Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese is absolutely the best way to make these beloved sandwiches! Once you do them in your air fryer, you will be hooked for life.
🍽️ Recipe Name: Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich
⏰ Ready In: 13 minutes
⏳ Prep Time: 5 minutes
🔥 Cook Time: 8 minutes
👥 Serves: 4 sandwiches
🥕Main Ingredients: Bread, mayonnaise, cheese of your choice.
🍳 Special Equipment: Air fryer, spatula or pancake turner.
⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Crispy, golden bread and perfectly melted cheese with almost no effort. The air fryer cooks the sandwiches evenly, making them quicker and less messy than traditional stovetop grilled cheese.
👇 Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.
This air fryer grilled cheese sandwich is life-changing. I kid you not. Once you try it, you will never go back to pan frying.
Grilled cheese is an easy sandwich beloved by kids and adults alike. We still love dipping a melty grilled cheese in our tomato soup. Perfect comfort food.
If you’re looking for more lunch and comfort food ideas, check out our sandwich recipes collection for more easy sandwiches to make at home.
What You Need
- Bread – Your favorite store-bought or homemade bread. See below for suggestions.
- Cheese – See below for suggestions on types of cheeses to use,
- Mayonnaise – Spread on the outside of the bread to help it turn golden brown and crispy while keeping the sandwich rich and flavorful.
Why mayonnaise instead of butter? Mayo gives your grilled cheese the most wonderful crunchy texture on the outside. It also doesn’t make the bread soggy like when you use too much butter.
Optional Additions
- Sliced green onion or chives
- Tuna
- Ham
- Bacon
- Jalapenos
- Tomato
- Caramelized onions
- Avocado
- Mushrooms
- Pepperoni (make a pizza grilled cheese with mozzarella)
What Are the Best Cheeses to Use?
Lots of cheeses will work for grilled cheese. The thing you need to think about is that you want a hard cheese so that it doesn’t soften too much and leak out of the bread before the bread is toasted. Some great cheeses include;
- Cheddar cheese – mild, medium, or sharp cheddar cheese will work. Sharp cheese will take the longest to melt.
- Gouda cheese
- Gruyere cheese
- Swiss cheese
- Sharp provolone
How to Make It
Spread mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread.
Repeat with all slices.
Place one slice of mayonnaise side down in the air fryer basket. Add cheese on the dry side of the bread.
Top with any additional toppings and the second piece of bread, with the dry side down.
Air fry 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
Flip. Air fry an additional 4-5 minutes.
Cheese should be melty and bread golden. Serve hot.
What Types of Cheeses to Use?
Your choice of cheese is basically endless for delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Pick your favorites. Mix and match several different types.
- American cheese
- Cheddar (use mild for melting and a bit of sharp for flavor)
- Monterey Jack
- Pepper jack
- Colby
- Gouda
- Brie
- Fontina
- Swiss
- Mozzarella
Types of Bread to Use
Whatever type of bread you choose, get the best quality you can find. It makes all the difference.
Pro Tips for the Perfect Grilled Cheese
- For hard cheeses, grate cheese rather than slicing. It melts faster and more evenly.
- I like to let a bit of cheese hang off the bread. It gets crispy, crunchy, and browned.
- Know your air fryer. Air fryers cook at different wattages and therefore will be done at different rates. Closely check the sandwich the first time you make it in your air fryer to ensure it isn’t getting too brown.
- Turn the sandwich halfway through the cooking process for better browning.
Other Delicious Air-Fried Recipes
Tools I use
- Air fryer – This is what gives the bread its crispy, golden exterior while melting the cheese inside. Without it, you’ll need to use a different cooking method and adjust the recipe.
- Tongs – Make it easy to remove the hot sandwich from the air fryer basket. Using your hands can be awkward and increases the chance of burning yourself.
- Spatula – Helps lift and serve the grilled cheese without squishing it. It also makes it easier to transfer the sandwich to a plate in one piece.
- Cutting board – Gives you a safe place to slice the sandwich before serving. Cutting on a plate or countertop can be difficult and may damage surfaces or dull your knife.
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise, homemade or store bought
- 8 pieces bread
- 1/4 lb cheese of your choice see below for cheese suggestions
Instructions
- Spread one side of each slice of bread with a little mayonnaise.
- Place in air fryer basket mayonnaise side down. Then build sandwich with cheese, meat if you choose and additional items you would like. Top with the second slice of bread basted with the mayonnaise, (mayonnaise side up).
- Air fry for 4-5 minutes at 400°F until golden brown.
- Once the first side is golden brown, flip and brown the second side 4-5 minutes until second side is browned and cheese is melted.
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Notes
- sliced green onion or chives
- tuna
- ham
- bacon
- jalapenos
- tomato
- caramelized onions
- avocado
- mushrooms
- pepperoni (make a pizza grilled cheese with mozzarella)
- American cheese
- cheddar (use mild for melting and a bit of sharp for flavor.
- Monterey Jack
- pepper jack
- colby
- gouda
- brie
- fontina
- Swiss
- mozzarella
Nutrition
Originally published February 3, 2021.
