Air Fryer Mushroom Grilled Cheese with Thyme - Skillet too!

This air fryer mushroom grilled cheese recipe calls for loads of cheese, mushrooms, and thyme, stacked high, then melted down in between perfectly-toasted sourdough bread. This is a grilled cheese at its finest! Delectable!

Grilled cheese. Is there anything better? Not really. Of course, there are tons of fantastic comfort foods out there, but nothing hits the spot quite like a grilled cheese sandwich.

From a simple grilled cheese made of loaf bread and a slice of American cheese to fancy variations filled with everything from tomato slices to caramelized onions, ham, and more, the grilled cheese sandwich is a food that can be as equally at home on a child's plate as it can be on a foodie's.

I've been a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches for as long as I can remember. As a child, I loved grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. As I got older and began to make my way in the world, I made grilled cheese sandwiches several times a week.

They were delicious, and they were cheap! I continued to make them after I got married and had my son. We're definitely a grilled cheese sandwich family.

I've been making them for so many years that I've started to get creative with my recipes. I've done everything from pizza grilled cheese to more involved recipes, but today, I'm sharing one of my absolute favorites - this delicious, easy mushroom grilled cheese recipe.

It's a simple grilled cheese that tastes super fancy even though it's super easy!

History of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Before we talked about making my delicious grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms, I want to talk about where the grilled cheese sandwich came from.

I find food history to be fascinating, and just in case anyone else out there feels the same, I like to give a little bit of history in my posts. It's a fun little way to combine some knowledge with great eats!

Grilled cheese has been around for centuries. Well, combining cheese and bread has been around for centuries, anyway. The ancient Romans use recipes that called for melting cheese over bread, so it’s been around for quite some time.

However, what we know today as the classic grilled cheese wasn’t invented until the early 1900s.

It should come as no surprise that the modern grilled cheese sandwich got its start with a man named, you guessed it, Kraft. Kraft was a cheese wholesaler, and the biggest impediment to his business was the cheese going bad.

Eventually, he created a blended, pasteurized cheese that he called “processed cheese” that could be transported across the country without spoiling.

In World War II, Navy cooks made countless sandwiches that they called “American cheese filling sandwiches” for the seamen on duty. Of course, these would later be known as grilled cheese sandwiches.

Later, school cafeterias combined grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup to meet both protein and vitamin C requirements, which is where we get the classic pairing that so many of us love today.

Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms and thyme looks and tastes fancy enough for a restaurant, but it's easy enough for a weeknight dinner or after school snack!

Two different kinds of cheese and sliced button mushrooms are sandwiched between two slices of hearty sourdough bread, and then the entire thing is grilled in the skillet to golden brown perfection.

The sourdough bread offers a wonderfully crispy exterior along with a soft interior. From there, the sandwich explodes with flavor as you bite further into all that delicious cheese and mushrooms. It's an easy to make dish that tastes almost like an oversized fancy appetizer!

Ingredients

Although this recipe takes a few ingredients to make, they're all very easy ones to find. In fact, you probably have most of them in your kitchen right now. If there are any ingredients you don't have, you can find them easily at your local grocery store. They're all exceedingly common ingredients. Here's what you'll need.

• baby bella mushrooms
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• shredded pepper jack cheese
• onion
• fresh chopped garlic
• green onions
• fresh thyme
• butter
• sourdough bread
• fresh cracked black pepper
• salt

That's all there is to it! All of these ingredients are easy to find, and most of them are kitchen staples. There's nothing to it.

Making Grilled Cheese and Mushrooms

Making this grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms is a relatively straightforward affair. Outside of mincing the onions, this is a classic grilled cheese recipe - just buttered bread with melted cheese in the center. You don't even have to slice the mushrooms! The entire process only takes a few minutes, but what you end up with is something that tastes far, far more intricate. Here's what you'll do.

1. In a medium sized skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the fresh thyme.
2. Add in the minced onions and sauté over medium high heat until translucent.
3. Add in the sliced mushrooms, the ½ teaspoon of fresh cracked pepper, and lightly season with salt. Sauté and cook the mushrooms until soft and golden, with a few minutes left of cooking add in the garlic. Sauté for a few minutes longer then remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Air Fryer

1. Prepare air fryer basket with cooking spray.
2. Start with a layer or slice of bread, buttered on the outside, then a layer of mozzarella and pepper jack mixed together, a sprinkle of green onions, then add mushrooms in an even layer, another layer of the cheeses, and top with a second piece of bread.
3. Smear butter on the outside of your built sandwiches and carefully place inside your air fryer.
4. Use a toothpick to secure bread to rest of sandwich.
5. Set temperature to 400 degrees and timer to 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 or 4 miutes. Repeat until all of your grilled cheeses are cooked.

Skillet

1. In the same skillet you used for the fried mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium low heat, if you're NOT using an air fryer. 
2. While the butter is melting, begin building your sandwiches. Start with a layer or slice of bread, then a layer of mozzarella and pepper jack mixed together, a sprinkle of green onions, then add mushrooms in an even layer, another layer of the cheeses, and top with a second piece of bread. Make as many sandwiches as you need, this recipe will make about 3-4 sandwiches but can be easily multiplied for more.
3. Once the butter is melted carefully transfer the sandwiches to the skillet. 
4. Let cook until the bottoms are nice and golden and the cheese melts. 
5. Carefully flip the sandwich and cook the other side until golden and everything has melted together,
6. Remove sandwiches from skillet, and serve immediately.

And there you have it. You've just made a simple mushroom grilled cheese recipe that tastes like it came right out of a restaurant kitchen. It's just that simple and that delicious!

Variations

This mushroom grilled cheese recipe is so simple and delicious. That alone is a winning combo but think about this, as well. It's so simple to mix things up!

You can do so many things with this recipe to stay true to the spirit of it and still make for new flavor combos. Your creativity is the only limit to what you can do with this delicious mushroom grilled cheese recipe.

To start, try my teriyaki and sweet soy glazed mushroom and onion recipes to add an extra layer of flavor to this dish. After that, give the following variations, or our complete list of grilled cheese options a try to keep things fresh and interesting.

Different Breads

I love to use sourdough bread for my grilled cheese, but if that's not your bag, use any bread you like. From simple white bread to hearty Italian breads or even something as dense as rye, any bread at all can be used. Whatever type of bread you love will probably be fantastic.

Different Cheeses

This recipe is absolutely delicious with any of your favorite cheeses. I recommend sticking with white cheese varieties like mozzarella, Monterey Jack, provolone, swiss, and the like, but you do you.

Different Mushrooms

Button mushrooms are delicious with this recipe, but any kind of mushroom would work wonderfully. Shitake, portabello, oyster - choose your favorite mushroom and add it to this sandwich. They'll all work so well!

Try Mayo

If you want to try something a little different, spread mayo on the outside of your bread instead of butter. It tastes almost identical, but the may makes the outside of the bread even crunchier.

Serving Mushroom Grilled Cheese

Serving this mushroom grilled cheese recipe is as simple as making it. Just slice it diagonally and place the slices on a plate. That's all there is to it. I love to pair this with a homemade creamy tomato soup or creamy potato and leek soup, but it would be equally at home with a cream of mushroom soup, as well.

If you're looking for sides to serve with your grilled cheese have a look at all of our favorites listed here. I know you'll find something you want to try.

This grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms is the perfect weeknight dinner or afternoon snack. It's quick, easy, and so good, so there's never a bad time to make them!

Storing Mushroom Grilled Cheese

There should never be a time when you store this grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms. Only make as many sandwiches as you plan on eating and/or serving at any one time. They're just so good fresh.

If you do find that you have leftovers, they'll keep in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for about three days. To serve, reheat them in the pan on medium low heat until heated through and the outside is somewhat crisp again.

Be aware that you will never get the same texture as a fresh sandwich.

Try This Mushroom Grilled Cheese Recipe

This grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms is so good it tastes like it came right out of a restaurant, but it's so easy, you'll be surprised at how quickly it comes together.

Mushroom grilled cheese sandwiches are crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, and the accompanying flavors take it to an entirely new level. It's the grown-up version of our childhood favorite. Give it a try, and I know you'll love it.

Our Favorite Grilled Cheese Recipes

Got the bug for more delicious grilled cheese recipes? Give these a try!