Let’s talk about grilled cheese sandwiches. Sandwiches are a big deal in our house, and I love a great sandwich! I always take care in creating sandwiches because I believe every bite of a sandwich should be delicious, comforting, and satisfying from the first bite to the last. Good grilled cheese sandwiches with toasty bread and warm melted cheese are a favorite. I love taking inspiration from other dishes, and this buffalo chicken grilled cheese has all of the flavor of wings and blue cheese packed into a delicious sandwich!
Using the right ingredients can make a huge difference in the quality and taste of your sandwich. When a recipe requires few ingredients, the quality of each ingredient becomes more important. Incredible cheese and bread will yield an amazing sandwich!
Bread
The bread you select will play a part in the texture of your sandwich. I used sourdough bread because it is soft and has a nice crust. Sourdough bread makes excellent grilled cheese sandwiches, but we also love the buffalo chicken grilled cheese on wheat bread too.
Butter
You can use unsalted, salted, or compound butter to create a grilled cheese sandwich. I used unsalted butter for this recipe. I wanted most of the flavor to come from the cheese, chicken, and buffalo sauce. It helps to let the butter soften on the counter for about 15 to 30 minutes before making the sandwiches. Softened butter will be easier to spread. Alternatively, you can use spreadable butter, if available.
Cheese
I typically like to make my grilled cheese sandwiches with more than one type of cheese. A good melting cheese is the goal, and I selected gouda as the main cheese and a crumbled blue cheese as my secondary cheese. The mild and sweet flavor of gouda is a perfect match for the bold flavors of the buffalo sauce and the blue cheese.
Buffalo Sauce
We love buffalo sauce in our house and with good reason, it’s tasty and livens up recipes!
We usually make our buffalo sauce with a specific type of hot sauce. I wouldn’t normally mention a specific brand because I think it is important to cook with the brands you love, but in this case, I think it matters enough to warrant a mention. When I make buffalo sauce it is with Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce. I do have other hot sauces I regularly cook with, but when I make buffalo sauce this is a favorite of ours. That said, I encourage you to use the sauce you love the most!
The buffalo sauce is made using a 1:1 ratio of butter to sauce. For example, I use 2 tablespoons of butter to 2 tablespoons of sauce for this recipe. I melt the butter with the sauce in a saucepan on low heat until the butter melts and everything is combined. At this point, I remove the sauce from the heat. It’s important not to overcook the sauce.
How to Cook Grilled Cheese
When assembling the sandwich, I spread the ingredients as close to the edge of the bread as possible without spilling over. Every bite of the sandwich should be packed with delicious flavor, and small details like this really enhance the quality of the sandwich.
I always make my sandwiches on low heat. Additionally, I like to warm the pan up for a minute or two before I put the sandwich in the pan. I cook each side for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until the bread has turned a nice golden brown. It takes a little longer to cook the grilled cheese on low heat, but I think it is important to control how the cheese melts.
Cooking Methods
You can use a non-stick skillet or frying pan on the stove, a griddle, or a sandwich press to make your buffalo chicken grilled cheese. I used a skillet on the stove; however, a sandwich press offers advantages if you are concerned about flipping a sandwich with a lot of ingredients. I recommend working with what makes you comfortable. If you decide to use a sandwich press, follow the instructions for your device in regard to cooking time.
Sides
I like to eat this sandwich with a side of kettle chips and a small serving of bread and butter pickles. The sweetness and the crunch of the bread and butter pickles is a great complement to the blue cheese and sauce in the buffalo chicken grilled cheese. The sweet and savory flavors go well together, and the combination of textures turns this sandwich into a satisfying meal.
Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes (per sandwich)
Total time: 25 minutes (15 minutes if sandwiches are cooked two at a time)
Makes 4 sandwiches
Equipment
- spatula
- small saucepan
- non-stick skillet pan or frying pan
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons of butter, divided (2 tablespoons for the buffalo sauce and about 1 tablespoon for the bread of each sandwich)
- 2 tablespoons of hot sauce
- 2 cups of precooked chicken, cut into chunks or shredded
- 8 slices of bread
- 8 slices of gouda cheese
- 2 to 4 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese (optional)
Directions
- Using a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of hot sauce until the butter has just melted and everything is combined. Remove from heat and toss with two cups of precooked chicken. Set aside.
- Warm your skillet or frying pan on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Spread the remaining butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Working carefully, lay the first slice of bread, butter side down, on the skillet, followed by a slice of cheese, 1/2 cup of buffalo chicken, 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of blue cheese (optional), another slice of cheese, and the second slice of bread with the buttered side facing up.
- Cook the sandwich on low for 2 to 3 minutes. Peek at about the 2 minute mark to check for a nice golden brown color to the bread. Carefully flip the sandwich over to the other side and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Once cooked and everything has melted to satisfaction, remove the sandwich from the heat and repeat for each additional sandwich.
- Let sandwiches cool on a plate for about 1 to 2 minutes before cutting or serving. Enjoy!