My All-Time Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich - The Recipe Critic (2024)

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What is the secret to the best grilled cheese? ›

Grilled Cheese Tips and Tricks

His secret? Griddle the bread on both sides. That's right. Cook two slices of bread in butter, flip 'em over so that the browned sides are facing up, add your cheese, and close your sandwich so that the cheese is sandwiched between the browned surfaces.

Grilled cheese offers a range of nutrients that can promote health benefits, including increased muscle mass and stronger teeth and bones. It's a source of vitamins, minerals, and protein. The drawbacks come from its tendency to be high in calories and sodium yet low in fiber.

Tuck in a little sautéed spinach, caramelized onions, chopped steamed broccoli, roasted red peppers, or roasted tomatoes. Add fruit. For really gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, use a mix of Gruyere and brie cheese along with thinly sliced apples or a slather of fig jam. Pickles, please!

For the best results, toast your bread first. A quick toast will help your bread develop the golden edges and luscious crisp that you're after. It'll also help prevent the bread from getting soggy, no matter how many fillings you add.

My favorite formula for grilled cheese comes from the tv show, Jane the Virgin. The main character says the perfect grilled cheese is made with equal parts American cheese, yellow Cheddar and white Cheddar cheese. Since yellow and white Cheddar don't have much of a difference I opt for ½ American and ½ cheddar.

For the ideal grilled cheese, look for bread with a soft-but-hearty texture with even slices of medium thickness (about 1/4 inch). Hearty sandwich bread, sourdough, brioche, and rye all work very well. Avoid rolls and loaves with large holes in the interior.

For each grilled cheese, you'll need two slices of bread, at least 1 tablespoon of butter, and 2-4 slices of cheese (depending how gooey you like it). American, Cheddar, Swiss, muenster or Gouda all work well—feel free to mix and match your cheeses.

Divide cheese evenly on both slices. Top with remaining slices, buttered side up. Heat a large skillet over low heat until warm. Add sandwiches and cover; cook, turning once with a spatula, until the bread is golden-brown and the cheese has just melted, 5 to 8 minutes per side.

Since 2014, New York City's Serendipity3 has laid claim to the Guinness World Record for the world's most expensive sandwich: a grilled cheese that costs a whopping $214.

What is the most expensive grilled cheese recipe? ›

The sandwich starts with “two thick slices of French Pullman Champagne Bread made with Dom Perignon Champagne and 23k edible gold flakes, buttered with grass-fed white truffle butter. It is filled with thick slices of rare Caciocavallo Podolico Cheese, made in Southern Italy from the milk of the Podolica cow.

If you're slathering it in butter or mayonnaise – it's probably not a meal you'd want to indulge in daily. If you're grilling it under a broiler or using a sandwich press, it's probably a healthier food choice.

Good sandwich choices include sliced deli or rotisserie chicken, turkey, ham, lean roast beef, canned salmon or tuna, nut butter, grilled tempeh or tofu, smashed cooked beans, and reduced-fat cheese.

A grilled cheese sandwich is not much healthier than a pb&j sandwich. It contains less sugar but it has more 'bad fat' (saturated fat). If you're still hungry, you can add one cup of fat-free unsweetened Greek yogurt.

Chefs have a huge choice of cheeses that melt well. These include provolone, a tangy cheddar, nutty Swiss cheese, and soft cheeses. Fontina melts well, and so does raclette and the stronger-tasting taleggio. Gouda is ideal too, and asiago, but cheese that doesn't melt well can also be added in with a good melting one.

Butter goes in the pan not on the bread. To ensure golden (not burned) toastiness, the exterior of the sandwich should be slicked with mayonnaise, which has a higher smoke point and possesses the combined browning power of oil and egg yolks.

If you're using a griddle, The Kitchn also recommends covering the sandwich with a pan, baking sheet, or even a bowl. The reason this method works so well is because it forces the heat to reach the parts of the sandwich not touching the griddle, allowing the cheese inside the sandwich to melt, per the Kitchn.