Sourdough Grilled Cheese
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This irresistibly delicious sourdough grilled cheese is ready in just 10 minutes. Melted brie, thinly sliced apple, and honey are layered between two slices of sourdough, then grilled until golden. This is guaranteed to be the best sourdough sandwich you’ll ever eat!
Grilled cheese gets a MAJOR upgrade with this recipe, and once you taste it, you’ll never want the plain version again! We love grilled cheese sandwiches in our house, but we rarely make the white bread classic with American cheese. There’s too many delicious ways to upgrade it.
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This sourdough grilled cheese recipe is our go-to now. It’s a million times better with tart apples, sticky honey, and melty brie! It’s the ultimate comfort food and it only takes 10 minutes to make. It’s sweet, savory, and indulgent, all in one indescribable bite.
Sourdough is one of my favorite breads to make a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich on. It’s slightly tangy, sturdy yet soft, and thicker than sandwich bread. It goes with almost any cheese, spread, or filling.
I like to serve this sourdough cheese toastie with a bowl of tomato soup, but it tastes great on its own or makes a great side dish!
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- A quick meal for lunch or dinner
- Best gourmet grilled cheese
- Just as quick as the original
- Classic sandwich with a delicious upgrade
- Indulgent but fresh all at the same time
- Adult & kid-friendly
- Brie and apple grilled cheese
🥘 Ingredients
Gourmet grilled cheese on sourdough bread calls for five simple ingredients found at your local grocery store. Find the full ingredient list at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
- Butter: For that golden brown crispy crust and buttery flavor! Fat is essential for a golden exterior. If you don’t want to use butter, olive oil or mayonnaise are both good options. If you want to use coconut oil, it’s best to use refined coconut oil so it doesn’t have a strong coconut flavor.
- Sourdough Bread: Tangy sourdough bread complements the sweet honey and rich cheese! It’s truly a match made in grilled sandwich heaven. If you don’t like sourdough sandwich bread, swap with a sturdy bread you do like.
- Brie Cheese: Brie is mild and buttery with a good meltability. It’s great with the tart, crisp apple. Gruyere or sharp cheddar are both a great swap if you don’t like brie. The key here is to use high quality cheeses, as that will have the most flavor and best texture.
- Honey: The secret ingredient to this brie grilled cheese sandwich recipe! A little bit of honey makes this sourdough melt top notch! You could even use hot honey if you like.
- Green Apple: Use a tart, thinly sliced green apple. The tartness of the apple contrasts the melty cheese for a delicious bite.
📖 Variations
An artisan grilled cheese can be made with whatever fillings you like! Feel free to get creative with it.
- Spreads & Spices: You can spread butter, garlic butter, olive oil, or mayo on the bread slices. Each one has a slightly different taste and texture. You can also try a variety of grilled cheese seasoning like dried oregano, garlic powder, dried rosemary, or red chili flakes.
- Different Kinds Of Cheese: Melted cheese is key to a great grilled cheese! Try pepper jack, Monterey jack, provolone, extra sharp cheddar cheese, havarti, gruyere, fontina, taleggio, swiss, or gouda cheese. Parmesan cheese, while very tasty, doesn’t melt as well. So if you want to use it, make sure to pair it with a cheese that does melt and become gooey!
- Change The Bread: The best type of bread to use is one that’s sturdy but soft. For a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, you can change this sandwich with sourdough bread to use multigrain, sliced baguette, ciabatta, focaccia, Texas toast, or brioche instead!
- Fillings: The filling depends on the type of cheese you use. Caramelized onions, dijon mustard, tomato slices, arugula, pickled jalapenos, peppadew peppers, pesto, avocado, fresh thyme, sauteed mushrooms, sauerkraut, fig jam, pears, apple butter, and fresh garlic are all great options!
🔪 Instructions
The best sourdough grilled cheese is a breeze to make! You don’t need a sandwich press, just a hot skillet and a little know-how. Here’s how to get the that perfectly crisp exterior and melty inside.
Butter Bread: Lay the pieces of bread on a cutting board. Spread the softened butter over one side of each slice of bread. Flip the slices over so the butter faces down. You want the buttered sides to touch the hot pan.
Add Cheese: Arrange 2 to 3 slices of brie on two pieces of prepared bread.
Add Toppings: Top each with a drizzle of honey and apple slices.
Finish Toppings: Add more brie cheese slices.
Top With Bread: Top each grilled cheese sourdough bread sandwich with the second slice of bread, butter side up.
Cook Sandwiches: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place the sourdough brie grilled cheese sandwiches in the hot skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom golden brown in color.
Flip Sandwiches, Slice & Serve: Remove the lid and use a wide spatula to carefully flip the hot sandwiches. Cover the pan with the lid and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted. Remove the brie grilled cheese from the pan, slice with a serrated knife, and enjoy hot!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Honestly, any cheese that tastes good on a classic grilled cheese tastes even better on sourdough! Try cheddar, swiss, havarti, provolone, monterey jack, gruyere, gouda, or a combination. It’s important to use a meltable cheese to get that crave-worthy cheese-pull.
If you’re wondering, “what is the best cheese combination for grilled cheese?” I recommend choosing either a cheese that melts really well (like brie, cheddar, or any meltable cheese) or a combination of a super melty cheese and a harder cheese – like havarti and gouda.
The answer is, it depends! If you use a ton of butter and cheese, then your grilled sourdough bread sandwich will be too high in calories and fat, and won’t be that healthy. But if you use butter and cheese in moderation – the way we have in this recipe – then a sourdough grilled cheese can be a healthy component of a balanced meal that includes a side salad, soup or roasted vegetables.
This is a preference thing above all else. I prefer sourdough bread for grilled cheese. It does help to choose a sturdy loaf with a dense texture and thick slices, so the bread doesn’t get soggy. Try sourdough, multigrain, brioche, focaccia, sliced baguette, or a sturdy white bread.
While technically, you can melt cheese on bread in the microwave, I wouldn’t recommend it because the bread will get soft and soggy and you won’t achieve that crispy texture of a classic grilled cheese. And make sure to also never reheat a grilled cheese in the microwave! You will end up with a greasy mess and a soggy exterior.
You can reheat a grilled cheese on the stovetop or in the oven or toaster oven, and that’s how you want to make a grilled cheese as well.
To reheat in the oven, place the each grilled brie and apple sandwich on a sheet pan and bake at 325 degrees until the cheese is melty. To reheat in a skillet, add it to a pan over medium-low heat with a lid over top. Cook until the cheese melts and the bottom gets crispy again.
This sourdough grilled cheese sandwich tastes delicious with tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, a side salad, pasta salad, macaroni salad, or roasted vegetables. It tastes great with anything but pairs especially well with soup and salad.
💭 Expert Tips
- Make sure to use a pan that has a lid that fits to keep the heat in while cooking. Doing this creates steam to melt the gooey cheese while the bread crisps against the hot pan.
- When cooking do not have the heat up too high as this will cause the bread to burn before the cheese has time to melt.
- Having the bread buttered side facing out helps to create a gorgeous golden sandwich.
- I recommend a nonstick or cast iron skillet. It gives you a nice crispy exterior without burning the outside of the bread.
- For a lower calorie option, use half the amount of butter, and half the amount of cheese.
🥪 More Sandwich Recipes!
- Grilled Cheese Pita Sandwich
- Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Recipe
- Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese with Pear and Arugula
- Homemade Cheddar Cheese Buns
- Kale and Caramelized Onion Veggie Panini
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📋 Recipe Card
Sourdough Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 4 ounces brie cheese sliced thin
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ green apple sliced thin
Instructions
- Spread the softened butter over one side of each slice of bread. Flip the bread over so that the butter is facing down.
- Arrange 2-3 slices of brie on 2 pieces of prepared bread.
- Top with a drizzle of honey and apple slices.
- Add sliced brie and top with remaining bread, buttered side up.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cover with a lid, cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bread is slightly golden in color.
- Remove the lid, flip the sandwiches, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted.
- Remove, slice in half, and serve hot.
Notes
- Make sure to use a pan that has a lid that fits to keep the heat in while cooking.
- When cooking do not have the heat up too high as this will cause the bread to burn before the cheese has time to melt.
- Having the bread buttered side facing out helps to create a gorgeous golden sandwich.
- For a lower calorie option, use half the amount of butter, and half the amount of cheese.
You had me at melted brie! And my teenagers loved them too. Such great flavour for a quick and easy meal.
Thank you so much Sara! 🙂
You can’t beat a grilled cheese and even better if it used sourdough.
Yes!! Thanks Dannii – enjoy!
I love a good grilled cheese and this one really hit the spot tonight! I think I found my new favorite!
Awesome! So happy to hear that Gina!
Totally on board with this combination. I love a good basic grilled cheese, but this one is soooo good! Thanks!
Yay!! Thank you so much Jill!
This looks like a perfect fall lunch! I love trying new recipes with a twist! I will definitely be trying this!
Yay! I’m sure you’ll love it Angie!
I love experimenting with my grilled cheese too! Sometimes, I use tomatoes or corn or apples. I have never used peaches or pear though! This post is super fun to read because you have thrown so many health tips here and there – loved it!
I’ve used tomatoes and apples before, but not corn! I’ll have to try that next time! I’m so glad you liked this post too! 🙂
This grilled sandwich looks delicious. I’ve never added pear or apple to a sandwich but I will try it next time.
Definitely! You have to try it – it definitely elevates the sandwich!
That first photo got me. I’m glad I just had dinner or I might have, ok… Gotta try this!
haha! awesome! enjoy! 🙂
Yum! This looks delicious. I’ve never tried adding pear to a toasted sandwich before.
Thank you so much Kelly! I hope you love it if you try it!
Wow, this looks delicious, I would never have put a pear in a panini but I will now. Thank you!
Yay!! So happy to hear that Anita!
I made this grilled cheese sandwich with pear for my wife and I. It was so delish. I recommend stone-ground mustard. I used some of my brothers local honey! Yum.
Hooray!! Love the idea of adding mustard – so glad you guys liked it!
Thank you! Entries like this really encourage me. I’m a nervous cook, but when everything is laid out as you have it, I’m motivated to give it a try. And I LOVE grilled cheese!
Awesome!! This recipe is really so so easy to make, I’m sure it’ll turn out great for you! Enjoy!!
Looks absolutely delicious .. Laila … https://lailablogs.com/