This Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich is as simple and delicious as it sounds. There’s a reason that Americans have been going nuts for these classic melted cheese toasties with a beautiful golden crust for generations. And air frying just makes them even easier.
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I’d be lying if I didn’t agree that a grilled cheese sandwich is essentially just cheese on toast with a second piece of toast on top. But the way that you cook the toastie with butter or mayo spread on the outside of the sandwich makes it just that bit more unique.
Which brings me to how it’s different from a British style cheese toastie made in a toastie machine. The difference is that you don’t need a toastie maker. And of course you don’t have the same crimped together edges. But otherwise let’s be honest, they’re very similar sandwiches.
So let’s go back to the question of whether to use butter, margarine or mayonnaise to make that nice crispy crust. I’ve done a few experiments and to be honest it really doesn’t make a lot of difference. All the options are fats which crisp up the bread just lovely. So I’m going to leave which you choose to use entirely down to you as a matter of personal preference, cost and availability.
How to Serve
There really isn’t all that much to add here. A grilled cheese is, for the most part, going to be a quick snack and so doesn’t need anything else adding.
if you simply want to elevate your snack, try dipping in, or spreading on, a pickle or chutney of your choosing. I am especially obsessed with my plum chutney so I highly recommend this. Or of course you can go old school and reach for the ketchup.
However, if you do want to make it into more of a meal, you can certainly go ultra American and add a bowl of delicious tomato soup. Whilst I might be inclined to pile some cheese onto my hot soup and dunk in some bread, the grilled cheese and soup combination is really quite next level. If you don’t fancy tomato, you could also try it with a creamy mushroom soup.
Ingredients
Bread
This is not the time or place for fancy bread. Or in my opinion even something as avant-garde as brown/granary. Sliced cheap white bread is the order of the day here. For me personally something like a Warburtons toastie loaf is my go-to choice.
It doesn’t really matter what thickness of bread you choose, the cooking instructions are basically going to stay the same. You just need to consider what kind of ratio of bread to cheese you prefer. For me I quite like a medium sliced bread so I end up with a sandwich on the cheesier side.
Any kind of toasted sandwich is a good way of using up bread that is slightly too stale to eat straight out of the packet. Your bread doesn’t need to be a little stale, it just doesn’t matter if it is.
Cheese
Again the type of cheese you use can be very flexible. I’ve used a block of medium strength cheddar cheese and cut slices. You can use any kind and strength of semi-hard cheese which has good melting properties.
Some really good options include double Gloucester, red Leicester, Edam, Gouda and Emmental. You can also use mozzarella but it is best to use either the slices, grated/shredded or the dry block options rather than the fresh balls stored in brine. These will make the sandwich to soggy.
if you are in the US, other good options include Monterey jack, colby, pepper jack or if you prefer, good old American.
Although I’ve used slices taken off a full block of cheese, there is no reason why you can’t use pre-sliced or grated/shredded cheese in these sandwiches. I do however sometimes find that using grated makes transferring the sandwich into the air fryer basket slightly trickier. So bear this in mind.
You can of course also use a mixture of cheeses. And it doesn’t really even matter if some are sliced and some are grated etc. Just try to arrange them evenly over the bread.
Mayonnaise/Butter
There is quite an interesting divide between those who prefer to use butter and those who use mayonnaise. And whilst it is not a hard line divide, I do find that there is a UK/US divide. I’m not sure on which side the rest of the world tend to fall. But in general, here in the UK, we use butter (or spreadable butter/margarine) in most of our sandwiches. And in the US they do not. But mayo is a very common addition there.
The main difference between a regular sandwich and a toasted sandwich like this grilled cheese is that the butter/mayo goes on the outside of the bread and not the inside. It is always important to make sure that whichever spread you choose, it is evenly spread and reaches right to the edges.
And you really can use whatever butter, margarine or mayonnaise that you wish. I’ve tried it with everything from homemade salted butter to extra low fat mayonnaise. You can also use compound butters like garlic butter to add an extra dimension of flavour.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg and nuts.
Gluten Free: To make a gluten free grilled cheese, all you need to do is use your preferred gluten free bread. I appreciate that it is more difficult to get a good white sliced loaf so ignore my insistence on this point and use whatever you need. It is also worth noting that free-from bread is often oddly small. So you might want to use more slices to the same amount of cheese in my recipe.
Dairy Free: Dairy free is trickier in a toasted cheese sandwich where two of the three main ingredients can contain dairy. The butter is easy to deal with – use a plant based alternative or opt for the mayo. You can of course now buy many dairy free/vegan cheese alternatives. Whether you are going to want to feature any of them as the main ingredient in a recipe is not something I’ll comment on further.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Grilled Cheese Sandwich
There are three very quick cooking stages to this recipe. The first is to very lightly toast the bread for 2 minutes. This makes adding the butter/mayo to the outside much easier and prevents the cheese on the inside from totally melding with soft bread and becoming greasy.
The second and third are to actually air fry the sandwich for 4 minutes on each side. I do find turning it essential, otherwise the underside can become soggy rather than lovely and crisp. This results in a total cooking time of 10 minutes and just a couple minutes to assemble the sandwich.
How to Air Fry A Grilled Cheese From Frozen
You can make up the sandwiches, freeze them wrapped in parchment paper and stored in an air-tight bag or box and then air fry directly from frozen. It is worth noting that you should still lightly toast the bread before assembling it. You can use a toaster or grill (broiler) if that’s easier.
The grilled cheese will take around 5 to 6 minutes on each side to fully toast up and for the cheese to fully melt from frozen.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
The cooked grilled cheese sandwiches are 100% best eaten fresh. You can microwave or air fry any leftovers to reheat but the bread tends to go very soggy or overly hard and it generally isn’t all that pleasant to eat.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
Simple Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Mayo or Butter Recipe!)
Ingredients
- 2 slices Bread
- 2 tsp Mayonnaise - or Salted Butter
- 70 g Cheese - a semi-hard melting variety
- ⅛ tsp Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
- Put the 2 Slices Bread slices into the air fryer basket.
- Air-fry for 2 minutes at 200c/390f. If you have had to overlap them a bit like me, swap them over half way.
- Meanwhile slice roughly 70g Cheese.
- Remove the lightly toasted bread from the air fryer and flip it over onto a board so the most toasted side is face down. Spread around 2 tsp Mayonnaise onto the top of the toast.
- Make sure to go right to the edges and spread evenly. Use a little more mayo if needed.
- Flip one of the slices over so it is mayonnaise side down – there is no way around this, just don't press down hard on this slice.
- Arrange the sliced cheese over the bread making sure it reaches the edges.
- Sprinkle over around ⅛ Sea Salt Flakes.
- Move the second slice of mayo covered toast on top of the cheese to form a sandwich.
- Carefully place back into the air fryer. I do this using 2 hands rather than tongs or the cheese spills out.
- Air fry for 4 minutes at 170c/340f.
- Carefully turn the sandwich and air fry for a further 4 minutes at 170c/340f.
- Serve hot!
Notes
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can’t actually quite fit 2 regular square slices of bread in the basket at a time but they’re fine just a little overlapped and then shuffled about mid toast. Once made into a sandwich, there is plenty of room for one grilled cheese sandwich. This gives just enough room to allow air to circulate. You may need to check the fit depending on what type of bread you’re using. You may be able to air fry more than one at a time.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Dave says
I’d never thought to make a toastie in my air fryer, but I followed your recipe and it was even better than in the pannini grill that I normally use.
Karen says
I followed your instructions to the letter and the cheese was properly gooey and melted. I’ll be making my toasties like this in the future.
Carole says
Hi Chloe, I want to try these as they look so delicious but I have the glass fronted air fryer with shelves, would these cook exactly the same and would I need to turn them as its a wire shelf ? 😊 thanks
Chloe says
Honestly I think you should just go for it and have a little peak at the underneath after 4 minutes. If the bottom is looking less golden than the top give it a flip and if it looks like its cooking evenly, leave it as is! You might even find you can reduce the cooking time by a couple of minutes if so. I wish I could test every recipe in every air fryer but then I’d only be sharing 3 a year and that feels more unhelpful than helpful!