🧀 Älplermagronen

Name: Älplermagronen
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Switzerland · Alps
Ingredients: 250 g short macaroni; 300 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed; 200 ml cream; 100 ml water from cooking the pasta; 100 g Gruyère, grated; 60 g Appenzeller, grated; 2 onions, thinly sliced, and 2 tbsp oil; Salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg; Applesauce to serve

Origin: Switzerland · Alps

980kcal

per serving · 400 g

245kcal

per 100 g

36 gProtein9 g / 100 g

52 gFat13 g / 100 g

88 gCarbs22 g / 100 g

Älplermagronen, or Alpine herdsmen's macaroni, is a Swiss baked dish of short macaroni and potato cubes in a creamy sauce with melted Gruyère and Appenzeller cheese, topped with crisp fried onions. It is hearty, cheesy and filling — mountain food. In Switzerland it is traditionally served with a bowl of applesauce on the side.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

Not veganbecause of: cream, gruyère cheese, appenzeller cheese

Contains glutenbecause of: macaroni

Contains dairybecause of: cream, gruyère cheese, appenzeller cheese

Not keto22 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

macaronipotatocreamgruyère cheeseappenzeller cheesefried onion

Recipe

4 servings45 min

Ingredients

250 g short macaroni
300 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed
200 ml cream
100 ml water from cooking the pasta
100 g Gruyère, grated
60 g Appenzeller, grated
2 onions, thinly sliced, and 2 tbsp oil
Salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg
Applesauce to serve

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 5 minutes, add the macaroni and cook together until the pasta is al dente. Keep 100 ml of the water, then drain.
Fry the onions in the oil over medium heat for 15 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
Warm the cream with the reserved water, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Layer the pasta and potatoes in a baking dish with the cheese, pour over the cream and bake at 200 °C for 10–15 minutes until bubbling.
Scatter the fried onions on top and serve with applesauce.

How to make it lighter

Swap half the cream for pasta water and use 100 g of cheese in total instead of 160 g.
Serve a 250 g portion with a large green salad instead of a heaped plate.
Bake the onion rings with a spray of oil rather than frying them in a pan of oil.

History

Älplermagronen comes from the Swiss Alps, where herders spending summers in high pastures cooked with what they had: potatoes, cheese, cream and, once it became available, dried pasta. The dish is generally thought to have taken shape in the late 19th or early 20th century and is now a staple of mountain huts and Swiss home cooking.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →