Brie Grilled Cheese is a quick and easy recipe that will make your cheese dreams come true. Using a combination of swiss cheese, cranberry sauce, arugula, ham and gooey brie this is the perfect recipe to get fully loaded. Grilled cheese with brie will melt in your mouth whilst you lick the crispy breadcrumbs from your lips.
Recipes like the Brie Croissant, Baked Brie with Honey, Caramelized Onion Brie and the Microwave Brie are all about this delicious and indulgent smooth yellow cheese.
The Mini Croissant Sandwiches, Havarti Grilled Cheese, Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs and Roast Beef Sliders are other tasty recipes that work for lunch.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about this simple grilled cheese in the points below:
- Brie cheese: you know what I'm saying right 😂👍.
- Brie cheese in a grilled cheese: oh boy it gets even better to the next level right!!
- Crowd pleasing: you could serve everyone egg and lettuce sandwiches and I am sure that they would go down a treat. But the crowd folks, wants the classic comfort food. Ooey gooey melted swiss cheese with crusty bread and brie stuffed inside (especially on a weekend!).
- Taste and texture: there is the soft white bread that crisps to perfection, the oozy melting cheese, sweet cranberry sauce and chewy ham. This combination ticks a lot of the taste and texture boxes and them some. Did I mention there is brie in there too 😉.
- Simple ingredients: everything you need to make the recipe can be sought from your local grocery store. They are year round easy to get your hand on ingredients.
- Family friendly: everyone of all ages will love switching up their sangas and having something different. This grilled cheese sanga my friend is indeed different and offers a quick lunch any day of the week.
- Versatile: whilst traditionally grilled cheese are a lunch meal if you want to make it for dinner or brunch on a day when you need a little kick starter, I will not stand in your way 👍.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make this classic sandwich. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Butter: a regular spreadable butter will work well. We don't put this inside the grilled cheese, rather we use it spread against the outside of each of the slices of bread.
- Cranberry sauce: you will find this in a jar where the mint and other sauce types are. Surprisingly it is not with the jams in the supermarket (well most of them that I have been to!). It is the perfect companion to the delicious brie cheese.
- Swiss cheese: whilst the brie is the feature cheese, it melts but doesn't pull the way swiss cheese does. So we use the combination of mild cheese and soft brie to get the best of both cheese worlds. It's kind of cheesy 😂.
- Brie: smooth on the inside with the from rind to hold it together, this creamy brie cheese is a popular and much loved cheese. In a grilled sandwich, much like on a cheese platter it is simply heavenly.
- Rocket leaves: also known as arugula. This adds a pop of colour to our sandwich.
- Ham: a great contrasting flavor to the brie cheese. If you have leftover ham ie from the Bourbon Glazed Ham, this sandwich is the perfect way to use it up!
- Bread: I use white sourdough bread to make this recipe. The main thing is that you want a good bread that is robust. Not a super soft one which will flatten too much. Head to the bakery over the bread aisle.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the grilled brie cheese recipe. We start by buttering each piece of bread, you can see me doing this in the photo below.
- Butter the bread (Photo 1)
- Add swiss cheese (Photo 2)
- Add ham (Photo 3)
- Then spread cranberry sauce on to the ham (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Brie Grilled Cheese
Start to make the grilled cheese by placing the pieces of bread onto a chopping board.
Then use a butter knife to spread the butter onto 1 side of each slice. Then flip and pair the slices so that the buttery bread sides are together.
Next top the non buttered side (we want the butter on the outside of the sandwich) with 2 pieces of the slices swiss cheese.
Once done, fold 2 slices of the ham and place them on top of the swiss cheese slices.
Then use the same butter knife to spread the cranberry sauce over the ham.
- Add brie cheese (Photo 5)
- Then add the rocket leaves (Photo 6)
- Add swiss cheese (Photo 7)
- Then close the sandwiches (Photo 8)
Next place 2 slices of the cut brie cheese onto the cranberry sauce layer. The spread the rocket leaves across on top of the brie.
Then place 2 more sliced swiss cheese pieces on top and use the 2nd slice of bread to close the sandwiches.
- Place the buttered sandwiches into the frying pan (Photo 9)
When it comes to cooking your grilled cheese, the stove top is best and a nonstick skillet works well. (A cast iron pan will work too! 👌)
Turn the heat to high, place the pan onto the stove and place the butter side onto the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Next, use a silicon turner to flip each sandwich to the other side of the bread and then let this side cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Cook, flip and then cook again (Photo 10)
You will notice that as the cheese melts it pulls together the sandwich and helps it all stick (from the inside out). The outsides of the grilled cheese are golden brown and crisped to perfection.
Once cooked transfer them to a chopping board when you are ready and use a knife to slice them in half. Then get ready to enjoy this blissful combination, you have earnt it!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Yeah, this is an all in one meal kind of thing. You won't want or need a side salad and breads are out as you already have that with the brie sandwich on the plate.
There is sauce on the inside, the greens for the 'vegetable' aspect to the meal and that is it done and dusted.
So skip the sides, the bread, the fries, the pasta salad, the roast veggies and simply enjoy this one 🤍.
Or if you are feeling the cheese guilts, stick a bit extra of the arugula on the plate. The green will make you feel like you are almost eating a healthy sandwich 😂👍👌.
I said this to myself like in the photo below. Green stuff is good stuff, right 😁.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
You can store leftovers of the grilled cheese in an airtight container in the fridge or on a plate with cling wrap.
How to Reheat
You can microwave the grilled cheese to remelt the cheese (only recommended to do once) for 1-2 minutes on high.
Or you can wrap the leftovers in baking paper and place them into a sandwich press and allow them to heat through.
How to Freeze
The actual sandwich itself is best cooked and eaten, it is not recommended to freeze it.
You can however, as a means to be organised, purchase the bread, freeze it then thaw and use when you want to make the recipe.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can use rye bread in place of the white sourdough.
- If you would like to use raspberry jam or strawberry jam in place of the cranberry sauce that will work.
- Apricot jam, fig jam, plum jam or blackberry jam will work too.
- You can use turkey breast in place of the ham if you prefer want another option.
- Or use thanksgiving leftovers that have sitting in the fridge.
- You can use spinach leaves in place of the rocket leaves if you wish too.
- For a fruit filling, add some pear slices or sliced apple (sounds weird) but tastes good. Resulting in an apple and brie grilled cheese combo 👌.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Oil doesn't do to grilled cheese what butter can do. So spread it my friend rather than spray for this one 😉👌.
- Somewhat counter-intuitively we want the buttered bread on the outsides (not inside) of the grilled cheese, this helps the bread to toast.
- Opt for bread slices that are firm (not soft white bread) which don't have a lot of holes in the slices (for obvious cheese pouring out the holes reasons).
- If your flip game is not strong, don't worry after the cheese melts, you can push the sandwich back together as needed to cook the otherside (Or make my Crispy Pancakes and you can practice your flip game at breakfast time!).
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
What cheese goes good with brie?
A soft melting cheese like Swiss cheese, Jarlsberg cheese or mozzarella will pair nicely with the brie cheese.
Do you take the rind off brie before baking?
No, it is not necessary to take the rind of the brie cheese. This firm white flesh helps hold the cheese together and is totally fine to eat.
Do you slice or spread Brie cheese?
It is best to slice brie cheese to use for sandwiches and grilled cheese. Cut the wheel into thin pieces and then layer these pieces onto the sandwich amongst the ham and swiss cheese layers.
😍 More Easy Lunch Recipes
Lunch can be the most interesting and more importantly tasty recipe of the day with a little inspiration to keep us changing it up. Here are some more ideas that I hope you will love:
- Cocktail Sausage Rolls
- Zucchini And Carrot Fritters
- Air Fryer Tortilla Pizza
- Chicken Corn Noodle Soup
- Wagyu Burger
- Chicken Ribs
- Rolled Sandwiches
- Bacon And Corn Fritters
- Roast Beef Roll Ups
- Ham Fritters
It is time to get our brie on my friend and keep our cheese game strong! You can also find all of lunch recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Brie Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 slices swiss cheese cut in halves, so you will have 8 portions
- 4 slices ham
- 2 tablespoon cranberry sauce
- 4 slices brie cheese
- ½ cup rocket leaves (arugula)
Garnish (optional):
- rocket leaves (arugula)
Instructions
- Butter bread: lay 4 slices of bread on a chopping board and use a butter knife to butter 1 side of each bread slice. Then stack the buttered sides together for each 2 pieces of bread.
- Swiss cheese: place 2 slices of swiss cheese on top of the non buttered side of bread for each sandwich.
- Ham and cranberry sauce: then place 2 folded slices of ham on top of the swiss cheese and use the butter knife to spread a layer of cranberry sauce on top.
- Rocket leaves: place a layer of rocket leaves on top of the cranberry sauce for each sandwich.
- More swiss: then place 2 more swiss cheese pieces onto each sandwiches, this time on top of the rocket leaves.
- Close: place the 2nd piece of bread onto the sandwich, buttered side up.
- Grill: place a large frying pan onto the stove top and turn the heat to high. Place the 2 sandwiches into the base of the pan. Cook the grilled cheese for 3-4 minutes on the 1st side then use a silicon turner to flip the sandwiches to the other side and cook this side for 3-4 minutes also.
- To serve: use the turner to transfer the cooked grilled cheese to a chopping board and use a knife to slice each sandwich in half. Transfer to plates and top with additional rocket leaves.
Cassidy L says
Made this over the weekend. It was very yummy. The brie melts so well.
Adrianne says
Thank-you Cassidy 😄.