Brie and Apple Grilled Cheese with Hot Honey

If you haven't tried a brie and apple grilled cheese yet, imagine the flavours of a fruit and cheese platter. Sweet tart apple, creamy, earthy brie, crispy, buttery toast and a drizzle of honey. Honey adds both a sweet and savory flavor that makes this apple and brie sandwich stand out from the rest!

This recipe is sponsored by organic Washington apples but all opinions and recipe ideas are my own.

Take your grilled cheese up a notch

Honey in my grilled cheese? Yep, an apple and brie grilled cheese is a match made in heaven but adding this lightly spicy honey kicks things up a notch. Chili spiced honey adds a gentle and mouth watering tingle and really melds all the flavours together.

I also use organic apples which I believe are more flavorful than others. Ooey, gooey, sweet and salty….yes please! Apples and cheese are a natural pair, you can find more of them together in my Apple Walnut Salad with blue cheese or my Rocket and Pear Salad and for something sweet, try the ultimate Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling or French Apple Beignets Recipe. For a super cute cheese appetizer, check out this Hedgehog Cheeseball.

Why choose organic Washington apples

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you know I want the freshest and healthiest available. I've been using organic Washington apples a lot through the winter here and now I've partnered with them to share this recipe. These apples are widely available from our close neighbors to the south so they have a low carbon footprint. Did you know that Washington accounts for 90% of the certified organic apple production in the United States?

The biggest reason I choose organic is to reduce the number of chemicals in my family's food. While always something I thought about, I started seeking organic options out a lot more after having children. For any of you with growing kids, I am sure you can relate.

The second reason is that it is kinder to the earth. The dry climate and ideal temperatures in Washington reduce the number of disease and pest problems that can impact fruit. This excellent apple growing climate reduces the need for applications to control insects and pests.

To top all that off, Washington organic apples are ALL handpicked! That means less bruising and more care when packing. In addition, Washington’s quality standards for all apples are more stringent than grading standards used in any other growing region in the world.

These are a choice I feel good about putting in my kids lunches! I use them regularly in muffins and cakes, and serve them raw in lunch boxes almost daily.

What is the best apple variety to use

As for the variety of apple for this grilled cheese, choose the ones you best like eating raw. Fuji, gala, cosmic crisp, red or green delicious will all taste delicious in this sandwich. For a more tart flavor you can use granny smith. These varieties are all available organic from Washington. (Have you tried my delicious cosmic crisp apple cake? That's another recipe that uses these awesome organic apples.)

Want to learn more about Washington Organic Apples? Check them out here https://bestapples.com/washington-orchards/organics/

Sides to serve with this melty sandwich

If you want to have soup with this grilled cheese, skip the tomato soup (too overpowering for the delicate brie) and choose something like Roasted Cauliflower soup or Potato Leek soup. But if you really want tomato soup, add some cream to it at the end to mellow out the sharpness.

Salad always pairs well. Choose something simple and light like Garden Salad with Orange Vinaigrette .
(If you love fruit and cheese combinations, you might also like my Rocket and Pear Salad with Blue Cheese.)

Step by step instructions for brie and apple grilled cheese

This is an easy sandwich to make. The key is to slice your apples nice and thin so they will soften slightly. Each slice of bread gets a thin spread of butter on the outside and a generous smear of hot honey butter on the inside.

Layer a little cheese, then the apple, then a little more cheese so that it will all stick together. Once cooked, wait a few minutes so the layers don't slide apart too much and so you don't get burned.

What kind of bread is best

I'm a firm believer in a hearty, white loaf. A traditional French bread or country loaf both have a nice texture. Not too dense but hearty enough to hold together nicely and brown evenly. Sourdough and rye bread are also an excellent choice.
If you can't tolerate gluten, use your favourite loaf of gluten free bread.

Sandwich variations

• Want to add even more deliciousness? Add a heaping tablespoon of caramelized onions to this, between the apple slices and cheese before grilling.
• Prefer cheddar? This sandwich works well with cheddar too, just substitute an equal amount of cheddar for the brie cheese. To add some crunchy greens, make a brie arugula grilled cheese.
• No honey on hand? Try jalapeno jelly, fig jam or cranberry jelly instead. Want less bread? Make this an open face melt and broil to gently brown the cheese on top.

Tag me to show me on Instagram @wckitchengarden if you make this or one of the variations!

Can I make this without butter

Yes. The obvious and easiest choice is to substitute margarine. Alternatively, you could lightly brush the outside with olive oil and use olive oil for the hot honey. Some folks that swear by mayo on the outside of a grilled cheese with the idea that it adds a little more flavour. You could try that if it appeals to you though I have tried it and it's not an improvement for me personally.

Other great ideas for organic apples

Apples are so healthy-One medium apple (180 g) has only 72 calories, 19 carbohydrates, is a source of fibre and is a source of Vitamin C. Because of this, I buy and eat a lot of apples. I've put together a list of 7 more of my favourite ways to enjoy fresh apples to help give you some more inspiration.

1. Diced apples cooked in your morning oatmeal.
2. Core and slice apples then sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar and add to your kids lunch bag. My kids think this is a big treat and it helps prevent apples from going brown.
3. Serve up sliced apples with peanut butter to dip in.
4. Apples and cheese are a classic combination and never get old, stack some apples and cheese between crackers for a fast cheater version of this sandwich.
5. Sliced quickly on my mandoline, tossed with a little lemon juice and dehydrated to make apple chips.
6. In a salad like this Apple Fennel Salad.
7. In a delicious cake like this Apple Brown Sugar Coffee Cake.

Related Recipes

This is comfort food at it's finest. I can definitely say that I love this apple grilled cheese more than any other grilled cheese sandwich I've tried, and I've tried a lot of them!

For more on what I'm cooking up, follow me on Instagram or Facebook and pop over to check our my shop closing out sale at West Coast Kitchen Garden (50% off everything until sold out!!!) You might also like my FREE printable weekly meal planner.

Have a wonderful and delicious day!

Sabrina

Recipe

Apple and Brie Grilled Cheese with Hot Honey

Sweet tart apple, creamy, earthy brie, crisp, buttery toast with a kiss of lightly spicy honey. Honey adds both a sweet and savoury flavour that makes the apple and brie sing. This is comfort food at it's finest!

5 from 60 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Lunch, sandwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 565kcal

Author: Sabrina Currie

Ingredients

Apple Brie Grilled Cheese

• ▢ 8 slices Hearty white country loaf or French bread Sourdough and rye also work well
• ▢ 2 Organic apples, thinly sliced
• ▢ 250 g Brie, cut into 12-16 equally thin slices (1 cup)
• ▢ 3 tablespoon Butter for spreading
• ▢ 4 tablespoon Hot honey butter (below) Omit chilis in honey butter if you prefer no spice

Hot Honey Butter

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Salted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tbsp Fireweed honey, or other mild honey
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Hot chili flakes Add up to ½ teaspoon chili flakes if you like it hotter

Instructions

Hot Honey Butter

• Mix butter, honey and chili flakes together. If your butter is not soft enough, microwave it in 10 second intervals until soft but not liquid.

Apple Brie Grilled Cheese

• Lay all 8 pieces of bread out and lightly butter top side of each. (You may not need all 3 tablespoon if your butter is soft and easy to spread thinly.)
• Lay 4 pieces of the bread, buttered side down in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan. Spread ½ tablespoon honey butter on each slice in the pan, top each with 2 slices of brie, ½ thinly sliced apple fanned out and then top with remaining 1-2 slices of brie.

  Spread remaining honey butter on the unbuttered side of the leftover slices of bread and place honey side down on top of sandwiches.
• Turn on frying pan to medium-low and cook apple sandwiches until golden brown on bottoms. Flip carefully and continue to cook until browned on second side. (Approx 5 minutes per side)

  Remove from pan and let cool 5 minutes before slicing in half and serving.
• Serve alone or with a simple salad or light vegetable soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 810mg | Potassium: 304mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 858IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 203mg | Iron: 2mg

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