Give Grilled Cheese An Easy Italian Twist With One Ingredient

While switching up the bread and using a variety of cheeses are both great ways to make your grilled cheese even better, adding pasta sauce is an easy, no-fuss trick when you want to give it an Italian twist. From salty, herbal pesto to creamy Alfredo, just about any option will do if you use it correctly.

Pasta sauce comes premade with all the things that make Italian cooking great, like herbs, acid, and rich cooking fats. Whether you smear some on your bread or spoon it between layers of cheese before cooking, this approach is far easier than digging into your pantry or fridge to find the right individual ingredients. Plus, if you don't have a batch of the homemade stuff sitting in the fridge, there are plenty of grocery store sauces that taste homemade. While some of these may cost a bit more, you don't need much to upgrade a grilled cheese's flavor, so it can be a good time to splurge on something extra great.

To ensure a perfect toast, avoid letting the sauce sit on the bread for too long. Depending on its moisture content, the sauce may seep through to the other side, which can prevent the bread from crisping up properly. Additionally, try to choose a sauce with a flavor profile that doesn't overlap too heavily with your bread and cheese. This gives you the most complexity for the least effort, all while keeping the recipe convenient.

While Alfredo is a solid choice for most sandwich combinations (because who doesn't want more cheese?), some options require more selectivity. Certain matches, such as a sharp tomato sauce on sourdough with aged cheddar, can become overly tangy, while oil-based pesto paired with rich queso Ibérico may result in a dish that's too oily.

If you're aiming for a bold profile, marinara is a great starting point thanks to its acidity. When paired with the rustic roughness of a unique country-style bread, you get something that's earthy yet bright. Add the creaminess of burrata, the meltiness of provolone, and the punch of aged Asiago for a sandwich that is as flavorful as it is complex. If you want to lean into the savoriness of this dish, try gently reducing some marinara in a pot until it darkens. This mellows its tartness and can even create a thick paste perfect for smearing on your bread.

Pesto is perfect for when you want a touch of subtlety or to add some extra heartiness to low-fat cheeses. Its flavor may get lost when paired with stronger-tasting breads, like pumpernickel, but it has just enough savor to balance out sweeter ones, like brioche. If you love mozzarella for how well it melts, that same quality helps it blend with the oils and herbs of pesto, keeping every bite melty and consistently flavored. Still, a bit of sharpness from chevre or aged cheddar can round things out nicely, in moderation.