The Most Popular Grilled Cheese Recipe on the Internet

Grilled cheese sandwiches rank high on my list of low-input, high-output meals. Natasha’s Kitchen, a blog started by Natasha Kravchuk in 2009, is full of these types of easy, approachable recipes. As a mom of two, Natasha knows a thing or two about needing to get tasty meals on the table without spending forever in the kitchen, and I wasn’t surprised to see that her grilled cheese recipe has a five-star rating on her blog. It’s also the first recipe to pop up on Google when you search “grilled cheese recipe.”

While many recipes call for grated cheese, Natasha keeps things quick and easy by using slices. As someone who prefers to wash as few dishes as possible, I was excited that this recipe allowed me to skip the cheese grater. Plus, her recipe calls for Texas toast as the bread, which isn’t something I’d seen before. Here’s what happened when I gave it a try.

Get the recipe: Natasha’s Kitchen’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Spread 1/2 tablespoon butter on one side of each slice of Texas toast. Heat a skillet over low to medium heat or heat a griddle to 275˚F. Place 2 slices of bread in the skillet with the buttered side down. Layer the cheese on top of one of the slices starting with the cheddar, then Havarti, and finally the Gouda. Once the slices of bread have crisped and are golden-brown, place the second slice on top (crisp-side out) of the slice with cheese.

Continue cooking the sandwich, flipping once, until the exteriors are a deep, golden-brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once the cheese has fully melted, remove the sandwich from the skillet.

Natasha’s grilled cheese sandwich recipe is incredibly easy and straightforward. It’s the kind of recipe you can depend on when you’re not really in the mood to cook. A 1/2 tablespoon of butter on the outside of each slice may feel a bit excessive, but it gives the sandwich a perfectly crisp exterior and prevents the bread from charring too quickly. I loved her use of Texas toast, because soft, thick slices of bread really are the way to go when it comes to grilled cheese.

Her selections of cheddar, Havarti, and Gouda were also an excellent call, but while I appreciated the ease of using sliced cheeses, grating the cheese would have allowed the flavors to meld together more than having them stacked on top of one another. I also would have covered the skillet to help the cheese melt faster, particularly because sliced cheese doesn’t melt as easily as grated cheese. Overall, I thought Natasha’s grilled cheese tasted good, but it would only be my go-to if I was in a rush. 

1. Grate your cheese. I would stick with the cheddar, Havarti, and Gouda because they pair really well together, but I would grate the cheese instead of using slices for a more even distribution of flavors, and for more optimal cheese melting.
2. Cover your skillet. Once you start making grilled cheese sandwiches with a covered skillet, it’s hard to go back. It’s an easy way to ensure that your grilled cheese sandwich is perfectly cooked.
3. If you can’t find Texas toast, brioche or sliced Italian bread will do. Texas toast can be difficult to find in stores depending on your location, so don’t fret about using another thick, sliced white bread like brioche or Italian bread.

Overall rating: 8/10

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: I Tried the Internet’s Most Popular Grilled Cheese Recipe