Name: Air-fryer grilled cheese
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 7 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 2 slices sourdough bread or gluten free bread if needed; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened; 1 teaspoon garlic salt; 2 slices 2% american cheese

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are toasted to perfection with only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes. You end up with a melted, cheesy inside and a crisp, evenly golden outside.

air fried grilled cheese sandwich cut in half next to a bowl of tomato basil soup and topped with a small sprig of thyme

Some air fryers have a strong air circulation that can cause the bread to fly around in the basket. If you have this issue, a house favorite thing you can do is to secure the sandwich with toothpicks. Slide 1 or 2 toothpicks into the sandwich holding the bread down and it’ll stay in place during air frying.

Why Air Fryer Grilled Cheese stays in the rotation

Making air fryer sandwiches is our favorite way to make them these days. You don’t run the risk of burning the bread (like you do on the stove), and it gives an even, evenly toasted bread every single time with minimal butter.

Products we used to air fry grilled cheese

Air fryer

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Spatula

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Ingredients for Air Fried Grilled Cheese

Bread – our favorite for a grilled cheese sandwich is sourdough bread, but you can use your favorite
Butter – you can use spray butter for more even coating, or softened unsalted butter
Garlic salt – we like to use Lawry’s garlic salt for extra flavor
Thin sliced cheese – we go old school and actually prefer American cheese in ours, but any cheese works great!

Best Cheese for Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

American cheese is always our first choice for air fryer grilled cheese because it melts evenly and leaves you with that classic creamy, gooey center. Cheddar is another good option if you want a sharper flavor, but it doesn’t melt as smoothly on its own. You can also combine a house favorite of both.

ingredients for air fried grilled cheese sandwich

How to cook Grilled Cheese in the Air Fryer (Step by Step)

Detailed instructions and measurements to make this air fryer grilled cheese are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Start by buttering one side of each slice of bread. Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Place one slice, buttered side down in the air fryer basket. Add your cheese on top of the slice.
Top with the other slice of bread, buttered side up. *see recipe notes about securing the sandwich if needed*
Place the basket back in the air fryer and cook at 350°F for 3 minutes. Open the basket, using a spatula flip the sandwich, and air fry for another 2 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Depending on your air fryer and type of bread used, the cooking time may vary.

two buttered slices of bread on a cutting board

slice of buttered bread on a cutting board sprinkled with garlic salt

slice of buttered bread, butter side down in an air fryer basket

two slices of cheese on a piece of bread inside the air fryer basket

uncooked cheese sandwich with buttered bread sitting inside an air fryer basket

a grilled cheese sandwich inside of an air fryer basket

Why Temperature to Air Fry Grilled Cheese

A house favorite temperature to air fry grilled cheese is 350ºF. You don’t want to turn it up too high because it will burn the bread before allowing the cheese a chance to melt. By keeping it lower at 350ºF, it’ll slowly toast while giving the cheese plenty of time to melt.

Tips for Making Grilled Cheese in the Air Fryer

If you find that the circulating air of your specific air fryer is strong and knocking the top bread off of the sandwich, you can secure it with toothpicks.

Be sure to remove them before serving.

You want to find the balance of melting the cheese and making sure the bread is toasted evenly. Using too high of a temperature may result in your bread over toasting before the cheese has melted.

Grilled Cheese Air Fryer Serving Suggestions

Our favorite thing to have with our grilled cheese sandwiches is soup! Especially tomato soup. Here are some of our favorites:

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich Variations

Bread – our favorite bread is sourdough when it comes to grilled cheese, but you can use any bread you like. You need 2 pieces of bread that are sliced.

Butter – if you’re looking to keep it low calorie, you can use butter spray in place of the unsalted butter

Garlic salt – If you’re watching your salt & sodium content, you can use garlic powder rather than garlic salt. We do find that the salt adds an extra flavor.

Cheese – we like the way American cheese melts in our sandwich, but you can use any thin cheese slice that you like. Pepper jack, Havarti, and gouda are all fantastic in grilled sandwiches.

Meat – To increase the protein, you can also add meat to your sandwich. We like turkey and this Instant Pot Sweet Pulled Pork Is also fantastic inside.

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese FAQs

Prep 1 minuteCook 6 minutesTotal 7 minutesMakes 1 serving

Ingredients

2 slices sourdough bread or gluten free bread if needed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 slices 2% american cheese

Method

Start by buttering one side of each slice of bread. Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Place one slice, buttered side down in the air fryer basket. Add your cheese on top of the slice.
Top with the other slice of bread, buttered side up. *see recipe notes about securing the sandwich if needed*
Place the basket back in the air fryer and cook at 350°F for 3 minutes.
Open the basket, using a spatula flip the sandwich, and air fry for another 2 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Depending on your air fryer and type of bread used, the cooking time may vary.