38 typical and delicious Swiss specialties

Cheese and chocolate - that's what little Switzerland is known for almost all over the world. In fact, these two ingredients can be found in many well-known dishes loved by the locals. This is certainly not surprising, as these are often dishes that are enjoyed together with loved ones, family and friends.

Of course, the Swiss don't just feed on chocolate and cheese. Swiss cuisine is shaped by influences from surrounding countries, but also by the different landscapes and cantonal traditions. In Ticino, for example, you will find typically Mediterranean approaches, while in the mountainous Alpine regions you will find very nutritious fare.

A culinary tour de Suisse is therefore always worthwhile and can be perfectly combined with an exploration tour through our beautiful Switzerland. Whether in the big city by the lake or in the small, remote mountain village - Swiss specialties are waiting to be discovered by you everywhere.

Cheese fondue

** What is it?**

Cheese fondue is a true classic in Switzerland. Here a cheese mixture is melted, refined with white wine and kirsch as desired and placed bubbling in the center of the table on the "Rechaud". Classically, pieces of bread are dipped in the cheese, but potatoes, pears and apples are also possible. This is accompanied by Swiss white wine or black tea and after the meal a glass of kirsch. It's best to check out our article on 13 unusual places to have a cheese fondue. Here you can also find facts and information about the Swiss national dish itself.

Where can I try it?

Fondue is eaten throughout Switzerland, especially during the colder months of the year. However, true aficionados won't let 30 degrees in the summer stop them from comfortably swirling bread. The most atmospheric way to enjoy this speciality is certainly in a snow-covered mountain hut with your loved ones.

Raclette

What is it?

Raclette is also a typical Swiss cheese dish. In addition to the classic natural variety, countless refined varieties have been added in recent years. There are pepper, bacon, garlic, herb or chili cheeses, among others. The slices of cheese, about 5 mm thick, are melted in the table grill pans and traditionally eaten with potatoes.

With the garnishes you are then spoilt for choice: pickles, silver onions, pickled vegetables, bacon, small sausages, chili, pepper, pears and much more. Every Swiss has his personal favorites here - try it out and find out what tastes best to you!

Where can I try it?

Raclette is celebrated in many families during the cooler days at a cozy get-together. You can find selected varieties as well as a wide range of garnishes at the retailer or in a specialty store. Raclette is also often offered at Christmas markets, in mountain regions and in a rustic alpine hut.

Rösti

What is it?

Rösti can be served as an independent main dish but also as a side dish. To make it, potatoes are pre-cooked, grated and fried. The result is a golden brown, crispy "potato pancake". Depending on the region, the Rösti is garnished with bacon, cheese, tomatoes, onions or a fried egg and served.

Where can I try it?

Rösti as a main dish is often put on the menu in mountain regions. In good bourgeois restaurants, however, it may not be missing as part of the classic "Zürcher Geschnetzelte".

Capuns

What is it?

Capuns is a typical main dish from the canton Grisons. In it, a "spaetzle basic dough" is refined with bacon, Salsiz and raw ham as well as various herbs and wrapped in a chard leaf. The packets are cooked in a broth and often served topped with mountain cheese. However, there are countless recipes for capuns - following the principle "My grandmother makes the best ones!"

Where can I try it?

Capuns are best enjoyed in Graubünden. There you will find the popular dish in various combinations in almost every mountain and valley restaurant.

Cholera

What is it?

Despite the disturbing name, don't be afraid of this dish. The covered vegetable cake originates from Valais. It usually involves filling puff pastry with potatoes, leeks, cheese and apples and baking it

A possible explanation for the unusual name is actually that the dish originated during a cholera epidemic, when no one was allowed to leave the house. As a result, the population was forced to eat from the products that were usually stocked.

Where can I try it?

The best place to try cholera is in a restaurant on your next trip to Valais.

Malun's

What is it?

Maluns are grated, fried potatoes. At first glance, the "crumbly" main dish looks unusual. However, it tastes great with applesauce and a good piece of mountain cheese. It is said that you actually classically drink a latte with it. However, you may also choose another drink

Where can I try it?

Maluns is a specialty from the canton of Grisons. Wherever a restaurant offers Graubünden classics, you can order the dish.

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes

What is it?

A dish that Mr. and Mrs. Swiss enjoy very much in the restaurant. Zürcher Geschnetzeltes consists of veal in a creamy mushroom cream sauce. It is not to be confused with Geschnetzeltem Zürcher Art: in this dish the veal is usually replaced by pork.

Rösti is served with it and classically also "Nierli" (veal kidneys). However, these are only rarely offered and usually optional for the guest.

Where can I try it?

In very many good bourgeois restaurants throughout Switzerland, a Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is offered. But why don't you try it in keeping with the name in a restaurant steeped in history in Zurich?

St. Gallen Bratwurst

What is it?

The well-known white bratwurst is protected by an IGP. IGP = Indication Géographique Protégée - this means it is a very traditional product that is protected with certain conditions.

In the case of the St. Gallen Bratwurst, this means that it is regulated where the sausage may be produced, what spices are used and what types of meat may be included as a percentage. There are four varieties of the St. Gallen Bratwurst. The best known is probably the OLMA Bratwurst, which takes its name from the folk festival of the same name.

Where can I try it?

Why don't you combine your Bratwurst attempt with a visit to the OLMA? This takes place every year in October in St. Gallen and is both a fair and a folk festival. But beware: A St. Gallen bratwurst is eaten without mustard in any case. Reaching for the tube can cost you some nasty looks and is not looked upon favorably, especially in the region of origin.

Älplermagronen

What is it?

Älplermagronen are a popular dish, especially among children, often enjoyed during ski vacations. Topped with a creamy cream sauce and cheese, the macaroni and potato pieces are garnished with bacon and onions, making them another one of Switzerland's hearty main dishes. If you are a fan of salty-sweet combinations, you will surely like the dish. It is served with a portion of apple sauce.

Where can I try it?

Älplermagronen are offered mainly in the mountain regions. For the Swiss, it is a classic menu during hiking or skiing vacations.

Birchermüesli

What is it?

What was originally a common dinner for the common people is now an internationally popular classic on the breakfast buffet: the Birchermüesli. The basis is cereal flakes, nuts, fruit and milk. The dish was made famous by Doctor Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, who prescribed the muesli to his patients as an easily digestible evening meal. This then gave rise to the Birchermüesli.

Where can I try it?

You can prepare a Birchermüesli wonderfully by yourself. So you can add components such as yogurt or honey and flavor the muesli to your liking. Since the Birchermüesli is very filling, it is suitable as breakfast but also as a snack for your next day trip.

Grisons barley soup

What is it?

Another well-known and hearty dish from the canton of Grisons is the Bündner Barley Soup. It contains rolled barley, vegetables, bacon and/or Bündnerfleisch as well as fresh herbs. Due to the various ingredients, the soup is very nutritious and is therefore often eaten in the colder months.

Where can I try it?

You can also often find this Grisons classic to choose from in traditional restaurants that offer a Grisons menu. Moreover, it warms and strengthens you perfectly during a cold skiing day.

Hörnli and Ghackets

What is it?

The favorite dish of so many Swiss children - and young-at-heart adults - is Hörnli mit Ghackets. Translated from Swiss German, this means pasta with minced meat sauce. Quite simple in itself. But the perfection comes only when a good portion of grated cheese and applesauce are added. The best thing is to mix everything once and enjoy.

Where can I try it?

Hörnli and Ghackets is a typical family dish. You don't need to be a star chef to serve it at the next cozy evening with family and friends. Add a glass of wine and the menu is perfect.

Berner plate

What is it?

The Bernerplatte is a very traditional dish, which due to the "from-nose-to-tail movement" - in a modified form - is gaining in topicality. It can be compared to a butcher's platter. A wide variety of meats and offal such as bacon, ribs and tongue are prepared and served with potatoes, beans and sauerkraut.

Where can I try it?

Because of the many different components, you best enjoy the Bernerplatte together with some friends or family. Place the individual pieces and dishes in the center of the table, pass bowls around and taste.

Pastetli with Brätchügeli

What is it?

A classic from childhood days: puff pastry pies filled with Brätchügeli (small balls of sausage meat) on a creamy cream sauce and often supplemented with mushrooms or morels. This dish has made many a child's eyes light up when it came home from school smelling the tempting lunch

Where can I try it?

Pastetli with Brätchügeli is a favorite dish in Swiss households. In a somewhat simpler form for lunch or in a more elegant form as a Sunday menu. And that's exactly how you'll find it in the various restaurants: from the lunch recommendation to a fixed part of the evening menu.

Stunggis

What is it?

Stunggis is a Swiss term and stands for a stew from the central Swiss canton of Nidwalden. Pork stew is stewed together with vegetables and potatoes and then enjoyed in the same way. Attention: with "Gummelestunggis" there is a very similar sounding term in Switzerland. However, this one stands for potatoes (Gummele) and stunggis (mash). So a kind of mashed potatoes

Where can I try it?

Stunngis is a central Swiss menu. As with most other dishes, the best place to try it is in its region of origin. Or you can choose one of the numerous recipes and just try it yourself.

Polenta

What is it?

Polenta is probably best translated as "corn porridge". It can be served as a side dish, but it can also be a main dish on its own. So polenta is very changeable. Depending on what you prefer, you can use very fine to coarse-grained cornmeal

The polenta can then be served creamy as a side dish with a starter, with Gorgonzola and dried tomatoes as a main course, or in a modified form as a polenta slice. Just try it out and see how you like the corn dish best - there are almost no limits to your creativity.

Where can I try it?

Polenta has its origin in Italy. That's why in Switzerland you can find it most common in the southern canton of Ticino. Indulge yourself in a "grotto" or give free rein to your creativity and create your own polenta!

Saucisson

What is it?

The saucisson is a large, coarse-grained sausage that can be enjoyed only when cooked. The sausage speciality is known mainly in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The different regions have their own recipes. Some of them are even protected by law with a designation of origin. The sausage - or part of it - is usually served in combination with a hearty dish. Always suitable are potatoes, leeks and beans.

Where can I try it?

Saucisson is often offered as a component of a "Metzgete-Platte" (slaughter plate). In its region of origin, however, you can also find the specialty in gastronomy or in retail stores for personal tasting at home.

Basel flour soup

What is it?

The Basler Mehlsuppe is considered a traditional dish in Basel and is especially during the "most beautiful days of the year" - the Basler Fasnacht - cult and duty at the same time. The soup consists of bouillon, wine and roasted flour. For shine and taste it is refined with onions and bacon or pig's feet.

Where can I try it?

Since the Basel Carnival is a Swiss experience of a special kind, why not combine your visit with a taste of the flour soup? But beware - getting up early is a must here...

Heissi Marroni

What is it?

When the days become shorter and the fog creeps through the valleys, this scent also travels through the train stations and the streets of the city. Chestnuts are roasted and sold to passers-by as a snack. The sweet chestnut grows in Switzerland in the canton of Ticino. The actual fruit can be found in autumn carpeting the forest floor in the southern canton. But be careful, it is well packed in a prickly and prickly shell.

Where can I try it?

Hot marroni can be found in autumn and winter at train stations and in the city centers at small market stalls. You can also try the chestnuts at Christmas markets. The nice side effect: The bag with the hot chestnuts warms your hands at the same time. So nothing stands in the way of a cozy Christmas stroll!

Magenbrot

What is it?

Magenbrot is a popular dessert that can be bought at fairs and Christmas markets. However, Magenbrot does not resemble a classic loaf of bread as you know it. The small pieces, which are usually sold in pink bags, are dark brown and consist of flour, milk-water, Christmas spices, chocolate and honey

Where can I try it?

At any Swiss market big or small - just follow the sweet smell and you will find it.

Roasted almonds

What is it?

Roasted almonds are as much a part of the "Chilbi" and the Swiss markets as the stomach bread. The almonds as a basic ingredient are boiled with sugar, cinnamon and water. As the water evaporates, a sweet, crunchy crust forms around the almonds.

Where can I try it?

It's best to treat yourself to this delicious dessert at a Christmas market and combine this with a visit to a Swiss city. A very special Christmas market awaits you in Montreux on Lake Geneva, which is definitely worth a trip.

Chocolate

What is it?

Chocolate - Switzerland is known and loved for it all over the world. Whether Schoggi-Osterhasen, Goldbären, Lindorkugeln, Branchli-Stängeli or Toblerone. In Switzerland, you'll find the right chocolate variant for every occasion and every season, for a grand entrance or a small indulgence. With Lindt, Sprüngli, Läderach or Cailler, you will find some of the major manufacturers in Switzerland

Where can I try it?

Of course, you will find a wide range of products in the retail trade to try out the different varieties. To make the tasting a very special pleasure, combine it with a visit to a chocolate factory

In our guide about chocolate factories in Switzerland you will learn everything you need to know for your visit

Weggli and Brügeli

What is it?

Weggli and Brügeli can be translated as "milk roll and chocolate bar". The combination is a popular snack throughout Switzerland. In the classic version, you get the round, furrowed Weggli with a chocolate bar. Some bakeries use the phrase "you can't have the fiver and the Weggli" and replace the Schoggistängeli with a large chocolate coin. Sometimes you can have both.

Where can I try it?

Weggli and Brügeli are available in almost every bakery or retailer in a wide range of varieties and sizes.

Gottlieber Hüppen

What is it?

The delicate, rolled crêpes with different fillings gained their fame through a company in Gottlieben in the canton of Thurgau. The idyllic little town is located on Lake Constance and is definitely worth a visit. At "Gottlieber" you can try the different Hüppen and discover your favorite filling. The classic varieties are praliné, mocha and gianduja.

Where can I try it?

Hüppen can be bought in some confectioneries and retailers throughout Switzerland. The Gottlieber company runs its own cafés in some cities outside the canton of Thurgau, such as Aarau, Basel, Winterthur or Zug. Nevertheless, we recommend that you try the Hüppen where they originate: in Gottlieben itself.

Luxemburgerli

What is it?

The small, colorful macarons immediately catch your eye when you enter a Sprüngli store. The Swiss confectionery with cult status is now available with a wide variety of fillings: From chocolate to vanilla, mocha or champagne to passion fruit, raspberry and pistachio. There is definitely something for every taste.

Where can I try it?

You can get Luxemburgerli in any Sprüngli branch, especially in the city of Zurich and at Swiss train stations. But you can also find them internationally at airports all over the world. Luxemburgerli are also a popular gift or culinary souvenir from Switzerland.

Zuger Kirschtorte

What is it?

As the name suggests, it is an alcoholic cake from the canton of Zug. Since 2015, the name has been protected by law and may only be produced in the canton of origin and must contain "AOP Zuger Kirsch". AOP stands for "Appellation d'Origine Protégée," meaning a protected designation of origin with strict production requirements. In this dessert, the light sponge cake is soaked in kirsch and the cake is also filled with a cherry cream

Where can I try it?

Of course, the best place to try Zug kirsch cake is in the canton of Zug. Zug itself is a great city right on the lake. Here you can stroll through the alleys, bathe your feet in the cool water and sweeten your afternoon with a piece of cherry pie. What more could you want?

Nidelzeltli

What is it?

Nidelzeltli are available in different variations in different Swiss cantons. While in the canton of Appenzell the typical square candies are hard as a rock, the crumbly, creamy varieties from Basel or Bern disintegrate directly in the mouth. In any case, however, the strong caramel flavor, which comes from the main ingredients sugar and cream, is typical.

Where can I try it?

Nidelzeltli are part of the classic equipment of a candy fair stand. You can find them there all year round. But also in the supermarket you can find Nidelzeltli in different variations.

Bündner Nusstorte

What is it?

The round, rather flat cake, comes along very inconspicuous. The shortcrust pastry encloses the caramelized, coarsely chopped tree nut mass. Although the filling tends to stick in your teeth, it is worth tasting the sweet dessert. But be warned: the Bündner Nusstorte is a real calorie bomb and keeps you full for a very long time.

Where can I try it?

In the canton of Graubünden you can find the famous nut tart in various bakeries but also as a fixed component on the dessert menu in restaurants and cafés. It is also available in packaged versions in supermarkets. So you can take a Bündner Nusstorte with you on your next hike

Basler Läckerli

What is it?

The classic Basler Läckerli is small, square and decorated with a light sugar icing. In the meantime, however, there are numerous variations of the rather hard gingerbread pastry: for example, coated with chocolate or refined with fruit flavors. It is not known how many teeth the Läckerli has already claimed as victims. So be careful if you have problems with your teeth. The cookies are sometimes very hard or difficult to chew

Where can I try it?

The best place to visit is the Genusswelt in the Läckerli Huus in Frenkendorf in the canton of Basel Land. There you can learn more about the production and the history and taste the different varieties on the spot. Otherwise, you will find various branches of the Läckerli Huus all over Switzerland

Meringue

What is it?

A meringue on a plate looks almost like a small cloud. However, despite its airy appearance, it is rather hard and crumbly. To make it, egg whites and sugar are beaten and then dried in the oven and lightly caramelized. In addition to the classic version, more and more interpretations with different flavors were added. For example, with chocolate or pistachios.

Where can I try it?

Meringue is often served in the Bernese Emmental, in the Haslital and in Western Switzerland. As a dessert on a menu you will find it as an accompaniment to a scoop of ice cream or as the main component garnished with whipped cream.

Birnenweggen

What is it?

Originating in Lucerne, Birnenwegge consists of a yeast, shortbread or, more rarely, puff pastry and a spiced pear puree filling. In the classic, larger version, the dough is rolled up with the filling. The smaller "Bireweggli" is simply filled. The dish can be enjoyed as a snack or as a dessert.

Where can I try it?

Because of its origin, you can find the "Birnenwegge" of course in the bakeries of Lucerne . But it is also easy to find in the rest of German-speaking Switzerland, including supermarkets.

Speckmocken

What is it?

Contrary to expectations, the Speckmocken is not a salty, hearty main dish with meat, but a pastry. It comes from the canton of Appenzell and consists of puff pastry filled with a hazelnut-condensed milk mixture. Since the puff pastry is rolled and cut, the typical fan-like, layered shape of the Speckmocken is created during baking.

Where can I try it?

The canton of Appenzell invites you to hike and discover. Why not sweeten your excursion with a Speckmocken with your coffee?

Totenbeinli

What is it?

The hard nut pastry originally comes from the canton of Graubünden. According to history, it was often served at funeral feasts in the past, which is probably where the name comes from. Today, the Totenbeinli or Nussstängeli is a popular pastry throughout Switzerland as an accompaniment to coffee.

Where can I try it?

Totenbeinli can be baked easily by yourself. The advantage is that they keep for a long time. So you are well prepared for Christmas or a planned trip in time.

Willisauer Ringli

What is it?

The exact recipe for the ring-shaped pastry is secret. In addition, it was determined that the Ringli may only be produced in Willisau. The very hard pastry contains sugar, water, flour, lemons, oranges and honey. Be careful when biting off - your teeth will thank you!

Where can I try it?

The company HUG is allowed to produce the Willisauer Ringli. In the Ringli store in Willisau itself you can try the delicacies and watch them being made on the spot. Otherwise you can get the Willisauer Ringli in most supermarkets.

Badener Steine

What is it?

The confectionery product consists of cookie, kirsch and chocolate. As their name suggests, the stones come from the town of Baden in the canton of Aargau. According to legend, they are stones from the ruin "Stein" above the town. For all those who would rather do without a strong cherry flavor, the Moser bakery in Baden has also launched an alternative with Baileys

Where can I try it?

The Moser bakery in Baden sells the stones. So try them directly on the spot with your coffee. Or if you can't decide between dark or light chocolate, they are also available in larger packages as a take away.

Enjoy your culinary voyage of discovery across Switzerland and find your favorite specialty.