15 Best Dipping Sauces For Grilled Cheese Besides Tomato Soup

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The grilled cheese sandwich is not only one of the most comforting and easy-to-make sandwiches, but also one of the most customizable. There's plenty of debate about the best bread for a classic grilled cheese, or which is the best cheese to use; however, far less talk focuses on the condiments and sauces that can make a grilled cheese sandwich sing.

For decades, tomato soup has been the classic grilled cheese accompaniment, but plenty of other pairings are worth trying. I'm a big fan of grilled cheese, and I'm an even bigger fan of sauce, so naturally, I've tried plenty of different dips alongside my sandwiches in search of the combinations that work best.

I've listed some of my favorites, ranging from familiar pantry staples to more unexpected ingredient combinations. Keep reading to find out which dipping sauces can take your grilled cheese beyond the usual bowl of tomato soup.

As a dipping sauce for grilled cheese, whole-grain mustard serves two purposes: Its acidity and subtle sweetness cut through the richness of melted cheese, while the mustard seeds add a welcome textural contrast to the sandwich's gooey interior. Other mustards can offer a similar flavor profile, but rustic whole-grain mustard brings the right mix of tang and texture to take your grilled cheese up a notch.

Because whole-grain mustard has plenty of zip, it pairs best with creamy cheeses that can balance its acidity. One of my favorite combinations is smoked gouda, which has a rich creaminess and subtle smokiness that works beautifully with the mustard. For more tang and intensity, try Swiss cheese with sturdy, fermented sourdough. If you prefer something milder, mozzarella or muenster paired with sweet brioche lets the mustard take center stage without competing flavors. On the other hand, I would skip a sharp cheddar, whose stronger flavor can clash with the mustard rather than complement it, making the overall bite taste surprisingly one-dimensional.

There are few things that a drizzle or dip of spicy mayo cannot improve. At its best, it is creamy, spicy, and tangy — a perfect trio of qualities for a grilled-cheese dipping sauce.

It is important to note that not all spicy mayo is created equal. The condiment can rely on one or several types of capsaicin-filled peppers, each with a unique flavor profile that pairs best with a certain type of sandwich. For example, a sriracha mayonnaise (like my personal favorite Sriracha Mayo from Lee Kum Kee) tends to be sweeter and packs more of a stinging heat, making it a great pick for a grilled cheese made with a milder cheese, such as mozzarella or American, on well-toasted white bread. 

On the other hand, a smoky chipotle mayonnaise (my vote goes to the Boar's Head Chipotle Gourmaise) is a match made in heaven for sharper cheese flavors such as cheddar, provolone, and Colby Jack, especially when paired with the nuttier flavors of a seeded loaf. Regardless of which bottle you choose, one thing is for sure: a dip in spicy mayo is a game-changer for grilled cheese.

It is no surprise that marinara works as a dipping condiment for a grilled cheese sandwich. The combination of tomato sauce and melted cheese is a tale as old as time — and turns your grilled cheese into a reconstructed pizza.

Marinara sounds like a bit more effort to prepare than some of the other sauces on this list, but nobody is mandating that you make it from scratch. Plenty of store-bought marinara sauces will do the job. My choice is a more niche one — the Boves of Vermont Marinara Sauce — but feel free to pick your favorite, pop a small bowl of it in the microwave, and you have yourself a dip.

Italian cheeses that complement basil, oregano, and garlic are the best choices for a marinara-dipped grilled cheese. Try mozzarella if you prefer something milder, or reach for provolone if you want a sharper option that still plays nicely with sweet tomato flavor. For the bread, choose something crusty, like ciabatta or baguette slices, that will soak up the heavy sauce without losing its structure.

While there are key differences between aioli and mayonnaise, like its emulsified sibling, a high-quality aioli adds a layer of richness and an ever-so-subtle tang to a grilled cheese sandwich. Garlic aioli takes things a step further with the savory bite of its namesake allium, adding another layer of flavor while accentuating both the cheese and the bread.

Garlic aioli holds a special place on this list because it pairs well with a wide range of ingredients. It sharpens cheddar, matches American in gooeyness, and adds an extra kick to pepper Jack and smoked gouda. When it comes to bread, your options with a garlic aioli dipping sauce are just as plentiful, although it especially shines with a sesame-seed-studded Italian loaf, caraway-heavy marbled rye, and even honeyed whole wheat. Breads with earthier flavors tend to balance the sauce's creaminess and bite.

Sour cream might be the most eyebrow-raising dipping sauce on this list, but you'll want to trust me here. Something about the flavor, texture, and temperature contrasts between cold, thick, tangy sour cream and crispy toasted bread with lava-hot melted cheese is irresistible. Once you try it, I promise you will become a believer.

Like garlic aioli, sour cream is creamy and has few seasonings, making it a winner with plenty of different grilled cheese ingredients. That said, sharper cheeses, especially cheddar and pepper Jack, tend to work the best, as they keep the bite from tasting too rich. Just like with marinara, crusty bread will hold up the best to a dip in sour cream — but I would recommend crisping up any bread you choose, as toasted flavors (and even a slight char) are especially complementary with the condiment.

Buffalo chicken has long been a popular sandwich filling. Why not cut out the middleman and just serve the sauce on the side of your grilled cheese?

If your main qualm with grilled cheese is that it is too rich or creamy, you'll want to give this combination a shot. Buffalo sauce is marked by its acidity and vinegary tang, rounded out with buttery flavor and the fruitiness and heat of cayenne pepper (I'd, of course, reach for the Frank's RedHot Wings Buffalo sauce, as Frank's is the backbone of the original Buffalo sauce). Pair those flavors with a mild, easy-melting cheese, such as Muenster, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, American, or Havarti, and you have a match made in heaven. If you really want to go off the cuff, fill your sandwich with a spread of cream cheese for an homage to the jalapeño poppers that often find themselves on the bar alongside Buffalo wings.

Keep your bread simple here. I wouldn't recommend anything but toasted slices of white bread, which lets the sauce's bold, zesty flavors take center stage.

We have once again found our way back to a classic Italian condiment, this time in the form of pesto — specifically, the Genovese variety, made with basil, pine nuts, and plenty of Parmesan cheese and garlic. It is herbaceous, salty, and absolutely perfect for dipping grilled cheese.

Just as with marinara, Italian cheeses are the way to go when crafting the ideal grilled cheese sandwich to dip in pesto. Mozzarella will amplify the basil's natural sweetness and floral fragrance, while fontina and provolone, with their added sharpness, will bring out the condiment's Parmesan flavor. I would also recommend similar bread options as I did for marinara, including a crusty ciabatta or baguette, which will gracefully absorb the copious amounts of olive oil in pesto. Similarly, I suggest a classic Italian sesame-seed loaf, whose nuttiness will highlight the pine nuts in the sauce.

If you love sweet-and-savory pairings, try fig jam as a dipping sauce for your next grilled cheese. Although plenty of other jams and preserves, including strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and apricot, also pair well with the sandwich, a few key qualities of fig jam set it apart. It has a slight fruitiness and tartness, but it also has an unmistakable toasty caramel flavor that goes so well with a grilled cheese. Plus, like whole-grain mustard, the seeds in fig jam add an extra layer of texture. 

Although unconventional, brie is, by far, the best filling for a grilled cheese dipped in fig jam. However, it's not very practical, as it can become oily and thin when melted (and might ooze out of your sandwich altogether), so Havarti or mozzarella can be a safer choice. Smoked gouda is also a great complement to the toasty notes of the fig jam. For bread, I recommend leaning into the jam's sweetness and choosing a honeyed wheat or challah.

This one goes out to all of the home cooks who read the introduction of this article and have been thinking about tomato soup ever since. If you are a loyal fan of the grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup combination, ketchup (and, let's face it, nothing other than Heinz Tomato Ketchup) needs to be on your roster of dipping sauces for the sandwich. Its thickness, sweetness, and unmistakable umami flavor make the condiment a quintessential choice for a reason.

Just like ketchup itself, if you choose this dipping sauce, keep your sandwich ingredients as nostalgic and classic as possible. As far as I am concerned, there are no other cheese-and-bread choices for a grilled cheese dipped in ketchup than toasted white bread and American cheese — the more processed, the better. Nothing about this pairing is artisanal or cheffy, and that is its beauty. 

One more word of advice: keep your ketchup cold until right before serving for the ultimate, most satisfying temperature contrast, as well as the best ketchup flavor. It's not just my personal preference; there's a scientific reason why ketchup tastes different when it's unrefrigerated. 

The most cultured among us know that ranch dressing is delicious on everything. Grilled cheese is no exception. Ranch's balance of creaminess and tang, along with the flavors of its many herbs and spices, makes it the perfect dipping sauce for the sandwich. 

Havarti is my personal favorite for grilled cheese when dipping in ranch for one simple reason: it pairs famously with dill, a dominant flavor in most versions of this dressing. That said, an extra-sharp cheddar adds a savory note that pairs well with ranch, while pepper Jack's slight kick meshes well with the dressing's garlicky flavor. When it comes to bread, you truly cannot go wrong, although I tend to stick to milder choices (such as white or wheat) and let the combination of ranch and cheese do most of the heavy lifting.

There are plenty of creative ways to use hot honey, but few (if any) people talk about how well it works as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese. Once you think about it, it makes sense: it creates a sweet-and-salty contrast in the sandwich and adds a gentle heat that can kick a creamy sandwich up a few notches. 

Hot honey is another one of the dipping sauces that will, frankly, go swimmingly with any type of cheese or bread you choose. The saltier the ingredients, the more you can taste it, and, with that in mind, I prefer crusty bread and cheeses like Muenster and Havarti. I personally find Mike's Hot Honey not spicy in the slightest, so I reach for Mike's Hot Honey Extra Hot, which delivers a clean flavor and plenty of spice.

In keeping with the trend of sweet pairings (and of Italian-origin ingredients), I am a big fan of serving balsamic glaze on the side of a grilled cheese sandwich. Importantly, balsamic glaze is not just sweet — it is full-bodied, complex, rich, and slightly tangy, all of which are ringing endorsements for a spot on this list.

Because balsamic glaze is so concentrated and potent, I suggest only a light dip or drizzle on your grilled cheese. Unsurprisingly, I will also continue to advocate for crusty bread and Italian cheeses, such as mozzarella, fontina, and provolone, especially if you can get your hands on smoked versions, for a sandwich dipped in balsamic glaze. A little bit goes a long way in turning your basic grilled cheese into a fancy, tangy flavor bomb. 

Of course, some balsamic glazes are very pricey, but for a grilled cheese accent, I don't think you have to break the bank. I have had great luck with the Colavita Balsamic Glaze, which retails for around $6.96 on Amazon.

Those who can't get enough of the heat should look no further than chili crisp, a type of Chinese hot sauce made by frying chili peppers and aromatics in hot oil, as a dipping sauce for their next grilled cheese. Chili crisp is an excellent complement to grilled cheese, and you can use it in a variety of ways: dipping your sandwich in the oil alone will emphasize the condiment's sweetness and fragrance, while adding chunks of chili and other aromatics will bring more spice and crunch. You can get the best of both worlds with Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp Hot Sauce, which is not only my personal favorite, but one of the first brands to mass-produce it.

With a chili crisp dip, your cheese options are a bit more limited, since you should stick to ones that release less oil when melting (to compensate for the sauce's natural oiliness). If you want the chili crisp to be the dominant flavor, I recommend mild, creamy American cheese; if you want the cheese to contribute more to the bite, I would opt for a more processed smoked gouda. A grilled cheese made with crusty bread is a great choice for chili crisp—but so is sourdough, which adds a bit of zip that contrasts with the unctuous sauce.

With so many tomato products on this list, suggesting a salsa roja felt like low-hanging fruit. Luckily, I think salsa verde is one of the most underrated dipping sauces for grilled cheese. Between the zestiness and slight sweetness of limes and the complex, vegetal quality of roasted tomatillos, the sauce adds so much to what can sometimes be a one-note sandwich.

You can enjoy salsa verde with a variety of cheeses, but pepper Jack is by far the best choice. When sandwiched between two slices of white bread (my pick for keeping the cheese the star of the show), the heat of the peppers embedded in Jack cheese comes through beautifully — and if your salsa has jalapeños, you get twice the spicy flavor for your buck. If you can find some cotija or queso fresco to crumble between the two slices of bread in addition to your pepper Jack, you will be in for an even bigger treat.

Although I tend to use some of the dipping sauces on this list (such as pesto, balsamic glaze, and chili crisp) relatively sparingly, I am a staunch advocate of dunking your sandwich frequently and liberally in salsa verde. Your taste buds will thank you.

Fans of other tomato-based dipping sauces (such as tomato soup, marinara, and ketchup) for grilled cheese sandwiches will also love barbecue sauce. Although regional barbecue sauce comes in many flavors and colors across the country, the most common is ketchup-based and seasoned with brown sugar, mustard, and plenty of spices. Naturally, just like its ketchup derivative, it is a great choice for a grilled cheese.

Like the meat barbecue sauce traditionally coats, this dipping sauce pairs best with more savory cheeses. If you plan to dip your grilled cheese in barbecue sauce, try a sharp cheddar — the sharper, the better. While it might take a bit more time and patience to melt, the bite will be well worth the effort. 

On the other hand, the best breads with barbecue sauce are mild, buttery, and slightly sweet. Try slices of brioche, challah, white bread, or, if you really want to pay homage to barbecue sauce's southern roots, some Texas toast.