The Mess-Free Way To Add Tomato Slices To Your Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is an iconic pairing with lesser-known history behind it. But if you don't want to whip up two separate dishes, you can easily enjoy the magic of grilled cheese and tomato flavors by including slices in your sandwich. The only downside? The longer you cook these fruits on the stove, the soggier they get. That means their juices will seep out into the pan (and onto your bread slices), so your tomatoes lose texture and your sandwich becomes wetter.

However, there's an easy way to avoid all that mess. Instead of stuffing your fruit between your bread and cooking the whole grilled cheese at once, make it as an open-faced sandwich and add the tomatoes as one of the last steps. This way, you don't have to let your fruit sit on the stove as you wait for the cheese to melt. Your juices will (mostly) stay in your sandwich, instead of spilling out all over the place.

So how exactly do you accomplish an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich that's later closed up with tomatoes inside? First, you'll want to prep your tomato slices to minimize any mess later on. Press paper towels on top to soak up any excess liquid, and you may even want to carve out some of the wet flesh to further reduce the risk of sogginess.

Then, you'll want to use your broiler to achieve all that melted cheesy goodness. First toast your bread on the stove at medium-low heat, making sure to place your slices buttered side down in the pan — or mayonnaise side down, depending on which side of the butter vs. mayo condiment debate you fall on. Then slap your cheese slices (or arrange your grated cheese) on the side of the bread that's facing up. If your skillet isn't oven-safe, you may want to transfer your slices to a baking sheet at this point. 

Otherwise, place everything under the broiler at medium heat until the cheese melts, which should just take a minute or two. Finally, add your tomatoes to one slice of bread, smash both pieces together, and dig into your mess-free grilled cheese. Even if you're been storing your fruits in the fridge properly, they should have had enough time to come to room temperature while you were making the rest of your meal, and the heat from the cheesy bread can take it from there.