Grilled Cheese in the Oven

Make a quick grilled cheese lunch or dinner with this super easy Baked Grilled Cheese recipe! This grilled cheese is made on a sheet pan in the oven and can be scaled up or down to feed anywhere from 1-16 people!

You’ll love the way the oven makes the cheese extra melty and creates the best buttery crispy edges!

Easy Grilled Cheese in the Oven

As a public school kid growing up in the 90s, I ate my fair share of square pizzas, floppy French toast sticks, and chicken nuggets dipped in mashed potatoes.

But my favorite school lunch BY FAR was grilled cheese and tomato soup. The soup was more watery than creamy, with an intense red orange color that would cling to your lips like a pre-pubescent lip stain.

It wasn’t gourmet, but it worked perfectly well for dunking the grilled cheese, which, as I recall, was made with American cheese and baked on gigantic sheet pans to feed the masses.

We make a lot of grilled cheese around these parts, including gourmet versions like Strawberry Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese and Ham and Fig Gruyere Grilled Cheese, but we’ve always used our trusty cast iron or non-stick skillets for the job.

I was recently recalling my beloved public school grilled cheese, and wondered what was stopping me from making massive quantities of grilled cheese on a sheet pan as well.

And well, it seems cafeteria workers know what’s up, because making grilled cheese in the oven has been a game changer in our house. Now, I can get all my buttery, ooey gooey, toasty grilled cheese cravings met with less clean up and less hands on time!

Here’s Why You’ll Love Baked Grilled Cheese, Too

• Easily make grilled cheese for a crowd (or just your family!). You can scale this recipe up or down based on your needs and the size of your pan. Two half sheet pans can hold up to 16 sandwiches! It’s great for parties, and everyone can make their own sandwich, from kids to adults!
• The edges are crispy. The oven gets the edges of the bread golden and a little crunchy–almost like they’re starting to transform into a crouton. In other words, glorious!
• You can freeze grilled cheese and reheat in the toaster! More details below, but how exciting is this??
• No clean up! Line your sheet pan with foil and clean up is a breeze! This is a dinner with ZERO dirty dishes!

Key Ingredients

• Bread– I have tested this recipe with basic white bread, a crusty French loaf, and a sourdough loaf. The oven method has worked with all of them, though you might have to adjust the times based on how thick your bread is.
• Cheese– The most important part, IMO. You can use almost any kind of cheese for grilled cheese, but for best results, I always recommend using two cheeses–a great melter and a cheese with bold flavor.
• Butter– Salted butter is your best choice for grilled cheese. I experimented with softened butter and melted butter and found there was no significant difference, so use whatever is most convenient for you.

You’ll also need a dependable sheet pan. These are our absolute favorite half sheet pans, which we use for everything from triple chip cookies to roasted carrots and parsnips.

How to Make Grilled Cheese in the Oven

Step 1: Prep. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil.

Step 2: Butter. Spread softened butter on the outside of both slices of bread, all the way to the edges.

Step 3: Add cheese. Add two slices of cheese, making sure the bread is fully covered, and sandwich together.

Step 4: Bake. Bake for 5-6 minutes, flip, then bake an additional 5-6 minutes, or until grilled cheese is golden brown on both sides.

How to Freeze Grilled Cheese

Did you know you can freeze grilled cheese?? I didn’t until this year, and WOW it’s been so nice to have a ready-to-go meal the kids can easily make themselves.

How to freeze grilled cheese: Bake the grilled cheese as usual. I like to add a couple extra sandwiches to the pan when I’m making them for dinner so I can freeze a few.

Allow the grilled cheese to cool completely, then wrap it in saran wrap and put it in a freezer safe bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To reheat frozen grilled cheese: Remove the grilled cheese from the wrapping and microwave for 30-45 seconds, then pop it in the toaster on a medium setting. The grilled cheese will be hot, crisp, and ready to eat!

Best Cheeses for Grilled Cheese

As mentioned earlier, I recommend using multiple cheeses for grilled cheese. You can use shredded or slices. Pair creamy melting cheeses with cheeses that have a more intense flavor for the best result!

Mild melting cheeses: Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Havarti, Fontina, Colby, American, Muenster

Bolder cheeses: Sharp Cheddar, Gruyere, Gouda, Pepper Jack, Blue Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Brie cheese

Toppings + Our Favorite Grilled Cheese Combos

Load up your baked grilled cheese with all kinds of toppings. Here are a few to try:

• Ham
• Bacon
• Apricot or fig jam
• Pesto
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Thinly sliced apple

Or, take inspiration from favorites like our Apple and Brie Grilled Cheese, Mushroom Swiss Grilled Cheese, and Ham and Apple Butter Grilled Cheese.

Got leftover spaghetti or meatballs? Transform them into this Spaghetti Grilled Cheese or Meatball Grilled Cheese.

What to Serve with Baked Grilled Cheese

Tomato soup is the obvious choice here. Our favorite store-bought variety is Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato, but you can also make your own delicious and creamy Fresh Tomato Soup.

Grilled cheese also pairs well with Roasted Carrot Soup, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, and Spicy Sweet Potato Soup.

Or, try grilled cheese with a salad like our Autumn Salad with Pear, Panera Asian Sesame Salad, Grilled Peach Salad and That Good Salad.