Plan it,
melt it.
Quantities first, then the order of things on the night. Everything here works with a tabletop grill or a half-wheel.
Shopping list
for your raclette.
Enter the number of guests and their appetite. The list uses Swissmilk's 200–250 g of cheese per person and a similar weight of potatoes.
How many at the table?
A classic tabletop evening. No special equipment beyond your raclette grill.
What goes in the basket
Guidance based on Swissmilk and Raclette Suisse. Portions are estimates; adjust to your guests.
From the pot
to the pan.
Raclette is small portions and many rounds. Get the potatoes on before anyone arrives.
Potatoes first
Boil small waxy potatoes in their skins for about 35 minutes, until just tender (Raclette Suisse). Keep the lid on so they stay warm.
Sides within reach
Cornichons, pickled onions and a pepper mill go on the table before the first pan goes in.
Warm the cheese
On a tabletop grill: one slice per little pan, slid under the heat. With a half-wheel: turn the cut face toward the heater or the fire.
Wait for the melt
Go slowly. Take the pan out when the cheese bubbles; scrape a half-wheel once the surface is soft and golden.
Scrape & serve
Straight onto warm potatoes, and eat it right away. Melted cheese stiffens as it cools.
Next round
Load the next pan while you eat this one. The evening runs on rounds.
The full sequence, with quantities and sources: How a raclette night works, step by step
How a raclette night works, step by step
Last updated: 1 November 2026
Short answer: buy 200 to 250 g of raclette cheese and the same amount of potatoes per person, boil the potatoes in their skins for about 35 minutes, 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 in advance, everything else happens at the table [1].
1. Shopping
- Cheese: 200 to 250 g per person [1][2]. Scraping from a wheel? Add 300 g in total, because you can never scrape a wheel down completely [2].
- Potatoes: the same weight as the cheese [1][2].
- Other sides: Swissmilk allows roughly 150 to 200 g per person in total [2]. Raclette Suisse lists pickles, silver onions and baby corn as the traditional accompaniments [1].
- Half-wheel: the Raclette du Valais original recipe 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?, Buying a raclette wheel.
2. Cook the potatoes first
Use medium to small potatoes, boil them in their skins for about 35 minutes until just tender, then keep them warm, for example in a felt, fabric or wicker warming basket [1]. See Raclette potatoes.
3. Grill on the table
"With raclette, the dining table becomes the kitchen" [1]: set the grill down and switch it on. Raclette Suisse names the large electric grill found in many homes and small grills that run on rechaud candles for outdoors [1]. No grill? Buying a raclette oven, Renting a raclette oven, 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
- Put a raclette slice in the pan; add other ingredients on top or underneath if you like [1].
- Melt it, but not for too long, so the fat does not separate [1]. Overheated cheese can turn tough and greasy [3].
- Slide the melted cheese onto the plate with the scraper, on top of or next to the potatoes [1].
More: Raclette pans, Raclette recipes.
5b. Scraping a half-wheel
- Set the half-wheel under the raclette oven, at least 6 centimetres from the heat source [4].
- 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].
- 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 joke [3]. Raclette du Valais says 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 or sparkling apple juice [1]; Raclette du Valais recommends a Valais Fendant [4]. More: Raclette wine and drinks.
7. Dessert
Raclette Suisse suggests a fresh fruit salad or a fruit sorbet to finish [1].
Afterwards
- Leftovers: wrapped in cling film, leftover cheese keeps for about a week [1]. More: Freezing raclette leftovers.
- Washing up: soak pans, plates and cutlery in cold water, pre-clean, then dishwasher or 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.
- Raclette Suisse: "Preparation" – https://www.raclette-suisse.ch/en/raclette/preparation
- Swissmilk: "Raclette pro Person?" (in German) – https://www.swissmilk.ch/de/rezepte-kochideen/tipps-tricks/raclette-pro-person/
- Swissmilk: "Endlich geklärt: Wie man Raclette richtig zubereitet." (in German; story with 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/
- Raclette du Valais: "Originalrezept" (in German) – https://www.raclette-du-valais.ch/rezepte/originalrezept