Would Taste of Home’s 5-Cheese Grilled Cheese Live Up to Its Hype? I Tried It to Find Out.

When I first came across Taste of Home’s “Best Ever Grilled Cheese” recipe, I did a double take. It includes not one, not two, but five kinds of cheese: Manchego (or Parmesan), white cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyère, and Brie. I was particularly intrigued by the use of Brie, which you don’t often see in standard grilled cheese recipes.

In addition to the vast array of cheeses, Taste of Home’s recipe calls for spreading a mixture of Manchego, mayonnaise, onion powder, and butter on the outsides of the sandwich for a crispy, cheesy exterior. Naturally, I was incredibly tempted by this technique.

Would this maximalist approach to grilled cheese pay off? And is it worth the cost of buying five different kinds of cheese? Here’s my honest review.

Get the recipe: Taste of Home’s Best Ever Grilled Cheese

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread, then toast butter-side down in a skillet or electric griddle over medium-low heat until golden-brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix together the mayonnaise, Manchego cheese, onion powder, and remaining butter in one bowl, and the white cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Gruyère in another.

Lay the Brie slices down on the toasted side of four bread slices, then sprinkle the cheddar mixture on top. Top with the remaining slices of bread, un-toasted side facing up. Spread the mayonnaise and Manchego mixture on the outsides of the sandwiches. Place the sandwiches back in the skillet and cook until golden-brown and the cheese has melted.

Unfortunately, Taste of Home’s grilled cheese did not live up to my expectations. While I was excited about the variety of cheeses, they didn’t meld well from a flavor perspective. Instead of complementing one another, I felt they were competing. This was a bummer — especially because using that many different cheeses costs a pretty penny!

My next major qualm was with the cooking method and timing. Typically, I find that covering the skillet when making grilled cheese yields the best results: It allows the cheese to melt before the bread overcooks. I think Taste of Home’s recipe would have greatly benefitted from this method, because after cooking the sandwiches for 5 to 6 minutes per side as instructed, the bread was hard and pretty charred, especially given the cheesy coating on the outside. I also would have added a bit of butter to the skillet before cooking the grilled cheeses.

All in all, I just don’t think this grilled cheese hit the mark. If you’re going to spend that much money on cheese for a sandwich, it had better be near perfection. Although I don’t think I’ll be in a rush to make this version again, I do love the idea of playing with a larger selection of cheeses for my grilled cheese sandwiches going forward.

1. Cover the skillet with a lid. Ten to 12 minutes is a long time to cook a grilled cheese. Covering the skillet with a lid would have reduced the cooking time needed for the cheese to melt and prevented the outsides of the sandwich from charring.
2. Grease the skillet in between sandwiches. The skillet was desperately in need of some butter in between batches. This would have helped with the overly charred exteriors as well.

Overall rating: 6/10

Have you tried this Best Ever Grilled Cheese recipe? Let us know in the comments!