Hack Your Grilled Cheese With Salad Dressing For A Blast Of Flavor

A classic grilled cheese sandwich is deceptively simple. All it takes is two pieces of bread, some cheese, and a little butter and you've got all the makings for a perfect handheld lunch. If you can conjure up some tomato soup to accompany it, your grilled cheese gets even better. If you're tired of the same old sandwich, though, think of your grilled cheese as more of a blank slate. You can add sliced ham or turkey, tomatoes, apples, and even a little wasabi if you're feeling spicy. Even when you're low on ingredients, which is usually the case when you're making grilled cheese, you can still make your sandwich a little more gourmet as long as you have some salad dressing on hand.

Just like a loaf of bread and sliced cheese, there's almost always a bottle of some sort of salad dressing hanging around in the refrigerator. Next time you make a grilled cheese, spread a thin coat of dressing on the outside of your bread with the butter and grill as usual to get a huge burst of flavor in your sandwich.

You might have already heard that mayonnaise works just as well as butter for spreading on bread for grilled cheese. In fact, it might even work a little better because it's easier to spread so there's more in contact with the pan — thus giving you more crispy, browned bread with no dry spots. Plus, mayonnaise gives grilled cheese a little extra tangy flavor. The same is true when you use a little salad dressing, and in addition to that extra tang, you'll get a dose of dressing flavor.

The key to using salad dressing on your grilled cheese is to spread a thin layer on the bread after you spread your butter or mayonnaise (or both). The mayonnaise or butter goes on first so that the bread doesn't get soggy from your dressing, and it's important to use a very thin layer because you don't want to soak the bread. Soggy bread obviously won't make a good sandwich, plus you won't be able to brown and crisp the bread. Once you have both pieces of bread all dressed and ready to go, cook your sandwich the way you normally would in a saute pan or using a sandwich press.

What kind of salad dressing goes well with grilled cheese? The answer is, really, any kind you like. Vinaigrette dressings tend to work well because you can spread a super thin layer. Try regular Italian dressing, which will give your sandwich some basil and oregano. You could also use a balsamic vinaigrette, which will give your cheesy sandwich some extra tang and pair well with some tomato slices inside the sandwich. Any dressings with soy sauce, chili crisp, or hoisin will also taste great with melted cheese and bread.

You don't have to limit yourself to just vinaigrettes, either. Most creamy dressings are made with (you guessed it) mayonnaise, so you can use any dressing you'd like. Just make sure that you don't pick a dressing that's very chunky, like blue cheese, because it won't spread in a thin layer on the bread. Ranch, for example, would make an excellent grilled cheese, as would creamy Italian or Greek (as long as there are no big chunks of cheese in the dressing).

Try mixing and matching your dressings with your grilled cheese fillings, too, like an apple cider vinaigrette spread on a grilled apple and brie sandwich, or scrape some green goddess dressing onto a sandwich filled with cheddar cheese and fresh spinach. Use your imagination and try out all your dressings one sandwich at a time to find the flavors you like best.