Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Name: Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Ingredients: 2 slices bread; 2 tsp butter (or cooking spray); 2 slice cheese; 1/4 pear (thinly sliced)

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Crunchy Air Fryer Grilled Cheese is a new take on the comfort food classic you grew up with. Made only with pantry staples, you will love how crunchy the bread is and how you get perfectly melted cheese straight out of the air fryer.

Gluten-Free variation provided. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

Two halves of the completed Air Fryer Grilled Cheese sandwich stacked and ready to serve

Is there anything better than a crunchy, melty and buttery Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich served with bowl of Tomato Soup?

Just mentioning this classic comfort food combination gives me such warm and fuzzy feelings.

It takes me back to the dreary wet weekends of my childhood when I would be unhappily stuck indoors.

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A delicious and simple recipe, this Air Fryer Grilled Cheese sandwich comes out sooooooooo crunchy on the outside. The air fryer works by using a high powered fan to “fry” your food.

With the air fryer, no one is getting a little soggy spot piece of bread that somehow the frying pan just didn’t touch. Every bite of your Air Fryer Grilled Cheese is crunchy-gooey-cheese-goodness.

If you like this recipe you might like Air Fryer Frozen Pierogies and this Air Fryer Frozen Garlic Bread. And I love serving this with really juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops.

completed Air Fryer Grilled Cheese cut in half, stacked and placed on a cutting board

An air fryer cheese sandwich provides a crispy, buttery outer layer with a melty cheese inner layer that creates the perfect cheesy sandwich without burning, over drying, or overcooking.

It’s so easy I even let my mini chefs make their own.

Why Make This Recipe

It’s 3 simple ingredients. Yeap, bread, cheese and butter for coating. That’s it. My kids can handle this one with their eyes closed.
You can add anything you want. Seriously add a gourmet cheese, adding Air Fryer Bacon and veggies and even add a little seasoning like paprika to the outside. All soooooooooooo good.
It’s a super easy pantry meal. You probably have the 3 basic ingredients on hand but you can add any leftovers you have.
Works For Gluten-Free Diets. I’ve tried this with Gluten-Free bread and you can still get the same delicious buttery crispy outer layer as you would with regular bread.

Ingredient Notes

bread – use your favorite sandwich bread,
butter or cooking spray – I prefer using softened butter as this has more flavor.
cheese – cheddar cheese is one of the best cheeses but you can go for a combination of cheese including American cheese like Monterey Jack. Use sliced or shredded cheese to your preference.
optional – pear, very thinly slice would be best.

Ready to find out how easy making grilled cheese is? Then gather all your ingredients and lest get cooking.

How to Make Grilled Cheese In Air Fryer

Get complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.
Butter one side of each slice of bread, making sure all the bread is covered.
Add the cheese and sliced pear. Fold the cheese slices in between the pieces of bread so that no cheese is sticking out past the bread slices.
Place air fryer cheese sandwich to the air fryer basket and air fry for 8 minutes before flipping using tongs and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes on the second side till golden brown.
Removed the Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich and serve warm.
Serve your Airfryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich with soups, chutney or a salad.

Recipe Tips

Fold the cheese slices in between the bread slices making sure all the cheese is inside the bread and not falling out of your fried grilled cheese sandwich.
Do remember to keep the buttered side facing outwards when air frying.
Feel free to add a little extra butter on the top slice after flipping.
You can also use a light cooking spray in place of butter if calorie watching or on a WW diet.
It’s possible your bread could “fly” up so be sure to use the rack your air fryer came with to prevent this from happening. Or use a toothpick to hold the sandwich together while it cooks. Remove the toothpick before serving.
Don’t crowd the air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook in batches.
Air fryer temperatures vary depending on the make and model. Use the cooking time listed as a guide, check your food for doneness, then adjust the time as needed.

crunchy Air Fryer Grilled Cheese sandwich stacked and ready to serve

Recipe Variations

Grilled cheese variations – This is such a versatile sandwich. Because you can use so many different types of cheeses that you may have on hand you can also add other things like

Add meats – We looooooove adding bacon like this crispy air fryer bacon to our grilled cheese sandwiches. You can also add shredded chicken into your sandwich.
Vary the fruit – This recipe calls for slices of sweet pear which in my opinion really elevates a classic GCS (grilled cheese sandwich). Use apple instead.
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese With Mayo – for a little extra creaminess. Simply add half to 1 tablespoon of mayo in your sandwich before you grill it.
Add tomatoes or other veggies – these also make a great addition to a grilled cheese as well as pickles. I love slicing up a beautiful rainbow of peppers for our grilled cheeses. The kids love their colourful sandwiches.

two halves of Grilled Cheese in Air Fryer stacked on top of each other with a kid's hand picking up the top half.

FAQs

What Type Of Bread To Use?

Let’s talk about the bread for grilled cheese. Oh, the bread. Sweet carbs how we love you.

The most common bread would be white bread but different breads like Multigrain and Whole Wheat also work great, but you can use any bread you may have in your pantry. If you’re looking for something different try Sourdough, Pumpernickel or Rye.

How Long To Air Fryer This?

I recommend checking on your grilled cheese in the air fryer about halfway through the first 8 minutes. Every air fryer is different and this will tell you how long your grilled cheese will still have to go in the air fryer oven.

What Kind of Cheese is the Best for Air Fried Grilled Cheese?

There are soooooo many different types of cheese you can go with when making this.

Here are a few of my favorites:
American Cheese
Swiss
Sharp Cheddar
Muenster
Provolone
Pepper Jack

And don’t sleep on Bleu, Feta, Havarti and Goat cheese. These types of cheeses might not scream “Grilled Cheese” but trust me they’ll elevate your classic childhood dish to suit your adult tastes.

How To Make This Healthier

There are a few things you can do to make a healthier air fried sandwich. And it is as simple as

Use low-calorie cooking spray instead of butter.
Use low-fat American cheese or other cheese.
You can also use a low in carbs bread.

My Top Pick For Oil Sprayer

Evo Oil Sprayer Bottle

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

My go-to spraying bottle. Every Air Fryer user should have one.

Serving Suggestions

This is a great recipe to serve with other easy recipes like;

More Air Fryer Recipes

Love your air fryer as much as I love mine? Then here are a few more recipes that you might like to try;

Air Fryer Tater Tots. Loved by the whole family.
Air Fryer Burgers. The juiciest burger ever.
Air Fried Tofu. A great snack or lunch wrap.
Air Fryer Butternut Squash Fries. So, so good.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 8 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my How to Make Grilled Cheese In Air Fryer recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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4.89 from 45 votes