Air-Fryer Grilled Cheese

By Eleanore Park

Air-Fryer Grilled Cheese
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(406)
Notes
Read community notes

This easy air-fryer grilled cheese recipe yields an evenly toasted exterior, crisped frico edges and a perfectly melted middle — in record time. As Julia Moskin points out in her stovetop recipe, some patience and attention are required to ensure that the outside doesn’t burn before the cheese melts. But the air fryer’s convection heat results in the ideal grilled cheese with minimum effort. Like Ali Slagle’s sheet-pan recipe, this version is flexible: You can use any sliced bread or melting cheese. A schmear of your favorite condiment is also welcome here; try gochujang, kimchi or sauerkraut. If you have a larger air fryer, this recipe can easily be doubled to fit more than one sandwich.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 sandwich
  • 2slices sandwich bread, each no more than ½-inch thick
  • Mayonnaise, as needed
  • 2 to 4slices melting cheese (such as sharp Cheddar, American or pepper Jack), depending on thickness of cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat air fryer to 400 degrees, if preheating is recommended for your air fryer.

  2. Step 2

    Thinly spread one side of each bread slice with mayonnaise. Place one slice of bread, mayonnaise side down in the air fryer basket and top with the desired amount of cheese. Top with the second slice of bread, mayonnaise side up. Cook until the sandwich is golden and crusty all over and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes per side.

Ratings

4 out of 5
406 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Lane

Three minutes per side is what it takes to do a grilled cheese sammie in my frying pan. Why in the world would I use a much more difficult to clean air fryer for something like this?

JS

Never have I ever made a grilled cheese sandwich with mayo. I also never tried to do this in an air fryer. Well - I tried it tonight and shant be trying this again.

Tessa

Why mayonnaise and not butter? Or has butter always been a habit of my family's?

Holly S

If you don’t have the time nor the energy to make a simple grilled cheese on the stove, you need to make some life adjustments.

AA

This was so easy, loved that I could be hands off while the sandwich was cooking. It needed another 2 minutes or so on each side in my air fryer, but with that came out crispy and perfectly golden

Hal Cherry

My air fryer likes to move things around, such as bread slices atop a sandwich. I use a toothpick to hold things like a grilled cheese together, prevents surprises.

Fburgdave

Absolutely perfect! Made 2 sandwiches at the same time, 10 minutes from slicing cheeses to sitting at the table!

Ramsey

Butter is great, but so is mayo and it is so much easier to spread, IMHO. I have a Cuisinart toaster oven/grill/air fryer combo and it is beyond easy to use. I find that making a grilled cheese sandwich this way is easier than breaking out the frying pan, requires substantially less mayo, and is a lot better. Perfectly crispy. Delicious!!

SG

This is the only way I make grilled cheese and I use mayo on both sides of the bread. If you use your air fryer regularly, you have a washable silicone liner or paper ones and you know that clean-up is no trouble at all and you get a superior toast and cheese melt this way. Generally takes four minutes on each side on mine.

Becky

I’ve been doing this w butter, no mayo. Only problem is mine blows the top bread off and cheese ends up in the bottom of the fryer. I lay a spoon or knife on top now so it’ll stay put.

Vern

In my air fryer I had to go an additional three minutes to get it nice and crispy and browned on top, but wow! I'm guessing that you could still use butter instead of mayonnaise. It is so simple and good!

mellow fred

For all the commenters who ask why not just make it on the stove, remember that not everyone has a stove! An air fryer may be the only appliance they have access to.

Kyra

Super easy to make and super delicious. Needed 6 minutes on one side and 4 in the other in my air fryer. Never used mayo before but I really liked it!

Margareta

Don't be put off by the scoffing below - air fryer makes a superior grilled cheese sandwich - much crispier bread and perfectly melted cheese. Depending on your model, you may need more than the time per side in the recipe.

WW85

Great, foolproof method. I prefer the taste with butter, just have to let it soften a bit then spread evenly. No problems with flying bread or dripping cheese, so cleanup is super easy in my airfryer

Grilled cheese lover

Amazing!!!

CapitolCoop

I read the other comments. Haters gonna hate. 4-5 min on each side and a toothpick to keep together was the making of perfect execution and little clean up. Never tried mayo before and it was great. Enjoy a grilled cheese or melt however you want.

Delilah

Mayo on a grilled cheese is a choice and not one I shall make again.

pareidolia

Two things: You know the round rack that comes with instant pots? Put that on top of your sandwich to keep the bread from flying off. And for those who act as if there's no difference between grilled cheese from an air fryer and one from a frying pan, keep an open mind. The air fryer builds up a thicker, crispier crust and does it without the same risk of burning the bread.

Grilled cheese lover

I could have sworn I saw a face in my bread

It's Ok, But Doesn't Beat Grilling

I feel like it's something everyone should try but doesn't beat the traditional grilling method.

CamIam

Very easy, nice results but I think a little under 9 minutes for two sandwiches would have been enough- at least in my air fryer.

Laura B.

To people who say "just make it on the stovetop," I would point out that the carbon emissions of the airfryer are better than my gas stove.

mellow fred

For all the commenters who ask why not just make it on the stove, remember that not everyone has a stove! An air fryer may be the only appliance they have access to.

dolym

Airfryer works great! Faster and more foolproof than skillet. Easier to clean too. But I use a little spreadable butter on the bread, not mayo. I press down a little and then flip it over at the halfway point.

Robin

Back off the mayo just a bit. Go for a very thin coating end to end. The sandwich was delicious but it was greasier than necessary. I will definitely grill cheese using this method again. For the record, I used a Cuisinart toaster oven on convection bake and using an air frying pan. I did use a sheet of parchment paper to minimize mess, so I guess that might have contributed to a greasy outcome.

jekabe

Does 3 minutes per side mean you turn it over?

Peter Gallagher

Not sure I will use air fryer bc frying pan is way more simple but mayo as the oil on the bread creates a very nice golden brown crunchy crust on both sides of the sandwich

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