Grilled cheese with mayo in oven

Grilled cheese with mayo in oven

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton

Two rimmed baking sheets and a hot oven mimic a giant panini press, making grilled cheese for a crowd a super quick and easy prospect.

Ingredients

6 Servings

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

12 slices soft white sandwich bread

3 cups coarsely grated cheese (such as Monterey Jack, cheddar, mozzarella, or a mix; about 12 ounces)

Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

Special equipment:

2 (13x18") rimmed baking sheets

  1. Step 1

    Position rimmed baking sheet on a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450°F. Spread about 1 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread. Arrange 6 slices, mayo side down, on second inverted rimmed baking sheet. Mound 1/2 cup cheese in the center of each slice, season with salt and pepper, and top each with remaining bread slices, mayo side up.

    Step 2

    Using oven mitts, carefully remove preheated baking sheet from oven and place, rimmed side up, on top of sandwiches, then, holding both rimmed baking sheets together, return to oven. Bake until bread is browned and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove baking sheets from oven and transfer sandwiches to a cutting board. Cut into pieces and serve.

How would you rate Sheet-Pan Grilled Cheese?

Reviews (12)

Back to Top Triangle

  • Solid option for a crowd. While it’s true this won’t be as crispy as grilled cheese from a skillet, it was satisfactory enough for dipping into tomato soup. A couple of notes, however: pre-heat oven with both sheet pans inside (I used a countertop breville mini-oven that takes quarter sheet pans). Watch the bread and your time. My sandwiches were done (deep brown) in 10 mins. I butter the inside of my grilled cheese. Next time I might remove the top baking sheet and leave sandwiches in there for a min or two longer to help crisp up (centers were ever so soft).

  • Best grilled cheese ever! Mix up the cheeses, add jam, meat, veggies, whatever you like just don't skip the pan preheat. I will never again use a skillet or griddle

  • I found this overly cumbersome for making grilled cheese, and they turned out soggy. Mayo was not better than butter.

  • For those whose sandwiches burned, get an oven thermometer to check your oven temp. Most home ovens are off by several degrees to many degrees. My mom had an oven that was off by 100 degrees. My current oven is true to temp up to about 375F, but at higher temperatures, it gets hotter than the setting says—at 450F, it's actually around 525F. Check the actual temperature before putting something that burns easily (like bread) in the oven. Also, if your sheet pans are dark colored, they will hold and distribute more heat than the shiny light-colored ones. For dark sheet pans, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

  • ****350 degrees for 10 minutes***** DO NOT COOK AT 450 degrees! I just wasted about $5 worth of cheese, and a half-loaf of good bread. Also, dinner will be 30 minutes late tonight (so this defeated the whole purpose of a fast meal). You should try your recipe before you post it. 450 will CHAR them! ****350 degrees for 10 minutes*****

  • It's our go-to recipe for anything more than 2 sandwiches. Curious; I noticed that the recipe says to put the sandwiches in an inverted tray which I assume means upside-down. The video however looks like the bread is sitting in the pan with the flanges up. The correct way would be flanged side down, right?

  • I made this tonight. I checked it with 5 minutes left, and it was burnt. Sorely disappointed in this recipe.

  • This is an unbelievably awesome way to make grilled cheese sandwiches for a crowd. I constructed the sandwiches several hours in advance for a casual supper party and 15 minutes before I preheated the top pan as suggested and then popped them into the oven. They were ready in a little over 10 minutes in a convection oven and were perfectly toasted with perfectly melted cheese. Such a basic thing with so many compliments! I have a great stove top griddle and also a griddle built into the counter, this method beats both griddles as the need for flipping is eliminated. Preheating the top pan is a simple stroke of pure genius!

  • eh, it was all right but not as good as the ones i make in my cast iron pan .Butter spread on both outsides of the bread,no mayo but slices black olives under the cheese .Put my smaller 2nd cast iron pan on top to weight them down.Just like my great gramma used to make them

  • Oh, and I used whole wheat bread one day and onion rye the next.

  • This is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever made or eaten, and the resident grilled cheese critic agrees. We've had it two days in a row. The only changes I made were that I added sauted onions and tomato (in the beginning, so everything was melted into the cheese), used vegan pesto mayonnaise and covered the top with tin foil instead of the second pan. This is an amazing sandwich and will be perfect with any combination of cheeses.

  • Best grilled cheese ever! This is a simple, easy-to-alter recipe for fast and delicious sandwiches. I used a combination of monterey jack and medium cheddar (shredded by hand). Embrace the mayo and don't change a thing:)

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Can you use mayo on grilled cheese instead of butter?

Both butter and mayonnaise produce grilled-cheese sandwiches with crisp, well-browned exteriors. Some cooks we know swear by spreading mayo on the bread for grilled cheese instead of butter.

Why do you put mayo on grilled cheese?

Butter goes in the pan not on the bread. To ensure golden (not burned) toastiness, the exterior of the sandwich should be slicked with mayo, which has a higher smoke point than butter and possesses the combined browning power of oil and egg yolks.

Does putting mayo on bread make it crispy?

All you have to do is coat the outside of your sandwich bread with mayonnaise before you pan-fry it, creating a crispy flavorful crust almost reminiscent of garlic bread.

What is the secret to a good grilled cheese sandwich?

Softened butter spread on the outside of the bread before grilling adds flavor and enhances the ability of bread to crisp up when grilled. Cold butter may rip the bread, but softened butter spreads smoothly. Mayonnaise is sometimes used instead because it has an even higher smoke point than butter.