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Recipes

Fancy Pumpkin Butter Grilled Cheese

This recipe was featured in our Imperfect Almanac.

Lucious pumpkin butter, tart green apples, and lots of melty cheese. It’s the festive fall trio you didn’t know you needed in your life. Our recipe for Pumpkin Butter Grilled Cheese is one-part comforting, one-part autumnal, and two-parts cheesy. Enjoy with a mug of apple cider or a bowl of Spiced Carrot Soup.

Serves 2

2 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (2tbsp, 1 tbsp, 1 tbsp)
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 4 slices of sourdough or other rustic bread
  • 4-8 slices of high-quality cheese (mozzarella, provolone, gouda, etc.)
  • 4 tbsp Imperfect Foods Pumpkin Butter
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
  • Granny smith apple, 6-8 thin slices
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onions and a pinch of both salt and sugar and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are beginning to become translucent.
  2. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring every few minutes and adding an occasional splash of water to prevent sticking/burning and speed up the process.
  3. Continue cooking until onions have reached the desired level of brownness. 15-20 minutes for blonde color. 30 minutes for golden brown. 45-50 minutes for dark brown. Set caramelized onions aside to cool slightly.
  4. Layout slices of bread to assemble the sandwich. Spread 1 tbsp of pumpkin butter on each slice of bread.
  5. On the bottom slice of bread add 1-2 slices of cheese, 3-4 slices of apple, caramelized onions, and chopped rosemary, and top with an additional 1-2 slices of cheese. Top with the second slice of bread.
  6. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a medium skillet for each sandwich and grill the sandwiches on each side until brown and crispy and the cheese is melted. For crispier bread, press down on the sandwich while cooking with a spatula or sandwich press.

Recipe Notes and Variations

  • There are a lot of folks out there who swear that to get the best grill on your grilled cheese, you should smear mayonnaise rather than butter on the outside of your sandwich. We’re butter purists but also secretly curious if anyone has tried it.
  • And because we can never get enough pumpkin this time of year, check out our Three Ways to Eat All the Pumpkin Butter and 6 Ways to Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life.

Want to make your groceries last longer?

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Shauna
Shauna
3 years ago

I always use mayo spread on the outside of the bread for grilled cheese. It profuces a beautifully browned and crispy grilled cheese sandwich. I think it works better than butter; less likely to burn quickly!

Reply
Imperfect Foods
Imperfect Foods
3 years ago
Reply to  Shauna

Love this tip!

Reply
Crystal Haag
Crystal Haag
3 years ago

Looks yummy. EVERYTHING does. Can’t wait for my first box.

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
3 years ago
Reply to  Crystal Haag

Yay! We’re so hap-pea to have you join our wonky fam! ????

Reply
Dale Hamakawa
Dale Hamakawa
3 years ago

Easy to make except for the time it takes to caramelize the onions. Used Smoked Gouda and gala apples but still lacked any flavor. Maybe I didn’t spread enough pumpkin butter.

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
3 years ago
Reply to  Dale Hamakawa

Caramelized onions do take a bit of time to make! And now you’ll definitely have to try that for next time! ????

Reply
Tagged Main courseVegetarian

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