Dill Pickle Bacon Grilled Cheese. This is the best sandwich ever with loads of crispy bacon, gooey cheese and crunchy dill pickles. Grilled cheese will never be the same again!
Everyone seems to have their own method for eating a grilled cheese sandwich! When I was in high school we’d always get grilled cheese sandwiches and ketchup at the cafeteria and I loved that combo. (Weird or normal?)
To this day, I always dip my grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup!
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Don’t Forget the Pickles
For as long as I can remember my husband has always sliced dill pickles and put them on top of his grilled cheese sandwiches. (If you’ve never had a grilled cheese with pickles before, you’re missing out).
I decided to combine his beloved dill pickles with grilled cheese (and of course toss in some bacon for good measure). The result… totally out of this world.
A Yummy Crunch
A Yummy CrunchI am not kidding when I say these are the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches ever! Crispy bread, ooey gooey cheese and a crunch from the sliced pickles. Don’t worry, the pickles don’t get soft, they don’t cook long enough so they still hold that good yummy crunch you’re looking for!
I use large dill pickles and slice them lengthwise but really any pickle will work in this recipe. If your pickles are small or if you just have round pickle slices, that’s totally ok. The cheese melts and holds them in place and they’ll taste just as great!
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While we always have pre-cooked bacon on hand but I love to fry “real” bacon for this recipe. It has a better flavor plus I leave a little bit of the bacon grease in the bottom of the pan for extra yumminess while the sandwich is grilling. I use cheddar and a bit of mozzarella in this sandwich but you can use any kind of cheese you like. Gruyere is great in this sandwich too!
Dill Pickle Bacon Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 slices bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large pickle sliced
- 2 slices processed cheese
- 2 ounces cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a pan until crisp. Drain on paper towel.
- Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan. Butter each slice of bread (on one side only).
- Place bread butter-side down. Top with processed cheese, pickle slices, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Top with second slice of bread, butter side up.
- Cook over medium-low heat, flipping halfway until bread is lightly toasted and cheese is melted.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I will make it tonight….can’t wait…..yummy
Enjoy!!
Not yet
Wow….I’m making it tonight 4sho
Ok, I tried this. I did it just like how you see on the video, except I cut my bacon into 4 pieces.
It was pretty good, but I was surprised by how much the flavour of the pickles took over the whole sandwich. I expected to taste a better mix of bacon and pickle and cheese, but for the most part, all I got was pickles.
…now don’t get me wrong. I’m a pickle FREAK, but seeing all the flavours that would be coming my way after making it, I just expected a better mix.
…so…
When I first saw the video, I actually thought the mozzarella was chopped onions, and that notion stuck with me.
I made another sandwich and replaced the pickles with chopped onions.
INSTANT HIT.
The mix of flavours was much better and the whole sandwich just worked really well with that mod (and for the record, if given a choice of pickles OR onions, I would choose pickles AND onions).
I did want to keep true to the original recipe, so I decided to try one more sandwich, this time, chopping up about 1/2 a slice of onion (btw, I used Sweet Onions) and taking ONE slice of pickle, chopping it up and putting both on the cheese, then cover with the mozzarella, bacon and cheese.
That one worked better than the original, too.
With less pickle in the mix, I did find a better mixing of all flavours combined, but I did get some pickle this time, too.
In the end, I found I preferred replacing the pickles with sweet onions on this one (although, chopped pickles and chopped onions makes for THE BEST Tuna Salad you can ever eat).
I did give it only 3 stars for reasons I’ve already shared.
Does that make this a “bad” recipe? Of course not! Tailor to suit your own tastes, and I just gave you a couple of options.
Play with it and have fun!
Thank you so much, Holly, for sharing this recipe with us. It would have never occurred to me to do anything past slapping a slice of cheese on some buttered bread when making a grilled cheese sandwich if I had never run across this recipe.
Now I have a real “masterpiece” that I can cook up anytime with a minimum of fuss and muss. =)
:) Thank you for sharing, onions would be a delicious addition!
Genius and SIMPLE!
DEan, didyou use raw or sautee’d onions?
You can adjust the flavor in a number of ways. Refrigerate your own marinated (rice vinegar) fridge pickles, or rinse commercial pickles … remember the store shelf and the refrigerated pickles do NOT taste the same. Or, use B&B pickles or summer dills. Remember that cheddar is sharper in flavor than American or Gruyere.
You can make your own ugorki Polski by slicing fresh cucumbers for pickling, by slicing them as you wish, putting the pickles in a 1 qt mason jar with a little salt and the powder from probiotic capsules to start the ferment. ready in about a week. Let your creative side free. The rewards are great.
You need to try pizza grilled cheese, buffalo chicken grilled cheese and greek grilled chesse ;)
Mmmm, all delicious we totally agree!
Here’s a thought. You say you use whole pickles and slice them lengthwise. Well, why not buy those “Sandwich Stackers” pickles? Pre-cut in the shape you want.
This is a melt.
Where do you purchase your little pickles?
I get baby dills at the grocery store. Our Costco sometimes has them as well.
Nalley’s Baby Dills!
My pickle of choice, too. =)
A little raw onion slice would be great on this sandwich too.
Try using Havarti or Muenster for grilled cheese. They have a much lower melting point and are much more “gooey”. You will never go back to anything else.
I have been making a dill pickle grilled cheese for many years…started when I was in the Army in Germany. I use 3 kinds of cheese, Swiss, Cheddar, and Muenster or Provolone. I use tomato, too. If you have a good rye bread, that makes a wonderful sandwich, too. The German breads are super for the sandwiches. Bacon on everything, of course.
Delicious!!
What is the white substance you put on the pickles that looks like sauerkraut but is not listed in the ingredients?
Shredded Mozzarella cheese. It is listed as the last ingredient. :)
feel a bit lonely but have to say love the recipes
Great combination! Since its breakfast time, I am going to add a sunny side up egg with some thinly sliced onions. You can do so many things. Love your post! You and your husband seem to enjoy food! That’s true living. Be well
I feel like an egg on this would be genius! So good!
This looks amazingand I’ll be trying it tomorrow.
By the way, next time you make a grilled cheese (or any grilled sandwich for that matter), try swapping mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip) for the butter on the outside of the bread. Since mayo is mostly eggs and oil, it just crisps the bread right up. The difference is unbelievable!
I’ve actually heard that but have never tried it! I’m definitely going to give it a try!
You must try the mayo!
RATS! Completely forgot about that!
Thanks for the reminder Kevin. Will try that next time.
Think this will be lunch tomorrow
Wow, these photos are making me hungry! What a great recipe; I can’t wait to make it.
Thank you Rhianon!
I’m excited to try this soon! (Also a big grilled cheese and ketchup lover!) I’ll probably dip this in ketchup as well, thanks for sharing!
Enjoy Candi… I dip my grilled cheese in ketchup too (and put it on mac & cheese)! :)
Diced tomatos or stewed tomatos are great served with Mac n cheese.As a side or right on top. Bet you’d like that. Your sandwich looks fantastic. All the things I love!! Can’t wait to try it!!
Love grilled cheese sandwich with ketchup!!!
i love your recipes and am going to fix bacon dill gril cheese for my son he loves bacon cheese and dill pickles thank you
Thank you Mae! Enjoy!
What kind of bread do you use for the grilled cheese with pickles and bacon?
I use a white sesame seed bread. This will certainly work with any bread you have.
I’ve made dill pickle and tomato sandwiches for many years(40+) and I like bacon and Canadian bacon so now I’ll add to this!
Yummy!!
When I was in college, in the ’60’s, the grilled cheese with pickle chips was my go-to sandwich. The Southern Cooks thought I was crazy, but it became a short-order cult thing. As fir bread, I think that old-style potato bread works best because of its fine crumb. That said, whole wheat is good, as is Italian whole wheat. I’ve made them with texas garlic toast, and you always control flavor by:
(1) switching from bacon drippings to olive oil or butter. (2) Using marinated dill pickles vs. fermented dills. Forget the cornichons. Way off base flavor-wise. (3) changing out the bacon (hickory, uncured, apple-smoked, cherry smoked, Bende Double-smoked, etc) (4) changing cheeses. American, white cheddar, gruyere, blue cheese, whatever floats your boat). (OK, the blue cheese-pickle thing IS a bit strange. I have yet to try fermented dill with ricotta salata.)
I’m a cheese, dill pickle, dill weed lover, so I’ll probably be making all your recipes/
Enjoy Carolyn!