These Are the Best Cheeses for Grilled Cheese, According to Chefs

Being a food writer in a major food city like Atlanta means access to some of the fanciest dishes, ingredients and preparations on a fairly regular basis. It’s a privilege that I’m grateful for every day, and a part of my life that brings me endless joy. However, far from spoiling me, it’s given me a profound appreciation for the simplest, most nostalgic of pleasures: great renditions of comfort food and unfussy classics. Like grilled cheese.

Grilled cheese is one of those timeless dishes that are fantastic when you’re a kid and only get better as your palate matures. But they become their best when you get a chef’s input on how to glow up a childhood favorite, so we asked seven chefs across the U.S. for their best recs on turning the humble grilled cheese into the best thing you’ll eat today. 

What Makes a Great Grilled Cheese? 

As with all memory-tied food, “perfect” is subjective. When you grow up eating something for comfort, you want the “better” version to be familiar enough to be nostalgic but clearly improved for a more experienced perspective. That means that details matter. 

“A good grilled cheese should have a deeply developed crust … that is the quintessential difference in the experience,” says Christian Farrar, executive chef of Table 20 in Cartersville, Georgia. John Masterson, culinary director for Charlotte, North Carolina-based chain Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, agrees: “As long as you’re targeting a perfectly crispy, golden-brown crust that carefully transitions into a buttery, soft underlayment of bread and finally into a warm, gooey melted cheese, you can’t go wrong.”

And John Martinez, award-winning chef-owner of Tito & Pep in Tucson, Arizona, says, “I feel the most essential thing in a great grilled cheese is nailing the right ratio between your bread and cheese. Too much cheese and that thing is going to get out of control, and if there’s too little, what’s the point? Also, finding the flavor balance between the bread and cheese is essential.”

Which brings us to the next most crucial question …  

Which Is More Important—the Bread or the Cheese?  

Thomas Carrig, Hilton Head Health’s executive chef, thinks it’s “primarily about the bread,” and loves “sprouted whole-grain bread with seeds, which has a solid structure that stands up to cooking and provides that great crunchy texture I look for.” Masterson agrees, saying, “If you force my hand, I choose the bread. It meets the mouth first, brings texture, complexity and variety to each bite. I feel like the cheese is typically celebrated more, but I like how the bread has to carry the burden of both flavor addition and the drudgery of sandwich-build responsibility.” 

But as he pointed out, other chefs prioritize the cheese—even luxury baking specialists like The World Equestrian Center’s executive pastry chef, Yohann Le Bescond. He says, “The choice of cheese will make a huge difference between a good and great grilled cheese. Mixing your cheeses creates a rich and complex flavor profile. So although the bread is very important, the purpose of it is to keep the sandwich together, adding structure and texture. A good bread will take your sandwich to the next level, but even the best bread cannot save a mediocre cheese.” 

Martinez agrees: “Both are on equal standing ground in terms of importance, but the cheese is what holds it all together. Exceptional cheese can still be an amazing grilled cheese on white bread, while plain old American will be a disservice to an amazing loaf of bread.” 

The executive chef of Flathead Lake Lodge in Big Fork, Montana, Rob Clagett, believes, “Different breads can be manipulated in their own way to make a nice grilled cheese,” and Farrar assures, “With a little TLC, you can really make even the most industrial bland breads work well,” especially through grilling and buttering techniques, which Le Bescond mentions too. However, “the flavor and texture derived from the cheese can’t be [manipulated],” Clagett closes. 

And for this reason, majority rules that cheese selection is the pivotal element for an exceptional sandwich.  

How Chefs Choose the Right Cheeses for Restaurant-Quality Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

“When thinking about a grilled cheese to serve in a restaurant, I want to think about a cheese that melts smoothly and evenly, to create the perfect gooey and stretchy texture of a great grilled cheese we all had when being a kid,” says Le Bescond. 

Martinez says, “If it’s too soft, it all might just ooze out. If it’s too hard, you won’t get that great melt and the cheese can just end up an oily mess. When it comes to choosing cheese, we look for a great melting point—a cheese that’ll give us a great pull and, of course, the right flavor for the dish we are creating.” 

That flavor often means using mostly mild cheeses to establish the taste foundation. Clagett explains, “It allows the opportunity to introduce flavors elsewhere, such as in the bread, butter or even a complementary component such as bisque or jelly.” Martinez uses, as an example, artisanal bread with nuts or dried fruit. “Lean into something a little more tangy like a goat cheese, but still pair it with something mild and even-melting so you still get that great cheese pull without overwhelming the delicate nuances of the goat cheese.” 

Ferrar brings up that same point, using blue cheese as an example. “It has a great flavor but is much too strong to be the main cheese. Paired with havarti, though, and you just might have something!” And for his restaurant’s summer grilled cheese, served with fresh tomato basil soup, the molasses sourdough bread he uses shines when stuffed with mild cheese.

Finally, by starting with mild cheese, you can season the sandwich to add interest. Le Bescond uses rosemary butter instead of bold cheese to amplify his grilled cheese, noting, “Combining too many strong cheeses will result in a salty grilled cheese. Proper seasoning goes a long way.” Because ultimately, a grilled cheese is one of those classic examples where the whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts.  

American Cheese

Laypeople and cheese snobs may argue that American cheese doesn’t count as cheese, but when it comes to grilled cheese, chefs know better. 

“American will always and forever be the only cheese for us traditionalists,” Masterson says, joking that grilled cheese made with this cheese “has been boosting immune systems for hundreds of years!” 

“I have no shame in my game here—American is the quintessential melting cheese and it’s pure comfort,” Farrar agrees. “Commercial bread, American cheese and margarine is what my baby girl wants when she gets sick.” He recommends buying less-processed American from the deli counter, as “There are better American cheeses out there than packaged singles!,” while Masterson exclaims, “Heavens, don’t ever use the packaged stuff!”

But as iconic and perfect as it is as your base cheese, the consensus remains that for a restaurant-quality grilled cheese, good old American needs a supporting cheese or two … something else “with an easy melting point, standout flavor and low to medium saltiness,” adds Donnie Weston, executive chef of Marietta Melt Yard Bar & Kitchen in Marietta, Georgia.

Cheddar

For nearly every one of the chefs I consulted, for best supporting actor, it doesn’t get better than Cheddar. Because, as Martinez explains, “Using flavorful soft or hard cheese to complement a semi-hard or semisoft cheese is a great way to incorporate multiple cheeses and flavors.”

Martinez goes for “a nice medium Cheddar … for flavor and pull,” and Ferrar says that pairing American and any Cheddar offers “that perfect flavor-melt ratio.” Le Bescond always chooses Cheddar with sourdough, saying “the acidity of the sourdough with aged cheese like Cheddar brings a stronger flavor that will set it apart” while you can “still add younger cheeses like mozzarella or fontina to smooth those flavors down and add some of that creaminess.”

Gruyère

Cheddar and American are obvious, common and accessible cheeses. But this Swiss cheese is a chef’s secret weapon for an unforgettable grilled cheese. Clagett calls Gruyère his “clear favorite, with a creamy texture and a nutty aroma that’s unmatched,” and starts his grilled cheese with a béchamel to enhance its creaminess.  

Martinez is also passionate about this choice, sharing, “I had the good fortune of traveling in Switzerland early on in my career and am a big fan of any of those semi-hard Alpine cheeses, like a true Gruyère or Appenzeller, when it comes to a grilled cheese. These two play especially nice with caramelized onions on a great rustic levain.” 

Le Bescond steers more French with the use of Gruyère for an unforgettable grilled cheese, making it with a croissant with his rosemary butter and combining it with white American cheese. 

Havarti

“Gruyère, havarti and Gouda are my go-to cheeses for an elevated grilled cheese,” Masterson says. Similar in nature, he says, “These three mild cheeses promote slightly sweet similar flavor profiles, which allows the textures and flavors of the bread and butter to shine through. There is no need to try and confuse the palate when talking about grilled cheese!”

Havarti is also a general top pick for Weston, and Farrar suggests using havarti “in place of American if you want to go a less-processed route, since it’s also a great melting cheese.” He adds, “There are also some amazing variations out there that will really step up your grilled cheese game. Try horseradish or jalapeño havarti … whatever you can find. I really haven’t had a bad one yet!” 

Other Favorites

This spirit of adventure brings us to the other successful experiments these chefs have done in the name of grilled cheese. Clagett throws Muenster and fontina in the ring, sharing that “Muenster has great texture, and fontina has that plus a funkiness I enjoy.” Le Bescond uses the latter to counter strong aged Cheddars, while Carrig calls the former one of his favorites. “It melts at about the same time the bread gets crispy brown,” he says, and he loves that it’s soft enough to mold around the enhancements he likes to stuff his grilled cheeses with, like tomatoes. 

And while Le Bescond will use innocuous mozzarella as another neutralizing cheese, Farrar’s a fan of the smoked version. “It’s been really rising in my ranks lately. It has a lot of flavor and more versatility than most other smoked cheeses!”

Finally, Weston suggests playing around with Brie and Gouda. “These and havarti are some of my favorites.”

Final Tips

Your choice in cheese is the major factor for whether your grilled cheese is fantastic or fine, but how you select the other components and cook the combo has a massive impact on the final result. And, in those details, our chefs had a lot of opinions as strong as Gorgonzola and pro tips they were eager to share.

When choosing bread, you want “something that sears nicely, doesn’t have a contrasting flavor to your desired cheese, and is sturdy enough to hold up to being saturated in butter from the exterior and sops up the gooey interior,” Clagett says. It can certainly be something as delicate as a croissant, but Le Bescond advises using a day-old one. “This will not be as flaky as fresh, which will allow the croissant to keep its shape and form.” 

Martinez suggests using older bread as a general rule. “If your bread is a day or two old, it just toasts up better!”

When cooking, “using a press is much preferred versus a frying pan,” Le Bescond says. Ferrar advises to use medium heat, and says, “Don’t be afraid to absolutely saturate that bread with good olive oil or clarified butter/ghee.” 

“Be generous,” echoes Martinez. “Having enough fat to really get your bread crispy and crunchy is key.” Ferrar continues, “Salt the bread lightly and move it around the entire time with a little bit of pressure!” If you’re using a grill, as Weston does, use a butter roller with unsalted butter if you have it, and heat the grill to 325°F for best results. 

Martinez adds an extra step of rubbing his grilled sandwiches with garlic to add a layer of flavor, and he sprinkles a little grated hard cheese on one side of the bread, since “Everyone I know loves the little crispy bits of cheese that end up in the pan!” Then, he advises, “Let it rest a minute before diving in so you don’t force all that amazing cheese out of the back or sides of the sandwich.”

After that, anything goes. For example, Masterson likes to slather both sides of each piece of bread in Duke’s brand mayonnaise before cooking it up in butter in a warm pan. (“Yes, it has to be Duke’s,” he laughs.) Le Bescond brushes melted butter on the bread, builds the sandwich, plastic-wraps it and chills the package to help the pieces stay together when on the grill. Carrig, working at a health resort, prefers Earth Balance for less saturated fat and a lower melting point, which allows better seepage of butter flavor into the bread, and he will also brush the inside faces of the bread with a bit of mayonnaise and pesto for richness. Finally, Carrig, Farrar and Martinez like to bulk up their grilled cheeses with “surprises” and fillings, and they lean into the seasons for inspiration. 

At the end of the day, as Farrar says, “It really comes down to thinking about what you want the sandwich to achieve. Keep it simple, only add what is needed to get you where you want to go” … and have fun!