Grilled Cheese Is 10x More Flavorful When You Give It A Breakfast Twist

Gooey grilled cheese is the perfect comfort food — but you don't have to think of it as just a lunch or dinner option. Adding a breakfast twist to a grilled cheese sandwich makes it the perfect morning meal, and there's quite a few different ways you can get the job done. If you want to keep it savory, try adding bacon, ham, or sausage to your grilled cheese (bonus: if you use bacon, cook your grilled cheese in the bacon grease to add a ton of extra smoky, salty flavor to your bread). You can also add a fried egg to create a complete grilled cheese breakfast sandwich packed with rich flavor and protein.

Prefer a sweeter breakfast? Not a problem — you can use cream cheese, brie, or even fontina cheese, as all three work nicely with sweet flavors. Add a bit of your favorite jam, perhaps a drizzle of honey or maple syrup to give your breakfast sandwich a sweeter bite, and you've got a decadent creation on your hands (adding a touch of sweetness can also work well with savory ingredients). While switching up the filling of your grilled cheese can certainly make it more flavorful and breakfast-friendly, you don't have to stop there. You can even change the bread of your grilled cheese into something that's more commonly associated with a morning meal.

Bread choice matters when it comes to breakfast grilled cheese. Of course, you can use standard white bread like you would for a typical grilled cheese, but you've got a ton of options that can help you take things to the next level as you breakfast-ify your sandwich. Using brioche bread adds a touch of sweetness that works well with both sweet and savory fillings (Gordon Ramsay is even a fan of using brioche buns for burgers). If you want to boost the sweetness even further, try using brioche bread for French toast, then use that French toast for your grilled cheese — it'll be messy, but totally worth it.

Waffles are also fantastic bookends for a grilled cheese sandwich, and your waffle maker can actually pull double-duty to help you create melty perfection — fast. After you're done whipping up your waffles, add your cheese, then place the entire sandwich back in the waffle maker. Press down on the top (a little pressure creates the ultimate crispy grilled cheese, after all), and within a minute, you'll have a melty waffle grilled cheese that's the perfect combination of sweet and savory. No matter what type of fillings you choose — or what type of bread you use to sandwich your fillings — breakfast-coded grilled cheese is a great way to get the day started right.