Up until I realized that we could make Air fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, I was doing it the old fashioned way, grilling them in a frying pan or on our griddle and trying not to get distracted by day to day life so they didn’t burn. Now, however, I am 100% on board with doing these in the air fryer going forward. Why? Because you set it, forget it and flip it when it beeps at you. That’s it! The perfect grilled cheese every time! If you love this recipe, try my Air Fryer Eggs too (it’s amazing how well they peel!)
Love sandwiches? Why not try my Monte Cristo sandwich, my Classic Reuben Sandwich or Submarine Sandwich!
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Obviously, when making a grilled cheese, you can use any bread (or cheese) you like, that’s what makes them great. I personally am a rye bread or sourdough bread kind of guy but our kids, on the other hand, prefer good old junky white bread for their grilled cheese. When preparing to use the air fryer, I decided I’d do both a marble rye version and a white bread version in this recipe to show you the slight differences depending on the bread you use. In this recipe, I used marble cheese slices as the kids tend to prefer those over straight cheddar.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
This is just a quick list of the ingredients, intended to serve two people or make two sandwiches, please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact amounts.
- 4 slices of your bread of choice.
- 4 slices of marble cheese (or your cheese of choice).
- Mayonnaise.
How to Make Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Spread mayonnaise thinly on one side of the four slices of bread. Place two slices mayonnaise side down in the bin of the air fryer, top with two slices of cheese each and then place the top on (mayonnaise side up!) just like you were going to fry it in a pan.
Close the air fryer and select 375 degrees for 3 minutes if using white bread or 375 degrees for 4 minutes if using rye or a similar heavy bread.
When it finishes, flip the sandwiches and repeat for the same amount of time. Serve with a pickle and slice diagonally or in half.
Why use mayonnaise and not butter?
Chances are, you are wondering why there is no butter in the ingredient list above right? Let me tell you a trick – grilled cheese (whether in an air fryer or a frying pan) is better made with Mayonnaise. I know, it sounds crazy but a chef friend of ours shared this trick many years ago and we’ve never gone back. As it was explained to use by our chef friend, Mayonnaise has a higher smoking point than butter meaning you can cook / fry it longer before it starts to burn.
This means you can melt the cheese more inside of your grilled cheese than you’d be able to accomplish with butter alone. Furthermore, it’s easier to spread most of the time. Have you ever ripped your bread to shreds with butter trying to spread it? It’s a thing you won’t have to do anymore. This doesn’t mean you can’t use butter if you want to, but I challenge you to try it this way first to see what I mean.
How to Prevent the Top of the Grilled Cheese from Coming Loose
I’ve read in some other posts that some people have experienced the top of the sandwich coming loose in the air fryer and not staying on top of the sandwich. The solution is simple, plop a toothpick in the middle of the sandwich before starting the air fryer to ensure everything stays together. I haven’t experienced this problem myself, but I have seen other people mentioning it so I thought I’d share a quick solution.
Once you’ve flipped everything and completed the cooking in the air fryer, pull out your sandwich and serve with a pickle!
Now if you decided you wanted to use white bread instead, remember to only fry them for 3 minutes per side to make sure the bread doesn’t burn. This ensures a nicely browned sandwich with a gooey cheese inside like the picture below.
I hope you find yourself using your air fryer more often now that you know how easy it can be to whip up a quick Air Fryer Grilled Cheese!
Happy Cooking!
Mike
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 slices bread white, rye, work well
- 2 tablespoons butter or mayonnaise
- 4 slices cheese of choice
Instructions
- Spread mayonnaise thinly on one side of the four slices of bread.
- Place two slices mayonnaise side down in the bin of the air fryer.
- Top with two slices of cheese each and then place the top on (mayonnaise side up!) just like you were going to fry it in a pan.
- Close the air fryer and select 375 degrees for 3 minutes if using white bread or 375 degrees for 4 minutes if using rye or a similar heavy bread.
- When it finishes, flip the sandwiches and repeat for the same amount of time. Serve with a pickle and slice diagonally or in half.
Notes
- 6 minutes for white bread, flipping at 3
- 7-8 minute for rye and dark breads, flipping at 4 minutesÂ
Nutrition
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Judy Thibodeau says
My air fryer has two baskets, could you put one in each basket and flip at 3 minutes?
Margaret Cameron says
Superb way to make a grilled cheese. I used wheat bread, buttered (don’t like mayo and MW is slightly sweet), Jarlesberg (sp?) Swiss cheese and air fried it in my Instant Pot (brand name) 3/4 mins on one side, turned it over at the beep and cooked it about 4/5 mins, on second side. I kept a watch on it when I turned it to make sure it was brown enough. it was perfect and delicious. Thanx for sharing. It’s the only way I will make future grilled cheese sandwiches. 😚
Cathy Gray says
We did grilled cheese last night in the AF. We added ham/chicken from the deli, Swiss cheese, and mozzarella followed the instruction to a T, and it was the easiest sandwich I have done. Thank you for the information. and we used Duke Mayo on the outside of the bread. YUMMY.
ANGELICA says
Looks so delicious! thanks so much for all the amazing recipes you shared. You are really great!
Paula Cable says
I am new here. I tried the grilled cheese on regular white bread ( what I had), put Miracle Whip on (what I had) and used Havarti and Sharp Cheddar (what I had). I did not preheat my airfryer, I will next time. Put one sandwich in, had to use a tooth pick because my airfryer seems to be like a tornado, even moved the cheese. I tried 3 min then flipped, not nearly enough time so I just kept going, flipped several more times, total time about 12 min. Was really crispy and lovely brown on one side and a little less so on the other. Air fryer was way better that skillet, lots less greasy. Tasted great, cheese melted perfectly. One person mentioned too much water in Miracle whip, not sure about that but my first of many more looked, smelled and tasted great. Thanks from Texas.
Mike Johnston says
Awesome thanks for sharing!
Gina says
Ok, I am a little lost here. What is the difference if you still use butter or Mayo and air fry? Wouldn’t they be the exact same calories as in a pan. You use equal amount of everything either in a pan or air fryer. I am lost, I see no difference caloric wise or fat difference.
Mike Johnston says
Hi Gina
Nobody claimed a caloric or fat difference. Some people simply look for new ways to do things. Similarly, there’s no caloric or fat difference when making soup in a slow cooker, an Instant Pot or a pot on the stove yet people still prefer one method over the other.
Matthew Beauchamp says
Miracle whip has too much water in it, it sogs up the bread
Sharon says
Hi Karlynn,
Thank you for all your great recipes & tips. Last night I did a sirloin tip roast using your butter & herb topping.
This is a dumb question……………when you say mayonnaise can Miracle Whip be used? That’s a great tip because yes, I’ve torn my bread to shreds with butter. I take the ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich to my grandchildren’s & pre-butter the bread. Very difficult to separate the bread after without holes appearing. Yes, I know some people don’t have enough to worry about.
Thank you again for your great website & recipes.
Mike Johnston says
I would use real mayo, I feel like miracle whip would change the taste but you could try and let us know!