This grilled cheese is loaded with a variety of gooey cheeses. It only takes 20 minutes to make this decadent sandwich, and you can easily make the recipe vegan or gluten-free.
Updated January 2023
The Easiest, Cheesiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A grilled cheese might be one of the simplest meals out there, but in my opinion it’s one of the best, too. If made correctly, a grilled cheese is the perfect balance of crunchy, chewy bread, and melty, gooey cheese. This grilled cheese recipe is exactly that, but it takes the sandwich to the next level with black pepper, garlic, and parsley.
I make this recipe a lot, because it’s filling, comforting, delicious, and incredibly easy to make. It’s also a great sandwich for different diets, because it’s very easy to make both vegan and gluten-free. Whatever your diet is, you’ll love this four-cheese grilled cheese sandwich.
What You’ll Need
Here are all the ingredients you need to make this melty, gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article to see the exact quantities for each ingredient.
- Rustic sourdough bread – You can substitute sourdough with any crusty, rustic loaf of bread, including a gluten-free option.
- Butter – Regular butter or vegan butter will work fine, but you want it to be unsalted butter.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese – Real cheese or dairy-free cheese will work.
- Parsley
- Garlic
- Black pepper – Make sure to use freshly-cracked black pepper.
- Kosher salt
- Cheddar cheese – You can use vegan cheese or regular cheese.
- Sliced mozzarella – Just as with the fresh mozzarella and the cheddar, this can be regular cheese or dairy-free.
- Havarti cheese – Vegan or regular havarti work fine.
- Apple slices – This is an optional ingredient.
- Arugula – Arugula is also an optional ingredient, and you can use kale instead.
How to Make a Grilled Cheese
Here’s how to make this 20-minute crunchy, gooey grilled cheese.
- Make the butter mixture. Mix the butter, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
- Spread the butter. Spread about a tablespoon of butter on one side of both pieces of bread, then place butter side down in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the cheese. Add the four cheeses to one of the pieces of bread, along with the optional apples and greens.
- Cook. Place the other slice of bread on top of the cheese, butter side up. Press down on the sandwich and cook until it is golden brown, which should take 2-4 minutes. Flip the sandwich and cook until the other side is golden brown, and the cheese is fully melted. This should take 3-4 minutes. Cut in half and enjoy!
Tips For Success
Here are a few tricks and tips for making this grilled cheese sandwich.
- Use soft butter. You don’t want to use melted butter for this recipe, but you should use soft butter. Soft butter will be easily spreadable across the pieces of bread, which ensures that the entire piece of bread is evenly coated with butter. That will make for a nicer and more consistent toast.
- Press the bread. The recipe calls for pressing down on the bread when cooking the sandwich. You can do this by hand, but you’ll get even better results if you use a heavy object. If you have kitchen presses you can use them on the sandwich, otherwise you can just place a cast iron skillet on top of the bread.
- Use fresh bread. The fresher the bread, the better your grilled cheese sandwich. Bread that’s even a little bit stale can get too hard when cooking in the pan, but fresh bread will stay soft on the inside, even as the outside toasts.
Serving Suggestions
This rich grilled cheese sandwich is perfect on its own, as a meal or a snack. But I like to pair it with other foods. Here are some of my favorite ways to serve grilled cheese.
- With soup. Grilled cheese and soup is an iconic combination, especially when it’s roasted tomato soup. I also love to serve this grilled cheese with vegan minestrone soup and roasted butternut squash soup.
- With salad. A creamy, cheesy grilled cheese sandwich pairs really well with a light, refreshing salad. I like serving this sandwich with a wedge salad, Mediterranean salad with chickpeas, or easy salmon salad.
- With veggies. Since this recipe is mostly just bread and cheese, I like to serve it with some vegetables to keep things fresh and healthy. I love it alongside roasted harvest vegetables, sauteed green beans, and honey roasted carrots.
How to Store and Reheat Grilled Cheese
These sandwiches are best eaten fresh, as they’ll get a little bit soggy if you store them. But you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on medium heat in the toaster oven, or in a 375F oven for 5 minutes.
Can You Freeze This Recipe?
I don’t recommend freezing these grilled cheese sandwiches, as the texture won’t be the same. But if you want to, store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, wrap in aluminum foil and cook in a 375F oven for 10 minutes.
More Sandwiches to Make
If you liked this four-cheese grilled cheese, then check out some of my other favorite sandwich recipes.
This grilled cheese sandwich is rich and gooey, with four types of melty cheese. It can easily be made vegan and gluten-free, and only takes 20 minutes to make.
- 2 slices rustic sourdough bread (or crusty rustic loaf of choice – we like Bread Srsly, AWGbakery, or California Country Gal for grain-free)
- 2 tbsp butter (or dairy-free butter — Miyoko's or favorite brand of your choice)
- 2 oz fresh mozzarella (or dairy-free fresh mozzarella, about 2-3 round slices — Violife Cashew Milk Mozzarella or favorite brand of your choice)
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/2 clove garlic finely grated
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 slice cheddar cheese (or dairy-free cheddar cheese — Violife, Miyoko's, or favorite brand of your choice)
- 1 slice mozzarella cheese (or dairy-free mozzarella cheese — Violife, Miyoko's, or favorite brand of your choice)
- 1 slice havarti cheese (or dairy-free havarti cheese — Violife, Miyoko's, or favorite brand of your choice)
- 2-4 slices apples
- 1 small handful arugula or kale
In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the butter, parsley, garlic, salt, and black pepper until well combined.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of the butter on one side of both slices of the bread. Place the bread, butter side down, on a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Divide the cheese between the bread, tearing the cheese to fit, as needed. Add optional arugula and apple slices, if using.
Close the sandwich with the top bread slice, butter side up, pressing down gently. Cook, until the bread is golden brown and toasted underneath, about 2-4 minutes. Carefully turn the sandwich over and cook until the second side is golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice in half.
Nutrition info is based on using regular butter and cheese, not vegan options.
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