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40 Easy Dinner Recipes for Busy Weeknights.
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All the flavors you love in a bowl of tomato soup, turned into a melty grilled cheese. Heirloom tomatoes are layered between slices of sourdough with fresh basil, sharp cheddar, and creamy Brie. The bread is coated in everything bagel seasoning and pan-fried until golden, crisp, and perfectly gooey. It’s the perfect grilled cheese for spring and summer.
It’s only April, but I feel so thrown off. In Florida, it’s basically summer—eighty-degree days, warm, humid nights, and sunshine. I’m not complaining at all, but it definitely feels like July, so I might be just a little ahead of the seasons with this melty tomato grilled cheese.
But honestly, when the markets have heirloom tomatoes, why not? I’ll happily make this grilled cheese any time of year.
And it’s so simple. It’s a combination I make for my mom often—fresh heirloom tomato slices with a hefty sprinkle of sea salt (sometimes I even add a little everything seasoning to the tomatoes too), really good sharp cheddar, creamy, melty Brie, and fresh basil.
Then there’s the everything butter. Just butter mixed with Everything seasoning, spread onto the bread, and pan-fried until perfectly crisp. It really is such a simple, delicious sandwich to make all through tomato season—even into early fall.
I make this a lot for lunch or dinner. I’ve been making some version of it for a while now, and I just love using Brie mixed with cheddar for grilled cheese. You don’t even need the tomato—the combination of sharp, flavorful cheddar and creamy, meltier Brie is so good and a little unexpected.
You can also mix it up—add bacon, apples, or keep it simple with just cheese and a drizzle of honey.
These are the details
Ingredients
- tomatoes – preferably smaller heirlooms
- white balsamic – optional
- flaked sea salt and black pepper
- sourdough bread
- sharp cheddar cheese
- Brie cheese
- fresh basil
- salted butter
- mayo – I use the avocado oil mayo here
- Asiago cheese – you could use Parmesan too
- Everything bagel seasoning – optional but delicious, I shared my homemade
- honey – this is also optional, but do a drizzle of honey on most grilled cheese
The Kitchen Tools
I use a cast-iron skillet (I love this new citron color – and the 11″ is on sale right now!), a couple of mixing bowls, and a simple serrated knife to slice the tomatoes.
The Steps
Step 1: Prep the tomatoes
Do your best to find really good tomatoes. This is a really great sandwich to remake during tomato season. Heirloom tomatoes are ideal. Slice and salt them, then let them sit for a bit. This helps draw out excess moisture and keeps your grilled cheese from getting soggy. Don’t skip this step.
Step 2: Mix the cheeses
While the tomatoes sit, combine extra sharp cheddar, torn Brie (fontina works great too), and fresh basil. The cheddar adds bold flavor, while the Brie melts into that perfect gooey texture. Mixing the basil right into the cheese makes every bite extra flavorful.
Step 3: Butter the bread
Mix together the butter, mayo, and everything bagel seasoning. My go-to blend includes sesame seeds, onion flakes, and herbs. If you love everything bagels, you’ll love this—it really makes the sandwich. Spread the mixture evenly over the outside of each slice of bread.
Step 4: Cook
Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the sandwiches until golden and crisp on the outside and melty on the inside. Try not to overfill them so everything melts evenly.
Serve
Finish with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of sea salt—if you like. It’s my favorite way to serve this.
It. Is. So. Good!
Melty cheese, juicy tomatoes, and everything bagel spice come together in the best way. It’s rich, fresh, a little crunchy, and just downright perfect. Make this for an easy dinner tonight—you’ll be very glad you did.
Looking for other grilled cheese recipes? Here are a few ideas:
French Onion and Apple Grilled Cheese
Lastly, if you make this Everything Cheddar, Tomato, and Brie Grilled Cheese, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Everything Cheddar, Tomato, and Brie Grilled Cheese
Servings: 2 sandwiches
Calories Per Serving: 472 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
- sea salt and black pepper
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2-4 ounces torn Brie (I leave rind on)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon mayo (optional)
- 2 tablespoons grated asiago cheese
- 2-4 tablespoons everything bagel spice (optional, recipe in notes)
- honey, to drizzle, if desired
Instructions
- 1. Arrange the tomato slices on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes to draw out excess moisture.2. Mix the cheeses. In a bowl, combine the cheddar, Brie, and basil.3. In another bowl, mix the butter, mayo (if using), Asiago, and everything bagel seasoning. Spread the butter mix on the outside of each slice of bread. 4. Sandwich the cheese mixture and tomatoes between 2 pieces of buttered bread, buttered sides on the outside. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 2 sandwiches. 4. Heat 1–2 tablespoons butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the sandwiches until golden and crisp on each side, about 3–5 minutes per side. Drizzle with honey if desired, then serve and enjoy.
Notes
Everything Spice: In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons toasted white or black sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional), 2 teaspoons dried onions, 2 teaspoons dried garlic, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Keep stored in a cool, dry place.
This post was originally published on April 20, 2026
Hi Tieghan,
These are delicious!!!!
I see the recipe calls for balsamic vinegar but I don’t see it anywhere in the recipe. Where does it go? Both my husband and me must be blind as a bat because we couldn’t find it. Thanks for all your great work
Hi Mary Ann,
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! You can sprinkle the white balsamic over the tomatoes in step 1 if you want to use it.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
What a beautiful blend of flavors! I used black sesame and poppy seeds, which made it hard to see when the bread was golden brown. I guess I cooked it too slowly, because the cheese was melting into the pan before the bread had actually gotten crispy. I wish it had been crispy. Also, I was nervous about how I was going to flip the bread without spilling all the contents of the sandwich—-it’s such a tall sandwich! So I inserted two toothpicks into each sandwich and they flipped perfectly!
One issue—-I should have reduced the amount of salt in the everything bagel seasoning. My husband thought it was too salty, but he’s more sensitive to salt than I am.
By the way, I couldn’t figure out where the white balsamic is used, so I omitted it. Did I miss it somehow?
Hi Danette,
I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it!
You can drizzle the white balsamic on the tomatoes if using.
Have a great weekend!
you mentioned 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
when do you add that
Hi Fran,
You can drizzle that on the tomatoes if using:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
I am tossing this recipe. 4 tbsp of butter split between 4 slices means each person receives 2 tbsp of butter, too much! Thank goodness I did not add more butter or oil to the pan to grill them.
I used 3 tbsp of the bagel seasoning, too much. Between the salt on the tomatoes and the salt in the seasoning, along with the butter, this is the least heart-healthy recipe I have seen recently.
So sorry to hear this! Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback!
This looked AMAZING and my husband and I loved it even more than we imaged we would! So quick and easy too!
Hey Kat,
Fantastic!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed!
Absolutely delicious! I used a multigrain rye bread, sharp cheddar, thinly shaved parmesan reggiano, ham, heirloom tomato and fresh basil. The everything bagel seasoning mixed in with the butter and mayo on the outside of the bread was fantastic. This one is definitely keeper and will made many times in the future in this household!
Hey Janice,
Your feedback means a lot—thanks for trying this recipe! I’m happy it delivered!
You mention including herbs in your everything spice blend, which I am intrigued by since I have never seen that before. Can you elaborate? i see your blend in the notes section but that one doesn’t have herbs. Many thanks!
Hey Liz,
Any chopped herbs like basil or parsley is a delicious additon. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try!
Sounds yummy! The recipe you give for everything bagel seasoning does not resemble what’s pictured. In the pictures, it looks like you only used sesame seeds. Why didn’t you use everything bagel seasoning?
Hey AJ! I didn’t have poppyseeds or black sesame, but everything else is in the seasoning! Just needed to use what I had on hand.
Hope you love the grilled cheese! Have a great week!