These 21 grilled cheese recipes include our favorites of the comforting childhood classic, including a few with a grown-up approach and others that we swear will keep the entire family quite pleased.

Grilled Cheese Croutons
: Quentin Bacon
1/21
Step one: Make a childhood favorite. Step two: Cut it into squares. Step three: Dunk, drop, or plop into tomato soup. Step four: Sigh with content.
Recipe
Hog Island Grilled Cheese
: Maren Caruso
2/21
This much-ballyhooed 'wich from Hog Island Oyster Bar in San Francisco is stuffed with fromage blanc, Gruyère, Cheddar, and Havarti. Talk about the stuff romance is made from...
Recipe
Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese Sandwich
: Gentl & Hyers
3/21
Dust off that waffle iron. You're going to want to make more than one of these supper-worthy sandwiches with crisped dimples and ooey, gooey interior. And no spattered stovetop to clean!
Recipe
Grilled Cheese with Onion Jam
: Steve Painter
4/21
Up your grilled cheese game with this riff on the classic that plays loose and easy with Cheddar, chutney, and caramelized onions.
Recipe
Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich
: KIM+PHIL Photography
5/21
Make veggies less yawn-inducing by stealthily sneaking them into this good-for-you grilled cheese sammie. Eating your veggies never tasted so sinful.
Recipe
Grilled Cheese with Peppers
: Ellen Silverman
6/21
For those of us who get a little anxious when we don’t have a bottle of hot sauce within reach. Unconventional? Yes. Comforting as the classic? Also yes.
Recipe
Classic Patty Melt
: Kristoffer Brearton
7/21
A properly made patty melt is a hot mess that demands all your attention and a lotta napkins. Sorta as if a grilled cheese and hamburger had a love child.
Recipe
Cheddar, Bacon, and Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich
: Christopher Hirsheimer
8/21
Desperation dinners just got a heck of a lot less boring since we stumbled upon this genius grilled cheese combo.
Recipe
Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Butternut Squash and Kale
: Tom Regester
9/21
A cheesy and indulgent sandwich that's still surprisingly healthful thanks to a respectable amount of vegetables. Which means you can feel virtuous without needing to be abstemious.
Recipe
Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich
: Akiko Ida | Pierre Javelle
10/21
Just as cheesy and comforting as it was when you were six years old. And who couldn't benefit from feeling like you're six again and all is right with the world?
Recipe
Challah Grilled Cheese
: Maren Caruso
11/21
"HELLO PASTRAMI JAM! Where have you been all of my life?!" That's what someone shouted after experiencing this extra indulgent grilled cheese that boasts quite a few surprises.
Recipe
Turkey Reuben Patty Melts
: Matt Armendariz
12/21
An ingenious mashup of a couple indulgent American classics—reuben and the patty melt—with ground turkey to lend an air of healthfulness. As glam as grilled cheese gets.
Recipe
Cheese-Crusted Grilled Cheese
: Christina Lane
13/21
Because some days ooey gooey grilled cheese insides just doesn't seem indulgent enough. Se we coated the outside with cheese that would crisp to a golden brown.
Recipe
Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese
: Time Inc. Books
14/21
Pulled pork grilled cheese. (You just changed your plans for what you're doing this weekend at the mere mention of this sandwich, didn't you? That's okay. Happened to us, too.)
Recipe
Grilled Cheese with Everything
: Antonis Achilleos
15/21
This came into existence when a line cook wondered what would happen if he put literally everything on a sandwich. Something spectacular ensued.
Recipe
Welsh Rarebit Grilled Cheese
: Steve Painter
16/21
Just like the classic British sandwich—but better. So much better. A seriously hot, gooey mess of a sandwich.
Recipe
Grilled Cheddar-Jalapeño Popper Sandwich
: Sam Folan
17/21
A big fat sandwich of deliciousness. That’s how one person referred to this brilliant riff on the classic grilled cheese that's salty, tangy, spicy, melty, and mood-lifting as heck.
Recipe
Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwich
: Aimee Herring
18/21
Sharp New York Cheddar cheese is layered between sourdough bread and smeared with a tomato-chipotle spread to kick up these grilled cheese sandwiches.
Recipe
Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich
: Matt Armendariz
19/21
Here's how to embellish a childhood classic with the help of a little leftover holiday ham and some fancy French mustard.
Recipe
Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich
: Antonis Achilleos
20/21
A grilled mac and cheese sandwich? You better believe it. Here's how to make it.
Recipe
Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
: Steve Freeman
21/21
The quintessential summer sandwich, this stack is stuffed with grilled eggplant, bell peppers, red onions, and zucchini. Open wide.
Recipe
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