Harvest Grilled Cheese
MAKE THIS LOADED Harvest Grilled Cheese WITH FIG BUTTER, APPLES, CHEDDAR + MORE WHEN YOU’RE CRAVING COZY FALL FLAVORS
originally posted in partnership with Sargento Cheese on 11/03/16; last updated 11/09/23
Oh do I have something good for you today! Yup, it’s grilled cheese, but nope, this is not your ordinary, average, plain ol’, regular grilled cheese. Oh no! This is a fancy schmancy grilled cheese, made on brioche bread (or pumpkin waffles, whichever calls to you), bursting-with-every-flavor-of-fall grilled cheese. Quite literally, it is a cheese-covered epitome of all the fall things.
But before we dive face first into that stack of cheesy goodness, can we take a moment to talk about how quickly fall is going by? Like, please tell me I’m not the only one who does a double take every day they look at the calendar and see that it says “November”. It was practically just summer and we were pretty much just at the beach, no?! And now life is revolving around wool coats, hot drinks, falling leaves and snowy forecasts. Is this a joke?! Someone must be pranking us all, right? Because trying to process the fact that 2024 is practically knocking at my door, is way more adulating than I can handle.
I’m not letting this year, or more particularly, this season, go down with out a fight. Oh no! I’m over here taking in all the fall things I can. Sweaters layered in threes, blankets in every corner, apple cider every day and all the cheesy goodness I can eat, because, well, cheese makes everything better (case in point- When has a big ol’ bowl of stringy, cheesy mac n’ cheese never not solved all your problems?! Exactly!).
One of my current cheesy faves are these harvest grilled cheese sandwiches. They're stuffed with alllllllllll (and I do mean alllllllllll) the flavors of fall. There’s squash, there’s pumpkin, there’s spice, there’s apple, there’s fig… they're literally just oozing autumn. Well, that and Sargento cheese. Have you guys tried those cheese slices? They make the best grilled cheese because, unlike PPCF (pasteurized process cheese food aka American singles) that is only required to have 51% real cheese, Sargento's slices are 100% real-deal, not processed, natural actual cheese slices cut from real blocks of cheese. I mean, I don't know about you but I kind of love my cheese, so if I'm eating it, I want to eat ALL of it, not a measly 51%. Y'all feel me?! Also, real talk. Another reason I love the Sargento slices is because, truthfully, I can be kind of lazy, so when I want to eat my grilled cheese, I want to eat it now, not 10 minutes from now because I had to clean a knife and pull out a cutting board and slice some cheese (another example of my #adulting skills at their finest). Ohhhh, and they also have 23 varieties (aka more than enough to satisfy my cheese-loving heart).
Fall may be slipping away faster than we’d like, but hold on, friends. I see optimal cheesy goodness that’ll melt (pun intended) away all your worries in your near future…
WHAT INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE GRILLED CHEESE
Butter and olive oil- to caramelize the onions and make the grilled cheese golden brown
Onions- I like to use red or sweet onions, but any will do and even shallots would be great
Brioche bread- I prefer a softer bread for a grilled cheese and the slight sweetness of the brioche works really lovely will the other fall flavors of this grilled cheese, however you could also use a sourdough bread, a ciabatta or really any other bread of your choice; I also originally developed this recipe with pumpkin waffles, which are another very on-brand fall addition, but plain waffles are yummy, too!
Fig or apple butter- for a nice spread of fall flavor; pumpkin butter would also work well
Grainy dijon mustard- for flavor, a little tanginess and to balance out the sweetness of the fruit butter; regular dijon mustard can also be used
Cheese- provolone and a sharp cheddar are my go-to’s but swiss is also great and smoked gouda is also very nice for enhancing the fall flavors
Turkey and ham- I like to use a smoked turkey and a rosemary or honey ham for added flavor, but the added flavor is totally not necessary
Apples- use any kind you like, just make sure it’s something nice and crisp
Squash- acorn, butternut or delicata work best here; make sure it’s pre-cooked until very soft and slightly seasoned; if I use acorn or butternut, I like to kind of roughly mash it up before adding it to the sandwich and sometimes I’ll even spread it on one side of the bread; if I use delicata squash, I like to just add a slice to the sandwich; you can also skip the squash if your prefer
Fresh ground pepper, salt and thyme- to season the sandwich; feel free to use sage in addition to or instead of the thyme
HOW TO MAKE HARVEST GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
STEP 1- First we make our jammy golden caramelized onions by sauting the sliced onion in just a bit of butter and olive oil.
STEP 2- Then we assemble our sandwiches. One side of bread gets a bit of fruit spread, one gets dijon and then everything else gets layered in between.
STEP 3- The bread is buttered up and our sandwiches are grilled to golden brown perfection.
STEP 4- For the ultimate melted cheesy goodness, the pan gets popped into the oven for just a moment.
STEP 5- Then slice, serve and enjoy your grilled cheese!
TIPS FOR PERFECT GRILLED CHEESE
BUTTER VERSUS MAYONNAISE
You may have heard a rumbling or two about the grilled cheese debate and which is better to use, butter or mayonnaise, when it comes to achieving optimal golden goodness on the crust. Look, I get both sides. Mayonnaise has oil in it so that makes sense, and butter is, well, butter and you can’t ever go wrong with that. At the end of the day, I really think there is no “wrong” option (I mean, we’re talking about melted cheese between bread here…), more just personal preference and perhaps a little bit of nostalgia and how your grilled cheese were made when you were growing up. For me, it means butter. I just love the buttery, golden, slightly nutty flavor that it adds to the overall grilled cheese flavor, especially for this harvest grilled cheese.
USING THE RIGHT PAN
You want to make sure to use a pan that is both stovetop and oven safe since the grilled cheese start on the stove and get finished in the oven. I like to use a cast iron skillet because it makes the crust extra golden brown and crispy, however, a stainless steel pan is great, too.
GET THE PERFECT MELTY GOODNESS
There is nothing worse than a grilled cheese with cheese that’s barely melted. The trick to ensure that never happens to you is to finish off your grilled cheese in the oven. Just 5-10 minutes should do the trick to ensure you never have anything other than cheesy melty goodness.
ARE THERE ANY INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS?
Swap the onions for shallots.
Swap the brioche for sourdough, ciabatta or waffles.
Swap the grainy dijon out for regular dijon.
Try swapping out one or both of cheeses for smoked gouda or swiss cheese.
Swap out the apples for pear.
Use sage instead of thyme.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH HARVEST GRILLED CHEESE
This is a hearty and flavor packed sandwich so I like to either enjoy it as is or with either a cup of a simple, light soup, like this butternut squash soup, or a simple green salad. However, you could keep the hearty harvest theme going and pair it with this loaded autumnal salad as another option.
HARVEST GRILLED CHEESE
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion of your choice, thinly sliced
Sea salt
8 slices of brioche bread or other bread of your choice OR pumpkin waffles
4 tablespoons fig or apple butter
2 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
4 slices Provolone Sliced Cheese
4 slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese
4 slices turkey (I like to use smoked)
4 slices of ham
1 large apple, thinly sliced
Optional- squash, cooked and thinly sliced or roughly mashed, depending on what kind of squash you use (You can use whatever kind you like, but mashed acorn or butternut squash is great as are delicata squash rings)
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh Thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large skillet (I like to use a cast iron one, but use what you have; also you can use the same pan you’ll be making your grilled cheeses in which means bonus points for more flavor and less dishes) melt together about 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and the butter has melted, toss in the onions. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and give the onions a quick stir. Feel free to also add a sprig or too of thyme for additional flavor. Lower the heat slightly and continue to sauté until the onions are cooked down and nice and caramelized and golden brown and sort of jammy. This will take somewhere around 10-15 minutes. Once the onions are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and allow the onions to cool.
Lay out the slices of bread. Spread one side of 4 of the slices with 1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard per slice and then spread the remaining 4 slices of bread with 1 tablespoon of apple or fig butter each. Then top each of the fig or apple butter coated slices of bread with one slice of provolone cheese, one slice each of turkey and ham, some squash, a few apple slices, some onions, a dash of fresh ground black pepper, a sprinkle of thyme and finish with a slice of cheddar cheese. Top with the dijon coated bread, mustard side faced down.
Heat a large (preferably cast iron) skillet or griddle pan over medium heat. Generously butter the top side of the sandwich, then carefully place it, buttered side down, on the hot pan. Cook for a few minutes until the bottom slice of cheese begins to melt, then carefully and generously butter the side of bread facing up before flipping the grilled cheese over. Continue cooking for several more minutes, lowering the heat if necessary to prevent burning, until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is gooey and melted.
To melt the cheese even more (or just to keep the sandwiches warm until serving), transfer the skillet (if it’s oven-safe, otherwise you can place the grilled cheese sandwiches on an unlined baking sheet) to a 350 degree oven for just a few minutes. Optimal cheesy goodness will be yours in no time!
NOTES
SUBSTITUTIONS
Swap the onions for shallots.
Swap the brioche for sourdough, ciabatta or waffles.
Swap the grainy dijon out for regular dijon.
Try swapping out one or both fo cheeses for smoked gouda or swiss cheese.
Swap out the apples for pear.
Use sage instead of thyme.
LEFTOVERS
Let’s be honest, we all know, with something this cheesy and delicious, leftovers rarely exist! And, generally, as a rule of thumb, I’d say just stick to making grilled cheese fresh. However, in the off chance that you do have leftovers, the grilled cheese can be wrapped in parchment paper and stored in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator then reheated in a 350 degree oven.
