The Easiest Way To Get Perfectly Melted Grilled Cheese – No Pan Needed

Recipes don't come much simpler than grilled cheese. With just a pan and a couple of slices of bread and cheese, even the most novice cooks can rustle up an impromptu snack. So it might surprise you to know that there is an even easier method to making this sandwich, and it gives you perfectly melted cheese every time: Skip the skillet and instead switch on the air fryer for your next grilled cheese.

The traditional method of pan cooking uses mainly direct heat, which means that the bread on the bottom can often burn before the cheese has a chance to melt all the way through. An air fryer on the other hand, circulates heat around the food, cooking it more evenly.

The trick to the meltiest cheese in the air fryer is to start the sandwich open face. After spreading all the bread with mayonnaise or butter, place it spread-side down in the air fryer basket and arrange the cheese of your choice on top of half of the pieces. Cook as is for around 3 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted. At this point, you can close up the sandwiches and cook for a further 4 minutes on each side to continue crisping up the bread. You should end up with a snack that's perfectly melty inside and golden brown outside.

Easy as this recipe is, there are helpful tips and tricks to ensure you get the best result when cooking a grilled cheese. Choosing the right cheese can make all the difference, particularly if you're keeping it simple and skipping any extra ingredients. The best cheese is actually a combination – a good melting cheese such as mozzarella or gruyere and one that provides flavor like a strong cheddar, and you can even add a sprinkling of parmesan for another flavor layer.

When making grilled cheese in the air fryer, temperature is a key factor. Although it's less likely that you'll burn your bread than in the skillet, it can become overly dry if cooked too long. On the other hand, a good cheese melt is often best done low and slow, so where does that leave you? The solution is to start the cooking on a lower temperature, then once the cheese has melted, give it a blast of heat to brown the outside. Our recipe doesn't preheat the airfryer for this reason.

Depending on the size of the air fryer, you might need to cook sandwiches in batches. You've probably heard (and ignored) the advice not to overcrowd the basket, but it will have a direct effect on how crispy your final result is. Ensure each sandwich has space around it for the air to flow freely.