I loooove to jazz up grilled cheese. I want crunch of the bread and beyond-the-average flavors for my grilled cheese. Bread + cheese doesn’t seem to be enough for me. Evidence: this grilled cheese lorraine; or grilled cheese with sweet potato & sage; or turkey & pear grilled cheese; or I could go on…

This time I took some easy tweaks to the basic and think the herb butter spread for the outside is such a win! The outside is super crunchy and flavorful and the inside has 3 cheeses plus rosemary and dijon feel a bit French and just perfect for fall.

French Inspired Grilled Cheese

Ingredients: (for 2 sandwiches)

2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons mayo
1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
salt & pepper
4 slices of good quality bread
2 slices gruyere cheese
2 slices white American cheese
1 slice Provolone cheese

Directions:

Mix together the butter, mayo, rosemary, olive oil, and salt & pepper.

Prep it in advance, or mix and spread onto the outer side of the bread.

Assemble the sandwiches with dijon on the inside, cheeses, then the flavored butter on the outside.

Pan fry on each side until melty and toasted.
Enjoy!

How golden and delicious does that look? My bread had even lived a full life and came out of retirement from the freezer and still came out amazing. The herbs on the outside make it even more perfect. Don’t think twice about mayo being on the outside. That’s what restaurants do! That’s what grilled cheese food trucks do! A drizzle of truffle oil would be fantastic to keep that French inspiration.

I made this for lunch in 5 minutes, but it is special enough to make a meal out of for dinner!

Psst: have leftover rosemary? Make this honey rosemary cream cheese and you can thank me later 🙂