Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

5 from 1 vote
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Air Fryer Grilled Cheese – the perfect grilled cheese every time! Evenly crispy bread and melted gooey cheese take this classic over the top!

Growing up in Wisconsin means that the grilled cheese sandwich is pretty much a staple. And you have to use the right cheese as well. Wisconsinites are pretty picky when it comes to anything with cheese. And this Air Fryer Grilled Cheese passes the test!

grilled cheese sandwich on a cutting board

 

Let’s start with the basics.

Everyone knows what a grilled cheese is and has had one before. But how do you take it to the next level, and make it more than what you remember as a kid?

Bread – You want to use a good quality bread. White bread still works best, but we LOVE using sourdough in our house or hearty Italian or even Texas Toast to make it even better. You want something thick and hearty, time to break away from the thin white sandwich bread here.

Cheese – Cheese is obviously important and you want to use something that melts really well and taste good. This is no spot for processed American cheese. Go for the good stuff! Colby is our favorite. If you can find Wisconsin Brick cheese that melts really well, or even Cheddar, Muenster and Monterey Jack are all delicious.

Butter – There is a debate on mayo vs butter for the best grilled cheese. We are all about the butter in this house. I have tried mayo before and it worked great, you couldn’t taste the mayo. But we like the buttery taste you get from butter, so that is our staple. Use a good quality butter not margarine for this.

a person holding half a grilled cheese sandwich

How To Make Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

  1. Spread butter on the outside of each piece of bread. Place cheese in the middle and sandwich together.
  2. Place the sandwich in your air fryer and cook at 360 degrees F for 4 minutes. This gets the cheese melted and starts to crisp the bread.
  3. Open your Air Fryer and flip the sandwich. Increase the heat to 380 degrees and cook for another 5 minutes, flipping about half way through.
  4. If you want your sandwich crispier just increase the cooking time and check every minute until it is as done you like.
grilled cheese sandwich on a white plate

Making grilled cheese in the air fryer is so much easier and faster than the stove top. On the stove you have to watch it very closely, monitor and adjust the heat so you don’t burn the bread before the cheese melts.

Air fryer grilled cheese comes out perfectly every single time! You may need to increase your cooking time if you are using a thicker bread, but for your average slice of hearty bread this recipe works so well. And depending on the size of your fryer, you can definitely make more than one at a time.

To make this recipe I used a Cosori 5.8 Qt Air Fryer. It is big enough that you can fit plenty of food in, and the basket comes out so you can easily shake, stir, or flip whatever you are making.

air fryer grilled cheese sandwich on a cutting board

Tips For The Perfect Grilled Cheese

  • When you are using the air fryer you don’t need quite as much butter as you normally would. It will get perfectly crispy without it. So go light when you first try them.
  • Pick good quality cheese that melts well. And feel free to mix it up! If you see grilled cheese on the menu at a restaurant it almost always is a mix of cheese. So use Cheddar and Monterey Jack together. Or throw a little Parmesan in with your favorite to mix it up. You really can make it different every time and never get bored.
  • Make sure when you are loading your air fryer that your sandwiches are not stacked or over lapping each other. They need to be in a single layer in the basket of the air fryer.

What To Serve with Grilled Cheese

More Air Fryer Recipes

close up of grilled cheese sandwich cut in half
5 from 1 vote

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

By Erin
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese – the perfect grilled cheese every time! Evenly crispy bread and melted gooey cheese take this classic over the top!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients 

  • 2 slices thick bread, sourdough, Italian bread etc.
  • 1 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 2 slices cheese, Colby, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Brick etc

Instructions 

  • Spread butter on the outside of each piece of bread. Place cheese in the middle and sandwich together.
  • Place the sandwich in your air fryer and cook at 360 degrees F for 4 minutes.
  • Open your Air Fryer and flip the sandwich.
  • Increase the heat to 380 degrees and cook for another 5, flipping about half way through.
  • Remove from air fryer, slice in half and serve.

Notes

If you like your bread crispier, increase cooking time by 1 minute.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 761mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Dinner Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 1
Calories: 493
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About Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and Iโ€™m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, youโ€™ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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6 Comments

  1. Another great recipe for my air fryer and a childhood classic! Making this for lunch tomorrow; looks too good to pass up!

  2. Is there anything an air fryer can’t do?! I need to suggest this goes on my birthday gift list ๐Ÿ™‚ This looks so amazing!