Super Simple Broth Fondue Recipe for Anyone - Caramelized Chaos (2024)

How I Make it Easy

We normally have fondue on Sunday nights as a way to relax after meal prepping. As we meal prep our food for the week, we set a little aside for fondue later that day.

When we chop veggies, a handful of everything ends up in a bowl for fondue later (onions, zucchini, etc.). When we bake potatoes for later in the week, we pre-cook some for the fondue pot. As we portion and cut chicken, we cut up some for fondue.

The chicken we will start in a marinade, so it has a few hours to gain some extra flavor. But we make sure to keep it simple, like barbeque sauce or balsamic vinegar with olive oil. Even the broth recipe is simple and uses premade chicken stock. We dress it up a bit with added seasonings, but for us fondue is about slowing down, relaxing, and enjoying each other’s company.

My Fondue Pot

I would 100% recommend this pot. It’s been perfect for everything from date night to Thanksgiving dessert. There are so many things to like about this pot. It’s nonstick. It’s the perfect size for a 32 oz box of broth. It’s COMPLETELY dishwasher safe. That’s right, I unplug the pot, put the whole thing in the dishwasher, and it cleans beautifully.

I also really like the temperature settings. The lower values have been great for things like chocolate. We normally keep it around a 5 for broth. I think the higher settings are for oil.

The forks it comes with are nice too (and also dishwasher safe). We also got a set of hot pot strainer scoops, which are great for foods that don’t like to stick on forks. They are also great for scooping out foods that fall off of forks.

Substitutions

Garlic

We really like garlic and usually use minced garlic. I could crush an entire head’s worth of cloves, but I personally think that’s a lot of work. You might be able to substitute for garlic powder, but I don’t recommend it.

Worcestershire

We use the real stuff that’s fermented and not the generic stuff because the real stuff is soy-free. You could also substitute with soy sauce or straight salt. But we like the flavor of the Worcestershire.

Spices

You can change these to fit your taste. But remember that broth for fondue needs to be much stronger than a normal soup so the dippers actually get some of the flavor.

Dippers

Everyone’s favorite fondue topic. There are dippers to suit every pallet and then some. I recommend you have a little bit of protein, starch, and veggies.

Protein

Thinly sliced beef is a family favorite, but also a sometimes food. Chicken sausage is another favorite. Marinated chicken is a regular for our fondue pot. But there are a ton of options fish, turkey, pork, squid, shellfish. Tofu is delicious for those out there who can eat soy, but I don’t have any experience cooking with it.

Whatever you decide to use, make sure you slice it nice and thin, so it cooks quickly. Also, for meat like beef and chicken, I recommend that you at least salt it a little ahead of time.

Starches

These are also delicious. You can have starches like baby corn and potatoes. We pre-bake potatoes because we think they taste better, and we lack patience. Then they reheat and get some more flavor in the broth. We cut, and then bake on a greased cookie sheet at 450°F for 30 min and then put them away until fondue time. I recommend russets. Then yellow potatoes are okay. And red are our least favorite. Or you can just have a side of rice, which is also yummy.

Veggies

Go to town. There are so many to choose from I’m not able to list them all if I tried. But a few I like are onions, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, and peppers. Whichever you choose, make sure you slice it thinly if you want it fully cooked. Or you can cook it a bit ahead of time. If you like them on the raw side (or don’t care so much), then slice them a bit thicker. I like my carrots a bit on the raw side too.

Literally, whatever you a prepping this week. You can set aside a handful for fondue. That way you will have variety without needing to acquire awkwardly small portions of many different things.

Detailed Directions

As usual, wash your hands and wipe down your counters before you get started. I know most of the cooking will happen during the meal at the table this time, but I think it’s a healthy habit. Also, I always start in my kitchen.

I put all the little things into the pot first: garlic, Worcestershire, bay leaves, and black pepper. Then I carry the pot to the table and pour the carton of stock in there. This prevents spilling. I set it to simmer (5 on my pot) and start setting the table.

For fondue, there are always lots of little things to put out. There are the table settings, with the extra forks and baskets. Then the dippers, sauces, and refill pitcher. By the time everything has reached the table, the broth is boiling and all we have to do is sit down and enjoy.

If the pot gets low during your meal, top it off with the water. If you are worried that you won’t know when your food is cooked, just bring the meat thermometer to the table. We did. The chicken cubes took longer than we were initially expecting, but the beef took a whole lot less.

When we’re finished, the broth goes down the garbage disposal and the pot goes in the dishwasher along with all the little bowls.

In The End

I would love to know what dippers you tried and how it went in the comments below. If you like this recipe and want a new one in your inbox every week, please subscribe to my email list below.

Subscribe to My Newsletter!

Subscribe to My Newsletter!