person in total [2]. Raclette Suisse names pickles, silver onions and baby corn as the traditional accompaniments [1].
• Half wheel: the original recipe from the Raclette du Valais producers' body uses ½ wheel (about 2.4 to 2.5 kg) and 1.6 kg of small boiled potatoes for 8 people [4].

More: Raclette quantity per person, Raclette calculator, Raclette sides, Which raclette cheese? and Buying a raclette wheel.

2. Cook the potatoes first

Boil medium to small potatoes in their skins for about 35 minutes until just tender, then keep them warm, for example in a warming basket made of felt, fabric or wicker [1]. Varieties and cooking times: Raclette potatoes.

3. Put the grill on the table

"With raclette, the dining table becomes the kitchen" [1]: set the grill down and switch it on. Raclette Suisse distinguishes the large electric grill that many households have from small grills that run on rechaud candles, fit into a backpack and suit travelling, the balcony or the garden [1]. No grill? Buying a raclette oven, Renting a raclette oven or Raclette without an oven.

4. Get the cheese ready

• Take the cheese out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before eating [1]. In the Swissmilk story, the cheesemakers advise taking it out of its plastic wrap and the fridge half an hour ahead so the aromas can develop [3].
• You can scrape the rind a little, but do not cut it off: it turns crispy as it melts [1].

5a. Melting in the pan

1. Put a raclette slice in the pan [1]. If you like, add other ingredients on top of or under the cheese [1].
2. Let it melt, but not for too long, so the fat does not separate [1]. Overheated cheese can turn tough and greasy [3].
3. Slide the melted cheese onto the plate with the raclette scraper, on top of or next to the potatoes [1].

More on pans: Raclette pans. Ideas for the filling: Raclette recipes.

5b. Scraping a half wheel

1. Set the half wheel under the raclette oven, at least 6 centimetres from the heat source [4].
2. When the surface starts to run, scrape the melted layer with a knife onto a warmed plate, tilting the cheese down towards the plate [4].
3. Warm the plates: in the Swissmilk story, the Valais cheesemakers stand them on the traditional Valais raclette oven [3].

In the same story, the Valais team take turns scraping and pause between servings for about as long as it takes to tell a good, coarse joke [3]. According to the Raclette du Valais producers' body, its AOP cheese can also be melted in pans, as long as it is not heated too strongly or for too long [4].

6. Drinks

Raclette Suisse suggests herbal or black tea, dry white wine, rosé, light red wine and sparkling apple juice [1]. The Raclette du Valais producers recommend a Valais Fendant [4]. More: Raclette wine and drinks.

7. Dessert

To finish, Raclette Suisse suggests a fresh fruit salad or a fruit sorbet [1].

Afterwards

• Leftovers: wrapped in cling film, leftover raclette cheese keeps for about a week [1]. More: Freezing raclette leftovers.
• Washing up: soak pans, plates and cutlery in cold water for a while, pre-clean them lightly, then put them in the dishwasher or wash them with hot water and washing-up liquid; wipe the grill with a damp cloth and a little washing-up liquid [1].
• Smell: Raclette Suisse suggests a lemon or orange studded with cloves [1]. More: Getting rid of raclette smell.

Sources

All fetched on 1 November 2026.

1. Raclette Suisse: "Preparation" – https://www.raclette-suisse.ch/en/raclette/preparation
2. Swissmilk: «Raclette pro Person?» (in German) – https://www.swissmilk.ch/de/rezepte-kochideen/tipps-tricks/raclette-pro-person/
3. Swissmilk: «Endlich geklärt: Wie man Raclette richtig zubereitet.» (in German; story about Alexander and Nicolas Walker, Walker Bergkäserei, Bitsch, and Gabriela Frei and Salome Aggeler, Käserei Seiler, Giswil) – https://www.swissmilk.ch/de/rezepte-kochideen/endlich-geklaert-wie-man-raclette-richtig-zubereitet/
4. Raclette du Valais producers' body (Sortenorganisation): «Originalrezept» (in German) – https://www.raclette-du-valais.ch/rezepte/originalrezept