The Best Cheeses for Your Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

There's no bad time for comfort food, and it's hard to think of any meal (or snack!) that's as quick and satisfying as a crunchy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

The good news is that you can use any cheese you like for your grilled cheese. If it's your favorite, give it a go! The bad news is that not every cheese will give you the gooey melt that we all hold dear. If you simply must include a not-so-melty cheese like Parmesan or feta in your sandwich, grate or break up said cheese and mix it into any of the below cheeses (also grated, if you can). This way it will be perfectly incorporated into the dreamy, oozy sandwich that you're going for.

8 Best Cheeses For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

1. Medium Cheddar

Ah, the grilled cheese standard. There's a reason for that! Medium Cheddar is balanced, properly melty, and endlessly customizable. Add some hot sauce! Add some apple slices! Add some fresh herbs! It's all excellent.

2. Raclette

You've likely seen a melty cheese being melted and scraped over things like meat, bread, and potatoes. That's raclette, and it's both the name of a cheese and of a dish.

The dish dates back to when shepherds would carry hunks of cheese with them to melt onto bread over the fire for their dinner. The cheese is meaty and rich, with a hint of funk that fades when it's melted, making it perfect for grilled cheese. Throw a few slices of cooked bacon onto your sandwich and thank us later.

3. Young Unsmoked Gouda

Gouda melts as well as your standard Cheddar, but offers a tad more sweetness. No, there's no sugar (all the milk sugar, known as lactose, essentially vanishes in the cheesemaking process), but a unique technique used for preparing the curds gives it a sweeter flavor.

If you like your grilled cheese with jam or honey, make it with young Gouda for a real "gouda" time (sorry). Aged Gouda is wonderful for its crystalline texture and butterscotch flavor, but the young stuff melts much better.

4. Organic American Slices

The con of American cheese: It's basically fake cheese, only 25 to 30 percent cheese, plus filler. The pro of American cheese: It's delicious, and for many it's the holy grail cheese for grilled cheese.

Meet yourself halfway and buy organic American cheese slices, found at many larger supermarkets. You get that wonderfully mild cheesy flavor and a goopy melt but still support better farming practices and avoid some questionable additives. Wins all 'round.

5. Fontina Val D'Aosta

This is not your standard Fontina. Coming from the unpasteurized milk of the Valdostan red spotted cows who graze in Italy near the Swiss Alps, this cheese is savory, complex, and has been made there since the 12th century.

It may not be your go-to for a cozy midnight grilled cheese, but if you're looking to upgrade your dinner grilled cheese, consider this historic Italian melter. Add some sautéed mushrooms for extra umami.

6. Pepperjack

Pepperjack is uber melty and will up your grilled cheese ante with a hint of spice. If you can find Maple Leaf Pepper Jack from Wisconsin, this version includes fresh peppers rather than dry, imparting the fruitiness of the peppers as well as the spice. Cabot also makes a Habanero cheddar with taco seasoning if you want more heat and a more Southwest-inspired flavor.

7. Taleggio

Yeasty, meaty taleggio has a sort of egg custard vibe that gets even more divinely savory on a grilled cheese sandwich. Add slow-roasted tomatoes or artichoke hearts for an Italian panini feel. Or, take it in a more dessert-y direction with a smear of fig jam.

8. Comté

France's answer to Switzerland's Gruyère (also awesome on a grilled cheese, incidentally), Comté is more hazelnutty and nuanced than its rich, brothy Swiss cousin. Think of it as a hug hello from your grandmother, as opposed to being mobbed by your family's new puppy. Both are great, but sometimes you need the more comforting hug-like flavors of Comté. For extra richness, add a drizzle of a dark honey like buckwheat or chestnut.

Related:

• This Genius Bread Swap Takes Grilled Cheese from OK to Outstanding
• Browse our entire collection of Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes.