Murray’s was kind enough to send me some Gruyère, and it didn’t take long before it found its way into a grilled cheese. With just a handful of ingredients, this recipe highlights the nutty flavor and incredible melt that make this classic Swiss cheese perfect for sandwiches.

Note: Murray’s provided the gruyere pictured here and in this week’s recipes. This article contains affiliate links to their products and I will receive a commission for any purchases you make through links here. For more information, see my Affiliate Link Policy.

Pain Ordinaire Bread

We have a great local bakery that makes fresh bread every day. It’s all delicious, but one of my favorite loaves is the Pain Ordinaire. This literally translates to “everyday bread”, but it’s a step up from the generic bread I grab at the grocery store for toast.

I was a little concerned using it in my grilled cheese because it had so many openings for ingredients to fall through, but it surprised me and held onto the toppings well and crisped up beautifully.

Gruyère Cheese

Gruyère fits beautifully in my mac and cheese theory. It has some flavors that pop initially, but most of its impact is at the end, making it a great closer cheese.

Gruyere usually lives at the cheese counter than in the dairy case, so you may have to talk to someone. If you’d rather avoid the small talk, Murray’s will ship it directly to you.

Caramelized Onion Jam

Cheese isn’t the only ingredient that offers opener and closer flavors. Since Gruyère is a closer cheese, I wanted to pair it with opener flavors to balance the dish.

Divina’s Caramelized Onion Jam is a staple in my kitchen. It brings that slow-cooked onion depth to soups and gives sandwiches a rich, savory-sweet layer that makes everything taste more put together.

The opening flavors of the jam paired with the closing flavors of the Gruyère made this dish feel elevated, especially considering the limited number of ingredients.

Why this Works

This grilled cheese works because of the balance between the ingredients. Gruyère melts smoothly with a nutty depth that builds at the end of the bite. The caramelized onion jam adds a sweet and savory opener flavor that hits immediately. Mayo gives the sandwich a golden crust that contrasts with the soft melted center.

Alternatives For Gruyere

Gruyere is the highlight of this recipe, but that doesn’t mean you can’t swap it for some other cheeses! Any of the cheeses below would make a delicious sandwich.

Comté
Jarlsberg
Swiss
Fontina

What to serve with grilled cheese

There are plenty of options to serve with grilled cheese to make it a full meal. I lean toward rough chopping the sandwich into croutons for tomato soup, but any of these ideas would be great.

kettle chips
tomato soup
simple green salad
pickles or cornichons

A Word of Advice:

Grilled cheese is a recipe that gets better with practice. Every stove heats a little differently, and it takes a few tries to find the sweet spot. If your bread browns before the cheese melts, lower the heat slightly and cover the pan for a minute. The trapped heat will help the Gruyère melt without burning the bread.

Add a Fork

This was a great starting point for my grilled cheese experiments. It’s simple, but the nutty melt and crisp bread make it feel like more than the sum of its parts. I paired it with chips for lunch, and it hit that perfect comforting snowy weekday lunch.