Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

This Air Fryer Grilled Cheese is by far the simplest way to make this classic sandwich. If you like grilled cheese, you’re going to love this perfectly toasted, cheddar-filled, buttery sandwich!

Easiest Ever Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Having grilled cheese for dinner is so nostalgic! Grilled cheese and tomato soup was always a comforting staple meal while growing up. It’s so simple and so incredibly delicious! We knew we had to find a way to make this classic sandwich even better.

So, we made Air Fryer Grilled Cheese. Yep, we are putting a sandwich in the air fryer and it’s amazing! Using the air fryer helps the bread toast up perfectly, without getting greasy and messy. Plus, the sandwich holds its shape. So the bread is still light and fluffy while holding together the gooey cheese.

We’re here to help you make simple dinners and this one is a breeze! You’ll be so amazed at how easy and delicious it is to make a sandwich in the air fryer.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

There are lots of reasons to love this recipe. Here’s why you’re going to want to bookmark this amazing grilled cheese!

• There are only 3 ingredients. Who doesn’t love a dinner that comes together with just 3 ingredients?!
• It takes 10 minutes. The prep only takes a few minutes and then the air fryer does the rest of the work. We honestly find it a lot easier than cooking grilled cheese on the stove.
• You can customize it however you’d like. You can keep this recipe as is or add in other ingredients or use different bread or cheese. The options are endless!
• No messy griddle. Cooking grilled cheese in the air fryer is a much cleaner way to make this sandwich. Less grease and melted butter!

What You’ll Need

Here is what you need to make Air Fryer Grilled Cheese:

• Sandwich Bread: Use whatever bread you like! We love to use a thick cut of white bread or sourdough.
• Butter: Soften butter works best for spreading. Alternatively, you could use mayonnaise. (Yes, we said mayonnaise! Give it a shot!)
• Cheddar Cheese: You can also use sliced American, mozzarella, swiss, or even combine a few.

How to Make an Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Making this recipe is so simple! Here’s what you need to do.

Preheat the air fryer. You’ll want to do this so that the cooking time is accurate. You may have to cook the sandwich longer if the air fryer is not preheated.

Next, spread butter onto one side of each of the slices of bread. Then put two slices of the bread, butter side down, in the air fryer.

Add the cheese. Next, you’ll add slices of cheese to the slices of bread.

Then top with the other buttered slices. Make sure that the butter side is facing up.

Let the air fryer do the work! Air fry the sandwiches for about 8 minutes. You’ll want to flip them about halfway through so that they toast evenly. Then, serve the sandwiches immediately!

Tips for Success

Here are a few tips to follow along the way.

• Use thicker bread slices. You’ll want to stick with medium to thick slices of bread for Air Fryer Grilled Cheese. Thin slices of bread tend to dry out and overcook in the air fryer.
• Use softened butter. All you need to do is keep your butter at room temperature for a few minutes so that it softens up. You want to cover the slices of bread edge-to-edge with butter for the best flavor.
• Don’t overcrowd the air fryer. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may only be able to put one sandwich in at a time. Just make sure that if you do put multiple sandwiches in that they are not touching or overlapping.

Variation Ideas

There are lots of ways to dress up a basic grilled cheese. Here are some of our favorites!

• Add fresh or roasted vegetables: Some suggestions include tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and spinach.
• Add Bacon: Adding crispy bacon to a grilled cheese is always delicious!
• Use a compound butter: Try using flavored butter like garlic or herb butter instead of regular butter.
• This recipe can be gluten-free: Gluten-free bread options work great with this recipe, too!

What Goes With a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?

What else pairs perfectly with grilled cheese besides the classic tomato soup? Here are some of our suggestions.

• More soup options: Yes, we all know that tomato soup and grilled cheese is the perfect pair. But this sandwich also tastes incredible dipped into many other soups like our Butternut Squash Soup or Minestrone Soup.
• Pair it with a salad: A simple mixed greens salad will balance out the meal and keep it healthy. You could also make our Mediterranean Chicken and Quinoa Salad for a more protein-packed meal.
• The perfect sandwich side – potato chips! There is a potato chip for everyone. We love to keep it really simple by grabbing our favorite bag of chips when we make this recipe.

How to Store Leftovers

This sandwich is best served fresh and eaten right away. But if you do have leftovers, it’s ok! There’s an easy way to keep the sandwich fresh.

We like to wrap the sandwich with foil or plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheating a Grilled Cheese in the Air Fryer

Grilled Cheese sandwiches are always best fresh, however, we have all been there where your kid only eats half. We always save them and reheat them again later and the kids gobble them up! One of the best uses for an air fryer is reheating leftovers! It does a really great job of keeping things fresh and crispy. (Unlike the microwave, which can’t make food crispy again.)

We recommend taking the sandwich out of the fridge for a few minutes before cooking it. This will take the chill off and assure that when you reheat the sandwich it doesn’t burn. Then, simply put the sandwich back in the air fryer and cook for about 3 minutes.

Can I Freeze Extras?

We recommend that you enjoy these sandwiches fresh and not freeze any leftovers. It’s such a quick and simple meal. There really is no need to freeze them.

More Air Fryer Recipes to Try

• Air Fryer Pork Chops
• Orange Chicken
• Crispy Parmesan Zucchini
• Avocado Tacos
• Steak Kabobs