Everyone’s favorite sandwich, the creamy dreamy grilled cheese, now in casserole form! This grilled cheese bake is a fun way to turn this lunchtime classic into supper.
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Why we love this recipe
Picture this grilled cheese bake with me, please.
The world’s best grilled cheese sandwich, cooked to perfection with lots of creamy melted cheese, just the right amount of sweet tomato, all gathered between slices of bread that has been cooked to just the right amount of toasty goodness.
Now take all that deliciousness and imagine that flavor for supper, but as a golden brown casserole, full of grilled cheese sandwich, melty cheese wonderfulness, but bubbling away in your oven. I know. I know!
It’s like French Toast meets Grilled Cheese meets Bread Pudding, it takes only six ingredients, and I am HERE for it.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Velveeta: Yes, you MUST. It’s the best cheese to get the creamy, melty deliciousness that is key to this kid-friendly casserole!
- Bread: You can use any bread you have on hand – I have made this with everything from sourdough bread to leftover hot dog rolls to my favorite, a nice fresh ciabatta bread.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Cut the bread up in nice big cubes and soak those cubes in the milk and egg mixture for about 20 minutes (preheat your oven while the bread is soaking). I like to give it a toss every now and then to make sure all the bread gets its fair share of milk.
Step 2: Butter up your favorite casserole, and stir together those egg-and-milk-soaked bread cubes with some halved cherry tomatoes and a general amount of cubed Velveeta.
Spoon it all into the casserole, dot it with butter, grind some pepper on top and you are now ready to pop it in the oven.
Step 3: About 20 minutes later the bread cubes will be toasty, the cheese will be melting and bubbly, the tomatoes will be sweetly soft and the words “grilled cheese sandwich” will have a whole new meaning for you.
Recipe FAQs
Velveeta is a shelf stable (meaning you don’t have to refrigerate it) cheese product similar to American cheese. It melts beautifully, and you can find it near the boxed macaroni and cheese in your supermarket.
You can, or you can use big tomatoes that are cut up.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto.
Store any leftovers (ha!) in the fridge, bring it to room temperature when you are ready and reheat it in a covered dish in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350.
What to serve with this recipe
Since tomato soup is a classic side for traditional grilled cheese sandwiches, here are a couple of our favorite tomato soups that you can serve in cup-size portions on the side.
Or if you want to add some veggies to the mix and you still have some cherry tomatoes on hand, this cherry tomato and green bean salad is perfect.
And for dessert, how about some mini apple pies?
Other Velveeta inspired recipes that we love!
In case you have some Velveeta left over…
Looking for more casserole deliciousness? Here is our complete collection of casserole recipes!
We want to know what you think!
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.
Grilled Cheese Bake
Everyone’s favorite sandwich now in casserole form! This grilled cheese bake is a fun way to turn this lunchtime classic into supper.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed bread (I used ciabatta bread, but any nice country bread will do!)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 8 ounces Velveeta, cubed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and butter a 2 quart casserole
- Mix egg and milk together. Put bread cubes in a mixing bowl and pour the egg mixture over them and stir. Let sit for 20 minutes so the bread can soak up the egg, giving it a toss every 5 minutes or so.
- When the bread is nice and soaked, stir in the cheese and the tomatoes. Pour the whole mixture into the buttered casserole and top with butter. Grind some fresh ground pepper on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cool for five minutes and serve!
Notes
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- Velveeta: Yes, you MUST. It’s the best way to get the creamy, melty deliciousness that is key to this kid-friendly casserole!
-
- Bread: You can use any bread you have on hand – I have made this with everything from leftover hot dog rolls to my favorite, a nice fresh ciabatta bread.
Adapted from the fabulous THE PREPPY COOKBOOK by Christine Nunn
Judy OBrien says
Hi Kate,
Can I add bacon? If so, how much and would I need to increase the milk or number of eggs, etc.?
Thank you,
Judy from Pittsburgh
Hi Judy! And YES! What a great idea! I would chop and cook up 8 slices of bacon and stir it in before the casserole goes in the oven.
Jeanie says
Ok, sign me up! I’ll be member #2 since you are (obviously) member #1 in the Grilled Cheese Club! This recipe looks delicious, not to mention super easy. Will definitely be adding to my dinner rotation.
I will share the #1 spot with you, Jeanie! Hope you love this one as much as we do. :) Happy Friday!
Christie says
This recipe is pure comfort food! I loved the grilled cheese taste and the tomato finished it off perfectly. Delicious!
Thanks Christie! I think the tomato makes this a health food, right? :)
Michelle Breeding says
Question grilled cheese casserole says 1/3 cup milk. Doesn’t seem like enough for 4 cups bread. Is that a typo?
Hi Michelle! If you want the casserole to be kind of smooshy throughout – like a dessert bread pudding – then you could increase the milk to 1/2 to 2/3rd cup milk (the egg is going to provide some liquid too). I like mine to be more like the actual grilled cheese sandwich, but either way will be delicious! :)
Celia Cantrell says
I tried this and my family ❤ it!
Celia! I’m so glad to hear this – it’s a favorite in my house too! :)
Kathie Kelling says
Interesting! I never thought to use Velvetta in a grilled cheese sandwich. I can appreciate the qualities you mentioned but I’m used to using a mixture of cheeses. I will try the casserole recipe.
I hope you love it, Kathie! I rarely use Velveeta myself, but every now and again it’s the perfect thing to get the perfect cheesy consistency!
n.t says
Tis recipe is delicious, my family and friends loved it.Thanks for sharing all the recipes.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Richard says
Why would you use a processed cheese instead of real cheese or combination of cheese’s. Velveeta is so processed it can sit in your pantry for years. Why not put up a recipe with real cheese’s, or a list of suggestions, besides Velveeta, which is not that healthy to eat.
Hey Richard! You are absolutely right that Velveeta is a processed cheese, and I don’t use it that often…one thing it does do is melt super smoothly though, which is the reason I break it out for this recipe where I don’t want the cheese to separate or get a bit oily, which can happen when you are melting real cheeses in this kind of a casserole. That being said, there are a few (mozzarella, Brie without the rind, Jack cheese) that are pretty good melters, but they didn’t have the flavor I was after for this. But I always encourage folks to experiment around with recipes, so I’d love to see if you try this with one of those. Here’s a cool article from Serious Eats on the whole topic of melty cheese, which is one of my favorite things: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/the-science-of-melting-cheese.html And meantime, thanks for reading this post, and for your suggestion!
Sue says
Hi,
I want to try this casserole but the baking time does not sound right. 2 to 15 minutes baking time? This does not seem like enough time. Can you confirm this for me?
Sue
Good grief – now THAT was a typo if I’ve ever seen one! 15-20 minutes and thanks for the catch. :)
Nutmeg Nanny says
YUM!! This recipe is fantastic :) what a brilliant idea!
Stephanie @ Plain Chicken says
YUM! I will be giving this a try ASAP. I’m going to add bacon, because everything is better with bacon!
Joanne says
All I have to say to this is YES. Because the only thing better than a grilled cheese sandwich is a whole PAN of grilled cheese sandwich!
Right?? There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to grilled cheese!