Main Course Recipes
Brie Grilled Cheese
4 grilled cheese sandwiches (serves 4)
Forget spongy processed bread and rubbery American cheese. My Brie Grilled Cheese is built on rustic rye bread and a custom blend of melting cheeses, taken to the next level with thick slices of brie. It is crispy on the outside, incredibly gooey, and absolutely luxurious on the inside. Let's get cooking! Read More
Main Course Recipes
Vegetarian
Before You Start
Let’s talk about important parts of the recipe before you start…
Brie Grilled Cheese Introduction
Hello everyone, I am so excited to share my absolute favorite sandwich with you today. Creating the perfect Brie Grilled Cheese is a true passion of mine because it elevates a classic comfort food into a gourmet experience right in your own kitchen. In this recipe, I will walk you through exactly how I use a combination of pan frying and a brief oven finish to get the most beautifully melted cheese without ever burning the delicate crust. By combining a hearty rustic loaf with my personal favorite shredded cheese blend and luxurious thick slices of brie, we achieve a texture and flavor profile that is truly unforgettable. Make sure you have your baking sheet and grilled cheese press ready, because we are about to make the ultimate meal that is best served alongside a fresh side salad.
Brie Grilled Cheese: Preparing the Bread
When I start making my Brie Grilled Cheese, the very first crucial step is dealing with the bread. You will want to take eight slices of high-quality rye bread or another kind you prefer, and spread a fine layer of softened butter on one side of each slice. You need about one teaspoon per slice. This step is essential for the pan frying process, ensuring that when you place the bread butter-side down in the pan, it crisps up beautifully without absorbing too much frying oil.
Brie Grilled Cheese: The Shredded Cheese Blend
The foundation of the gooey interior in this Brie Grilled Cheese relies heavily on the shredded cheese. I personally use a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, and parmesan. This specific blend offers the perfect balance of sharp flavor and stretching quality. When creating the sandwich, you will use one half cup of this shredded cheese per sandwich, divided evenly, making sure every bite is perfectly balanced before the melted cheese finish.
Brie Grilled Cheese: Adding the Star Ingredient
No Brie Grilled Cheese would be complete without its namesake. I use four slices of Brie cheese, specifically cut into thick slices of brie that are about four to five inches long. Alternatively, you can use an equal amount of shorter slices. Placing this luxurious cheese right on top of the shredded cheese, along with a pinch of salt and a pinch of freshly ground pepper, guarantees an incredibly rich, creamy center that contrasts beautifully with the crispy rye bread.
Brie Grilled Cheese: The Pressing Technique
If you want a flawless Brie Grilled Cheese, using a grilled cheese press is an absolute game changer. After placing your un-topped bread slice as a lid, you press down firmly with the grilled cheese press and hold it for about ten seconds in the pan. If you do not have a press, I recommend using a turner to press the top by hand, using a towel to avoid burns. This technique compresses the layers, ensuring the thick slices of brie and the shredded cheese meld perfectly during the pan frying stage.
Brie Grilled Cheese: The Oven Finish
One of the biggest secrets I share for a perfect Brie Grilled Cheese is the oven finish. Melting the inside of grilled cheese often takes so long that the bread burns. To prevent this, after pan frying, I transfer the pressed sandwiches to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Finishing them in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for three to four minutes ensures the melted cheese is thoroughly heated and gooey all the way through, without scorching the rye bread.
Brie Grilled Cheese: Serving Suggestions
Once you pull that baking sheet out of the oven, the presentation is key. I always cut each Brie Grilled Cheese in half for easier eating and a much nicer presentation, allowing that gorgeous melted cheese to cascade out. While you can certainly enjoy it on its own, I find that it is best served with a crisp side salad to cut through the richness of the butter, frying oil, and cheeses. You can also add some crispy bacon or sliced apples inside the sandwich before cooking; however, always remember that it is a modification that is not part of the recipe.
Brie Grilled Cheese: Meta Description
Make my ultimate Brie Grilled Cheese! Crispy rye bread, pan frying, an oven finish, and a rich shredded cheese blend for perfectly melted cheese.
Brie Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
Click any ingredient to learn moreFor the Sandwiches
8 slices of rye bread (or another kind )
8 TSP of butter - softened (adjust if needed, about 1 TSP per slice )
4 TBSP of frying oil (any kind) (adjust if needed)
2 cups of cheese of your choice - shredded (*)
1 Pinch of salt
1 Pinch of ground pepper - ideally freshly ground
4 slices of Brie cheese - thick slices (about 4 – 5ʺ long (or an equal amount of shorter slices) )
* I use a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, and parmesan.
Tools:
Click any tool to learn more1x Chef’s knife
1x Turner
1x Grilled Cheese Press (You can substitute the grilled cheese press for a turner: set the turner on the sandwich and press the top by hand, using a towel to avoid burns. If you make grilled cheese often, a press is inexpensive and well worth it. )
Nutrition per 1 Serving:(recipe split into 4 servings)
EstimatedCalories 640
Protein 22.8 g
Fat 47.6 g
Saturated fat 20.7 g
Carbohydrate 30.9 g
Sugars 2.7 g
Fiber 3.5 g
Sodium 973 mg
Cholesterol 99 mg
Vegetarian
Estimated. Worked out from the ingredients above using the United States Department of Agriculture’s FoodData Central reference data. An estimate, not a measurement — brands, sizes and how much of a marinade actually ends up on the plate all move it.
Directions:
1.Preparation:
Let’s start preparing the Brie grilled cheese.
1.1.
Spread a fine layer of butter on one side of each of the 8 bread slices (about 1 TSP per slice).
Note:
- Melting the inside of grilled cheese often takes so long that the bread burns. To prevent this, I toast the sandwich in a pan first, then finish melting the cheese in the oven.
- If you prefer the standard stovetop method, simply lower the heat to avoid burning the crust.
1.2.
Set the oven to preheat at 350°F.
1.3.
Optional: For the best result, also preheat the grilled cheese press (if using) – skip if turner is used.
2.Cook the Grilled Cheese:
Note:
- Work in batches – make 2 sandwiches (from 4 bread slices) at a time, or 1 at a time if your pan is smaller.
- You can also use two large pans to cook everything at once.
2.1.
Preheat a fry pan over medium-high heat with 2 TBSP of frying oil and add:
4 slices of bread – butter-side down
2.2.
Top each of two bread slices with (leave the other two not topped):
½ cup of shredded cheese (¼ of the total)
1 thick slice of brie (¼ of the total)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Note: The other two slices of bread will not be topped, as they will serve as the lids.
2.3.
Then, use the two not-topped slices of bread and place them on top of the topped one to create a lid.
2.4.
Using the grilled cheese press (or turner), press down firmly and hold (about 10 seconds).
2.5.
Then flip and press the other side the same way.
2.6.
Transfer the pressed sandwiches to the baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat and prepare the remaining two sandwiches the same way.
2.7.
When all four sandwiches are on the baking sheet, finish them in the preheated oven until the cheese inside is fully melted (about 3 – 4 minutes).
3.Serve Brie Grilled Cheese:
3.1.
Cut each sandwich in half for easier eating and a nicer presentation.
3.2.
Optionally serve with a side salad.
Popular questions
Why do you transfer the sandwich to the oven instead of just cooking it entirely on the stove?
I get asked this question a lot when people watch me make my Brie Grilled Cheese! The reason I do this is because melting the inside of the sandwich, especially with those thick slices of brie and the additional shredded cheese, often takes so long that the rye bread burns in the pan. To prevent this, I toast the sandwich butter-side down in the pan with a little frying oil first to get that perfect crust using my grilled cheese press. Then, I move the sandwiches onto a baking sheet and finish melting the cheese in a 350-degree oven. If you prefer the standard stovetop method, simply lower the heat to avoid burning the crust.
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