Ham and Apple Butter Grilled Cheese
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Sweet and savory lovers rejoice. These Apple Butter Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with ham, white cheddar, and apple slices strike the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
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If I had to pick a sandwich that matched my personality, it would be the grilled cheese. Burgers are a bit aggressive. Chicken salad with pistachios, while incredibly tasty, is a bit too upscale. And tuna is…disgusting.
But grilled cheese? Grilled cheese is just right. Classic, warm, likeable, no frills. If grilled cheese sandwiches got dressed in the morning (is this conversation getting out of hand?), they’d likely wear jeans, ballet flats, and a soft gray tee, which is pretty much what I want to wear every single day. See? Me and grilled cheese = the same thing.
Still, just because I’m a grilled cheese doesn’t mean I don’t liked getting fancied up every now and then. A necklace, a dot of perfume, a new dress, a flower in my hair. It can be fun to dress up a classic, and that’s exactly what’s going on with this Ham and Apple Butter Grilled Cheese.
When I saw the panini version of this sandwich over at Annie’s Eats, it spoke to me. I adore apple butter, but I rarely stray from my usual uses–smearing it on drop biscuits, Amish White Bread or eating straight from the jar with a spoon. Combining the sweet apple butter with melty cheddar cheese, ham, and crisp apple slices between buttery toasted bread? Well, that was like dressing up grilled cheese for the prom.
This combo totally delivered in both flavor and loveliness. I’m a sucker for the savory ham/sweet apple combo and the cheese holds everything together in its gooey, warm embrace. This is what cheese was born to do, folks.
I think I’ve officially given the grilled cheese one too many human qualities for a single post so Imma stop now (you’re welcome).
You can fry these beauties in up a regular skillet or grill pan, or try is as an air fryer grilled cheese. Any way you slice it, stack it, and grill it, you’re going to be left with a gloriously gooey grilled cheese.
If you loved this combo, try these other grilled cheese favorites!
- Strawberry Bacon Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese
- Mushroom and Swiss Grilled Cheese
- Apple and Brie Grilled Cheese
- Caprese Panini
- Ham and Gruyere Grilled Cheese
Ham and Apple Butter Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 slices sturdy white bread (sourdough, Italian, or tuscan breads work well)
- 4 Tablespoons butter (melted)
- 4 ounces white cheddar cheese (sliced)
- 8 thin slices deli brown sugar ham
- 1 sweet apple (I used Braeburn, sliced thin)
- 1/2 cup apple butter
Instructions
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat.
- Brush one side of each of the bread slices with the melted butter. Flip slices over so the buttered side is facing down. Stack four of the slices with cheese, ham, and sliced apples. Spread the apple butter evenly over the remaining four slices.
- Flip the apple buttered side of the bread on top of each of the four cheese/apple stacks. The buttered side of the bread should be facing out on both sides.
- Slide the sandwiches into the preheated skillet. Grill until the first side is browned and crispy. Carefully flip sandwiches with a spatula then grill until the opposite side is browned and cheese is melty. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Feel free to swap in turkey or any deli meat you have in the fridge.
- You can also use up leftover ham and turkey here after a holiday meal.
I love apples on sandwiches! But apple butter?? Oh boy.
We make almost this exact panini weekly, but with sage and turkey. SOOO guuuuudddd! Grilled cheese rocks the house.
Ummm, this looks AMAZING! I love the combo of actual apples with apple butter. Apples and cheddar cheese combined is one of my FAVORITE snacks! Thanks for the great sandwich idea!
Me too Shannon! Can’t wait until you try the combo in grilled cheese form! It’s so good!