Make Grilled Cheese 10x Better With This Flavorful Cajun Twist

A good grilled cheese sandwich is a comfort food that's hard to beat, but there are indeed ways to do so. Sure, you could upgrade your grilled cheese with something like avocado or kimchi, or you could give it a flavorful Cajun twist. I grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, the heart of Cajun country, where flavorful cooking is part of the region's DNA and coming up with ways to jazz up even the simplest dishes is a routine occurrence. I know you can take a humdrum grilled cheese and make it 10 times better with the simple addition of andouille sausage.

For the uninitiated, andouille is a pork sausage that's traditionally smoked, has a somewhat coarse consistency, and is packed — really packed — with flavor. The typical spice mix includes garlic, cayenne, black pepper, and thyme, and it's traditonally smoked using pecan wood and sugarcane stalks for even more flavor. Andouille is a key ingredient in many Cajun dishes, such as meat-based gumbos, red beans and rice, and jambalaya (three Cajun foods you need to try at least once). It's also a great addition to grilled cheese thanks to its smoky flavor, bold spices, and toothsome bite that get your sandwich out of the doldrums. It's also easy to put together.

To start, depending on where you live, finding andouille sausage may be a bit challenging. However, there are at least two brands found nationally that do the job: aidells and Zatarain's. Although the latter has gotten mixed reviews on sites like Reddit, in a grilled cheese, it still suffices. If you want the real deal, you can order andouille brands such as Comeaux's, The Best Stop, and Poche's, which are all well-regarded brands where I'm from, online.

Since andouille is smoked and precooked, you can simply slice the sausage (either in rounds or quartered lengthwise) and add it to your go-to grilled cheese. However, I recommend cooking the sausage in a little oil or butter in the same pan you're planning to make the sandwich in. That way, you can get a sear on the sausage for deeper flavor, and you can cook the sandwich in oil or butter that's been flavored by the andouille.

Upgrading your bread to a French loaf is also a great idea. It's sturdy enough to hold the sausage, and gives you a crispier outside and a soft interior. So, go Cajun for the tastiest grilled cheese of your life. If you have any leftover andouille, try your hand at making red beans and rice or gumbo.