Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

About this recipe

Creamy mac and cheese stuffed inside a golden, crispy grilled cheese sandwich. The ultimate comfort food mashup you never knew you needed. Get the full recipe and make it tonight.

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If you didn’t know, I’m in Canada, but I’m particularly excited for Fourth of July! Why? Well, I like to enjoy American classics!

Two iconic American classics are a creamy Mac and Cheese and a nice cheesy Grilled Cheese Sandwich, whether simple with just cheddar or gourmet with an assortment of cheeses and crazy pulls! When I was thinking of what to make for my very own way to celebrate Fourth of July, I thought of the craziest combination - how about some Grilled Cheese and Mac and Cheese fused together? And with bacon? That makes it even more American, right!

If you’re searching for the ultimate Fourth of July snack this year, then this Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese recipe is for you! You’ll be making a classic macaroni and cheese recipe with a rich béchamel sauce with mozzarella and yellow cheddar, stuffed in some amazing sourdough bread, more cheese, and bacon! See how to get a wonderful crispy exterior of your sandwich and nice gooey macaroni and cheese on the inside with some crispy bacon to have a Fourth of July to remember! You’ll definitely be putting your heart on a plate with this fusion of comfort foods if you try it out as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! You can get started for free by signing up to my email newsletter, plus you’ll get all of my new recipes delivered right to your inbox!

To see how to make the most amazing Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Bacon step by step, then be sure to watch the video! If you’re not already, it would mean a lot to me if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already and hit the bell button to get notified when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get cooking!

Mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich with bacon on wooden board and dipping sauce in small bowl.

What Bread Should I use For Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich?▼

As with any grilled cheese sandwich, for best results to hold all the cheese and fillings in place, you’ll need a thick-cut bread. Here are some great options:

Sourdough
Texas toast
Ciabatta
Rye
Brioche
Challah

I used sourdough! It’s my favourite type of bread, and there’s a particular sourdough from my local bakery that’s the best sourdough that I always come back to when I want to make a big and satisfying sandwich. However, as I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, if you have any of these other types of bread already on hand, then no need to run out to the store and get sourdough - unless you really have the inclination to do so! Plenty of breads will do the job and give you an incredible sandwich!

Now, on the other hand, breads that I would avoid are thin white bread, such as your typical Wonderbread sandwich bread. You won’t get much of a crunch when taking your bites, and these bread varieties are just too thin to hold in such a large quantity of toppings. Unfortunately, you could end up with a soggy mess that may fall apart!

I’ve never tried making a grilled cheese sandwich with gluten-free bread. If you can find one that is thick-cut, then I’m sure it will be fine.

Mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich being dipped into a white bowl of sauce, showing crispy golden-brown exterior with melted cheese.

What Cheese to Use in a Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese?▼

You can use plenty of cheeses to make this sandwich! You have endless options because you can use cheeses that are suitable for mac and cheese and for grilled cheese - usually they are the same! You can also really mix and match because you can use certain cheeses for your cheese sauce and a subset of those or entirely new cheeses for the sandwich itself! You’ll see here that I used part skim mozzarella and yellow cheddar both in the mac and cheese and the grilled cheese sandwiches themselves, but you can use as much variety of cheeses or keep it simple as I did! Here are some other options for the mac and cheese and/or the grilled cheese:

American cheese
Parmesan
Swiss
Havarti
Provolone
Brie
Monterey Jack
Pepper Jack
Gouda
White cheddar

Should The Cheese In the Macaroni and Cheese Sandwich Be Grated?▼

To be honest with you the choice is up to you! Since I had already grated cheese for the mac and cheese and I used the same two cheeses, I added in my cheese to the sandwich grated. However, if you want to add blocks of cheese slices, then try it and see how it goes! The difference will be in the surface area and the level of how molten the cheese becomes in your sandwich.

Can I Use Leftover Mac and Cheese to Make Mac n Cheese Sandwiches?▼

If you’ve already made some amazing mac and cheese, including any of my “enhanced” mac and cheese recipes such as Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese, Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese, Pepperoni Pizza Mac and Cheese, or Lobster Mac and Cheese, then these can all certainly be added into your sandwich! No need to reheat the mac and cheese before filling, just make sure to cook the grilled cheese sandwiches low and slow to allow the mac and cheese to come up to temperature, and to allow the cheeses in the sandwich to melt. If your mac and cheese variation already has protein, then there’s no need to add the bacon. However, if you really want to, then feel free to! More bacon always makes things better!

Can I make These Mac n Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Vegetarian?▼

Yes, you definitely can! The only thing you need to do here to make the sandwiches vegetarian is to omit the bacon. I separated the bacon out so my mom could have the sandwiches vegetarian and she gave her seal of approval!

Tools Needed for Macaroni Sandwich

Ingredients

To know exactly how much pasta and cheese you’ll need for the mac and cheese to make the best sandwiches, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button, where you can save the recipe instructions for later and find all ingredients and their quantities. You can also scale the recipe to make just the right amount of mac and cheese for the amount of sandwiches you’re looking to make.

For the Mac and Cheese

Elbow macaroni
Old yellow cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Milk
All-purpose flour
Ground nutmeg
Butter
Salt and pepper
Chives

For the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bread
Bacon
Mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Butter

How to Make Cheese Sandwich with Mac and Cheese

For the Mac and Cheese

Bring water to boil in a large pot for your pasta. Season with salt and cook macaroni as per package instructions.

Boiling water with pasta in a large pot being stirred with a wooden spoon

Pasta being poured into boiling salted water in a large pot during cooking.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour and whisk for 2-3 mins until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The roux will begin to smell nutty, which is a good indicator that it is ready for the milk.

Melted butter cubes in a pan on the stovetop, beginning the roux for mac and cheese sauce.

Butter and flour cooking in a gray skillet on a stovetop, beginning the roux for mac and cheese sauce.

Whisking milk into a flour and butter roux in a skillet to make béchamel sauce for mac and cheese.

Béchamel sauce being whisked in a skillet, showing a creamy, pale mixture with visible whisk marks swirled throughout.

Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer.

Milk being poured into a pan with roux while whisking to make béchamel sauce for mac and cheese.

Whisking milk into a roux in a skillet to make béchamel sauce for mac and cheese.

As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Milk being whisked into a roux in a saucepan to make béchamel sauce for mac and cheese.

Creamy white béchamel sauce simmering in a skillet with a whisk resting on the rim.

Creamy béchamel sauce simmering in a skillet, sprinkled with nutmeg and black pepper.

Creamy white béchamel sauce simmering in a skillet with a whisk resting inside.

Bring the pan off the heat and add in cheddar and mozzarella and mix until the cheese melts. Your cheese sauce is ready.

Creamy béchamel sauce simmering in a black skillet on a gray countertop.

Melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese mixed into creamy béchamel sauce in a dark skillet.

Creamy cheese sauce being stirred in a black skillet with a spatula.

Creamy cheese sauce being poured into a black skillet for mac and cheese preparation.

Mix in the cooked macaroni and finely chopped chives. Set aside for now.

Creamy mac and cheese with elbow pasta and melted cheese sauce mixed with chives in a skillet.

Butter being stirred into a pan of creamy mac and cheese with a red spatula.

Creamy mac and cheese mixture in a dark pan with a fork lifting a portion, showing melted cheese coating the pasta.

Mac and cheese with melted cheese sauce being stirred with a spatula, garnished with green chives.

To Make the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Add the bacon to a cold pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook until the bacon is cooked to your liking. Drain and set aside for later.

Diced bacon cooking in a stainless steel pan on a stovetop.

Apply the butter on the outer sides of each slice of bread. Alternatively, you can skip this step and apply the butter later. Add mac and cheese to one of the bread slices, sprinkle extra cheese as desired followed by crispy bacon and then close the sandwich.

Slicing a crusty artisan bread loaf on a wooden cutting board with a serrated knife.

Sliced bread on a wooden cutting board with a butter knife, showing the crumb structure for assembling grilled cheese sandwiches.

Four slices of toasted bread on a wooden board: two plain, two topped with creamy mac and cheese and shredded cheddar cheese.

Mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich on bread with melted cheese, crispy bacon, and caramelized onions being assembled with a spoon.

Heat a pan on medium low heat and apply butter. Place the sandwich on the pan, move the sandwich around the pan to coat it well with butter and then cover with a lid. Cook gently until the underside is golden brown.

Butter being poured from a yellow container onto a heated pan with melting butter swirled across the surface.

Grilled cheese sandwich with melted mac and cheese filling cooking in a buttered skillet on medium-low heat.

Mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich cooking in a buttered pan with glass lid, being coated with melted butter.

Using a spatula, flip the sandwich. Then, lift the sandwich up, apply more butter on the pan and then place the sandwich over the molten butter to coat the underside. Continue to cook on the other side until the cheese in the middle is molten and the bread is golden brown and crispy.

Flipping a mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich in a buttered skillet with a spatula.

Golden-brown grilled cheese sandwich being flipped in a skillet with melted butter.

Golden-brown grilled cheese sandwich with melted mac and cheese filling cooking in a nonstick skillet.

Slice and serve.

Golden-brown grilled cheese sandwich with melted cheese visible, being lifted with a spatula on a wooden surface.

Child's hand holding a grilled cheese sandwich with melted cheese visible between toasted bread on a wooden cutting board.

Enjoy!

Hands holding a grilled cheese sandwich with melted cheese and green herbs visible between toasted bread slices.

Tips to Make an Epic Mac N Cheese Grilled Cheese

Starting the bacon off on a cold pan will help to render out fat more effectively and get crispier bacon.
Make sure the pan is not too hot while cooking the grilled cheese. The cheese and the mac and cheese needs to get up to temperature to become warm, molten while ensuring each side of the bread is toasted.
Use salted butter if you have it on hand to add extra flavor. Or better yet, garlic or herb compound butter can add an even more delicious touch.
Try different combinations of cheeses and breads to get a unique grilled cheese sandwich experience each time.
A fish spatula always works great for me to flip the grilled cheese sandwich so that you can comfortably and firmly hold onto the sandwich and swiftly flip it without it breaking.

What If I Have Extra Mac and Cheese?▼

That’s no problem at all! All you need to do is store the leftovers in an airtight container. You can enjoy the mac and cheese on its own or you can use it to make more sandwiches!

Hand holding a grilled mac and cheese sandwich with melted cheese visible, served with dipping sauce on a wooden board.

Recipe by Anadi Misra