Gooey, messy, cheesy. Celebrate Grilled Cheese Month with Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese made with two types of cheeses.
This post is sponsored by Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread.
Did you know April is National Grilled Cheese Month? There’s even a dedicated grilled cheese day on April 12. I have no idea who came up with these food holidays, but hey I’m not complaining. Personally I love eating grilled cheese. Stuff it with a filling to make it a full meal or leave it simple with cheese and bread. Dip it in tomato soup for lunch, although oddly enough I never felt inclined to dip my sandwich into soup; instead I dip it in ranch dressing. It’s not often I buy a loaf of bread, but when I do, I make #allthegrilledcheese so my bread doesn’t go to waste. When dinnertime rolls around and I’m not sure what to make, I spy the loaf and instantly think grilled cheese. Lately my motto for dinner has been: when in doubt, add chicken and hot sauce. I eat buffalo chicken so much, I have a dedicated recipe category to it. I noticed I was missing a grilled cheese recipe to go with my cheesy buffalo chicken soup, so it’s about time I fixed that with this Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese recipe. It may be a gooey mess, but that’s the best part. Chicken, hot sauce, ranch, two types of cheeses. Grab your napkins and your spatula – you won’t want to miss this.
I made my buffalo chicken grilled cheese a little extra special by using smoked cheddar cheese. The smokiness adds another layer of flavor to an already-awesome grilled cheese. The brand I used was more off white in color (cheddar’s natural color, which I didn’t realize until this recipe), but I’ve also used smoked cheddar where yellow coloring was added. Both taste the same in flavor. I opted to grate my cheese vs. thinly slicing it because grating helps the cheese melt quicker and more evenly than sliced. I also used blue cheese in my sandwich because after all, what is buffalo chicken without blue cheese?
One ingredient you don’t want to overlook when making an epic buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwich is the bread. You’d think bread is bread, but not all bread are created equal for sandwich making. The bread I used in my grilled cheese is Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread, which is made of hearty Italian slices that won’t fall apart without overpowering the filling. It also crisps up nicely while the inside remains soft and fluffy when you take a bite.
I’m never a fan of recipes that list cooked chicken as one of the ingredients; after all, there’s a 98 percent chance I have to cook chicken first anyway because I never have any leftovers. That’s why I included cooking chicken in the directions. Luckily it won’t take long to cook and shred so you can enjoy some spicy cheesy goodness for dinner.
Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, patted dry and lightly salted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1 cup grated smoked cheddar cheese
- 1 cup blue cheese
- Butter, for spreading
- 8 slices Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add the chicken breast top side down and cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the chicken, add water, cover, and simmer 7-10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let rest. Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken.
- Dump out any leftover liquid from the skillet and wipe clean. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Once hot, add the onion and green pepper. Cook until softened, roughly 5-8 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, hot sauce, and ranch. Remove from the heat.
- In another skillet, heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, turn the heat down to medium-low. Butter one side of one slice of bread, place it buttered side down in the skillet, add 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 of the chicken mixture, and 1/4 cup blue cheese. Top with another slice of bread, buttered side up. Cook until the cheese has melted and the bottom is golden brown then flip. Cook until golden brown then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sara Lee® Artesano™ Bread. Thank you for supporting me and the companies I work with as sponsored posts help pay for the costs of running Chocolate Moosey, including website hosting and groceries for recipe development.
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