Caramelized Onion & Apple Grilled Cheese
I’ve been on a cheesy sandwich tear lately, adding melted cheese to just about every type of warm sandwich combination I can think of. The following recipe is a spin on your classic grilled cheese that includes added caramelized onions and some finely-sliced fresh apples. The sweetness and acidity from the apple balance out some of the richness from the melted cheeses and the caramelized onions. The following recipe makes one very large grilled cheese sandwich.
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp salted butter (3 Tbsp of this butter is used for buttering both sides of the bread)
- ½ sweet onion (cut into thin 1/8-inch thick slices)
- ½ tsp white granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 2 slices of sourdough sandwich bread
- 2 slices Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 slice Gruyère cheese
- ¼ Honeycrisp apple (cored and finely sliced)
Instructions
- Add two Tablespoons of butter to a medium-sized sauté pan, and increase the heat to medium-high.
- When the butter is melted, add the sliced onion, white granulated sugar, and Kosher salt.
- Allow the onions to cook, while stirring every few minutes to ensure that they cook evenly.
- *If the onions are browning too quickly, add a Tablespoon or two of water to the pan, and stir to combine.
- When the onions are golden-brown, remove from the heat and allow them to cool down.
- Use the remaining butter to spread on both sides of each piece of sourdough sandwich bread.
- Griddle the first side of each slice of bread until golden brown.
- *Note that this first toasted side will go on the inside of your sandwich.
- With the griddled sides of the sandwich bread facing inwards, assemble the sandwich with the Monterey Jack cheese, Gruyère cheese, sliced apple, and the caramelized onions from earlier.
- Griddle the outsides of the sandwich on both sides over medium-low to medium heat, adding a lid during the last minute or two of cooking to ensure that the cheese is fully melted on the inside of the sandwich.
- *Avoid cooking the sandwich over high heat, as the outsides will darken too quickly and the cheese won’t be fully melted.
- Cut the sandwich in half on a diagonal, creating two triangles.
- Serve immediately, with extra napkins.
Notes
The onion will cook down into a fraction of its original size after being fully caramelized.
You can use whatever sliced cheese you like here.
If you try to cook your grilled cheese sandwich too quickly over high heat, the bread will burn and the cheese will not fully melt. Take your time while cooking this sandwich, moving the sandwich around the pan for a few minutes as it turns golden-brown over medium heat. I like to cover the pan with a lid during the last minute to finish fully melting the layers of sliced cheese.