Our Best Grilled Cheese and Soup Pairings

Grilled cheese and soup is a classic pairing that we know and love, starting with an old favorite: the original-style American cheese grilled cheese and tomato soup. Every now and then, though, we decide we want to shake things up by trying different and new grilled cheese and soup pairings. There’s nothing like the combination of a hot sandwich with crispy bread and gooey cheese, and a hearty soup to pair it with.

When it comes to pairing grilled cheese and soup, you’re looking to make the perfect grilled cheese and the perfect soup to dip it in.

Making the perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1. Grilled cheese starts with the bread. If you want to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, you want to start by picking out the right bread for you. Try bakery bread, or make it at home yourself.
2. Make sure to avoid thick slices when you’re picking out your bread.
3. Grilled cheese would be nothing without the perfect cheese. You want to pick a cheese that melts easily, like fontina, mozzarella, gruyere, and so on. If you want to add a cheese that doesn’t melt well, like Parmesan or feta, then all you have to do is combine it with a cheese that does melt! You’ll get a kick of extra flavor and the taste you’re craving.
4. Butter both sides of the bread before adding it to the pan. Not only does it add flavor to your grilled cheese, but it will help keep it from burning! Some people prefer to use mayonnaise. Which you use, and rely on, is up to you!
5. Top it how you like it with ingredients you know go well with the cheese you picked. Don’t be afraid to throw on some vegetables or protein like bacon. We love adding a little extra to our grilled cheese sandwiches!

Making Italian Vegetable Soup and Pesto Grilled Cheese: build up the flavors of your soup by cooking any vegetables you want to use ahead of time. Cook them until they’re soft and flavorful on their own.

Making the perfect Soup for your Grilled Cheese

1. Build up the flavors of your soup by cooking any vegetables you want to use ahead of time. Cook them until they’re soft and flavorful on their own.
2. Don’t over-salt your soup. Considering the cooking time for most soups, that can be a real challenge if you’re not paying enough attention. Keep track of how much salt you’re putting into your soup based on the ingredients you’re using, and salt accordingly.
3. Taste test! Dip your spoon in while you’re making your soup (but don’t double dip!) and be your own taste tester.
4. For grilled cheese, you more than likely want a thick soup. If you want to thicken your soup, add cream or milk, but make sure you warm it up beforehand so that it doesn’t curdle. If you don’t want to use milk or cream, thicken your soup with pureed vegetables.

We love trying new grilled cheese and soup pairings. Below are some of our favorite recipes for both grilled cheese and soup that are easy to make and delicious!

1. Roasted Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese

Let’s start with one of our favorite takes on the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup recipe: Roasted Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese! The tomato soup gets a kick from sun-dried tomato pesto, and the mini grilled cheese sandwiches are deliciously cheesy.

2. Italian Vegetable Soup and Pesto Grilled Cheese

We mentioned choosing thicker soups for our grilled cheese sandwiches, but this Pesto Grilled Cheese and Italian Vegetable Soup is the perfect example of a light soup and grilled cheese pairing. The hearty veggies in this Italian vegetable soup recipe pair perfectly with the rustic, earthy flavors of the pesto grilled cheese. Give it a try!

3. Pesto Grilled Cheese

Pesto is one of our favorite additions to grilled cheese. We especially LOVE this Pesto Grilled Cheese recipe from The Schmidty Wife! Crunchy bread, deliciously melty cheese, all pulled together with pesto… it pairs perfectly with her recipe for Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup, seen below!

4. Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Take that pesto grilled cheese and dip it in this Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup. The Schmidty Wife packs flavor into this soup with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion… it’s delicious!

5. Creamy Tomato Soup with Rosemary Fontina Grilled Cheese Croutons

My Kitchen Love knocks it out of the park with her recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup with Rosemary Fontina Grilled Cheese Croutons. It’s a two-for-one recipe! The Fontina cheese goes so well with rosemary, and makes a dreamy pair with the creamy tomato soup.

6. Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

The Organic Kitchen presents two Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches here: her Grilled Pepper Jack Cheese with Pesto, and Grilled Brie with Pears and Cranberries. We love both, and can’t choose a favorite! Thankfully, both of them pair perfectly with her recipe for Creamy Carrot Tomato Soup, seen below…

7. Creamy Carrot Tomato Soup with Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bread

Linda from The Organic Kitchen shares this recipe for Creamy Carrot Tomato Soup with Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bread over on a site she shares with her husband, Cook With Me Darling! It pairs perfectly with both grilled cheese shown above, but of course also with the savory cheesy bread recipe included. We love the earthy flavors of this delicious soup recipe!

8. Harvest Soup with Grilled Bacon Blue Cheese Dippers

Blue cheese and bacon is an irresistible match, and we LOVE it in this recipe for Harvest Soup with Grilled Bacon Blue Cheese Dippers from This Season’s Table! The amazing soup in this recipe is made with beets, apples, parsnips and turnips – and more! – for an incredibly flavorful soup recipe. We love this grilled cheese and soup pairing!

9. Grilled Cheese with Heidi, Pear and Caramelized Onions

We can’t get enough of this Grilled Cheese with Heidi, Pear and Caramelized Onions recipe. Girl Heart Food chose deliciously melty Heidi cheese for this recipe and topped off with slow-cooked caramelized onions and pear, it’s an irresistible sandwich. It pairs perfectly with her recipe for Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup, seen below!

10. Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Curried Carrot Sweet Potato Soup from Girl Heart Food is an easy to prepare and incredibly flavorful soup recipe that we love! Paired with her grilled cheese recipe above, this is an irresistible soup that we have a hard time saving for later.

11. Creamy Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Unsophisticook touches up a classic with this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup recipe. It’s creamy and deeply flavorful, and pairs perfectly with a simple, classic grilled cheese sandwich.

Mushroom Grilled Cheese and French Onion Soup

Click the recipe title above for our Mushroom Grilled Cheese and French Onion Soup!