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Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwich

September 23, 2021 by Joy the Baker 18 Comments

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Do you love lasagna? Do you love grilled cheese sandwiches? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you are going to love this lasagna grilled cheese sandwich! This sandwich is the perfect combination of two of our favorite dishes. Grilled to perfection, this lasagna grilled cheese sandwich is filled with gooey cheese and aromatic herbs. Every bite is an explosion of flavor. The sandwich is made with thick bread (like sourdough), roasted cherry tomatoes, layered ricotta, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil!

Side view of gooey lasagna grilled cheese sandwiches.

What is lasagna grilled cheese?

Imagine if you could take all of your favorite cheeses, sauce, and herbs from lasagna and put them inside perfectly toasted, thick slices of bread. That’s what lasagna grilled cheese is!

This sandwich has all the best lasagna filling ingredients between two crispy pieces of toast to bring lasagna to your lunchtime.

It’s not often (read: never) that I make myself an entire pan of lasagna. I know it’s certainly what Tron (read: my own personal Garfield) would like, but a whole pan of lasagna feels like a daunting amount of leftovers. However, I can commit to a small skillet lasagna or lasagna turned into a ridiculously melty sandwich.

Sure, we can’t go wrong with buttery grilled bread with cheese, but we can turn the dial to 11 with herbed ricotta, mozzarella, and roasted cherry tomatoes.

loaf of bread next to small bowls of mozzarella, ricotta, salt, pepper, oil, basil, tomatoes and butter.

What is the best type of bread for lasagna grilled cheese?

Use your favorite loaf of crusty bread, sliced thick. I like to use sourdough bread or Texas Toast because it is so thick and holds up to all the delicious fillings I added to it.

What kind of tomatoes do you use in lasagna grilled cheese?

Since this is a lasagna-inspired sandwich, use some cherry tomatoes, a swirl of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the cherry tomatoes before adding them to the sandwich; they will be extra caramelized and delicious.

What type of cheese melts best for grilled cheese?

Use a combination of grated mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese. Whole milk ricotta is extra rich and creamy.

Tip: Add a few sprigs of fresh basil and lemon zest for some bright and new flavors that enhance everything perfectly.

How do you make the sandwich extra golden and crispy?

Spread some real butter on the outside of the slices of bread. This will make the sandwich toasty golden, and delicious.

Cherry tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet for roasting.
Ricotta cheese with fresh basil, salt and pepper and lemon zest for Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwich.


How to make the best lasagna grilled cheese

Grilled cheese is a simple sandwich, but this isn’t your ordinary grilled cheese. Instead, it’s a grown-up sandwich with lots of layers and steps. Thankfully, it’s still pretty simple. Follow these tips, and you’ll have a sandwich that tastes so good that you’ll swear it came from a hired chef.

Note: If you love grilled cheese sandwiches, then make all of my favorite grilled cheese recipes. The pesto butter recipe is out of this world!

1. Roast the cherry tomatoes

Start by roasting the cherry tomatoes with a few glugs of olive oil, a generous amount of sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Roast the tomatoes until they burst and bubble. Basically, they should become tomato candy.

If you want to make cleanup easier at the end, I suggest placing some parchment paper on your baking sheet. The cherry tomatoes will stick to the baking sheet if you don’t.

2. Mix the ricotta layer

While the tomatoes roast, stir together the ricotta layer. Mix ricotta, fresh basil, salt, and pepper. I like to add just a hint of lemon zest to brighten all the flavors.

Tip: Use fresh basil over the dried stuff in the jar. That burst of earthy freshness from leaves you plucked off a plant just can’t be matched. Dried basil has muted flavors that don’t stand out when you use them. Use the fresh leaves – you’ll thank me later.

mozzarella and roasted cherry tomatoes on slices of bread

3. Assemble the sandwich

Now let’s assemble the lasagna grilled cheese sandwich!

Butter the outside of two slices of bread.

Tip: I suggest using unsalted butter because you already use salt in everything else. If you use salted butter, you risk the sandwich tasting slightly too salty.

4. Add ingredients and grill it

Flip the slices over and top both sides with grated mozzarella cheese. Layer the ricotta cheese on one side of the sandwich and top it with tomatoes.

You know what to do, put that sandwich on the grill and cook it to perfection.

Two lasagna grilled cheese sandwiches grilling in a skillet.

Grill until golden on each side.

If the cheese melts and sizzles over the side of the sandwich, that’s all part of the joy.

Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwiches sliced in half and oozing melted cheese.

5. Serve the lasagna grilled cheese and enjoy!

I mean, come now. There’s no wrong way to do a grilled cheese sandwich, but there certainly are more correct ways to make them. This lasagna version of grilled cheese is incredibly ooey gooey comforting. It’s an effortless luxury, and you’re invited. And as long as we’re fancy, see the French onion grilled cheese sandwich.

Since we are extra fancy, don’t just serve this with your run-of-the-mill tomato soup. Instead, make some creamy and nutritious tomato zucchini soup. It has some sweet notes that only come from garden-fresh zucchini.

You can also serve this sandwich with savory and cheesy asparagus and gruyere tart. The earthy asparagus and slightly-nutty gruyere are a perfect duo on this flaky bread.

Or, sit back and enjoy this incredible sandwich all by itself. It’s so filling that you don’t need to eat anything else with it.

Other sandwich recipes you might consider: 

Egg Salad Sandwich

Praline Bacon BLTs

Peanut Butter, Bacon, Banana French Toast Sandwiches

Print
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Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwiches sliced in half and oozing melted cheese.

Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwich

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 sandwiches 1x
  • Category: Lunch
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Description

An ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich with roasted tomatoes and herbed ricotta.


Ingredients

Scale

For the Tomatoes:

  • 1 pound cherry tomatoes, some halved
  • A few glugs of olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Fresh cracked black pepper

For the Sandwich:

  • 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil
  • Sea salt
  • Fresh cracked black pepper
  • A zest of lemon rind (optional)
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
  • A few tablespoons butter, softened
  • Good crusty bread, sliced

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with either foil or parchment paper. Dump tomatoes onto the lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast until the tomatoes burst and sizzle, about 20-25 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl stir together ricotta, basil, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add a pinch of lemon zest if you have it on hand.
  3. Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of four slices of bread. With the butter sides down, divide the mozzarella cheese between the four slices. Spread two of the slices with ricotta cheese. Top the ricotta with a few spoonfuls of roasted tomato. Top with the other piece of bread.
  4. Grill the two sandwiches until golden brown and crisp on the outside, and melty on the inside.
  5. Remove from the skillet and allow to rest for just a few minutes before slicing in half and enjoying warm.

Keywords: grilled cheese, lasagna, roasted tomatoes, ricotta, basil, joy the baker

Did you make this recipe?

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Photos with my friend Jon Melendez.

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Reader Interactions

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Questions
  1. Laura

    October 28, 2021 at 11:10 am

    This was delicious and a delight to make and eat! What a lovely idea, thanks Joy!

    Also, I can’t access your skillet lasagna recipe — could you help? I’d love to try that next!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Barbara

    October 11, 2021 at 1:24 pm

    Delicious! What a way to elevate the grilled cheese sandwich.

    Reply
  3. samantha campanini

    October 4, 2021 at 11:51 am

    Dreamy sandwich!!

    Reply
  4. pepperpie

    October 2, 2021 at 7:21 am

    Made these last night for my family, we all loved it! My husband said it was amazing. I did use skim-milk ricotta to reduce the risk of soggy bread. Definitely a keeper. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Teddy Ray

    October 1, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I don’t dig on tomatoes, but I bet this would be good with pizza sauce.

    Reply
  6. Tina

    September 28, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    This was sooo amazing even my kids loved it and said to make this for there school lunch nI used gluten free toast bread cause I’m gluten free and I added pieces of chicken and tomato sauce I’m sure it would be great with ground beef or lamb

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      September 29, 2021 at 4:24 pm

      That sounds fantastic!

      Reply
  7. sewhappy

    September 28, 2021 at 2:43 am

    I have not made it yet. I am wondering about the number of sandwiches the recipe make. A pound of tomatoes, and almost a cup of cheeses for two sandwiches. I am not sure.

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      September 29, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      This will leave you with some leftover tomatoes and you can use whatever amount of cheese you prefer for your sandwich! Hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  8. Anna Robinson

    September 25, 2021 at 9:59 am

    Joy, that looks perfect. I am making this sandwich. What a great way to use up all the cherry tomatoes that are available still. Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Louise Biedrzycki

    September 25, 2021 at 7:15 am

    Jeez Louise, I have to try this. Might even add some chopped artichokes, spinach to make it more healthy and added fiber!
    Thanks, hope everyone you love are safe

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      September 27, 2021 at 7:33 am

      Spinach and artichokes would be fantastic!

      Reply
  10. Sabrina

    September 24, 2021 at 9:32 pm

    lovely a very sophisticated grilled cheese! Love these lasagna flavors, thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  11. caro

    September 23, 2021 at 1:48 pm

    kind of disappointed there aren’t actual noodles in the sandwich but I guess my kitchen my rules ;) looks delish!

    Reply
  12. nancy k

    September 23, 2021 at 9:01 am

    This sandwich should be illegal…it looks dangerously delicious. I have all the necessary ingredients EXCEPT the crusty bread. I will be heading out to the store later today . I need to have this sandwich very, very soon.
    Thanks, Joy!

    Reply
  13. Chris W.

    September 23, 2021 at 6:26 am

    While there’s only 2 of us, I do make lasagna semi-frequently and then freeze it in edible portions. It’s so nice to have something delicious for dinner when I don’t feel like cooking – just heating up. I guarantee that the ingredients for these sandwiches are already on my grocery list for the coming week! Our heirloom tomatoes are getting near the end of their growing season as is our basil so this came at a great time. Thank you so much for a recipe that definitely makes the conversion to fall a pleasant one…have a great rest of the week and stay safe.

    Reply
  14. Vaughan

    September 23, 2021 at 5:55 am

    Looks SO good. And maybe, to guild the lily, add a dash of pesto.
    Either way, delicious.
    I roast small tomatoes all the time. Parchment paper makes sense for clean up but might soak up too much of those lovely caramelized juices. I squeegee up every last drop.
    Thanks Joy!

    Reply
  15. Jean

    September 23, 2021 at 5:50 am

    If this doesn’t help me transition from summer to fall nothing will! Thank you, Joy!

    Reply

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