The Quick And Easy Way Ree Drummond Makes Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grilled cheese is comfort food at its finest — but even though it's easy enough to make in a skillet on the stovetop, the sandwich still requires your full attention to avoid the cheese melting unevenly or the bread burning. Thankfully, Ree Drummond has another method that produces crispy, cheesy, and gloriously gooey results with less fuss. The key is to use an air fryer, which makes the whole process much more hands-off — and it's just as quick.

The convection heat of the air fryer means that air can circulate all around the sandwich, including through the holes in the basket. The result? "The bread gets golden-crisp and the cheese melts at a perfectly even pace," Drummond explained in her grilled cheese Instagram post.

Temperature is key for gooey grilled cheese cooked on the stove, and it's also important when using an air fryer — but you may need to experiment and make some adjustments depending on your individual model. As a rule of thumb, you'll be looking at somewhere between 370 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit, for around three to five minutes on each side. If your air fryer is on the smaller side, you might find it cooks faster as the air doesn't have to travel so far. And, if the fan is especially vigorous in your air fryer, try securing the sandwich with a toothpick before cooking so the top slice of bread stays in place — just remove the toothpick when it's time to flip.

For her grilled cheese, Ree Drummond uses sourdough bread stuffed with provolone, grated white cheddar, and sliced smoked gouda. You could swap your usual grilled cheese bread for pita, whole-wheat, or regular white bread if you prefer. It's worth experimenting with the blend of cheeses, too. American is a melty classic, try pepper Jack for a little spice, or mix things up with Gruyère or Havarti. Shredded cheese melts beautifully evenly, but you could also use slices or a mixture of both.

The Pioneer Woman spreads both softened butter and mayonnaise on the outside of her bread for a crispy exterior. This combo offers the higher smoke point of oil-heavy mayo as well as the rich taste of butter, with less chance of burning. To really amp up your sandwich, try slathering flavored mayo on the grilled cheese exterior — spicy sriracha, fragrant herb, or punchy garlic would all work well. Or try a savory pesto mayo, which Drummond sometimes uses on both the inside and outside of her sandwich.

It's easy to elevate the flavor and texture of your grilled cheese even more with a few extra ingredients. Drummond sometimes brushes mustard mayo onto the inside of the bread for extra piquancy, or you could add umami-rich bacon jam — which goes well with everything, not just grilled cheese. You can add kimchi to a grilled cheese for spicy tangy notes, or pickles for sharpness as well as a welcome crunch. Include flavorful meats such as turkey or bologna, or perhaps some ham and béchamel for a croque Monsieur-style sandwich.