I bet you didn’t know you’ve been making grilled cheese wrong all this time.
There are two tricks – the first is a key ingredient that I bet you aren’t using nearly enough of and the second is a secret ingredient that takes this classic sandwich from good to amazing!
So I created a little 3-minute video to show you exactly how to do it. Once your perfect grilled cheese is ready serve it alongside Homemade Tomato Bisque and you will officially be in cool weather heaven. Enjoy!
I like the idea of parmesan on the outside, and melting the butter in the pan makes so much sense. It coats the bread so much better than trying to spread butter on the bread. I’ve found the best coating, though, is mayonnaise. It spreads beautifully, has a higher burning point than butter, and turnss the bread a wonderful golden, crispy brown.
Lisa, use a Cutco trimmer knife on that sandwich! It won’t smash your bread, and it has a FOREVER guarantee.
I’m in Australia and cannot open your video link. The post made me crave a grilled cheese but now I’m unsure how best to make it!! Can you please post to key points from the video?
Thanks
Butter is key!! :)
~Melt plenty of butter in the pan first
~Coat one side of bread thoroughly with melted butter (both pieces)
~Put cheese on the bread (sharp cheddar was Lisa’s choice)
~Cook each side to a light golden brown
~Add a bit more butter to pan
~Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan on each side and finish by cooking it into the bread
Hope this helps.
i love grilled cheese but I did notice the biggest challenge here would be to just eat a half of a sandwich. I could never do that! Back in the day I used to eat two grilled cheese sandwiches! And I’m not overweight!
is it ok to freeze dairy such as cheese and milk.
Hi Melissa. This might help: http://lifehacker.com/learn-how-to-freeze-milk-and-other-dairy-products-when-1679810137.
We love grill cheese and butter but after making 1 for each of us (5 of us here) I was going through so much butter I now make them using my George Foreman Grill and don’t have to use so much butter and they come out crispy and cook much quicker :)
What kind of bread do you recommend for the best grilled cheese? I think the type of bread has been my great downfall with past grilled cheese experiments.
Hi Melissa. Lisa uses Great Harvest’s Whole Wheat most often. Sometimes she makes her own: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/17/recipe-honey-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-for-bread-machine/. ~Amy
Too funny, my husband has always made grilled cheese by buttering the pan not the bread and I always thought it was incredibly strange. He does make good grilled cheese though. Creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese are on the menu for Monday night, so I will give the parmasean cheese crust a try.
This is how I always make mine, lots of real butter! But instead of the Parmesan I use a little garlic on the outside, yum!
Yum! I’m making tomato bisque this weekend and we’ll be having grilled cheese! We are out of bread and this is the weekend I run to Great Harvest and stock up!
Bread from Whole Foods is miles better than Great Harvest. It’s organic, and usually cheaper.
By the way… I consume that much butter, ( in addition to other healthy fats) if not more per day and I’m 120lbs, 10-12% body fat and med free. You’ll be ok.
Minus the secret ingredient, this is how I’ve always made grilled cheese. What is the wrong way? Just curious.
I’ve always made mine the wrong way, butter the bread and put in on the pan. I made the tomato soup and grilled cheese “the right way” last night. Super good!
Organic butter is so healthy and will not necessarily make you fat. It’s all of the carbs/sugar that make you fat. Our culture is in drastic need of a paradigm shift. Fat doesn’t make you fat. Bravo to you Lisa for encouraging people to eat REAL food!
As I am definitely one that recommends less processed foods, organic doesn’t always mean healthier and shouldn’t be mistaken as needing NO PORTION CONTROL. Yes, less processed foods can contain more nutrients and less fillers, however…just because it’s organic doesn’t mean that you can’t gain weight from it. All of it contains “calories”, which can lead to weight gain just like carbs if uncontrolled.
If I ate that much butter I would be 500 pounds and living on antacids!! Sorry, don’t agree with this one.
If I’m having grilled cheese, I’m having it the right way- full of calories! It’s not something we should eat often, so the extra fat and calories should not be a reason to nay-say this method. I love the idea of melting the butter in the pan!
Looks delish! For another recipe that’s great for Fall, try my brussels sprouts with bacon!! http://www.kaleandtequila.com/easy-brussels-sprouts-bacon-mushroom-onion/#more-477
Looks delish! For another recipe that’s great for fall, try my easy brussels sprouts with bacon!! http://www.kaleandtequila.com/easy-brussels-sprouts-bacon-mushroom-onion/#more-477
Whoa….not worth the calories of all that BUTTER! It’s like a Paula Deen recipe!
Hi Lisa, we love the videos! I wanted to tell you that we use the parmesan trick too and it is equally as yummy on tortillas for tacos. Just add a little oil or butter to the pan and lightly fry the tortillas; remove to paper towel and sprinkle with parmesan. For a crispy shell return the tortilla to the pan parmesan side down for a minute. We don’t do this every time but it adds a whole new level to black bean tacos! Thank you for all the recipes you share, many of them have become family favorites! Have a great week =)
We always use butter in our grilled cheese sandwiches! Margarine is nasty on them. But we butter the bread and put buttered side down 😄 still get the buttery taste and when you are cooking quite a few like I do it saves time. Never thought of grated parm! Will have today to try out. Thank you
Hi! What is the bread that you used making this sandwich in the video?
Hi Kelly. That is most likely Great Harvest’s Whole Wheat. :)
I make grilled cheese sandwiches very similar’ although I just swirl the bread in the melted butter, flip it and swirl the other side then put the cheese on it while it’s in the pan. I probably use about a tablespoon of butter, which I don’t think is such an obscene amount. We also use Ezikiel Pitas for grilled cheese and they require less butter and get really crispy. My kids love them! And your stove is awesome!
If you are counting calories you don’t make grilled cheese. If you make grilled cheese, make it awesome and enjoy every finger licking good bite! Heaven!!!
I so agree! Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Amen Sister!
While I agree that saturated fat is not bad for you (although replacing it with polyunsaturated fats has been proven to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease), trans fat which is found in butter definitely is!
I think you have your facts wrong. Butter does not contain trans fat. Trans fat is created when we artificially hydrogenate unsaturated fat to make it saturated. Butter has saturated fat, but not trans fat.
Real food, but whoa . . . LOTS and LOTS of calories!!! Yikes!
a better way to make a whole bunch is to butter some good bread, put it butter side down on a cookie/baking sheet, add some nice grated cheese on top, then top with another slice of buttered bread. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes then flip over and sprinkled grated parmesan cheese and cook for another 5 minutes. You can make about 10 at a time like this. I saw it on the food network. Makes really tasty sandwiches that don’t flatten.
add a bit of dijon mustard for a kick. I don’t use sliced cheese. I use fresh cheese, like an Smoked Old English from Trader Joe’s, then grate it for the filling.
My hubby makes our grilled cheese just buttering the outside, maybe we will have to try the melted butter way. And the Parmesan on the outside sounds awesome! Tomato soup and grilled cheese is my favorite lunch.
Ooo…looks good! Thanks for the parmesan tip! I always butter and season the outside, but never thought to add more cheese! :-)
This is how I have made mine for years, one additional thing I do is: after getting the butter soaked into the outside of the bread, I put the non butter side into the pan for 20 seconds to warm the bread then I flip over once slice, lay on the cheese and put the other slice on top. The warmth helps the cheese melt from inside and makes it so yum!!
Yum I love grilled cheese thanks for the tips. Cant wait to try this version.
Can you please tell me what kind of bread you use or can you point me to a recipe for one?
Lisa has said that she usually buys her bread at Great Harvest (a small bread company with locations throughout the US), but she also has a whole wheat recipe somewhere on her blog.
Geneva is right about Great Harvest but if you don’t have access to one, here are the whole wheat recipes: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/17/recipe-honey-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-for-bread-machine/ and http://deliciouslyorganic.net/everyday-whole-wheat-bread/.
What is the bread you are using in the video? I am trying hard to make bread using whole wheat flour (use it for everything else and love it) but it always comes out of the bread maker with a thick, hard crust and very dense. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Marsha, she has a recipe for a bread maker loaf. I use regular whole wheat flour and add about 2 tbsp. vital wheat gluten to the recipe. I used to buy whole wheat bread flour, but the store changed the bulk brand to Bob’s Redmill, and lo-and-behold the name brand doesn’t work well.
Wheat gluten? I’ll try that. Thanks
I only used my bread maker to make the dough. I let in rise in the oven for a hour after the dough in finished in the bread machine then cook it for 30 mins at 350. I find it tastes way better and you actually get a normal looking loaf of bread.
Thanks, I’ll try that.
YUM! Love the parmesan trick! My MIL bakes little piles of parmesan to make crisps to add to salads. They are delightful, so I imagine it would do the same to the bread here. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Girl, your are speaking my LANGUAGE with this recipe. Great tips and looks super yummy!!
The weather is supposed to get much cooler here this weekend! I can’t wait to make these grilled cheese sandwiches and the homemade tomato bisque! Your recipes are amazing and have really changed my family’s way of eating – thank you!