Step up your sandwich game with this delicious roasted mushroom grilled cheese! With a blend of melted mozzarella, parmesan, and goat cheese for an easy gourmet twist. Vegetarian.
On my list of favorite things, grilled cheese sandwiches rank very, very high. (Slathering bread with cheese and frying it up in a pool of butter to achieve crispy, cheesy perfection? YES PLEASE).
This easy grilled cheese recipe uses three cheeses for the best creamy, melty bite (mozzarella, shredded parmesan, and goat cheese – but you can swap whatever you have on hand!) Roast up some sliced portobello mushrooms with a bit of thyme, layer it all together, and you. are. in. business.
It’s a perfect hearty, savory, vegetarian sandwich that feels just a little fancy without being too much work.
Serving Suggestions
This mushroom grilled cheese sandwich is perfect alongside a quick salad or for dunking into your favorite creamy soup! Some of our top pairings:
- Roasted Tomato Soup (vegan)
- Creamy Apple Tomato Soup (vegan)
- Lemon Parmesan Roasted Broccoli (vegetarian)
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup (vegan)
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Riffs & Substitutions
This roasted mushroom sandwich is a perfect blank canvas. Some of our favorite ways to mix it up:
- Swap the cheeses. Use any combination of cheeses you like here! We love the combo of tart goat cheese with salty parmesan and melty mozzarella, but this sandwich is great with just about anything. Use more or less of any of these cheeses, or sub white cheddar, fontina, gruyere, havarti, fresh mozzarella, or even brie for some or all of the cheese here.
- Add extra veggies. Layer some fresh chopped spinach, kale, or arugula into these sandwiches for a pop of color, or roast some extra vegetables along with the mushrooms to make these even heartier (we love roasting beets, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, or parsnips for these sandwiches. Just make sure you slice them into small, thin pieces so they roast at the same rate as the mushrooms!) This recipe is also great with sliced tomato, a bit of leftover grilled corn or grilled asparagus.
- Amp up the flavor with a spoonful of fresh pesto, a drizzle of balsamic glaze or truffle oil, or a few cloves of roasted garlic.
- Add some protein. Add crispy bacon, grilled or shredded chicken, a slice of ham, or a fried egg to these sandwiches.
Grilled Cheese FAQs
Yes! Grilled cheese is SO easy to make in the oven (perfect for a crowd!) Butter your bread slices, assemble each sandwich as directed, then lay sandwiches on a large sheet pan and bake at 400° F for 5-7 minutes (or until the tops are lightly toasted), then flip the sandwiches over and bake another 5-7 minutes or so until toasty.
Yes! You can use mayonnaise or olive oil in place of butter if you like.
You bet! Store leftover mushroom and cheese sandwiches in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet with a little bit of butter until warmed through. You can also reheat sandwiches in the oven (just pop them in at 350° F and heat until warm!)
Thyme Roasted Mushroom Grilled Cheese
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Inactive Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This easy roasted mushroom grilled cheese uses a trio of cheeses for a rich, cheesy sandwich!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 slices crusty bread (we like using homemade crusty bread or a nice sourdough!)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup goat cheese, at room temperature (about 2 ounces)
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Roast the mushrooms:
- Heat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss sliced mushrooms with olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Spread seasoned mushrooms on a large baking sheet, making sure there is plenty of room between each piece.
- Bake mushrooms at 400° F for 15-20 minutes, until they’ve reduced and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the grilled cheeses:
- Generously butter one side of each bread slice, then place half of the bread slices butter-side down in a large skillet (reserve the other half of your bread slices for the top of your sandwiches!) You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet.
- Spread a spoonful of goat cheese across the top of each slice of bread. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, a spoonful of roasted mushrooms, and a handful of mozzarella cheese. Top with the last four pieces of bread, butter side up, to form your sandwich.
- Turn the heat on to medium.
- Keep an eye on the sandwiches as they cook. When the bottom piece of bread has browned up nicely (about 5-7 minutes, depending on how hot your pan is – I like to keep mine on medium-low so the cheese melts niiiiiice and slooooow) flip the sandwich to toast the other side of the bread.
- Remove grilled cheeses from the pan, slice in half, and serve immediately.
Notes
Substitutions: Use white button mushrooms, large portobellos, or your favorite mushroom variety in place of the portobellos. Add extra veggies (spinach, kale, tomato, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper) to make these sandwiches a bit heartier. Add protein if you like – this recipe is great with crispy bacon, ham, shredded chicken, or a fried egg. You don’t need to use all three cheeses – just grab whatever you have on hand! These sandwiches are great with white cheddar, havarti, brie, gruyere, or a mix of cheeses. You can also add a drizzle of pesto, balsamic vinegar, honey, or truffle oil for extra flavor.
This works best with room temperature goat cheese, which is easier to spread. Letting the goat cheese sit on the counter for 20 minutes or so before assembling your sandwiches is usually plenty – I like taking the goat cheese out of the fridge when I start to prep the mushrooms. To soften your goat cheese more quickly, heat it in a microwave-safe dish for 5-10 second intervals, stirring in between each one, until soft.
To make this grilled cheese in the oven, assemble sandwiches as written and bake on a large sheet pan at 400° F for 5-7 minutes until the tops are lightly browned. Flip sandwiches and bake another 5-7 minutes until toasted.
Strict vegetarians should look for cheeses made without rennet.
Keywords: melt, portobello, sandwich
This post was originally published in 2014. It was updated in 2021 with new photos and additional notes.
The photos for this recipe were taken by Casey at The Mindful Hapa!
probably one of the best grilled cheese i’ve ever had! the mushrooms add the perfect bit of umami and the hint of thyme makes you feel oh so fancy. Needless to say I will be making these again!
★★★★★
Yay!! We’re so happy to hear that you loved it!
I will try this yummy recipe with mushroom however l have done the plain grilled cheese with parmesan on top but it sticks to pan I used cast iron skillet. What am I doing wrong. I love cheesed sandwiches like this but it turned out a mess thank you
Absolutely delicious. I added some spinach to mine, it was super yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m happy to hear you liked it! I love the idea of adding spinach – I’ll have to try that next!
I’m thinking grilled cheese for dinner tonight! This really looks goooooooood!!!!
Serious grilled cheese perfection!
Pretty Amazing – it’s been too long since I had a gourmet grilled cheese and this one should do it. Nice work!