There’s really no such thing as a “bad” grilled cheese if the two main ingredients (cheese and bread) are involved. But there is definitely such thing as the “best” grilled cheese, and according to The Pioneer Woman, a.k.a. Ree Drummond, she has the best recipe all figured out. Her grilled cheese is packed with so much flavor and is made in the air fryer instead of the skillet. This results in a super crispy sandwich that gives you a crunch in every bite.
“Best grilled cheese I’ve ever had,” Drummond captioned a recent Instagram post. “Yes, you can make it in a skillet. But a special kind of crispy-melty magic happens in that air fryer, it simply cannot be duplicated. Also, I’m a very scent-driven individual, as you will be able to see in the basil scenes.”
The first step to making Drummond’s grilled cheese is to make fresh pesto with basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese. Then, slather that on two pieces of your bread of choice and add some sliced and dried tomato that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper to one half and your favorite sliced cheese to the other.
Stack the sandwich together, butter the outside of the bread halves, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese before tossing the sandwich into the air fryer. Fry the grilled cheese for about 10 minutes and you’re ready to eat!
“Just made this! It is delicious! Thank you for sharing!” one person wrote in the comments. Another added, “Your basil looks amazing and I’m going to need to try this.”
And if you haven’t yet added an air fryer to your kitchen appliance lineup, then you can grab Drummond’s version over at Walmart for just under $90. The Pioneer Woman Air Fryer comes with a bunch of one-touch presets for air frying, broiling, dehydrating, and even baking, and even comes with a mini window so you can check on your food as it cooks inside.
This fryer will look great on your countertop, too. You can grab the fryer in either teal or white.
Upgrade your grilled cheese recipe with Drummond’s pesto and tomato version and you’ll have a hard time going back to your plain old bread and cheese recipe. This one really is “the best!”
Before you go, check out Ina Garten’s easy weeknight dinner recipes below:
