Irish cheese, thick bacon and a sliced tomato can take a regular grilled cheese sandwich to Irish deliciousness in this easy recipe! Irish grilled cheese sandwiches for the win!
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Why we love this recipe
Why is this grilled cheese sandwich Irish, you ask?
Because it’s made with Irish cheddar, and rashers (also known as bacon) and a few slices of tomato, and that’s enough for me to let it on the Irish list of deliciousness alongside my mama’s corned beef recipe and her delectable Irish trifle!
And happily, it is just as easy to make as your regular grilled cheese sandwich. Sliced cheddar, cooked bacon and some tomato in between slices of buttered bread, pop it on the griddle or a skillet for a few minutes a side, and you have a lunch to be proud of.
And there is always Sandwich Night! Let’s make it.
Ingredients you need
Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Cheddar: You can find Irish cheddar of all varieties in the specialty cheese section of your supermarket. We like a nice sharp cheddar, but mild or regular is fine too. And yes, you can swap in regular cheddar if you need to.
- Bread: Pick a nice soft bread for this recipe. We like Pullman (sometimes known as farmhouse style) bread.
- Tomato: We try and hunt down a nice heirloom tomato for this recipe, but any good sized tomato will do.
- Bacon: If you have thick cut bacon that is what we love best. You can also swap out the bacon for a slice of corned beef and REALLY get your Irish up.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Here’s how you make this recipe
STEP 1: Butter some slices of your favorite bread (I like either sourdough or Pullman style bread for grilled cheese, but you be you).
STEP 2: Assemble as follows: Put a slice of bread butter side down. Top with slices of cheese, strips of cooked bacon, thin slices of tomato, more cheese, top with second piece of bread butter side up.
STEP 3: Now, the key to wonderful golden melty grilled cheese is to cook it over medium to medium low heat in your skillet or on your griddle. If you cook it gently and slowly, everything will be golden and melted all at the same time. When the first side is nice and golden, carefully flip it over and toast it until things are nice and golden and melty.
STEP 4: Slide a spatula under your beautiful toasty sandwich, cut it in half and serve it up while it is nice and warm!
Recipe FAQs
It’s usually in the fancy cheese section of your supermarket (and if you can’t find Irish cheddar, Vermont or another nice cheddar will work just fine. We will just pretend it’s Irish!)
You can. (SOB.)
Drop it in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
Well, a glass of Guinness is always a good idea, and if you want a little sweet something for dessert, this Irish trifle recipe is always the very best Irish dessert I know!
But in the meantime, slice your glorious sandwich in half, take a bite, and may the road rise to meet you!
Other grilled cheese recipes we love
Looking for more sandwich inspiration? Here is our complete collection of sandwich recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Irish Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Irish cheese, thick bacon and a sliced tomato can take a regular grilled cheese sandwich to Irish deliciousness in this easy recipe!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients
- 4 slices bread (I like Pullman bread for this recipe)
- Soft butter
- 4 ounces sliced Irish cheddar
- 2 slices thick cut bacon, cut in half and cooked until crisp
- 1 tomato, sliced thinly
Instructions
- Butter one side of each slice of bread
- Assemble as follows: slice of bread butter-side-down, cheese, bacon, tomato, more cheese, second slice of bread butter-side-up.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the skillet and cook until golden on one side. Carefully flip and cook until golden on the other side.
- Remove, cut in half and serve.
Notes
- Cheddar: You can find Irish cheddar of all varieties in the specialty cheese section of your supermarket. We like a nice sharp cheddar, but mild or regular is fine too. And yes, you can swap in regular cheddar if you need to.
- Bread: Pick a nice soft bread for this recipe. We like Pullman (sometimes known as farmhouse style) bread.
- Tomato: We try and hunt down a nice heirloom tomato for this recipe, but any good sized tomato will do.
- Bacon: If you have thick cut bacon that is what we love best. You can also swap out the bacon for a slice of corned beef and REALLY get your Irish up.
Wendy says
Love love love this! Grilled cheese is always amazing, but the bacon and tomato makes it EVEN better.
Wendy! So glad you like this non-traditional Irish treat!
Jeanie says
I am loving this whole grilled cheese post. So many good recipes. I didn’t realize that I have been making Irish Grilled Cheese sandwiches for years. Like you, I love all things Kerrygold; and I do love their Dubliner cheese. But, my favorite one is their Blarney Castle cheese. Let’s all be thanking the Little People for Kerrygold!🍀
Hi Jeanie and thank you! And definitely we owe the Little People a hug for all things Kerrygold!
Claire @ The Simple, Sweet Life says
Oh my goodness, you had me at “bacon!”
Bacon DOES make everything wonderful, doesn’t it? :)
Jeanie says
My favorite sandwich-grilled cheese-made with my favorite dairy products-Kerrygold butter and cheese(s)…an Irish blessing in the making! The road will definitely rise up to meet me with this one! Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Isn’t Kerrygold the BEST? Happy St Pat’s to you too, Jeanie. :)
Ali A says
I only eat corned beef once a year (you guessed it; St. Paddy’s Day) and I guess it’s just one of those traditional things I do even though I don’t necessarily LOVE it. But you had me at grilled cheese! Love the idea of this!
Grilled cheese to the rescue, even on St. Patrick’s Day! :)
Rachel says
Love Kerrygold butter and use it frequently, but it’s a lot more expensive than British butter here.
I’ve never heard of rashers meaning thick cut bacon. It means a slice of bacon, as in one piece of streaky bacon, like regular American bacon or one piece of back bacon, which is thicker and like Canadian bacon.
Thanks Rachel – I always knew it as thicker bacon, but whatever bacon it is, it’s delicious! Meantime, have you ever made your own butter? It’s so easy and so delicious…here’s how: https://www.framedcooks.com/2012/05/how-to-make-homemade-butter.html