Chili Crisp Grilled Cheese

A classic grilled cheese, with Kraft singles affixed on white bread and caramelized margarine, is a sacred childhood memory for me. But as I’ve grown, I’ve naturally made swaps: sourdough for white bread, cheddar for American, mayonnaise for margarine. But after a while, even that combo started to fall flat and I needed to elevate the sandwich further. The next stage of grilled cheese evolution felt clear: lean into my love of spice. Since I always have chili crisp on hand, the pairing felt like the most natural thing in the world, and it was.

This chili crisp grilled cheese is a certified Elevated Grilled Cheese. Double-caramelized sourdough—slicked with butter, chili oil, mayo and Parmesan—sandwiches cheddar and mozzarella slices with crunchy chili crisp running throughout, kicking in spice and garlicky aromatics between the richness of three cheeses. It’s a wonderful way to use chili crisp if you’re looking for an excuse.

Ingredients for Chili Crisp Grilled Cheese

• Butter: Soften the butter to room temperature so it spreads easily onto the sourdough and mixes well with the mayo, Parmesan and chili oil. We don’t want to tear up the bread!
• Sourdough: Cut eight slices of sourdough for this recipe. A nice homemade sourdough or bakery-bought loaf works perfectly. Try not to slice them too thick or the grilled cheese will be uncomfortable to bite through.
• Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise is an excellent ingredient for caramelizing grilled cheese. It has a high fat content, a nice tang and spreads super easily.
• Parmesan: For the best flavor, grate the Parmesan yourself. Pre-shredded cheese contains cellulose, an anti-caking agent that affects the cheese’s meltability and flavor.
• Chili crisp: If you don’t already have a jar in the cabinet, buy the best chili crisp from the store, or make your own chili crisp to control the heat level and aromatics.
• Cheddar cheese and mozzarella: Our cheeses of choice for grilled cheese with chili crisp are sliced cheddar and mozzarella. I like to head to the deli and get freshly sliced cheeses; the taste is better.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the bread

Spread 3 tablespoons of softened butter on all eight bread slices, on one side of each slice. (Not 3 tablespoons per slice of bread.) Toast the bread, buttered side down, in a large skillet or electric griddle over medium-low heat until golden brown, two to three minutes. Remove from the skillet and set the bread aside.

Strain 1 teaspoon of chili oil from the chili crisp and add it to a small bowl along with the mayonnaise, Parmesan and the remaining 3 tablespoons of softened butter. Stir everything together until well combined.

Step 2: Assemble the sandwiches

Top the toasted side of four bread slices with a slice of cheddar cheese. Drizzle the slices of cheddar cheese with the remaining 1 tablespoon of chili crisp. Top the chili crisp with a slice of mozzarella cheese, then place the remaining bread slices, toasted side facing inward, on top. Spread the mayonnaise mixture on the outsides of each sandwich.

Step 3: Toast the grilled cheese

Place the sandwiches in the same skillet you toasted the bread in, and cook the grilled cheeses over medium-low heat until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted, three to four minutes on each side. Serve the chili crisp grilled cheeses immediately.

Editor’s Tip: If the bread is toasting much more quickly than the cheese is melting, lower the heat. You could even add 1 tablespoon of water to the skillet, then immediately cover the pan to create steam.

Recipe Variations

• Try another cheese: Feel free to get creative with other cheeses, like Gruyere, Brie, Gouda or American cheese. Just make sure they’re melting cheeses. Non-melting cheeses like Halloumi and Parmesan would not work here.
• Use different bread: Not a fan of sourdough? No worries! White, wheat, ciabatta, multigrain and even potato bread work here.

How to Store Chili Crisp Grilled Cheese

Chili crisp grilled cheese is best the day it’s made, but you can store leftovers to eat later. Allow the grilled cheese to cool completely to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge for up to two days.

How do you reheat chili crisp grilled cheese?

To reheat chili crisp grilled cheese, place it in a skillet over low heat, add 1 tablespoon of water, and quickly cover the skillet to let the water turn into steam, heating the cheese. You could also open the sandwich on a plate and microwave it until the cheese is melted, though the outside won’t crisp.

Chili Crisp Grilled Cheese Tips

Why do you just use the chili oil, not the crisp, in the first step?

We use only chili oil in the first step for the butter-and-mayo mixture on the outside of the grilled cheese. If we included the crisps, they would burn. Some people may like that, though, so feel free to include the crispy bits in the butter-mayo mixture if you wish.

Why isn’t the cheese melted in my grilled cheese with chili crisp?

If your cheese isn’t melted on the inside of your chili crisp grilled cheese but the bread is perfectly golden brown, you had the heat too high. The high heat will cook the outside quickly without reaching the inside and melting the cheese. Make sure the heat is on medium-low—it’s the perfect setting for a grilled cheese.

To save your grilled cheese, place it back in the skillet over low heat, add 1 tablespoon of water, then immediately cover it with the lid. The steam will melt the cheese inside. You could also microwave the chili crisp grilled cheese to melt the cheese.

Do you have to toast the bread before making grilled cheese with chili crisp?

No, you don’t have to toast the bread before making grilled cheese with chili crisp. We do it here to add a little more flavor to the bread, and it prevents the cheese from making the inside part of the sourdough soggy.