Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich, the perfect marriage and union in the world of food. I discovered grilled cheese sandwiches with my two neighbor friends next door. We were all roughly around the same age and anytime they invited me over their kitchen would become a place of experimentation. One time of course we made our own grilled cheese sandwiches using a gouda, Swiss, and mozzarella cheese that they had in their fridge. I remember we pressed them down in a pan and let the cheese ooze out the sides. It was nothing short of divine for my first experience with grilled cheese. My love of tomato soup would come from my love of Spaghettios when I did get to have it as a kid.
During my pregnancy with my first son, I craved Panera’s Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It must’ve been my body’s way of asking for more folic acid for my baby. I hope you enjoy my own version of the childhood and pregnancy craving with this Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe.
Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
Tomato Soup
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 28 oz. can peeled whole plum tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup half and half
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
Gourmet Grilled Cheese
- 10 slices of sourdough
- 1 ¼ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 ¼ cup grated gruyere (or mozzarella)
- 1 ¼ cup grated gouda
- 5 tablespoons softened butter
Prepare
Tomato Soup
1.In an InstantPot using the saute function, combine olive oil, onions and celery. Cook 3 minutes then add in garlic and cook an additional minute.
2. Add tomatoes, stock and parsley, set InstantPot to Soup option and pressure cook for 30 minutes. Puree with an emersion blender until smooth then stir in butter until it melts into the soup.
3. Finish by stirring in the heavy cream and season to taste with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Gourmet Grilled Cheese
1.On a baking sheet, lay out 5 slices of bread. Divide the cheese evenly between the 5 slices, making sure to add an even mix of the 3 cheeses on each slice. Top the sandwiches with the remaining sourdough.
2.Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron pan on medium until it melts. Add 2 sandwiches at a time. Cook for 2 minutes. Just before you flip, rub the upward facing slices of bread with softened butter. Flip and cook another 2 minutes until the second side is toasted golden brown. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
3.Slice the finished sandwiches in half and serve with tomato soup.
