For 10X More Flavorful Grilled Cheese, Make It French Toast-Style Using A Can Of Soup

There are few guarantees in life, so we can't come out and fully say that French toast and grilled cheese are the two best things you can make with bread — but they come pretty close. How do you improve on both of these excellent comfort foods? By using a can of soup to combine them into a French toast-style grilled cheese sandwich, of course.

A classic grilled cheese and tomato soup are an iconic pairing, and this version basically fuses the two dishes in one. It's made the way you'd normally prepare a grilled cheese sandwich, with your preferred combo of bread and cheese. Ideally, the bread here should be something on the softer side, one that is a little absorbent like brioche, challah, or even Texas toast. You'd want to avoid anything too dry or crusty since that will make it harder to get the coating to stick.

What sets the dish apart is the next step. You need a savory version of the French toast egg mixture that you'd normally dip the bread into, as demonstrated by TikTok user @chrystaelliott99. Instead of the usual mixture of eggs and milk that forms the base of a simple custard, this version combines the eggs and milk with tomato soup. It can also have salt, pepper, and any other seasonings added in. The sandwich is then dipped in the mixture to coat the bread, then fried in a skillet. The sandwich needs to cook until the bread develops a golden crust and the cheese inside is melted. The egg helps the coating brown, and the tomato flavor gets infused into the bread.

The trick here is that the tomato soup and egg mixture has to be thick enough to coat the bread evenly without making it too soggy. Traditionally, French toast has to soak long enough to get fluffy and custardy inside, but that won't work for this sandwich. You don't want the bread so wet that it falls apart after cooking. You should still be able to hold and eat it like a regular grilled cheese sandwich, so it needs to retain a little structure and firmness. That way, you get the crunch you want after frying, with a bit of the soft and savory texture of French toast — all wrapped up with the flavor of tomato and cheese.

@chrystaelliott99

This was 10/10 try it right now #grilledcheese #gordonramsay #cooking #fyp #tutorial

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Of course, besides technique, there are many other ways you can elevate a grilled cheese, so the French toast-style version would be a great opportunity to try some more. Add-ins like bacon, ham, pesto, or caramelized onions really enhance a traditional grilled cheese with smoky, savory, and herbal flavors, all of which would still work in this version. Other additions can build on the tomato flavor even more by focusing on some complementary additions. Fresh basil leaves, mozzarella, provolone, or parmesan cheese would not only pair very well with the tomato soup, but also would give the sandwich a familiar, Italian-inspired taste. In addition, you can try some roasted red peppers to play off the soup's sweetness, or some jalapeños to contrast it.