Cherry Bacon Grilled Cheese

This cherry bacon grilled cheese is loaded with smokiness, saltiness and fresh cherries to give you the ultimate in gooey deliciousness!

Salty. Sweet. Savory. It doesn’t get better than that.

Featured Ingredients

• Whole Grain Bread: You really want the structure of hearty grain bread in this sandwich.
  • It’s holding a lot of components, so you want bread with some heft to it.
  • Don’t get me wrong, squishy white bread will always be a go-to for some types of grilled cheese, but for this one – go for the grains!
• Cherries: You want fresh cherries for this recipe.
  • Frozen cherries, even when thawed and drained, are just a little too wet for the sandwich.
  • If you don’t have fresh cherries on hand, you could try dried fruit like Bing cherries or even cranberries in the grilled cheese.
• Butter: You could substitute warmed ghee for the butter in the pan.
  • Ghee is butter with the milk solids removed, so it gives you even more clean buttery flavor in the cherry bacon grilled cheese.
  • Just brush the ghee in the pan, and you’re ready to go!
• Bacon: Center-cut bacon is perfect in this sandwich.
  • But, if you want to try something a little different you could use pancetta or even crisped prosciutto in the grilled cheese.
• Gouda or Havarti: You want to reach for a good melting cheese for this grilled cheese. Gouda is a sweet and creamy cow’s milk cheese, which melts like a dream.
  • Havarti is a buttery, smooth, and lightly sweet cow’s milk cheese which also melts incredibly well.
  • Either cheese works because both cheeses melt smoothly, and are incredibly delicious.
• Basil: The basil ties all of the sweet, smoky, creamy flavors and textures together in this sandwich.
  • If you don’t have fresh basil, you could use store-bought prepared basil pesto as a light and delicious spread for the sandwich.

Recipe Substitutions & Alterations

• Strawberries are a pretty delightful substitution for the cherries. And if you don’t have fresh strawberries, some strawberry preserves would be fantastic!
• If you’re living gluten free, you can find a good selection of gluten free whole grain breads that will work perfectly for this cherry bacon grilled cheese.
• A smear of Dijon mustard on the inside of the bread would bring some bright notes to the sandwich.
• Some very thinly sliced red onion would be a great addition to this cherry bacon grilled cheese!

Prep & Serving Tips

• Grab the griddle: Everyone loves grilled cheese. It’s just a fact. So, for your next barbecue, pull out the griddle pan for your grill, and start an assembly line of ingredients.
  • Not only will these sandwiches be a hit with both kids and adults, they will bring a little bit of lip-smacking novelty to the usual backyard fare!
• Prep in advance: Make the cherry filling in advance and set your fillings up on a tray so you’re ready to grill quickly!
• Add a salad: Serve these cherry bacon grilled cheese sandwiches with a large green salad overflowing with veggies.
  • Toss the salad with a light lemon vinaigrette, and it will be the perfect accompaniment to these rich, sweet, and savory sandwiches.

Other bacon-y recipes:

• Balsamic Green Beans with Bacon
• Cheesy Spinach Artichoke and Bacon Dip
• Cheddar, Jalapeno & Bacon Cornbread Muffins
• Sweet Corn & Bacon Fritters

Cherry Bacon Grilled Cheese

Print Recipe

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Grilled cheese with crispy bacon, fresh berries and basil.

• Author: Julie Andrews
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: Makes 2 sandwiches 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Stove-Top
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 4–6 slices bacon
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 4 slices whole grain bread
• 4 slices Gouda or Havarti (or about 1 cup shredded)
• 6–8 sweet cherries, halved and pitted
• 2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade

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Instructions

1. Cook bacon in a skillet set to medium until crispy, about 5-6 minutes, flipping once. Place cooked bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up grease.
2. Spread the butter on one side of eaech piece of whole grain bread.
3. Build the sandwich with whole grain bread, 1 slice cheese, cherries, basil and bacon, then another slice of cheese.
4. Place in the hot skillet and cook until golden on the bottom, about 3-5 minutes, placing a heavy bottomed skillet on top to condense the sandwich.
5. Remove the pan, flip the sandwich and cook until the other side is golden and cheese is melted, about 3-5 more minutes.

Notes

Cooking Tip: Make sure the skillet is hot before adding the grilled cheese ingredients.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 sandwich
• Calories: 383
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 340mg
• Fat: 18g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 7g
• Protein: 17g
• Cholesterol: 15mg