This Vegetarian Drunken Grilled Cheese Sandwiche recipe adds onions sauteed in beer to the traditional grilled cheese. It’s grilled cheese for adults!
I’m not sure why I love cooking with beer so much when I don’t like to drink beer at all. Escandalo! A food blogger that doesn’t like beer! Yes, it’s true; I’m just not a fan.
I do like Guinness and I love me some lambic (my Chocolate Lambic Cupcakes are probably one of my favorite recipes on this blog), but other than that, beer is just yucky to me. And of course, when you don’t like beer, people never just take it at face value. No, they assume you’re judgy about drinking or that you’re uncool or super religious. Can’t a person just not like beer? Is it really that strange? C’mon, you know it tastes kind of foul. You know it does!
Cooking with beer is another story, though. And that bitter flavor that keeps me from drinking beer is the very reason I love to cook with it—I like that slight bitter note that it lends to dishes. It adds interest and depth without adding a lot of calories. Case in point? These Drunken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
After making Drunken Franks with Field Roast Frankfurters last week, I became a little bit obsessed with the idea of sautéing onions in beer. They had the sweetness of sauteed onions, tempered with the bitterness of the lager I added. I was looking for any excuse to make these onions again, and putting them on a grilled cheese sandwich seemed like a pretty good excuse.
I hadn’t planned on posting this recipe here, but after I made it and ate it (and went on to make it for lunch several more times), I concluded that it was just too good not too share. Whether or not you’re a fan of beer, I’m pretty sure you’ll be a fan of the Drunken Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup lager
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices bread
- 2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes or until softened and just beginning to turn golden brown, stirring frequently.
- Add lager, salt, and pepper to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Cook 5 minutes more, continuing to stir frequently, until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.
- Divide onions onto two slices of bread and top with cheese and remaining bread slices. Butter bread on each side.
- Wipe out skillet and return to medium-high heat. Place sandwiches in skillet and cook until browned, about 3–5 minutes on each side (depending on how toasted you like your grilled cheese).
37 Comments
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh
April 16, 2012 at 8:36 amHey, another person who doesn’t like beer! YAY! I have really only used beer in breads and chili but I’ll definitely be giving this a try! Looks wonderful as always!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:34 pmYup, I like beer in bread, chili, soups, stews, but I’ll pass on drinking it. And people think that’s so weird! It’s really not!
Jenn @therebelchick
April 16, 2012 at 9:45 amI only like two beers – and they both are light wheat ales with orange in them. LOL All other beers are gross. That being said, these sandwiches look AMAZING!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:32 pmTHANK YOU. They are so gross. Have you ever tried lambic? You might like that–it’s fruity!
Audrey
April 16, 2012 at 11:51 amI use a lot of onions in cooking. This looks yummy!!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:28 pmI think I use onions on a daily basis! It’s funny, because I never used to like them either, but now I can’t get enough. 🙂
BusyWorkingMama
April 16, 2012 at 11:55 amI’ll take one, stat! Yummy!!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:27 pmThey are good! My husband keeps asking me to make them for lunch. 🙂
Val
April 16, 2012 at 12:17 pmYou just can’t go wrong with a good grilled cheese!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:26 pmNope! I love grilled cheese. 🙂
Jackie
April 16, 2012 at 1:45 pmWhat’s better than Grilled cheese?? Drunk Grilled Cheese! I love this. Happy Grilled Cheese Month!
The Type A Housewife
April 16, 2012 at 2:26 pmOh yeah, I totally forgot to mention Grilled Cheese Month in this post. Oops!
Genevieve
April 16, 2012 at 5:59 pmI’m surprised that a non-beer drinker would like Guinness! It took me a long time to warm up to beer, but I can still only drink the light kinds. I should keep an eye out for lambic – I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it!
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:57 amTo me, Guinness tastes more mellow & less sharp than some of the lighter beers. Which is probably the opposite of what they actually are, right? Maybe my tastebuds are a little wonky. 🙂
Lambic is a Belgian beer. It comes in all different kinds of flavors, but my favorites are raspberry and cherry. So good!
Smedette
April 16, 2012 at 6:48 pmI was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where beer is a way of life. My parents, aunts, uncles, neighbors all home brewed and we even grew our own hops.
Maybe you just need to sample some more to find your style? 🙂
This sounds amazing. Wish I would have seen it before I made myself a pathetic grilled cheese for lunch.
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:54 amYou grew your own hops? That is hardcore. I do like some beers, like fruity lambics & Guinness, but I haven’t found any others that I can tolerate. I want to like it, I just can’t!
Natalie
April 16, 2012 at 7:05 pmHaha, I used to think anyone who liked beer was just faking it to look cool because I could not understand how anyone could enjoy drinking it, but I slowly started to convert and now I’d probably choose beer over any other drink! I love the idea of making a grilled cheese sandwich with it too!
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:53 amI thought the same thing about beer drinkers–or they just drink it for the buzz, not for the taste. It is so foul to me! Maybe someday I’ll be a convert too, but I doubt it. 😉
Brenda Williams
April 16, 2012 at 7:59 pmI love a really really cold Bud with pizza! Cooking with beer is awesome. You can also rinse your hair in beer to make it shine. This grilled cheese looks so good, but I would have to add jalapeno pepper slices to mine.
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:51 amI use a beer shampoo sometimes! I love it. 🙂 Jalapeno peppers would be a great addition to this–I thought about adding mushrooms, but jalapenos are even better!
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom
April 17, 2012 at 2:10 amHow am I going to live dairy free when you’re posting such tempting recipes?! But it does look really yummy! Is beer cheese soup next up?!
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:50 amI have never made beer cheese soup–I really need to try that! Usually I try doing one vegan recipe a week, but these next two weeks, it’s all dairy all the time. I’m sorry!
Stephanie @ henry happened
April 17, 2012 at 10:00 amDoes the alcohol cook out you think? Cuz I bet my kids would love this. I love beer – can’t WAIT to enjoy it (and some wine!) again 🙂
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:48 amI think it’s heated enough to cook off the alcohol, but there’s still a little bit of beer-y bitterness in these sandwiches that might not be too kid-friendly.
Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook
April 17, 2012 at 9:13 pmThose sandwiches look like such gooey goodness, wish I had one of those. Fantastic with the onions and the soup! I never liked the taste of beer, except in cooking. And the commercials make it look so refreshing, but I just never could acquire the taste.
Kiersten
April 18, 2012 at 11:46 amI can’t acquire the taste either. I’ve tried it enough times that I think I’m done trying! It is the opposite of refreshing to me.
April Decheine
April 19, 2012 at 11:16 amHmm what a great recipe, looks and sounds really good!
Kiersten
April 19, 2012 at 12:48 pmThank you! It’s hard to go wrong with grilled cheese. 🙂
Shirley
April 20, 2012 at 10:16 pmI like beer, though I wouldn’t go so far as saying I love it. Onions, on the other hand, I love. More than the average person. And grilled cheese is pretty darned good too.
Kiersten
April 21, 2012 at 8:20 amI loooove onions too! Although not raw–I can’t stand them raw. But cooked? I put them in just about everything. Including grilled cheese. 😉
Patti
April 25, 2012 at 10:37 amThis recipe sounds amazing…I too love onions!!! Can’t wait to try this!
I never liked any alcohol and still not a big fan, but occassionally I will make what I call a Radler. However, I tried Michelob Ultra and like the mellow, smooth flavor. Here’s a little trick I discovered while in Germany in 2002. Mix half MU with half Sierra Mist (soft drink). Then squeeze a wedge of lemon and lime. Delicious!! They actually bottle something similar in Germany but you can’t buy it here.
Kiersten
April 25, 2012 at 12:36 pmI’ve heard of Radlers, but I’ve never tried them! It’s funny, because that’s usually how I drink red wine–I add Sprite to it. People always think I’m crazy or that I’m ruining a good glass of wine, but I think it’s great! 😀
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes
June 15, 2012 at 1:33 amBe still my heart! Onions AND cheese? Oh, swoon. . .
Kiersten
June 17, 2012 at 8:40 pmAnd beer! You forgot the beer. 😉
L.D.
July 12, 2014 at 6:32 pmSeems to be a lot of people in this world that like to drink that yucky stuff. G_d loves us and wants us to be happy that’s why we’ve learned to brew beer. You can add tomato juice and I’ve seen people even put orange juice in beer also. Now listen to this, I’ve heard of guys nibbling on Hershey chocolate bars and washing it down with beer. Well bottoms up! Adios n’ Hasta La Bye Bye!
Sandy
September 4, 2014 at 1:43 pmI don’t like beer either. I’ll tolerate like…like…a vegetable I don’t like (can’t think of one right now)…beets? Yeah I’ll tolerate it like beets but it would not be my go too drink of choice. I prefer sweeter drinks, drinks that taste good.
Kiersten Frase
September 7, 2014 at 9:35 amI like lambic, which is a sweet, fruity beer, but yeah, I’m with you – beer doesn’t taste good to me!