There are sandwiches and then there are sandwiches. It’s the difference between a ho hum lunch and a lunch that will knock your fuzzy slipper socks off.

This, my friends, is a sandwich. Layers of salty ham, gooey gruyere, and caramelized onions grilled to toasty brown perfection and topped with a tangy apple balsamic glaze.

You know it’s a sandwich if you have take a breath midway through the ingredients.

This is just one of those dishes that hits all the right notes. It’ll make your taste buds sing. The savory ones, the sweet ones, the tangy ones, the umami ones, the “I want ALL THE APPLE THINGS” ones–every last one of your taste buds will freak over this sandwich.

A few weeks ago, we had a girl’s night at my house and decided to do a grilled cheese bar for the main dish. We had 4 kinds of cheeses and more spreads, toppings, and drizzles than I can remember. I cut the bread small so we could sample lots of different combinations. I tried varieties with roasted garlic and fontina, tomato bacon jam and mozzarella, and of course, one will all four cheeses and some roasted red peppers. But out of all the sandwiches I tried, this combo ended up being my favorite.

This Apple Balsamic Glaze is a STAR Fine Foods product. It’s tangy and sweet and delightfully BRIGHT GREEN. I’ll admit, when I first drizzled it onto my sandwich, the color threw me a bit. I’m not used to spreading lime green glazes on my food.

But one bite was all the convincing I needed. It added the perfect amount of sweet balsamic and tart appley goodness to this sandwich. If you want to make the effect even more dramatic, slice a few green apples extra thin and put them on the sandwich before grilling it up.

Serve this grilled cheese warm with a cup of tomato soup for the ultimate in quick, fall comfort food.

On a side note: would you all be interested in a post on how to throw a killer grilled cheese bar party? Let me know in the comments!

I received this Star Fine Foods product for free to sample. All opinions are my own.

Gruyere, Ham, and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese with Apple Balsamic Glaze

Yield: 2

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 slices Italian or French bread
• 4 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 4 slices quality deli ham
• 4 Tablespoons STAR Apple Balsamic Glaze

Instructions

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes, or until onions are softened, shrunk, and deep golden brown in color. If onions start to burn, add a few drops of water to the pan. Remove from heat.

Spread butter onto one side of each of the four slices of bread. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.

Now build your sandwiches. Start with a slice of bread, top with 1-2 slices ham (depending on the size of your bread), 1/2 cup of Gruyere, a good handful of caramelized onions, and a drizzle of apple glaze. Top with the second slice of bread then place in the hot skillet. Grill until the bread is golden, flip, and then grill the opposite side until golden brown and the cheese is melty.

Recipe by Neighborfood

Looking for more savory sandwich ideas? Check out some of our other favorite grilled cheeses!

Bacon Apple Brie Grilled Cheese

Homemade Basil Pesto, Tomato, and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese

Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese

Guacamole Crunch Grilled Cheese

Fajita Style Grilled Cheese