Eat Your Way Around the Alps: Our Favorite Foods
The Alps are a fantastic place to visit for many reasons—snow-capped mountains, endless rolling trails, dips in crystal clear rivers, and, of course, the food. Some of our favorite dishes are specialties found in the Alps. From cheese-smothered Swiss dishes, to delectable French pastries, and classic Italian pizza, the list goes on and on.
To recommend the foods you absolutely must try while you are here in the Alps, we asked our most trusted trail foodies—Run the Alps’ guides and ultra runner friends—about their Alpine favorites. The list we came away with spans everything from traditional dishes handed down from generation to generation, to tasty trail treats that fit inside your running pack, and more types of local cheese than you might have even known existed.
There’s so much more to taste and experience in the Alps, so let us know your favorite thing if it didn’t make our list!
While this list is heavy on the cheese and bread, you can also read recommendations for other dietary preferences: Eat Your Way Around the Alps: Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free.
Sweet Treats
Trail running might just be as much about the treats you take in your running pack as it is about the run itself. Our favorite local trail treats are baked goods that fit nicely into a pocket withstanding the wear and tear of a long outing on the trails.
In France, it doesn’t get easier than a trip to the bakery. There is a reason that locals visit their local bakery daily. Our favorite trail treats are crisp, buttery croissants and pain au chocolate, freshly-baked pastries for any time of day. And, dare we say, they taste even better on top of a mountain. Run the Alps’ Charlotte Le Flufy recommends croissants in Italy too: “Make sure you get a vanilla filled croissant – ideally still warm straight from the oven. They’re the best!”
In Switzerland, you can find an abundance of hazelnut treats. The Nussgipfel, Haslikuchen, and Nusstorte are sweets you’ve probably never heard of, but may become your go-to trail energy. Run the Alps’ Bernese Oberland Manager Maarten Hendricks says, “These treats are filled with a mixture of hazelnuts, cinnamon and sugar, making them a perfect trail food for an endurance run.” These little nut pastries are held inside a crispy pastry shell and are sweet, satiating and can fit in your running vest.
Throughout much of the trail running season in the Alps, tiny blue and red berries pop out from beneath the foliage. You can find tarts in any village bakery, of course, but they taste best at mountain huts, where an abundance of wild berries grow nearby. We don’t recommend carrying berry tarts in your vest, but chances are you’ll pass a hut serving freshly picked and freshly baked treats. Or make one at home with this authentic Tarte aux Myrtilles recipe.
Alpine Comfort
You might find that many traditional dishes in the Alpine regions are variations on the same ingredients: cheese, cured meats, potatoes, and pasta. These foods have long shelf lives, and historically, were heavily relied upon during cold winter months when farmers couldn’t grow vegetables or tend to their gardens. Now, we could consider these hearty dishes as Alpine comfort food.
Rösti: One of our favorite post-run dishes is a hearty rösti. Packed full of sauteed potatoes, similar to hash browns, this hot dish will not disappoint or leave you hungry. Traditionally a Swiss farmers’ breakfast, today variations are found around the world.
Tasch: Swiss Pancakes: Tasch is a versatile dish perfect for brunch that can be prepared either sweet or savory. It is generally made with simple ingredients, probably ones you already have in the kitchen. Like a pancake, the batter is added to a large pan, but once cooked on one side, it is torn into small pieces before flipping to finish cooking. The pieces are then served with various toppings, including jams and fruits, or, for a savory pancake, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms or cheese. This tasch pancake recipe will soon become a family favorite.
Älplermagronen: Älplermagronen is one of our favorite alpine comfort foods. Think of it as a Swiss version of macaroni and cheese. The dish combines pasta baked in a creamy cheese sauce flavored with nutmeg and topped with caramelized onions. Often served with applesauce, it’s our favorite dish for crisp autumn days in the mountains, and an easy one to reproduce at home.
Polenta: You already know that no trip to Italy is complete without eating pizza. With locally grown tomatoes, Italian mozzarella, and fresh herbs, nothing says Italy like pizza. But, some of our favorite Italian dishes are not found in pie shape at all. After a long day out on the trails, we love nothing more than a creamy polenta. Made of ground corn and slow-cooked for hours over a wood stove, polenta is a staple in northern Italian cuisine. It can be eaten plain with just butter, or combined with sauces, mushrooms, and cheese.
Say Cheese
Mountain cheeses are distinct in that their flavors change with the seasons. As soon as weather permits, herds of cows, sheep, and goats are led to the high alpine pastures, where they spend the warmer days grazing on wildflowers, herbs, nuts, and fruits. This combination results in rich, robust flavors, and a wide variety of cheese.
Given the extensive history of cheesemaking in the Alps, sampling cheese is not just a culinary experience, it’s a lesson in history and tradition. These are a few of our favorite Alpine cheeses, the ones we always have on hand, and the ones you’ll want to be sure to try.
Reblochon: Common in Haute-Savoie, France, Reblochon is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. The cheese is named after the process of using milk from the second milking, reblocher, resulting in a richer cheese. It is soft and creamy, perfect for serving with bread or pairing with potatoes.
Tomme de Savoie: A semi-firm cheese made from cow’s milk with a thick, brownish-gray rind. After processing, this cheese matures for several months, giving it a unique, mild flavor. Try it in a sandwich, on a salad, or mixed into quiche.
Beaufort: This firm cheese from the French Alps can be paired with wine, eaten after dinner, or, try it on a grilled cheese sandwich with blackberries. In summertime, Beaufort cheese has a floral and herbal flavor, while in the winter months, its flavors are nutty and rich, directly related to the diet of the herds.
Fontina: Crossing the valley from Chamonix into the Italian Alps around Aosta, you can find pastures full of red-coated Valdostana cows. These cows are famous for their Fontina cheese, which is a melting cheese, often used in fondue. It is equally delicious on its own, and can be found in soft and semi-hard varieties.
And Melted Cheese
Yes, melted cheese gets its own category. We couldn’t leave you without mentioning a few of our favorite melted cheese dishes. Understanding the difference between raclette, tartiflette, and fondue is an important part of any culinary tour of the Alps! Yes, they are meals of melted cheese (what more could you want?), but no, they are not the same.
Raclette is a typical Swiss dish that involves melting a large block of cheese and scraping off the toasted part. It is often paired with potatoes, pickles, cured meats, or salad. It is said to have originated with the shepherds in the high mountains, who melted their cheese over campfires.
Tartiflette is another filling dish made from potatoes, onions, lardons, and reblochon popular in the French Alps. It’s often eaten après-ski, and served in individual dishes.
Fondue is a communal meal, involving long forks that are used to dip potatoes or bread into the melted cheese. This makes a great winter dinner party. It’s cozy, comforting and, of course, centers around melted cheese.
Bon Appétit
Even after many years in the Alps, we are continually finding new favorite meals, recipes, and traditional treats. Our highest piece of culinary advice? Try something new. And when you return home, share the flavors with your friends.
Eat & Run
If you love trail running, but also want to enjoy local culinary specialties along the way, we’ve got the trip for you. We’ll explore the trails of Chamonix, France and Zermatt, Switzerland, spending time at the best eateries en route on our Culinary Trail Tour of the Alps.
More Focus on Food
Eat Your Way Around the Alps: Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free
Trail Runner’s Underground Guide to Chamonix
The Best Cafés in Chamonix, France
Trail Runner’s Guide to Zermatt, Switzerland
