I honestly don’t think you can ever be too old for grilled cheese sandwiches. They’re ooey, gooey and can be a meal on their own. What does change, however is what you put on your sandwich. By adding your own ingredients to your favorite bread you can end up with some pretty spectacular results that will have your family begging for more.
I was sent a selection of Stubb’s Barbecue products, and asked to make a recipe with them. I could go the traditional route and make barbecue chicken (a favorite in our house), but I wanted to try something new.
And while this takes a bit more work than just throwing a grilled cheese in the pan – you don’t need anything else to make a meal. A filling, delicious sandwich that is completely gluten free – what could be better than that?
What you need:
- 8 slices of your favorite gluten free bread
- 4 Tbsp Olive Oil, separated
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Red Onion, Sliced
- 1 Lb Bacon
- 4 slices Cheddar Cheese
- 4 Slices Light Havarti Cheese
- 4 Tbsp Stubbs Barbecue Sauce
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil and lay out your bacon slices, next to each other. Do not let them over lap.
Bake your bacon for 15-17 minutes until it’s crispy. Remove from oven and place on a plate with paper towel to remove any extra oil. Allow to cool
Step 2:
In a medium skillet heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil and your butter. Add in your sliced onions.
When the onions start to brown and are starting to turn translucent add in your sugar.
Over medium heat stir occasionally and your onions will start to caramelize. This may take up to 15 minutes.
Yes, this is a lot of work – but trust me it’s worth it!
Step 3:
On a cutting board lay out your bread slices. Brush on olive oil on one side of each piece.
Flip your top side down so you can start stacking on the ingredients!
Bread have holes? As much as I wish mine didn’t – this actually didn’t matter – the wonderful layer of cheese held it all in! So no worries!
Step 4:
Brush your Stubbs BBQ on the top slices and do it as evenly as possible.
Step 5:
Start stacking your ingredients!
On your barbecue side, stack your
- Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 caramelized onions
- 2-3 slices of bacon
- a slice of light Havarti cheese
- Bottom slice of bread
Repeat until all four of your sandwiches are stacked.
Step 6:
In a medium skillet carefully place your grilled cheese sandwich. Heat on the first side for 3 minutes, carefully flip, then grill the other side for 2 minutes.
Remove and enjoy!
It is a lot of work for a grilled cheese, but the flavors are fantastic and its worth the work.
This recipe is part of the Food Challenge with six other bloggers. You can check out the recipes below for this challenge! Each month we’ll be doing another challenge – let us know if you try any of the recipes!
Ingredients
- 8 slices of your favorite gluten free bread
- 4 Tbsp Olive Oil, separated
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Red Onion, Sliced
- 1 Lb Bacon
- 4 slices Cheddar Cheese
- 4 Slices Light Havarti Cheese
- 4 Tbsp Stubbs Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil and lay out your bacon slices, next to each other. Do not let them over lap.
- Bake your bacon for 15-17 minutes until it's crispy. Remove from oven and place on a plate with paper towel to remove any extra oil. Allow to cool.
- In a medium skillet heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil and your butter. Add in your sliced onions.
- When the onions start to brown and are starting to turn translucent add in your sugar.
- Over medium heat stir occasionally and your onions will start to caramelize. This may take up to 15 minutes.
- On a cutting board lay out your bread slices. Brush on olive oil on one side of each piece.
- Flip your top side down so you can start stacking on the ingredients!
- Brush your Stubbs BBQ on the top slices and do it as evenly as possible.
- Start stacking your ingredients!
- On your barbecue side, stack your Cheddar cheese, 1/4 caramelized onions, 2-3 slices of bacon, a slice of light Havarti cheese, Bottom slice of bread. Repeat until all four of your sandwiches are stacked.
- In a medium skillet carefully place your grilled cheese sandwich. Heat on the first side for 3 minutes, carefully flip, then grill the other side for 2 minutes.

I never have strayed far from a regular grilled cheese. Sometimes I’ll go for the wow and put a bit of ham in one. Pretty boring. This recipe though reminded me of my favorite gf dish at Chili’s, the chicken with the bbq sauce, bacon and cheddar on it. With the hubby working at Schwann’s we get some take home goodies here and there from damaged boxes. They have “philly style” chicken. It’s just plain shredded chicken vacuum packed in a single serving. It even looks like a little fillet. You throw it in the pan, cook it and seperate it up…and next time I pull one of those packets out, it’s going on bread with this recipe, minus onions. I never even thought of using olive oil on grilled cheese. can’t wait to try it out! thanks!
Sounded good up until the onions.