Grilled Cheese With Tomato Basil

I was reading a book for work and came across this quote by Michael D. Krause: “The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe it is possible.” For Alex and me, that goal was to learn to cook. We started with little more than the will to try. At the beginning, I couldn’t even boil a pot of water for pasta. But over the years we learned, little by little, to have the faith to believe it was possible. Keep reading for how this best grilled cheese sandwich (aka grilled cheese with tomato and basil), was inspired by not knowing anything in the kitchen.

The inspiration: grilled cheese with tomatoes

People ask us how to get started cooking. Some of our best advice is: just try it. Believe that it is possible. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect first time. Give yourself grace. Try and try again. Take risks and gain the rewards, or learn from the failure. Be enthusiastic, and let your enthusiasm grow into passion. Start where you can, and take baby steps from there. Work within your means. It sounds really generic, but this is about 90% of what we know about cooking. This grilled cheese with tomatoes recipe is one of those baby step recipes, because it’s “just grilled cheese”. But then again it’s not “just grilled cheese” because it’s one of the best grilled cheese recipes we know of. It’s a recipe that’s great for the beginning cook: it’s easy, but also a bit elevated since it involves roasting tomatoes and using fresh herbs.

How to make grilled cheese with tomatoes & basil

This grilled cheese with tomatoes & basil isn’t just any old grilled cheese. And it’s also a little more elevated than simply tucking tomatoes and basil into a grilled cheese recipe (which is also delicious, mind you). For this one, cherry tomatoes are roasted just long enough until they’re starting to burst. Then you’ll take them out of the oven and mash them to extract the juice. You’ll use that juice from the roasted tomatoes to mix in with a bit of mayo for a killer sauce. It becomes a sort of roasted tomato mayonnaise and totally makes the sandwich! Then of course, you’ll add to that the peppery bite of fresh basil. The combination of the savory tomatoes, silky mayonnaise and fresh basil on crunchy grilled bread is a little bit of heaven. And it just might inspire you to more beautiful things you can create in the kitchen. If you try it, let us know in the comments below!

Looking for vegetarian sandwich recipes?

Outside of this best grilled cheese with tomato & basil, here are some other vegetarian sandwiches we love:

Gourmet Grilled CheeseAvocado Grilled CheeseAmazing Vegetarian SandwichesEasy Chickpea Salad SandwichTomato & Grilled Eggplant Stacked SandwichUltimate Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich5-Minute Pesto Arugula Breakfast SandwichVegan Banh Mi SandwichMediterranean Veggie SandwichThe Vegetarian Reuben