How to Make a Perfect Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich

yield: 1 SERVINGS

prep time: 2 MINUTES

cook time: 7 MINUTES

total time: 9 MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces bread
  • 2 slices cheese (I used Colby Jack)
  • 1 tablespoon butter or mayonnaise

Directions

1

Butter (or mayo) both sides of bread using a kitchen brush.

2

Place cheese in the middle and set inside the air fryer.

3

Set timer for 4 minutes at 390 degrees. Flip sandwich and set cook time for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until desired. That's it. Enjoy!

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An air fryer grilled cheese sandwich is THE BEST! ! If you’re wondering how to make grilled cheese in the air fryer, follow my tips!

hand holding up an air fryer grilled cheese sandwich

Love easy air fryer recipe ideas?

I don’t think there’s anything more comforting than a gooey and warm grilled cheese sandwich dipped in a little tomato soup! My kids seem to agree because it’s their go-to quick meal when we don’t have anything planned, and it’s one they can even make themselves. 🥪👏

hand holding a grilled cheese air fryer sandwich

We’ve been making grilled cheese in the air fryer, and it’s LIFE CHANGING!

A grilled cheese air fryer sandwich is so, so tasty! The result is a perfect buttery and crispy texture on the bread, combined with a gooey cheesy middle. In my opinion, grilled cheese in the air fryer is actually pleasantly more perfect than when cooked in a skillet. Plus, it’s super easy and convenient to just place in the air fryer for a few minutes on each side, instead of standing by the stove.

air fryer grilled cheese - ingredients on the counter

Hip tips for how to make grilled cheese in the air fryer:

  • Experiment with different cheese combinations and bread! My kids tend to like a mild Colby jack cheese, but when I make a grilled cheese for myself, I love to use a smoked gouda, cheddar, provolone, or even muenster cheese. I also tend to grab sliced sourdough bread instead of white bread, for a more elevated grilled cheese experience.
  • If your top piece of bread on your grilled cheese air fryer sandwich flies away when air frying, simply use a toothpick to keep everything together.
  • Readers have shared the tip of spreading mayonnaise on the outside of the sliced bread instead of butter. I tried it and I love it too!
  • Your cook time may differ a little because different machine heats could vary, as well as the thickness of your cheese and bread, or how toasted you like it. Luckily with air fryers, it’s so easy to peek in and see if it needs more or less cooking time.

brushing bread with butter

putting grilled cheese in air fryer

spreading butter on a slice of bread

grilled cheese in air fryer

air fryer grilled cheese sandwich

air fryer grilled cheese - closeup of the sandwiches


Print

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich

yield: 1 SERVINGS

prep time: 2 MINUTES

cook time: 7 MINUTES

total time: 9 MINUTES

Try making a grilled cheese using the air fryer for an incredibly delicious crust with a satisfying gooey and cheesy middle.

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces bread
  • 2 slices cheese (I used Colby Jack)
  • 1 tablespoon butter or mayonnaise

Directions

1

Butter (or mayo) both sides of bread using a kitchen brush.

2

Place cheese in the middle and set inside the air fryer.

3

Set timer for 4 minutes at 390 degrees. Flip sandwich and set cook time for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until desired. That's it. Enjoy!

Brought to you by Hip2Save.

hand holding a gooey sandwich and showing how to make grilled cheese in the air fryer

If you’re new to air fryer cooking and don’t know where to start, a grilled cheese in the air fryer would be a great beginner meal!

One of the reasons I love my air fryer is that it’s so easy and convenient to use. Although this is a very simple idea, I think it’s definitely worth trying! My family LOVED it and it’s a perfect way to take your grilled cheese to the next level. This is how we’ll be melting ours from now on. 😋


Need to replace your air fryer? Here are the best air fryers to buy!


About the writer:

Lina has a Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV.


Join The Discussion

Comments 86

  1. Lana

    Pop them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes and you will have the best grilled cheese ever and you can make a whole baking sheet full at once.

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Thanks for the tip!

  2. Maggie

    I Love my Air Fryer! And grilled cheese is the bomb!
    in fact anything with pastry or bread comes out so much better in the Air Fryer. It’s so much flakier like you can taste every layer of it. YUM!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Yes! So agree. We love it 😍

  3. Lory

    I was wondering, my husband & I bought an air fryer not too long ago however ours is different than the one you always show. Ours has I think 3-4 metal racks, a rotisserie for chicken or whatever, metal skewers for kabobs, all kinds of neat stuff. Anyway I’m wondering if all these recipes have ever been done in my type of Air-Fryer & if so, have they come out just as good?
    I don’t know what the difference is between the 2, from what I’d heard, the type you show was the older model. Can anyone help please?
    Thank-you in advance 😎

    • Just passing through

      Sounds like you have the air fryer oven. I don’t have either but I’m guessing yours is just a deluxe model with more options. I think you should try at least this recipe and see for yourself how it turns out.

      • Sylvia

        We have air fryer oven and it makes a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich. I just turned it over half way through.

    • Jamie

      Sounds to me you have the Power air fryer oven the 7 in 1 combo. I have that same model and yes the same recipes that you can use another air fryers are good in this one as well. Some of them you have to change a little bit but you can Google a bunch of recipes and stuff for the power air fryer oven and then compare I just kind of mess with the cooking time until I get it right. Once you open the door you check your food you shut it it’ll start the timer back up again so you don’t have to worry about resetting it or anything.one thing I will say for sure is that mine was not done an eight minutes in my power air fryer oven I had to cook it for 12 minutes

    • Pam

      I have had both, I now use the oven type like you. Recipes work the same for both types, of course with any appliance time and temp my may work a little different . Hope you enjoy your as much as I do mine. Good luck, and happy air frying!

  4. ToriSC

    What size air fryer though? I imagine to do sandwiches you would need the larger sizes.

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Pictured is a 6quart sized Nuwave. I can make 2-3 sandwiches at a time depending on size of bread.

    • Alison

      What size air fryer would you recommend for a family of 4?

      • Colleen

        We are a family of 4 and love the 6qt

  5. Tolu

    How do you keep food from sticking to the basket in your nuwave? And how do you wash the stick food off. I don’t use mine because everything sticks

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      I use an oil sprayer with olive oil.

      • Kristen

        Hi – Would love your expertise on air fryers.

        I bought a 7.6 quart Uten as it rated well on fakespot.com using the Amazon url. Love that site!!

        Anyway, I found it took quite a while to heat up and cook french fries. I’m not a big oil user in the oven so I dont know that this is healthier for us but I was looking for faster. I think 7.6 seemed huge to me to me and I already returned it.

        I’m thinking maybe a 6 quart for a family of four and was hoping for the basket with the inner basket. Mine did not have an inner basket so you had to use tongs to remove your fries or dump any oils back over them as you empty it. What do you recommend as I’d love a few links to peek at. Thank you!!

        • Kristen

          Could you possibly reply to kmulke at gmail.com?

          Thank you!!!

        • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

          Hi Kristen! Sorry I missed this originally. I agree a 6 quart is perfect for my family of 4. I currently own the Dash air fryer and love the non-stick basket and performance. It’s been great! Here it is currently on sale via Amazon. https://amzn.to/3rnucti
          Another brand I have owned is Power XL and had it for years!

    • Pat

      Everything you cook in an air fryer needs oil, either sprayed or tossed in oil. Read the instructions that came with your oven.

      • Colleen

        I do not oil anything in my Nuwave except the rack occasionally depending upon what I’m cooking.

  6. sara

    I’m in the market to buy an air fryer. Anyone have an opinion or the best or worst?

    • Faye Mapley

      Go LARGE

      • Kathy Soule

        I have the Powe XL. K
        It certainly wasn’t 350.00
        It was under 100.00
        It suits my needs just fine. There is only 2 of us. I also have the Ninja Foodi a lot more than under 100.00. I don’t c any major difference. I attempted wings tonight
        They were 4lbs Great Value. They were very small and full of skin poor Quality. They were frozen p/c them for 12 minutes. They fell apart. Couldn’t even keep sauce on them
        They were a FAIL. I think I’d rather eat wings out than at home.

        • Cara

          I bought some at smart and final. They were huge and cooked up nice. If you have one close to go I recommend trying it out

        • Dianne

          Don’t give up on the wings just yet. we buy frozen wings from Sam’s Club and find them to be better than any we have gotten at restaurants!

    • Gail in Central Florida

      Cuisinart convection air fryer toaster..about $199…incredible. No lid. Flat pan .. heaven…

      • Clippy

        Yes, I second this. But look for a sale. I think mine was less than $100 when all the stars lined up just right at Kohl’s

      • Lois

        I have this and absolutely love it. I just had a grilled cheese made in it. My favorite thing in my air fryer!!

    • Toni

      Farberware grey air fry er from Walmart 40$. Works amazing makes house smell amazing when I make fried apples. Can’t wait to try this recipe.

    • Baldylocks

      Cosico. love it 5.6 quart basket 1700 watt, very simple to use

  7. Shoppingfan

    My 12 yr old discovered this & is now obsessed with making them. Oh boy, this could be trouble. ; )

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      I know my kids do also! Ha

  8. Frecklelily

    I use mayonnaise instead of butter on the outside of the bread. It doesn’t take like mayonnaise when cooked, but it is DELICIOUS! I also put mine in my NuWave oven for 7 minutes each side. Also…I use shredded Mexican cheese. Mmmmmmm.

    • Clippy

      I love using Mayo for grilled cheese sandwiches!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Awesome tips thanks!

      • Judy Hubbert

        I just got my air fryer love it made salmon and homemade fries makings grilled cheese for lunch

        • Kristi S.

          Mrs. Judy, how do you cook your salmon in the air fryer? I bought some with good intentions but I’m a little intimidated how to cook it.

          Grilled Cheeses cooked like this hold up well in lunchboxes, but you have to check it every so often to make sure the bread is lined up!

          • barb

            I cook Salmon in my air fryer all the time, it always turns out perfect – best tasting Salmon ever! So easy, just set your fish setting, brush a tiny bit of olive oil on both sides, season to taste and place it in fryer for about 14 minutes – flip it half way through and remove the skin. I’ve even cooked frozen solid Salmon, just play around with the cooking time and keep checking it, adjust time and it turns out perfect, would never know it was frozen. I don’t know how I lived without my air fryer, the only down side is I can’t stand how my house smells after I cook it but it sure beats standing on my cold deck and waiting for my BBQ to heat up and then babysit it – and it tastes better than the oven, so I guess I’ll take a stinky house. I just burn allot of wax melts, use essential oils in my difusser, clean my counters with Mrs. Meyer’s Geranium spray (I love it) and open a window to air it out 🙂 Love Salmon but hate the smell, lol 🙂

            • Aliese

              Barb, I hated the smell too so my husband set up a small table on our deck right outside of the door and we set it out there almost every time we use it now!

    • Brooke

      I too learned the mayo trick from a friend of mine in high school, ages ago. I use to hate mayo and never thought this would be good. Now I cant make a grilled cheese without it lol!

  9. Traci

    Does anyone one know how to cook a grilled cheese and it be crispy & crunchy like at a lot of restaurants??

    • Lana

      In the oven. See my comment above.

    • 50ShadesofLipstick

      Use a cast iron skillet and get it hot (not smoking). Brush both sides of the sandwich bread with Kerrygold salted butter (not melted) and cook until crispy. Beats the oven by a long shot because that needs time to preheat, you’re wasting energy using a large appliance to make a single sandwich and it still takes longer to cook vs. stovetop.

      • Pat

        I agree that you can’t beat using a cast iron skillet, I use mine for everything. Pancakes are the best on cooked them.

      • Clippy

        No need to preheat an air fryer.

    • Lois

      Air fryer….no restaurant can beat a grilled cheese made in air fryer!

  10. LC

    Great idea!

  11. Mamamia

    Does anyone know if we can use the Pillsbury refrigerated croissants dough in place of the biscuits for the doughnut recipe?

  12. Judy E Trac

    This looks good, got go to an air fryer lol

  13. Nina

    I’ve been doing this for a while. Use olive oil spray and cheddar and it’s definitely tastier and more convenient then using a skillet or oven IMO. Everything’s better in an air fryer! Lol

  14. Pat

    Why do you have to use melted butter for the grilled cheese?

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      You don’t have to – I like to brush it on so it’s evenly distributed and crisp.

      • Pat

        Oh, seems like an extra step, I have no problem spreading it on bread when I make grilled cheese. Thanks

  15. Amie

    Yum

  16. Rick292

    I had to use toothpick to help hold my bread together am I doing something wrong

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Oh really? Did the sandwich want to separate or blow away? Hmm- Did the toothpick work?! That didn’t happen with my air fryer! Interesting!

      • Berrpj

        First time I tried was a mess. The 2nd time the toothpicks didn’t even hold the top. Wire rack sounds like the best idea. I’m surprised more people are not commenting about this. I have a Power XL.

    • John Brumley

      Air fryers are basically a convection oven. The heating element is in the top with a fan that blows the head around what you are cooking. Light things can get blown around. I bought a wire rack to hold my bacon down.

  17. Kade

    I cant understand these high temps and long cook times…are you trying to make grilled bricks? My airfryer set at 350 for 4 minutes crisps the bread on BOTH sides and melts the cheese…I can not imagine going much longer….hmmmm.

  18. Crystal S

    Why does my top piece of bread end up off the sandwhich? It’s like it flys off in the process!! Both slices are buttered in both sides two pieces of cheese at 350 for 5 minutes… following the guided book!

  19. shop4mybabies

    the best grilled cheese is brie cheese with pear butter…or your preferred jam, you’ll thank me later

    • Marie

      Agreed! Add a little raspberry jam or fig preserve and it’s pure heaven!

    • Brooke

      Oh my goodness, that sounds sooo good! I’m sooo doing that! I’ll just go ahead and thank you now shop4mybabies lol!

  20. Susan

    My bread gets very dry and hard, especially the crust. I’ve tried various temps, oils, and times & the bread is always dry before the cheese melts thoroughly. I have a GoWISE 3.7 qt.

    Any suggestions? Thanks!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Hmm ya maybe add butter first? Or maybe try lowering the temp and cooking a bit longer? Sorry if that’s not super helpful!

    • janette

      I have a go wise too and have not learned to love it yet. It seems to over cook a lot of things.

  21. kimhavelka

    I hate cleaning that nuwave in the sink. Would rather clean off a small fry pan

  22. Pat

    Grilled cheese is the only thing so far that I DON’T like cooked in my air fryer. It is actually toasted cheese, too crispy for me!

  23. Kristen

    Hi Lina D
    I have to repost here so I can subscribe to comments. Or if you can email me at kmulke at gmail.com I’d appreciate it!

  24. Josie

    Um thank you! My grilled cheese came out perfect and delicious!! Didn’t think to put it in there

  25. David

    i am sold on the Insinia Brand at Best Buy when on daily best deal on day. I dont think you can beat it for the value etc. just my thots!

    • Irene (Hip Sidekick)

      We appreciate those thoughts, David. Thank you! It’s a highly rated brand and the prices are great, too!

      • Mary

        Thank you for spelling thoughts correctly!

  26. Patty

    If you live near a Food Lion grocery store Grilled cheese on their Rosemary Olive Oil bread made in the bakery is the BEST grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten.

  27. Lu

    Easy, fast, tasty, and fancy looking grilled cheese with NO clean up and NO turning = spreadable butter on the bread and stick the sandwich in a waffle iron.

  28. Pat

    Okay, I will try making one again. I was not impressed the first time I made one, but am willing to give it another try. Not sure why brushing on the butter make it better, looks like it’s spread kind of thin?

  29. Steve Stover

    Just made toasted cheese on homemade bread. Came out great.

  30. joni

    I use my George Foreman Grill to make grilled cheese. Guess I’ll be trying the air fryer next!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Yes! So yummy!

  31. Pat

    I don’t get it, there’s nothing like grilled cheese on an iron skillet, it’s gooey and only takes 2-3 minutes whereas it took me 7 minutes today to air fry one. Not nearly as good either, it’s toasted cheese, nothing at all like grilled. I love my air fryer, but not for this.

  32. Finah's Mom

    oMG! This was so simple and most importantly SO DELICIOUS!! I should have taken a picture…but it was just a corner left when I thought about it. Thank you!!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Oh hooray I am so glad!! Thanks for sharing!

  33. Mayberry

    Did something wrong. Followed the directions to the T and turned out all burnt. What happened?

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Oh darn. So sorry that happened. Maybe try lowering the time and temp a bit and check halfway through. Sometimes machines can vary on times a bit.

  34. April

    Great idea to try it in the air fryer. Add a little bit of grated parmesan to the outside of the sandwich. Sprinkle it onto the buttered sides of the bread and gently press it on the bread with a spatula so it sticks. I haven’t tried this in the air fryer yet but works well in a skillet. The toasted parmesan layer takes it to a whole new level.

    • Jessica (Hip Sidekick)

      YUM! My mouth is watering now thinking about the butter and parmesan, April! 😆🙌 Thanks for sharing how you make yours! If you try it out in the air fryer, let us know what you think! 💕

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