Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe With Blackberries

This grilled cheese sandwich recipe with blackberries is the reason grilled cheese sandwiches exist.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are a thing of beauty, even for a healthy food enthusiast.

That being said, grilled cheese sandwiches are high in fat. So it’s best to limit your intake of them. But honestly, there are some days when nothing else will do, at least for me.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Calories

I’ll be the first to admit that any grilled cheese sandwich is high in calories. They are not food you want to eat every night for dinner. They are really more of a “special occasion” food, despite the American penchant for eating them on the regular.

But there are ways to reduce the calories in a grilled cheese sandwich recipe. The first and most obvious is the cheese itself. If reducing fat is on your to-do list, low-fat cheese is an option. That being said, you have to weigh the pluses and negatives here. Low-fat cheese is incredibly processed stuff. So choose wisely.

But at the end of the day, if you’re going to have a grilled cheese sandwich, it’s best to just make it with your favorite cheese and enjoy it. Don’t stress. Just keep it occasional! After all, it’s still less fat and calories than a restaurant cheeseburger with fries!

Wondering How To Make Grilled Cheese In The Oven?

If you really want to cut down on the calories, there is one other thing you can do. Bake it in the oven! This cuts down on all the grease you would typically add to a pan to cook your sandwich.

Generally, I like to pop my toast in the toaster for a few minutes before I assemble the sandwich and then pop the whole sandwich in the oven. It gives the bread a nice golden, crusty texture and gets the bread warm to start melting the cheese. It works pretty well! That being said, it’s definitely not the same as making it in a pan with all that fat. But if you’re serious about cutting fat and calories, the oven is a great way to do that.

If you are a new cook and need more instructions for this, check out this youtube video.

Grilled Cheese Sides

Want a good side to go with your grilled cheese sandwich? Give one of these classics a try!

• Tomato soup
• A green salad
• Some oven-baked fries

Recipe Additions And Variations

Try adding or substituting any of these ingredients to play around with the flavors.

• Brie cheese
• Balsamic vinegar – Just a splash or drizzle!
• Fresh basil leaves – best applied after cooking.
• Cream cheese
• Crispy bacon
• Cinnamon

About The Ingredients

Blackberry Filling

Water – This should be good quality drinking water.

Maple syrup – You can use honey instead if you wish. Pretty much any sweetener you want to use will work here.

Fresh blackberries – You can use frozen too. Look for frozen berries with no added sugar.

Sandwich

Whole grain bread – Look for bread with no added sugar. And yes, sourdough bread will work well here, too, if you don’t mind the processed flour.

Cheese – I used pre-sliced cheese. You can use as much as you like. The recipe is a suggestion only. Add cheese with your heart, honey.

How To Make A Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Blackberry Filling

Blackberry Filling

Wash your blackberries and pat dry.

Place the blackberries, maple syrup, and water into a small pot and bring to a boil.

Mash the blackberries with a potato masher or fork.

Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook until almost all the liquid has cooked down. You should be left with something similar to a very chunky jam when it has cooled a bit.

Sandwich

Using either oil or vegan butter, butter the outside area of your sandwich slices.

Place one piece of bread, butter-side down, in a skillet.

Place four slices of cheese on the break, breaking it up as needed to get it to fit properly.

Place the second slice of bread over that and turn the heat to medium.

Once everything is cooking nicely, turn the heat down to a medium-low and cover the skillet for about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on things so the bread doesn’t burn.

Flip the sandwich as needed for cooking.

Once the cheese has melted, transfer the sandwich to a plate.

When the bread is cool enough to handle with your fingers, remove the top slice of bread from the sandwich and spoon on the blackberry mixture. 

Place the bread back on top and serve.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 3 or 4 days.

Freezing

Freezing is not recommended for this recipe after cooking. However, to make this ahead, you can assemble the sandwich, wrap it in foil, and then cook it straight from the freezer inside the foil. Do not thaw first because the bread will get too soggy. To crisp up the bread, you may have to turn your oven to broil for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side.

Reheating

Reheat this in a microwave, in an oven or in a skillet.

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• Grownup Grilled Cheese Sandwich
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Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Blackberries Recipe Card