I Tried Trader Joe’s New French Fromage Slices — Here’s How It Went

Here’s a simple truth about food that everyone should know: Bread and cheese are a match made in culinary heaven. It is so difficult to go wrong if you just put these two ingredients together on the same plate. And when it comes to bread and cheese, pretty much no one does it better than the French. So when I saw that Trader Joe’s — which long ago earned its title as the king of snack foods — had released a new package of French fromage slices ($5), I just knew that I had to try it with a fluffy baguette. A plain ol’ cracker would never do for this taste test.

Trader Joe’s agreed with my assessment, and conveniently provided a recipe for cheesy bread, which I followed loosely. I cut half of Trader Joe’s organic baguette into five one-inch-long pieces, and cut an opening in the center of bread, into which I stuffed half a slice of the fromage.

The Trader Joe’s recipe calls for a sprinkling of onion salt, but I used flaky sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil (be sure to cover your baking sheet with parchment paper, as this will get greasy). I then let the bread cook for a quick 10 minutes, until the cheese was slightly bubbly and the bread had a nice golden crisp on top.

Now, I made five pieces of the bread but only planned to eat two. I made a cup of black tea, and decided to enjoy the bread as a small pre-lunch snack. This may not come as a surprise to anyone at all, but the cheesy bread is pure deliciousness. The top of bread has a satisfying crunch while the rest retains its soft chewiness. The saltiness from the cheese and the sea salt isn’t overpowering — it teams up with the olive oil to create the ultimate umami flavor. I adore the slight oily texture the bread picks up, too. It’s an all-around winner.

Honestly, I liked this homemade cheesy bread better than any version I’ve eaten at, say, a pizza parlor because the bread isn’t soggy and the cheese doesn’t congeal into a rubbery ball on top. That means you should be mindful of how much cheese you melt on the bread with this recipe (as I mentioned, half a slice should do it, even for consummate dairy-lovers). And be careful how many pieces you make at once because you will eat more than you intend.

Although I melted the fromage on bread this time, I did sneak a plain slice and can confirm that it is delicious on its own. I also could imagine it working with a grilled cheese. No matter how you decide to prepare it, you need — and I really mean it when I say need — to try this cheese now.