Bacon and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese
on Nov 15, 2023, Updated May 21, 2024
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Who doesn’t love grilled cheese, right? We don’t think anything can compare to a bacon and caramelized onion grilled cheese. The melt, the crisp, the flavor, it is just absolutely delicious. We have perfected the grilled cheese sandwich and we’re so excited for you to try it out. Our next question is, are you team mayo, or team butter on your grilled cheese?! Dip this in our Roasted Tomato Soup!
Looking for more cheesy recipes? You’ll love the below.
What ingredients do you need for this bacon and caramelized onion grilled cheese?
Bacon: We’re using about 8 strips here, and it’ll not only be used for the actual bacon, but we’ll also be utilizing the bacon fat when we cook and caramelize our onions. The bacon fat adds depth of flavor to our onions, and we love being able to repurpose the bacon oils.
Yellow Onions: You can opt to use white onion as well, but we do love yellow onions since they tend to lean more on the sweeter side. Caramelizing onions takes time, but the reward is worth it.
White Cheddar and Gruyere Cheese: Our team loves the combination of white cheddar and gruyere cheese. Not only is the taste incredible but the melt factor mixed with the rich, nutty notes? You can’t go wrong.
Bread Slices: We love using sourdough bread, whole wheat bread, or white bread, but feel free to use whatever bread is your favorite! You want to make sure it’ll be able to hold all your incredible ingredients so make sure it’s a sturdy one.
Instructions to make this recipe
Cook The Bacon
In a cold large skillet or pan with a lid set to the side, add your bacon strips. Bring the heat up to medium and heat until crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Do this in batches if needed.
Caramelize the Onions
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet, then add in your onions over medium-low heat. Stir to coat with the bacon fat. Cook and caramelize your onions, stirring occasionally, until they become soft, jammy, and translucent. Reduce the heat to low if you are seeing browning happening too fast.
Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook until your onions turn into a rich golden brown color and are super jammy, stirring occasionally, about 30 to 40 minutes. If you see burning on your onions, adjust with a splash of water as needed. Set aside in a separate bowl or plate until ready to assemble, keeping your same skillet on the stovetop.
Building the Sandwich
Take a paper towel and swipe your skillet clean from the caramelized onions. Take 2 thick slices of your bread and smear your mayo on both sides. Place one slice of bread, mayo side down, in the cold skillet. Then top with your sharp cheddar cheese, gruyere cheese (about 1⁄2 cup cheese per sandwich, depending on your bread size), caramelized onions, and crispy bacon. It’s okay if some shredded cheese gets on the outside of the sandwich, use that to make some crispy cheese to add to the crust of your sandwich.
Make your Grilled Cheese
Turn the stove to medium heat and top with your other slice of bread, mayo side up. Cook your grilled cheese until toasted and melted, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Push down with a spatula occasionally, to ensure all parts of the sandwich stick together when you flip.
Once golden brown, flip it over and cover it with a lid to help steam and melt the cheese. Repeat with your remaining slices of bread, cheese, onions, and bacon.
Slice and Serve!
Transfer to a cutting board, slice in half with a sharp knife, and serve.
Tips, Tricks and Substitutions
Can I replace cheddar and gruyere with any other cheese varieties?
Of course, just make sure your cheese can melt! Some other options are fontina, parmesan, gouda, and the classic American cheese.
I have leftover caramelized onions; what are other ways I can use them?
Utilizing your caramelized onions in other recipes is a perfect way to repurpose this ingredient. Our favorite recipe for caramelized onions is including them in French Onion Soup, but honestly, we would even just use it as a topping for anything! Fried eggs, avocado toast; there are no limits for caramelized onions!
Are there any seasonings or herbs you like to put in the sandwich?
Yes! Fresh thyme or crispy sage is one of our favorites for grilled cheese, but feel free to top your dish with whatever your favorite seasonings are!
Check out more of our sandwich recipes!
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Bacon and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of bacon, about 8 strips
- 2 large yellow onions or 4 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 4 tablespoons mayo or softened unsalted butter
- 8 slices of your favorite bread, such as sourdough, whole wheat, or white
Instructions
- In a cold large skillet or pan with a lid set to the side, add your bacon strips. Bring the heat up to medium and heat until crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Do this in batches if needed.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet, then add in your onions over medium-low heat. Stir to coat with the bacon fat. Cook and caramelize your onions, stirring occasionally, until they become soft, jammy, and translucent. Reduce the heat to low if you are seeing browning happening too fast.
- Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook until your onions turn into a rich golden brown color and are super jammy, stirring occasionally, about 30 to 40 minutes. If you see burning on your onions, adjust with a splash of water as needed. Set aside in a separate bowl or plate until ready to assemble, keeping your same skillet on the stovetop.
- Take a paper towel and swipe your skillet clean from the caramelized onions. Take 2 thick slices of your bread and smear your mayo on both sides. Place one slice of bread, mayo side down, in the cold skillet. Then top with your sharp cheddar cheese, gruyere cheese (about 1⁄2 cup cheese per sandwich, depending on your bread size), caramelized onions, and crispy bacon. It’s okay if some shredded cheese gets on the outside of the sandwich, use that to make some crispy cheese to add to the crust of your sandwich.
- Turn the stove to medium heat and top with your other slice of bread, mayo side up. Cook your grilled cheese until toasted and melted, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Push down with a spatula occasionally, to ensure all parts of the sandwich stick together when you flip.
- Once golden brown, flip it over and cover it with a lid to help steam and melt the cheese. Repeat with your remaining slices of bread, cheese, onions and bacon.
- Transfer to a cutting board, slice in half with a sharp knife, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
