The most irresistible recipes for What Goes with Grilled Cheese sandwiches are one of those guilty pleasures that make life worth living! Adding a side dish will make them hard to beat.
The good news is there are plenty of sides to serve with grilled cheese you can try, and these will transform your melty sandwiches into a complete meal the whole family will enjoy.
🧡 Why You’ll Love These Recipes
Comfort Food Options | There are enough options on the list to complete that feeling of true comfort food. Think grilled cheese and tomato soup all curled up in a blanket on a blustery, cold day.
Variety of Simple to Complex Recipes | These recipes are great if you want something simple like Air Fryer Curly Fries or if you want put in a little bit more effort like Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup.
🍽️ Single Ingredient Sides
Grilled cheese comes in myriad versions, but I think we can all admit that this is one easy-to-make sandwich.
When there’s no time to prep something more elaborate, these single-ingredient sides will do just fine!
- Ketchup & mustard
- Mayo
- Applesauce
- Nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios)
- Grapes
- Pears
- Ranch dressing
- Sliced tomatoes
🥦 Vegetable Sides
Grilled cheese is rich in fats and carbs, which means pairing it with some vegetables will add the missing elements needed for a nutritionally complete dinner.
The cheesy bread with buttery flavors goes well with a rich assortment of vegetables. Here are some of our favorite vegetable sides that go well with grilled cheese:
Baked French Fries
Pairing French fries with grilled cheese is a no-brainer! If you want to enjoy such a treat with as little oil as possible, baking your fries is the answer.
Even with no special prep, your fries will taste great. If you want them to get extra crispy, they need to be soaked in water and towel dried before applying oil and seasonings.
This will remove all the extra starch, which is key if you want crispy baked fries!
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet potato fries are just as enjoyable as the regular kind and they have fewer carbs too.
The air fryer makes it super easy to get that delicious crisp. If you lack this appliance, just bake them in the oven. I’m sure you won’t have any leftovers either way.
Roasted Broccoli
Sneaking more veggies into your family’s diet is not an impossible task. Roasted broccoli turns into a symphony of texture and flavor and the oven will do most of the work.
You can use whatever seasonings, herbs, and spices you like for this recipe. Even with just olive oil and salt, the broccoli will still taste wonderful.
Optionally, you can add a small pinch of sugar to help the broccoli caramelize better.
Pickled Red Onions
Adding some pickles next to grilled cheese sounds dreamy!
We’re not lacking store-bought options, but making these pickled red onions is worth the effort.
They are easy to customize with herbs and spices, and you can eat them after just one hour in the fridge!
Balsamic Honey Glazed Rainbow Carrots
Gorgeous look aside, this recipe makes the sweetness and aromas of carrots truly shine!
You can totally pair this with a fancy steak, a salmon dish, roasted chicken or another more elaborate main dish.
Next to grilled cheese, these balsamic roasted carrots are just as tasty, and they will balance your meal in both flavor and nutrition.
🥣 Soup Sides
Dipping some warm grilled cheese in a hearty soup is the perfect comfort food for a chilly day.
Technically, you can eat grilled cheese with any soup but if you need some inspiration, the recipes below won’t disappoint!
Instant Pot Tomato Florentine Soup
Cheese and tomatoes will remain one of the culinary power couples for all eternity.
After just 30 minutes in the Instant Pot, this soup will reach the creamy perfection we’re all craving.
I love this tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons, but there’s nothing wrong with serving it next to the classic sandwich.
Loaded Potato Soup
Counting calories is not exactly a priority when making loaded potato soup. The amazing creaminess and taste is!
You’ll find all the secrets to making an excellent potato soup in this post and suggestions for various toppings.
Keto Low Carb Vegetable Soup
Making low-carb vegetable soup is really easy and you can mix and match veggies as you please.
Avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes if you want to keep this soup low-carb.
This recipe uses onions, bell peppers, garlic, cauliflower, tomatoes, and green beans.
You can make replacements as needed and it will still turn out delicious!
Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup
Just 30 minutes from start to finish is all it takes to dip some grilled cheese into a creamy chicken mushroom soup.
It’s totally possible to make this soup vegetarian. Skip the chicken and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock for the meat-free version.
🥗 Salads
Grilled cheese and a fresh, crunchy salad are such a perfect summer meal.
Salads are easy to customize. You can spin a recipe and replace or add new ingredients to create a completely new one.
Hot weather really lowers my motivation to cook. When you don’t feel like sweating in the kitchen, salads are life-savers.
Tomato, Cucumber & Onion Salad
Fresh vegetables, soft mozzarella, and a yummy dressing with dill make a simple formula for a 10 minute-salad you will keep making.
Refrigerate the salad for 3 hours so it has enough time to marinate and chill properly.
If you’d like to add meat to this salad, grilled chicken or tuna would fit right in.
Caesar Salad
Caesar is a popular salad with just a few ingredients: Romaine lettuce, croutons, parmesan, and a scrumptious dressing.
In fact, the dressing makes the salad special and I recommend you try the classic version before you make any changes.
Zesty Louisiana Creole Coleslaw
The Creole seasoning used for the dressing adds a special charm to coleslaw.
Looking for a light salad that goes well with grilled cheese? Use yogurt instead of mayo!
Waldorf Salad
Waldorf Salad is a classic and it will turn your grilled cheese dinner into a fancy feast.
You can make this salad any time, although I recommend you try it when apples are in season for the best flavor.
🍓 Fruit Side Dishes
Pairing fruit with grilled cheese is another easy way to balance your meal. You can serve fresh fruit, sliced or whole, with grilled cheese.
Don’t be afraid to try a fruit-based recipe as a side too!
Quick & Easy Fruit Salad Recipe
Prepping this salad takes just 10 minutes and you’ll love the fresh fruit combined with creamy Greek yogurt.
Diced apples brown over time, which is why it’s best to eat this salad as soon as it chills in the fridge.
Pink Applesauce
Using red apples to make pink applesauce is genius! It gets a beautiful rosy color perfect for serving on holidays and special occasions.
We already know fresh sliced apples go well with grilled cheese. Applesauce has its own appeal since you can use it as a dip.
🥪 Grilled Cheese Recipes You Should Try
Melted cheese and buttery toast mix well with many other flavors and that’s why there are plenty of grilled cheese variations you can make.
Some ingredients used as sides or in side dish recipes for grilled cheese are even better when they’re part of the sandwich.
French onion and apple grilled cheese with fresh thyme and sage honors all the scents of fall embraced by melty fontina and gouda cheese.
Grilled cheese can perfectly hold some meat between those layers. It can be chicken, beef, pork, turkey, or another animal protein you love.
For an incredibly succulent sandwich, try this brisket grilled cheese.
When you want to enjoy some Mediterranean flavors, a pesto and artichoke grilled cheese will definitely put a smile on your face.
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