Plant-based Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Grilled cheese is an American classic comfort-food and for good reason, too! Grilled cheese is creamy, buttery, and decadent. The warmth and filling nature of this foods has made it a staple in colder months, and the simple nature of cooking grilled cheese makes them a go-to.
That being said, though, if you are dealing with chronic illness the traditional recipes that contain gluten in the bread and dairy in the butter and cheese make it a hard pass. That is why I have created plant-based, gluten-free, and clean-ingredient versions so that you can help your transition from SAD foods and not feel deprived: grilled cheese and tomato soup is a classic American dish that holds memories for a lot of people. Tomato soup is slightly sweet and acidic, and compliments the richer grilled sandwich, which is why you can find my creamy roasted tomato soup recipe here.
My version of these two recipes is still a treat for people healing and conscious of more complex dishes that contain fats and grains, such as the grilled cheese recipe below, but as always I’ve included options to make them lower in fat and even healthier.
Muneeza’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich
This recipe is my daughter’s absolute number 1 favorite and we prepare it for only special occasions like birthdays or the holidays!
This is not a healing recipe by any means, but it is a fun and clean recipe that we can all indulge in once in a while! You can also make this from scratch or you can use store bought ingredients to put it together with minimal effort. I am going to outline both ways to make it so that you and your family can enjoy some good old fashioned grilled cheese sandwiches!
For the bread:
There are four options I recommend for the bread.
- I use the Medical Medium bread recipe OR
- If you don’t have the time or energy to make the bread, you can purchase it. The loaves from Bread SRSLY are a decent option but not my top choice. This bread is a sourdough, so it is fermented. However, they do use psyllium husk in their breads that do not contain gum and those that are psyllium free do contain gums.
- Sami’s Bakery is my next favorite option. It is their Millet and Flax bread that we love. This bread is not certified gluten-free because it is made in a facility that also uses gluten. But it is essentially gluten-free. The only downside of this bread is the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) which is from a non-confirmed source. This might be from corn, but the company has not been clear about it.
- My most favorite option is by Earth’s Garden Vegan. It is low fat (a little sunflower milk is the only overt fat), gluten-free, psyllium husk-free, yeast-free, soy-free, corn-free and oil-free. This is one of the cleanest breads available commercially that you can buy off the shelf.
If you are making the Medical Medium bread recipe, the full recipe does not bake all the way through in one loaf pan. So I recommend making a double batch and splitting it into three loaf pans. This always helps the bread to cook through all the way.
For the cheese:
I like to make the cashew cheese on my blog or if you would like to buy, I use Miyoko’s Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella.
How to put it together:
- If you have a loaf of bread, I suggest slicing it into ½ inch slices, as you don’t want the slices to be too thick to make the grilled cheese sandwich.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and prep two baking sheets with parchment.
- To each slice of bread, either drizzle the Miyoko’s mozzarella generously, or spread the homemade cashew cheese on the bread.
- Place all the bread slices onto the baking sheets and bake for approximately 12 minutes.
- If you are using two baking sheets, then make sure that you rotate the baking sheets both back to front and top to bottom. You want the cheese on top to bubble and become golden brown.
- Once that is done, put two slices of bread together like a sandwich, obviously having the cheesy sides touch in the middle.
- Place in a panini or sandwich press and press for about 2 minutes or so.
- If you are open to using it, you can spray a little avocado oil on both sides of the sandwich before putting it into the panini. For even more flavor you can use Miyoko’s Vegan Butter instead of the oil on the panini press.
- If you do not have a panini press you can cook both sides of the sandwich on a hot skillet or ceramic sauté pan until the bread becomes crispy.
I know I mentioned that Grilled Cheese is not a healing recipe, but it is perfect for those:
- transitioning from an SAD diet to more lighter, cleaner healing foods
- those who have acquired a certain degree of healing and have the ability to handle some more decadent foods once in a while
- for parties and impressing your guests
- for kids birthday parties, special events, treats
- for when you are craving conventional comfort foods but don’t want all the nasty bug-fueling ingredients
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe and what you think! For one of my daughters, I make this once a year on her birthday!
With peace,
Muneeza
Creamy & Delicious Plant-based Grilled Cheese
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- 1 spatula
- 1 Panini press or ceramic saute pan
Ingredients
- Miyoko's Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella or Cashew Cheese
- Medical Medium bread or Bread SRSLY or Earth's Garden Vegan or Sami's Bakery
- Miyoko's vegan butter spread or avocado oil
Instructions
- If you have a loaf of bread, I suggest slicing it into ½ inch slices, as you don’t want the slices to be too thick to make the grilled cheese sandwich.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and prep two baking sheets with parchment.
- To each slice of bread, either drizzle the Miyoko’s mozzarella generously, or spread the homemade cashew cheese on the bread.
- Place all the bread slices onto the baking sheets and bake for approximately 12 minutes.
- If you are using two baking sheets, then make sure that you rotate the baking sheets both back to front and top to bottom. You want the cheese on top to bubble and become golden brown.
- Once that is done, put two slices of bread together like a sandwich, obviously having the cheesy sides touch in the middle.
- Place in a panini or sandwich press and press for about 2 minutes or so.
- If you are open to using it, you can spray a little avocado oil on both sides of the sandwich before putting it into the panini. For even more flavor you can use Miyoko’s Vegan Butter instead of the oil on the panini press.
- If you do not have a panini press you can cook both sides of the sandwich on a hot skillet or ceramic sauté pan until the bread becomes crispy.
