Croziflette
Cheesy Alpine Pasta Bake
Croziflette with pasta, caramelized onions, smoky bacon and gooey, grilled molten Reblochon cheese 🫕 🧀 ... OMG, the smell, the look, the taste, the vibe… it’s got it all... 😜
Croziflette is insanely good Alpine comfort food. With only a few easy steps and just a handful of ingredients, you pop this heart-warming dish under the grill and let the magic happen! Grilled Reblochon cheese melts into nutty buckwheat pasta, all wrapped in creamy onions and smoky bacon, turning Croziflette into the ultimate taste of the French Alps; cozy, rich and impossible to resist...
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Croziflette is insanely good Alpine comfort food. With only a few easy steps and just a handful of ingredients, you pop this heart-warming dish under the grill and let the magic happen! Grilled Reblochon cheese melts into nutty buckwheat pasta, all wrapped in creamy onions and smoky bacon, turning Croziflette into the ultimate taste of the French Alps; cozy, rich and impossible to resist...
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Why We Love It!
Croziflette is golden, gooey and sinfully scrumptious... do we need to say more?
What Is Croziflette?
Croziflette is a traditional French Alpine gratin that’s as comforting as it is satisfying. This hearty dish from the Savoie region is a twist on the classic Tartiflette, made with small, square-shaped buckwheat pasta called crozets instead of potatoes.
The recipe brings together simple, rustic ingredients: tender crozet pasta, smoky bacon lardons, sautéed onions, cream and slices of Reblochon cheese – more info about the cheese in our FAQ’s below. Baked until golden and bubbling, the Reblochon melts, coating the pasta in a rich and creamy layer.
For our version, we swap crozets for soba noodles – Japan’s own buckwheat pasta. They’re so much easier to find, and the result is a delicious fusion: a French mountain classic with a subtle Japanese twist.
Croziflette is pure heartwarming winter comfort when it’s cold outside – it’s best enjoyed straight from the oven and shared among friends.
Ingredients
Croziflette
left to right – top to bottom – check our Recipe card below for quantity info
- Fresh Thyme: gives a gentle, earthy fragrance of freshness
- Freshly ground pepper
- Smoked bacon lardons: they give this tiny salted surprise crisp in the pasta
- Yellow Onion: they have the best balance of sweetness, sharpness and depth, once cooked – essential for Croziflette
- Soba noodles: Japanese soba noodles share the same nutty buckwheat flavor – we use them as an easy, delicious alternative when crozets are hard to find
- Crème fraîche – thick cream: adds a nice smooth, tangy creaminess without curdling in the oven
- Fromage de Savoie: We use Reblochon, but since it’s hard to find outside France, other Savoie cheeses – or Taleggio, Raclette, Camembert, or Brie – make delicious stand-ins!
How To Make Croziflette
Preheat
Start by preheating the oven to 200°C/400°F
Boil
Cook the pasta until almost done, then drain and rinse - we want it al dente.
Chop & Slice
Dice the onion and cut the cheese into generous slices. We prefer the top of the bake to be almost fully covered in cheese for that perfect golden crust.
Bake
Sauté the bacon lardons for about 3 minutes until just starting to brown. Add the onion and thyme sprigs and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Then take out the thyme sprigs.
Mix & Bake
Add the cream, pasta and ground pepper to the pan with the bacon and onions, mix well, and pour it all into a baking dish. Top with the cheese slices and pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden and bubbling... Serve immediately!
Serving Tips & Pairings
- Green Salad: We serve it with some fresh green salad, or rucola tossed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Tomato: A little Trampó on the side kicks right through all that cheesy goodness.
- Cornichons or pickled onions for a tangy Alpine touch…
- Bread: Scoop up the melted cheese with warm crusty bread.
- Drinks:
- Keep it fresh with sparkling water and lemon, a tall glass of iced tea or a tangy kombucha.
- Enjoy it with a Belgian-style tripel, we love it with the rich Pezzo da Novanta tripel!
- For wine lovers, a dry Savoie white or a light Pinot Noir is really good…
Substitutions & Variations
- Cheese: Reblochon isn’t always easy to find, so melt Taleggio, Raclette cheese, or even Brie or Camembert over your pasta instead
- Pasta: Got crozets? Great! If not, don’t stress – any pasta will do. Buckwheat brings that warm, nutty vibe we love and we use soba noodles because, well… pasta is pasta, and it’s always good…
- Cream: Use oat milk with a splash of dry white wine instead of cream for a lighter, silky sauce.
- Veggie: Swap lardon for any kind of mushrooms!
- Herbs: No thyme? No problem – sage, rosemary, or oregano will do the trick or mix them up for extra flavor!
FAQs
The way to pronounce it is ‘KRO-ZEE-FLET’, with a soft French rolled ‘R’, the stress on ‘FLET’, and a very gentle, almost silent ‘T’ at the end
It comes from reblocher, meaning ‘to milk again’ – a nod to farmers who once milked their cows a second time after tax collectors had gone, keeping the richer milk for themselves. True farm-made Reblochon carries a red wax seal, guaranteeing its authentic regional origin and artisanal quality.
Yes! You can easily make it a day ahead – just follow the recipe up to the Grill step. Cover it well and keep it chilled in the fridge.
Before baking, take it out to reach room temperature, then bake for about 25 minutes in a well-preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until hot and bubbling.
If you have leftovers, cover and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in the oven at 320°F (160°C) until hot and melty again 😋
Recipe
Croziflette
Ingredients
- 300 g Japanese Soba noodles
- 450 g Reblochon
- 250 g smoked bacon lardons
- 300 g crème fraîche - thick cream
- 200 g yellow onion
- 1 tspn freshly ground pepper
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 200°C/400°F
- Cook the pasta until almost done, then drain and rinse - we want it al dente.
- Dice the onion and cut the cheese into generous slices. We prefer the top of the bake to be almost fully covered in cheese for that perfect golden crust.
- Sauté the bacon lardons for about 3 minutes until just starting to brown. Add the onion and thyme sprigs and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Then take out the thyme sprigs.
- Add the pasta to the pan with the bacon and onions, mix well, and pour it all into a baking dish. Top with the cheese slices and pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden and bubbling... Serve immediately!
Notes
- Fresh Thyme: gives a gentle, earthy fragrance of freshness
- Freshly ground pepper
- Smoked bacon lardons: they give this tiny salted surprise crisp in the pasta
- Yellow Onion: they have the best balance of sweetness, sharpness and depth, once cooked – essential for Croziflette
- Soba noodles: Japanese soba noodles share the same nutty buckwheat flavor – we use them as an easy, delicious alternative when crozets are hard to find
- Crème fraîche – thick cream: adds a nice smooth, tangy creaminess without curdling in the oven
- Fromage de Savoie: We use Reblochon, but since it’s hard to find outside France, other Savoie cheeses – or Taleggio, Raclette, Camembert, or Brie – make delicious stand-ins!
Nutrition
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