Elevate Grilled Cheese Beyond The Basics With These Mediterranean Ingredients

Grilled cheese is a go-to comfort meal. It's nostalgic, filling, and absolutely hits the spot on a cold day. While a grilled cheese sandwich doesn't necessarily need any improvement, it can be fun to try out new additions. If you're in the mood to jazz up your go-to recipe with some extra flavor, we've got a few ideas that will take the sandwich straight to the Mediterranean. Adding basil and sun-dried tomatoes to your grilled cheese filling creates a flavor-packed lunch with Mediterranean ingredients. While it might not quite make you feel like you're hanging out on the beach in Santorini, it's a fresh take that can bring some excitement to a classic sandwich.

Created in Southern Italy by tomato lovers who would dry them out on rooftops before storing them in oil, sun-dried tomatoes are sweet, umami, slightly chewy, and a beautiful flavor contrast to the saltiness of melted cheese (believe it or not, '90s TV actually played a key role in popularizing sun-dried tomatoes in the U.S.). Basil — a staple in Mediterranean cooking — offsets the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes a bit, adding savory, fresh notes to a sandwich that can otherwise feel pretty heavy. Put the two together with your favorite cheese, and you've got a whole new take on your favorite toasty, melty sandwich.

Perfecting your Mediterranean grilled cheese

If you want to upgrade things beyond sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil added on their own, no worries — there are options to help you take your Mediterranean-inspired grilled cheese to the next level. Adding some feta cheese along with the two ingredients gives it a Greek twist. An important note: while feta is delicious on its own, it doesn't melt the way other cheeses do. That being said, it does turn soft, and it'll be perfect on top of some melted cheddar or another one of the best cheeses for grilled cheese.

Another way to lean into the Mediterranean flavors: add a balsamic reduction drizzle. You can easily make this sweet and tangy glaze at home, then drizzle it either over the inside of your sandwich (though this can get a little messy), or serve it on the side as a dip. No matter how you decide to Mediterranean-ize your grilled cheese, you'll get a nice burst of sweet and savory flavors that'll be a total upgrade to your standard recipe.