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Learn how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich with crispy, buttery bread oozing with melty cheese. This is the ultimate comfort food!
Arguably one of the most classic comfort foods, grilled cheese is the ultimate pick-me-up. The toasted bread is crisp and crunchy, and two types of cheese ensure there is plenty of flavor and a gorgeous cheese pull! Pair it with a bowl of creamy tomato soup for a satisfying, nostalgic meal.
For the best grilled cheese sandwich, make sure you’re using thick-sliced, sturdy bread. It needs to be able to support all that gooey cheese! Look for bread that doesn’t have large holes, either, as grated cheese will melt and fall through those holes. For more comfort food recipes, try my spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, or stuffed shells.
Grilled Cheese Recipe Ingredients
Bread — I reccomened a thick bread slices, generally about an inch thick. I went with sourdough bread, but lots of different kinds of bread will work great.
Mayonnaise — it might seem odd to use mayonnaise, but trust me! Mayo takes the place of butter on the bread so it toasts perfectly.
Butter — unsalted butter goes directly into the skillet to cook the sandwich and give it that addictive buttery flavor.
Cheese — I used two types of grated cheese: aged cheddar cheese and gruyère cheese. One has a sharp flavor and the other melts supremely well.
How To Make A Grilled Cheese
1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spread one side of each slice of bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the skillet. Once it melts, place one slice of bread, mayonnaise-side down, into the skillet.
3. Add the grated cheese on top. Don’t be scared to mound them up!
4. Place the second slice of bread on the cheese, mayo side up.
5. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the outside of the bread is golden brown. Add another teaspoon of butter to the skillet and let it melt. Flip the sandwich into the melted butter, then move it to the center of the pan.
6. If the cheese is still mounded up on the inside, gently press down on the top of the bread with the back of the spatula to flatten it slightly. Cook for 3 to 4 more minutes, until the second side of bread is also golden brown. Place the sandwich on a wire rack or plate for 2 minutes before slicing.
What’s The Best Cheese For Grilled Cheese?
A good grilled cheese sandwich has a combinations of different types of cheese. Using a mixture of cheeses like this gives you a balanced sandwich that is both flavorful and wonderfully melty!
- Sharp and Flavorful: sharp cheddar, aged gouda, parmesan aged for 18 months or less, Swiss cheese, or pepper jack cheese
- Melty and Gooey: gruyère, fontina, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, American cheese, havarti, and young gouda
The Secret To Perfectly Toasted Bread
This might seem odd, but use mayonnaise! A smear of mayonnaise on each slice, on the side that makes contact with the hot skillet, is key for perfect toasted bread. The mayonnaise helps the bread become crisp and golden brown without burning. This is because mayonnaise is mainly made with oil and has a higher smoke point than butter.
Another tip is to gently press the sandwich with a spatula during cooking so that the entire slice of bread touches the skillet.
What To Serve With Grilled Cheese
The classic accompaniment to a comforting grilled cheese sandwich is tomato soup. It is also very tasty with a bowl of hearty slow cooker chili or simply served with a side of homemade potato chips or air fryer French fries.
Recipe Variations
You can’t go wrong with a classic grilled cheese sandwich, but there are ways to jazz it up and turn it into gourmet grilled cheese if you’re so inclined!
- Use different cheeses. I went with gruyère cheese and sharp cheddar, but I listed a bunch of alternatives in a few sections above. Have fun with more flavorful cheeses like blue cheese or brie.
- Add a spicy kick. Add sliced fresh jalapeños to the sandwich, or add a generous smear of spicy jalapeño jelly to one side of the bread before adding the cheese.
- Use your favorite spread. Dijon mustard adds a wonderful tang that works well with the creamy cheese, and basil pesto adds a herbal element.
- For sweetness: Feel free to add your favorite jam, like fig or strawberry jam.
- Add meat: Crispy air fryer bacon and sliced ham taste incredible on this sandwich!
- Add tomato: Slice up a large tomato, like an heirloom tomato, and pat it dry before adding a slice or 2 to the sandwich.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Don’t let the skillet get too hot. Slower cooking is better to melt the cheese in the center and toast the bread without burning it.
- Grate your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-clumping agents that make it more difficult to melt. For ultimate ooey-gooey cheesiness, use freshly grated cheese.
- Cheese swap: You can use a slice of cheese in place of shredded cheese to save time. However, just like with preshredded cheese, presliced cheese isn’t always the gooiest when melted.
- Adjust the quantity of cheese. Depending on the size of the bread, use more or less grated cheese than I used in this recipe so it fits well on the bread and you have a generous amount of cheese in the sandwich.
Frequently Asked Questions
A medium or large skillet, specifically a cast-iron skillet, is the best because it browns the sandwich perfectly. To make multiple sandwiches at once, you can use a cast-iron griddle.
Sourdough bread is my favorite for this recipe because it adds flavor and has a nice crisp outside with a chewy interior. But you can use other types of bread. A hearty white bread, Italian bread, or potato bread are all great options too.
If you have leftover sandwiches, store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat them on a skillet over medium heat until the cheese has melted. Flip the sandwich once while they heat up.
If you have an air fryer, they are amazing for making leftover grilled cheese sandwiches taste freshly made! Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and then place the sandwich in the air fryer basket. Reheat for about 3 minutes or until the cheese melts. You can find more tips in my air fryer grilled cheese recipe!
If you’ve tried this grilled cheese recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Grilled Cheese Recipe
Equipment
- Cast-iron, heavy bottomed or nonstick, medium-sized skillet
Ingredients
- 2 slices sourdough bread ½-inch thick
- 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter divided
- ⅓ cup grated aged cheddar cheese (35g)
- ⅓ cup grated gruyère cheese (35g)
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Spread one side of each piece of bread with the mayonnaise.
- Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the skillet. Once it melts, place one slice of bread mayonnaise side down in the skillet. Top with the cheeses (mound them up!), then the other slice of bread, mayonnaise side up.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of butter to the skillet and let it melt.
- Flip the sandwich into the freshly melted butter, then move it to the center of the pan. If the cheese is still mounded up on the inside, press down on the top of the bread with the back of the spatula to flatten it slightly.
- Cook for 3 to 4 more minutes, until the bottom piece of bread is golden brown.
- Place the sandwich on a wire rack or plate and let it sit for 2 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Don’t let the skillet get too hot. Slower cooking is better to melt the cheese in the center and toast the bread without burning it.
- Grate your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-clumping agents that make it more difficult to melt. For ultimate ooey-gooey cheesiness, use freshly grated cheese.
- Cheese swap: You can use a slice of cheese in place of shredded cheese to save time. However, just like with preshredded cheese, presliced cheese isn’t always the gooiest when melted.
- Adjust the quantity of cheese. Depending on the size of the bread, use more or less grated cheese than I used in this recipe so it fits well on the bread and you have a generous amount of cheese in the sandwich.
Nutrition
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