How to Make Grilled Cheese in a Pan (Cheese Toastie)
How to make grilled cheese in a pan – with tips and tricks for the best grilled cheese (aka cheese toastie) every single time! All you need is 3 base ingredients and under 20 minutes for this classic snack, side ,or main!
Servings 2 toasties
Calories 371kcal
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the two slices of bread and lightly toast for 1-2 minutes per side. This is important to not have a ‘soggy middle’ with a crisper texture and slightly more flavor – it’s a win-win.
- Add the cheese. Feel free to divide it between both pieces of bread and put it all on one side. Optionally drizzle with a bit of honey and sprinkle with some chili flakes for a quick and easy way to boost the grilled cheese flavor. Then close the sandwich.Make sure to keep the heat at medium to medium-low – that way, you give the cheese a chance to melt without burning the bread. This is especially important when ‘pre-toasting’ the bread as I do.
- Move the cheese toastie to one side of the pan and sprinkle in a little water to the other side – just ½-1 tablespoon is more than enough. Then put on a lid and allow it to steam for 1-2 minutes.This will help the cheese melt faster without making the cheese toastie go soggy. Just make sure that the water doesn’t touch the bread at all.Alternatively, if you want to avoid all water – you can add the lid right after adding the cheese to the bread, before making it into a sandwich. Leave the lid on just long enough for the cheese to start melting, remove the lid, create the sandwich, and flip it over to continue cooking until ready.
- Once it’s ready, serve it up and enjoy it immediately, eat alone, or accompanied by some soup, fries, or a leafy green salad!
Notes
- Using the right bread: there are only a few tips about choosing bread; don’t use slices that are too thick (the cheese won’t melt) or that have too many holes (the fillings will melt through and burn). Bread that’s beginning to go stale works wonderfully for a cheese toastie as well, as the heat/fat combo helps to rejuvenate it and it actually holds together better than fresh bread.
- The butter: there are two ways you can deal with the butter in this recipe. The first is to melt it in the pan (as I did), and the second is to simply spread it across the bread before toasting. Either work, I just prefer to add it to the pan as I find it helps to avoid potential sogginess, but others would argue that you don’t thoroughly coat the bread this way – it’s up to you.
- Don’t turn the heat too high: Otherwise, the bread will burn before the cheese melts. Low and steady is the name of the game when it comes to a perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
- Have fun experimenting: Really, the biggest tip I can give anyone to make the perfect grilled cheese is experiment and have fun doing it. Try different cheeses, different fillings, different bread!
Read the blog post for answers to more FAQs and extra notes on the best cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches and the other ingredients!
Nutrition
Serving: 1toastie | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 674IU | Calcium: 361mg | Iron: 2mg