8 Meaty Additions That Turn Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Into A Hearty Meal

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A grilled cheese is a beautiful thing even in its simplest, most basic state: two pieces of bread, plus some cheddar, Gruyere, melty raclette Swiss, or what have you, and you have a dish that functions just fine with no zhuzhing up. That said, if you're really hungry and dreaming of a hearty meal, there's only so much extra cheese you can pile onto the sandwich before it starts to get overwhelming. While you might shore up the dish with a bowl of tomato soup or some other classic grilled cheese pairing, you can also save the trouble by simply adding some meat to your sandwich.

You can keep it simple, with just the meat, bread, and cheese to do the job, or you can play around with sauces or other additions that pair well with your meaty choice. You can even use your meat of choice to inspire a bread or cheese beyond your usual choices. The world is filled with variations on the grilled cheese, and with chicken, beef, pork, and even lamb at your disposal, you can turn a the sandwich into a meal that sticks to the ribs as much as it delights the palate.

If you are part of the huge cohort who believes that bacon tastes good with pretty much everything, it's time to add it to your grilled cheese. Besides bringing meaty robustness to your sandwich, these strips of pork dramatically elevate its flavor and texture. If you're working with a cured type of bacon, the deep, smoky notes (along with the umami you get in any form of bacon) team up with the cheese's individual flavor chemistry to offer a more intense punch of savory. Bacon's crunch, as well, gets a chance to enhance the sandwich's otherwise gooey, soft interior, making for a refreshing change in consistency.

While it's hard to go wrong with cheeses here, Swiss would be a great one to pair with bacon in your sandwich. As we found when ranking different cheeses for a grilled cheese, its rich, buttery flavor can overwhelm when used alone. With bacon's salinity in the mix, Swiss's overt dairy-ness gets a nice lift. And with a lower salt content than most other cheeses, Swiss plus bacon won't oversalt your dish and have you gulping water. The sandwich would be tasty on its own, but if you wanted something to counterbalance the fat, smoke, and earthy nuttiness of this pairing, add in some caramelized onions or fig jam for sweetness.

Chorizo is a meat that will add a wealth of flavor to your grilled cheese in addition to upping its heartiness. This pork sausage is generally available in two types: Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo (and yes, they are different). Made with chile peppers, the Mexican version is spicy and has a little bit of an acidic tang from vinegar. It's always raw, so you'll have to cook it before adding it to your grilled cheese. Meanwhile, Spanish chorizo is cured, so it doesn't require cooking before eating. Its predominant flavor (and vivid red color) comes from paprika — usually smoked. The paprika in question can make these links either spicy or sweet, both exciting options in a grilled cheese.

If working with Mexican chorizo, remove its casing and chop it up into crumbles as it cooks over low to medium heat. Then add it to your buttered bread in the pan. A few slices of avocado are a balancing note against the sausage's heat and acidity, and medium to sharp cheddar will hold its own among all that flavor. For Spanish chorizo, you could dice it up or grate it (freezing will help this process). Then fry it – just so that it crisps. Monterey jack is a great option, but queso Manchego with chorizo is a Spanish classic. This sheep milk cheese melts best when it's young rather than aged. It will have grassy, fruity notes that play nicely with the piquant Spanish chorizo.

Rotisserie chicken, specifically one from the grocery store, is already one of the most convenient proteins out there for those days when you don't feel like turning on the oven. If it's looking like grilled cheese is in the forecast for dinner, drop by Costco for one of its famous $5 birds, or grab one of its meal prep secret weapons: hand-pulled rotisserie chicken meat in a bag. Once home, it's just a matter of deciding whether you want a basic chicken 'n cheese sandwich, or something with sauces and other add-ons that drive it toward a particular theme. If the former sounds appealing, take about ⅓ to ½ cup of shredded chicken, spread it on your buttered bread in the pan, top with cheese, and cook until your bread is brown. Sharp cheddar's bold flavor is a natural pairing for the savory chicken, but this is another one where it's hard to go wrong with the cheese.

Alternatively, go the Buffalo chicken grilled cheese route by stirring your shredded chicken into a mixture of sour cream and hot sauce before cooking. A Mexican-style take is possible, too, with a creamy mayo dressing invigorated by chili powder and lime juice. Creamy, mild avocado slices would be very fitting here, too, as would pepper jack cheese. Then there's good, old-fashioned barbecue style: Mix some diced red onion (for that sweet, pungent bite) and barbecue sauce with your shredded rotisserie chicken. A smoked Gouda would reinforce the smokiness of the sauce, while a Colby jack offers richness and buttery, mellow notes.

Whether you've cooked up a corned beef brisket and have plenty left over, or you've happened upon a forgotten can of Libby's Corned Beef in your pantry, you've got a meat just waiting to reinforce a grilled cheese sandwich. Add it to buttered rye in your pan, top with Swiss, and you're just a little sauerkraut and Russian dressing away from a melty Reuben – or one bite away from a delicious, plain sandwich. After all, no one says you have to follow exact "Reuben rules" for a corned beef grilled cheese. Cheddar's sharpness goes head to head with the salty, herbal meatiness of this protein, while a young Gouda's buttery sweetness could balance its salinity. If you have no rye, Texas toast or a heavy white country loaf is strong enough to hold up to the juicy brisket, as are fresh challah or ciabatta.

The sandwich will still benefit from an acidic condiment to cut through all that yummy fat and salt. Sauerkraut and Russian dressing, again, are the classic choice. Whole grain or spicy brown mustard would work as well. So would a creamy horseradish sauce or some quick-pickled red onions. Finally, Chicago-style giardiniera is already one of the condiments that take grilled cheese to new heights; apply it to your corned beef version and let it lift the sandwich like it does a good ol' Italian beef.

Out of all the hearty meats that could go into grilled cheese, pot roast has perhaps some of the most nostalgic connotations. An iconic Sunday dinner meal, a good roast leaves you satisfied both in body and soul, and its deep, concentrated beefiness in a grilled cheese turns a comfort-food sandwich into a full-on meal. Even better, you'll probably be working with leftover pot roast for this purpose, giving you a refreshing way to ensure it doesn't go to waste. To avoid a dry, stringy roast in your sandwich, reheat the meat in the oven on low, then finish with a stovetop sear. Heat up some of your pan juices, allowing for about ½ cup to dip your sandwich into. This adds extra rich, beefy umami, plus moisture.

Nutty, slightly sharp Swiss pairs nicely with pot roast's herbs and gives a French onion soup effect. Havarti is another great choice. If you find its buttery, dairy-forward richness too one-note paired with pot roast, include some of the onions from the roast. Their natural sugars will balance the saltiness of the beef and complement whatever cheese you go with. For bread, choose something hardy enough to hold it all together. A tangy sourdough would be perfect, as would a country loaf.

If you have a package of ground beef in your fridge, you hold the key to a super-easy, extra-filling grilled cheese sandwich. This quick-cooking protein lends itself well to a number of flavorful creations, depending on your choice of cheeses, sauces, and beef seasonings. At its most basic, all you have to do is cook up your beef (allow for about ⅓ cup or so per sandwich), add salt and pepper, spoon it onto your buttered bread, and finish the grilled cheese as usual. Gouda goes great here, as do cheddar, Monterey Jack, or classic American. For a bit of cheeseburger-adjacent pungency, cook the beef with some scallions or diced onions.

Alternatively, go for a taco-style grilled cheese by seasoning your ground beef with cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion and garlic powders, and oregano, and opt for a good Mexican cheese blend. If compiling a spice mix feels like too much work, a pre-made blend like Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix is tailor-made for meals like these. You can then taco-ify your sandwich with other ingredients you enjoy in the real-deal dish: diced onions or jalapeño, shredded lettuce, avocado, and so on.

Finally, there's that testament to culinary creativity, the sloppy Joe grilled cheese. This is exactly what it sounds like: a gooey, messy, delicious sandwich. Buy canned sloppy Joe meat, or make your own by mixing your beef with ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, some garlic, and chili powder. Robust bread is important here, or you'll have a soggy mess. Robust cheese matters, too, or the sloppy Joe meat will overpower it.

If tacos and sloppy Joes are able to provide inspiration for a meaty grilled cheese, the gyro grilled cheese treatment is possible too. It all starts with shaved lamb, a bold, savory meat with a slightly earthy taste. Enhance its distinctive charms on a grilled cheese by pairing it with mozzarella, provolone, or another good melting cheese: the buttery, mildly piquant Greek kasseri. A little briny feta would be appropriate, too, though it won't melt like other cheeses. Tzatziki, a tangy yogurt sauce, is another obvious contender for this grilled cheese — just a couple of tablespoons should be enough to add its cool, garlicky tanginess.

That said, there's no need to limit this meat to a single theme. Try a woodsy lamb marinade with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and oregano, and whip up a chimichurri-style sauce with olive oil, mint, parsley, white wine vinegar, and a little maple syrup to spoon onto the sandwich. A young Fontina would melt beautifully and offer nutty, earthy notes that layer well with the rosemary and thyme. Avoid anything funky that would compete with the lamb. Rustic sourdough would be a great bread for this. There's enough tang to make itself heard — just steer clear of anything with big air holes that would have your sauce leaking through onto the griddle.

Of all the meats one could use to turn grilled cheese into a hearty meal, perhaps none is so simultaneously "out-there" and "obvious" as the humble hot dog wiener. On the side of "obvious," hot dog meat is inexpensive, deliciously meaty and salty, and probably in your fridge right now. (Grilled cheese and hot dogs both also happen to be generally toddler-friendly foods.) As for "out-there," well, these two comfort dishes just aren't traditionally combined. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be.

At its most basic, constructing this masterpiece involves cooking up one or two hot dog wieners per sandwich and layering them onto your bread with the cheese. Classic, melty American and provolone fit well. You could cut your hot dogs into thin coins, like pepperoni slices, or butterfly them. As for what else goes on the sandwich, you could do a Chicago-style dog take and load up your grilled cheese with mustard, relish, onion, tomato slices, a little pickle, and celery seed or salt. But anything you like on a dog would work here. The point of a hot dog grilled cheese, after all, is to make you sublimely happy.