Cheese Toastie with Grilled Veg
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This might be the best cheese toastie I’ve ever had. It feels indulgent, whilst being super fresh, thanks to our tangy, charred grilled veg.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
The cheese toastie with grilled veg is the perfect excuse to bring out the BBQ, although any griddle pan will work perfectly. The flavour combo of all the ingredients makes it so much more than cheese on toast.
It’s nutrient dense, packed with fibre, a balance of fats and 25g of protein. As grilled cheese calories go, it’s pretty light too!
Ideal for a summer lunch shared between friends or the grilled veg works perfectly for this cheese toastie to meal prep and enjoy throughout the week.
Here are some other toastie recipes you should try; Halloumi and Avocado Sourdough Toast, Cherry Tomato Ricotta Toast and Pizza Toast
Ingredients
Aubergine/Courgette
Courgette is one of my favorite grilled veg and charred aubergine offers a meaty substitute to this vegetarian grilled cheese. You won’t be missing any meat with this sandwich!
Thick Cut Malted Bloomer Bread
Try to use any dense sort of bread that isn’t sliced too thinly. I used a wholemeal, thick sliced loaf for additional fibre. You want the bread to be thick enough to ensure that it can hold the amount of cheese and veg you’re going to squeeze into this toasted sandwich. Other breads that would work well: white bread (thick slices), sourdough, ciabatta and panini.
Mozzarella
We want to use low hydration/grated mozzarella for this recipe to prevent any sogginess in our cheese toastie.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
How to make this recipe
- Start by prepping the courgettes and aubergine and cut into long thin slices (Image 1).
- And slice the tomatoes (Image 2).
3. In a griddle pan or BBQ start to brown the vegetables, cooking over a high heat with rapeseed oil until charred and cooked (Image 3).
4. Once the vegetables are nicely charred, set aside (Image 4).
5. On a chopping board, thinly slice the charred vegetables into bite sized pieces (Image 5).
6. Then add them to a largevmixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, finely chopped basil and a generous amount of salt and pepper into the bowl (Image 6).
7. Optionally butter the 2 slices of bread before placing butter – side down into a non-stick frying pan on a low/medium heat. Then add the grated cheese and the grilled veg to each slice (Image 7).
8. After around 3 minutes, flip the cheesy bread onto the other piece to close the sandwich, continue to heat, whilst flipping the sandwich until the cheese is melted and the bread is nicely toasted (Image 8).
Here are some other sandwich recipes to try after this one: Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Banh Mi Inspired Sandwiches and Creamy Mushroom Toast
Tips & Tricks
You can customise this cheese toastie by adapting the recipe with some add-ins. Whether you want even more protein (it’s already pretty high) or to add more veggies, the foundation of this recipe is great for so many more fillings!
Add protein
- Shredded chicken breast
- Grilled bacon
- Mashed chickpeas
- Black beans
Add more veggies
- Grilled bell peppers
- Grilled sweetcorn
- Grilled red onion/white onion
- Grilled mushrooms
Other recipes using roasted vegetables for you to try; Sausage Tray Bake with Vegetables, Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce with Gnocchi and Miso Aubergine with Edamame Beans and Brown Rice
FAQs
Cheddar and mozzarella are commonly used, you can try other types like Swiss, gouda and fried halloumi.
Definitely, courgettes and aubergines would cook well in the Airfryer. Add some other favourite vegetables such as mixed roasted peppers to make an extra special sandwich!
Yes, you can reheat your sandwich, although ideally I would toast the bread with the filling when you are ready to eat. If you have to eat later, wrap the sandwich in aluminium foil and heat it in the oven or reheat in the pan to help crisp up the exterior.
Meal Prep/ Storage
To use this recipe as meal prep, grill all of your veg ahead of time, combining with the lemon juice, basil and garlic. Add this to a sealed container and refrigerate.
When it’s time to eat, start to toast your bread and add the prepped grilled veg & cheese into the sandwich. You want to eat the grilled cheese when it’s been freshly toasted to get the gooey cheese inside. If you meal prepped it all, the bread could be soggy and the cheese on toast would be hard.
Here are some other quick lunch recipes for you to try; Sweet Chilli Halloumi Wrap, Smokin’ Chickpea and Vegetarian Gyros
If you tried this Cheese Toastie with Grilled Veg recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Cheese Toastie with Grilled Veg
Ingredients
- 1 aubergine, sliced into thin planks (£0.70)
- 2 grilled courgettes, sliced into thin planks (£0.80)
- 6 salad tomatoes, thinly sliced (£0.72)
- ½ lemon, juiced (£0.54/4)=(£0.14)
- 1 bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped (£0.55)
- 200 g mozzarella, grated (£2.00)
- 8 thick slices of brown bread (£1.50/2)=(£0.75)
- Optional butter
Cupboard Essentials
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
Method
- Grill the prepped veg using a griddle pan or BBQ, cooking over a high heat with rapeseed oil, until charred and cooked. Thinly slice into bite sized pieces and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Next, add the lemon juice, finely chopped basil, and a generous amount of salt and pepper into the bowl.
- Optionally butter the 2 slices of bread, before placing butter-side down into a non-stick frying pan on a low/medium heat. On one side of the bread, add the grated cheese and on the other, add the grilled veg.
- After around 3 minutes, flip the cheesy bread onto the other piece to close the sandwich, continue to heat, whilst flipping the sandwich until the cheese is melted and the bread is nicely toasted. Enjoy!
Notes
- Customize your cheese toastie by adding protein: shredded chicken breast, grilled bacon, mashed chickpeas and black beans
- Enhance the flavor and nutrition by incorporating more veggies: grilled bell peppers, grilled sweetcorn and grilled mushrooms
- Experiment with different combinations of protein and veggies to create unique and delicious toasties.
- Be creative and try new add-ins to personalize your cheese toastie recipe to suit your taste preferences.
Nutrition
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