Air Fryer Cheese Toastie – Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
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.
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Is there anything better than comfort food in the form of crunchy, melty and buttery Air Fryer grilled cheese sandwich sandwich served with bowl of crockpot tomato soup or some of the best air fryer tater tots?
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.
Related recipes – easy air fryer dinner recipes.
Table of Contents
Best Cheese Toastie
A delicious and simple recipe, this Air Fryer cheese toastie 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 cheese sandwich 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.
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 and a beginner recipe. You probably have the 3 basic ingredients on hand but you can add any leftovers you have.
- Quick and easy to whip this up for lunch, dinner or even a snack.
- 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, home made or store bought. My kiddo loves using sourdough. Thicker slices may need a little longer to make.
- Butter or cooking spray – I prefer using salted 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.
*A note about Mayonnaise. Some people prefer to spread mayonnaise on the outside of the bread before grilling, this adds moisture and lots of flavour. Use full fat mayo if you want to try this.*
Ready to find out how easy making grilled cheese in Air Fryer? Then gather all your ingredients and lets get cooking.
How to Make Cheese On Toast In Air Fryer
Get complete ingredients list and instructions from 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 sandwich and serve warm – with soups, chutney or a salad.
Prefer to Make An Air Fryer Ham and Cheese Toastie
- 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 ham (aim for 2-3 slices per sandwich). 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 warm ham and cheese toastie and serve immediately.
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.
- Flip – do make sure to flip your bread when toasting. Use a heat proof spatula to carefully turn this over.
- 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.
- Preheat. For the best results do preheat your air fryer before cooking.
Recipe Variations
Air Fryer grilled cheese sandwich 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 or cranberry sauce 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 this. The kids love their colourful sandwiches.
FAQs
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 as this is easy to crisp up.
However feel free to use different breads like Multigrain and Whole Wheat also work great, but use any bread you may have in your pantry. If you’re looking for something different try Sourdough, Pumpernickel or Rye.
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.
Also if you prefer a lighter toasted sandwich then cook this for less time. Try about 4-5 minutes and adjust to your preference.
There are soooooo many different types of cheese you can go with when making this. Feel free to use one type or a combination of different types to your taste.
Here are a few of my favorites:
American Cheese
Swiss
Red Leicester
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.
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.
Spreading the butter or the mayonnaise on the outside of the sandwich before air frying it, is what will help make it golden and crispy. So, do not skip this essential step.
My Top Pick For Oil Sprayer
Evo Oil Sprayer Bottle
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;
- Air fryer bacon.
- Air fryer pork chops.
- Slices of Air fryer whole chicken.
- Instant pot tomato soup.
- Air fryer bacon
- Crunchy healthy turkey salad
- Pea salad.
- Instant pot vegetable soup
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 fish tacos. Quick and easy.
- Air fryer cod. So tender and flaky.
- 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 bryer 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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Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 slices bread
- 2 tsp butter or cooking spray
- 2 slice cheese
- 1/4 pear thinly sliced
Instructions
Make The Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Preheat 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 cheese and pear. Fold the cheese slices in between the bread slices making sure no cheese is sticking out of the bread slices.
- Add into the air fryer and cook for 8 minutes before flipping and cooking for another 3-4 minutes on the second side.
- Serve warm.
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich Serving Suggestions
- Tomato Soup, Air Fryer Bacon
Video
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Notes
- Fold the cheese slices in-between the bread slices making sure all the cheese is inside the bread not falling out.
- Keep the buttered sides facing outwards.
- You can also use a light cooking spray in place of butter.
- Use the rack your air fryer came with to prevent bread from possibly flying up during cooking process.
- There are 8 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
