Grilled Cheese with Spicy Tomato Jam gives your grilled cheese sandwich a spicy and flavorful upgrade with a spread of homemade tomato jam. For another delicious variation of grilled cheese, try my Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese too!
Grilled Cheese with Spicy Tomato Jam
Not all grilled cheese sandwiches are built the same. This one will surely stand out as being a step up from the sandwich you may have grown up with. Yes, it’s all about the spicy tomato jam, but the sandwich also has two kinds of cheese, and the bread is coated in garlic butter. In addition, I will let you know how to make this in an air fryer.
Ingredients & Substitutions
There are three parts to this recipe–the spicy tomato jam, garlic butter, and the grilled cheese sandwich.
Tomato Jam: You will need to make the tomato jam first for this recipe. It takes over an hour and a half to simmer and ‘jam’ up; then, it will need to cool before you spread it on the sandwich. The recipe will make 2 cups; you will use one cup of it. The remaining jam stores nicely in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I also have a Tomato Bacon Jam that you could try (and is delicious).
Garlic Butter: Yes, the garlic butter could be optional, but it adds a nice touch, or should I say taste, to each sandwich. If you like to use mayo on your sandwiches instead of butter you can add parsley and garlic to the mayo.
Tips for the Best Grilled Cheese
Bread Matters: I used sourdough bread for the sandwiches. But, you could use any kind of bread you have on hand or your favorite. A sturdy bread is best though, not a soft white bread. This will yield a flimsy sandwich.
Melty Cheese: I used two different kinds of cheese on the sandwich, Gruyere and white cheddar cheese. These cheeses compliment the jam beautifully. You could definitely stick to one kind of cheese or use a combination of your favorite kinds of cheese. Be sure not to add too much – I know this is temptation! Too much cheese will take away from a perfectly balanced grilled cheese and often be not melted through – which will force you to burn to sandwich to get it melted.
How to Make Grilled Cheese with Spicy Tomato Jam in an Air Fryer
It’s easy to get this grilled cheese made in an air fryer, and it works great! In fact, I have a simple air fryer grilled cheese you may want to try at some point. Anyway, to make this in an air fryer, line the basket of the air fryer with parchment paper. Place the bread, butter side down, onto the parchment. Top with tomato jam, both kinds of cheese, and the second slice of bread, butter side up. Air fry at 350°F for 6-8 minutes, flipping the sandwich(es) over halfway through cooking.
More Grilled Cheese Recipes
Grilled Cheese with Spicy Tomato Jam
Ingredients
Spicy Tomato Jam
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Garlic Butter
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Grilled Cheese
- 1 cup spicy tomato jam, divided
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- 1 cup (113 g) Gruyere cheese, grated, divided
- 1 cup (113 g) white cheddar cheese, grated, divided
Instructions
Spicy Tomato Jam
- To a large saucepan over medium heat, add diced tomatoes, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened (1½ hours-1 hour and 40 minutes).
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before serving.
Garlic Butter
- In a medium bowl, add butter, parsley, garlic, and salt. Mix to combine.
Grilled Cheese
- Generously spread the garlic butter on one side of a slice of bread. Flip over the slice of bread and spread ¼ cup of spicy tomato jam.
- In a pan over medium-low heat, add bread (butter side down). Top with ¼ cup of the Gruyere cheese, and ¼ cup of the white cheddar cheese.
- Add garlic butter to another slice of bread and place that on top of the cheese, butter side up.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes; then, flip over the sandwich and cook another 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown. (If it seems like the bread is taking a long time to brown, be patient, as the cheese inside needs time to melt.)
- Remove the sandwich from the pan and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Serve warm.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
How do u make the spicy tomato jam if u Don’t have an air fryer not everyone has one.
This recipe isn’t written for an Air Fryer. (That was added information in the post.)