Grilled cheese sandwich with Brie and red onion marmalade

Forget the white bread and American cheese. Instead serve it up bistro-style with these grilled cheese sandwiches with Brie and red onion marmalade!

The red onion marmalade takes an hour to cook down, but it’s well worth the time to derive that wonderful richness and flavor. To save time, make the marmalade a day in advance, just slowly and lightly warm it up before preparing the sandwiches.

Grilled cheese sandwich with Brie and red onion marmalade

Yields 4 small to medium-sized sandwiches or 2 large ones

Ingredients:

For the red onion marmalade:

• 2-1/2 cups red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 2/2
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon fine black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the sandwich:

• Prepared red onion marmalade
• 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 smaller-sized slices hearty whole-grain bread, sliced about 3/4-inch thick (or 4 large slices of bread)
• 8 ounces Brie cheese
• Grainy Dijon mustard (optional, on the side)

Directions:

To make the red onion marmalade:

1. Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and stir it around. Allow the onions to cook down for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the additional 2 tablespoons of butter and continue to cook another 5 minutes, stirring often.
2. After the onions are fragrant, soft and translucent, add the apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper, stir around to mix well. Turn heat down to a simmer and cover the pot.
3. Simmer onion mixture for one hour, stirring occasionally to ensure the onions on the bottom are not burning. After an hour, the onions should be reddish brown, soft, translucent and extremely fragrant. Set aside. Can be made one day in advance.

To make the sandwich:

1. Take 2 slices of bread and butter one side of them. Place a slice of bread butter side down in a frying pan.
2. Place a nice sized slice of Brie on top of the bread, top the Brie with 1-2 tablespoons of the red onion marmalade, top the marmalade with another slice of Brie and then top with the other slice of bread, butter side up.
3. Turn on heat to medium. Cook sandwich undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, or until beginning to brown and crisp. Carefully flip the sandwich over and lightly press on the sandwich with a spatula. Cover the frying pan with a lid and turn off the heat.
4. Allow sandwich to sit under the lid 2-3 minutes or until the other side has crisped up and the cheese has melted. Serve hot, warm or room temperature with a side of grainy Dijon mustard.

More grilled cheese recipes

Grilled cheese rolls
Spinach, goat cheese and avocado grilled cheese
Smoked gouda, ham and apple grilled cheese