My Simple 1-Ingredient Upgrade for the Best Grilled Cheese

I have so many childhood memories of coming inside after a snow day to a warm bowl of tomato soup paired with a gooey-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-outside grilled cheese sandwich. The simple combination is legendary, cemented forever in my mind as a duo.

During the scorching summer heat, I have no interest in hot soup. However, I occasionally crave that flavor combo, and when I do, I give my grilled cheese a tomato upgrade.

How To Make a Grilled Cheese With Tomato

If you can make a basic grilled cheese, this upgrade will be no trouble for you. Start by assembling all of your ingredients, because the cooking goes fast. Slice your tomato and sprinkle it with salt. Wait about 30 seconds, and then pat the tomato dry with paper towels to keep it from getting too soggy inside the sandwich.

Next, prepare the bread as you normally would, with either butter or mayo on the outside. Toast both slices of bread in a pan, buttered side down, and add cheese to each slice. Allow the cheese to melt, then place the tomato on one slice of bread, close the sandwich with the remaining piece, and give it a couple more minutes of griddling to marry all the flavors together.

The cheese will act like (delicious!) glue, holding the tomato slice in place.

For a quick lunch or afternoon snack, a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato is perfect. If you want to turn it into a bigger meal, pair it with your favorite potato chips and a pickle spear, or serve it with a cup of gazpacho or a scoop of potato salad.

The Best Tomatoes To Use for Grilled Cheese

For a grilled cheese with tomato, I like to use a big, beefy tomato like a Brandywine, Darkstar (shout-out to my fellow Deadheads), or the appropriately named Big Beef tomato. These vibrant red slicing tomatoes can be sliced large enough to cover the bread, so you don’t have to mess with small slices that may slide out of the sandwich.

I slice them about a half-inch thick so there’s plenty of ripe tomato flavor, but you can still taste the salty American cheese.

Tips for Making This Sandwich

• Use sandwich bread, like classic white or whole wheat. The airy crumb in more artisanal loaves makes them less well-suited to a sandwich like this because the fillings may leak out as you cook.
• Try a combination of cheeses: one for meltability, like American, and one for flavor, like cheddar. And never use pre-shredded cheese—always shred to order.
• Salt the tomato first and pat it dry with paper towels before adding it to the sandwich, or it will be too wet.
• You’re already winning with the tomato slice, but if you want to get really wild, throw in some crispy strips of bacon or thin slices of avocado.