A creamy Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Applesauce (or Älplermagronen mit Apfelmus). This is a classic alpine dish from Switzerland and is simply the best macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever try!
Swiss Macaroni and Cheese
Every winter, my family and I try to make the most of the ski season by spending most of our weekends skiing. And every winter, we always spend a few weeks in the Swiss alps for some downtime in the snow.
Another reason why I love being in the mountains is the alpine food.
There’s something about the crisp air and wooden chalets which makes one crave rich food like Cheese Fondue, Raclette, and this Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Applesauce.
Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
In Swiss-German, mac and cheese is called Älplermagronen, which roughly translates as alpine macaroni.
It is the Swiss version of the American macaroni and cheese, but heartier and with bolder flavours.
How to Make Swiss Macaroni and Cheese
Like a classic macaroni and cheese, you start this dish by making a béchamel sauce (or white sauce). To see step-by-step photos, please see my recipe for Béchamel Sauce.
For the cheese component, I like to use a really strong and aged Gruyère cheese, but any mild Gruyère or Emmentaler cheese would work too.
Crumbled crispy bacon is an obligatory garnish for meatlovers, and I particularly love this dish served with fried onion rings which add a lovely sweetness and crunch against the soft pasta.
Some restaurants give this dish an extra carbohydrate kick with the addition of diced boiled potatoes.
But what makes this dish truly Swiss is the small bowl of applesauce (or apple compote) served alongside.
How to Eat Swiss Macaroni and Cheese
Upon observing my Swiss friends and colleagues eat this dish, there seems to be no hard and fast rule about whether the applesauce should be eaten together with the main dish or as a dessert.
I personally prefer to eat it as a dessert; the tart sweetness of the applesauce is a nice end to a rich and creamy meal.
Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Applesauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 3-4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Swiss
A creamy Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Applesauce (or Älplermagronen mit Apfelmus). This is a classic alpine dish from Switzerland and is simply the best macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever try!
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RateIngredients
For the bacon topping
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200g (7 oz) pancetta or thick bacon, sliced into thick batons
For the fried onion topping
- vegetable oil for shallow frying
- 1 large brown onion, thinly sliced
For the Applesauce
- 2 Braeburn apples (or other cooking apples)
- 2–3 tablespoons water
- 1–2 tablespoons sugar, to taste
For the Macaroni and Cheese
- 75g (¾ stick) unsalted butter
- 75g (½ cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 1–2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 litre (4 cups) full cream milk
- 100g (3.5 oz) Gruyère cheese, grated
- 100g (3.5 oz) cheddar cheese, grated
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 300–400g (10-14 oz) macaroni pasta
- 3–4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
- parsley and/or chives, finely chopped
Instructions
For the bacon topping
- Heat the oil in a medium frying pan.
- Cook the bacon or pancetta until it is golden and crispy.
- Remove the bacon or pancetta to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
For the fried onion topping
- Fill a small saucepan with vegetable oil to about 2.5 cm (1 inch) depth and heat until the temperature is about 180°C (350°F).
- Fry the onion over medium-high heat until it is golden and crispy.
- Remove the onion to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
For the Applesauce
- Peel, core and chop the apples.
- Place the apples into a small saucepan, together with the water.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften and break down. Some apples release a lot of water upon cooking, whilst others absorb a lot of water. So keep a close eye on the pan to make sure the apples do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water if necessary.
- Once the apples have completely cooked down, either mash the apples with a wooden spoon or purée the apples with a stick blender. Some types of apples cook and break down more easily than others so you may not need to always use a blender. However, the Swiss like to serve their applesauce very smoothly puréed.
- Taste for sweetness to see how much sugar you want to add.
- Set aside to cool slightly.
For the Macaroni and Cheese
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Once the butter starts to melt, add the flour, stock cube and Dijon mustard.
- Stir until everything comes together into a paste. Cook this paste for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously so that the flour can cook off.
- Slowly whisk in the milk. I do this a bit at a time to make sure there are no lumps in the sauce.
- Once all of the milk has been added, use a wooden spoon to stir the sauce continuously over the heat until it has thickened nicely. If the sauce is too thick, add some more milk to thin it out.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and mix through the grated cheese.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions in a lot of salted boiling water, together with the potatoes. Alternatively, boil the potatoes separately. Drain well.
- To serve, mix the cooked pasta and potatoes through the sauce while it is still hot and over low-medium heat.
- Garnish generously with the fried bacon or pancetta, fried onions, and herbs.
- Serve with a bowl of applesauce alongside (I prefer to serve the applesauce warm).
Kitchen Notes
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Nutritional info for mac & cheese
- Calories: 528
- Sugar: 13.6g
- Sodium: 528.5mg
- Fat: 32.4g
- Carbohydrates: 34.3g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 24.9g
- Cholesterol: 98.4mg
#eatlittlebird
Update
This recipe was first published on 14 December 2016. It has been updated with new photos and more comprehensive recipe notes.
Must be so exciting your son is ready to ski! Our little one is just one, and I’m already waiting for that day 🙂
Everyday, I tell myself that our children are growing so quickly … too quickly! As much as I miss the time with them when they were tiny babies, it is actually very exciting and fulfilling to see them grow and blossom. And when you see the happiness they get from trying something new like learning to ski, it’s just an awesome feeling 🙂
Oh boy that looks awesome, and my fella would LOVE it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jane x
Hope you will enjoy the recipe!
Oh wow! This looks so good! I love Gruyere cheese. Congrats on being in Home and Gardens 🙂
Thanks, Deanna! Gruyère cheese is perfect in this dish 🙂
Definitely fancier than American mac & cheese, lol. Love the fried onions and Gruyere!
Nothing wrong with American mac & cheese! But Gruyère cheese and fried onions does take it to another level 😉
Wow – am so intrigued by the applesauce eaten alongside “Älplermagronen” aka “alpine macaroni” or American mac and cheese!
It feels a bit unusual at first, but now I’m used to it. In fact, I love apple sauce so much that I often order this dish just because there is apple sauce!
This is one of my favourite Swiss recipes! Love the addition of applesauce.
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Interesting idea! Very tasty! And quite original! I definitely want to try it! Thank you for the recipe!
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We just returned from Switzerland where we enjoyed this same dish with the applesauce!! I was so happy to find your recipe!! It is difficult for me to find Raclette cheese that is used in Switzerland so this was a nice option! We eat the applesauce in the pasta! My grandkids loved it!!!
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Hi Tammy,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I have also encountered more and more people who eat the applesauce with the pasta – I ought to try it next time 🙂
Woo hoo, what a lovely recipe. I only heard of this dish a week ago, and I’m now trying to make my second version of it. I have no idea if it’s authentic, but this recipe is definitely delicious straight out of the pot (the previous recipe I tried just had milk and cream without a bechamel sauce, and it felt a bit wanting), and I’m hoping it will be even better when I bake it.
Thanks so much!
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Hi Kevin,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I agree that it is delicious straight out of the pot, hence I often don’t bake it. But the crispy bits that you get from baking are hard to resist 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! Just made this for my Mum’s we are missing Swizterland this year and this meal was perfect!!
Hi Jess,
So glad you and your mum enjoyed this recipe! It’s something we always look forward to eating when we go skiing … not sure if skiing will happen this year, but maybe I will still make this dish 🙂
Delicious. Took a while to make but worth it
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Hi Elise,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This looks delicious! I cannot wait to make it.
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Hi Elizabeth,
I hope you will enjoy this recipe 🙂