Grilled Cheese Roll Ups With Tomato Soup Dipping Sauce
No more boring grilled cheese! Grilled Cheese Roll Ups with Tomato Soup Dipping Sauce takes the classic pairing and makes dinner fun. It’s also a great excuse to play with your food.
It’s hard to believe it’s been two months since I quit my job and a little over one month since I moved back to Pittsburgh. It feels like forever ago yet time went by so quickly. Is that even possible to feel both at the same time? I wish I had some kind of happy news to share, like I’ve been getting photo assignments no problem or that companies are emailing me left and right. The truth is I’m barely getting noticed. I’m practically jumping up and down, shouting and waving my hands to say, hey! Look at the work I can do for you! That’s not something you want to tell people who are constantly asking how you’re holding up, how are things going, how’s work, etc. Then there are the people who think you are lazy and unemployed, which wouldn’t bother me if I actually had steady jobs coming in to prove them wrong. I know success doesn’t happen overnight, but I’ve been feeling really impatient about it these past few weeks. I’m just ready to figure out what exactly I’m doing with my life because these feelings of uncertainty and doubt are really stressing me out. (Shameless plug: here is my online portfolio that I revamped in August).
On the positive side, I’m happier now than I was for the past few weeks. Not only am I doing what I love (and trying to make it all work out in the end), I’ve been cooking a lot more. Before I would be too exhausted. Work all day, hurry up and make dinner, then work on the blog. And although I’m still cooking relatively quick meals (because I still don’t want to spend several hours cooking), I have the energy to actually enjoy it again. And when you enjoy cooking again, you have fun. And when you have fun, you think of this genius idea to make Grilled Cheese Roll Ups with Tomato Soup Dipping Sauce for dinner. Just when you thought grilled cheese and tomato soup couldn’t get better. It does. Oh it so does.
So far I’ve made two types of French toast roll ups – apple butter and pumpkin cheesecake. What if I did roll ups in a savory way? I’m not sure when or how it clicked, but soon I was thinking bread, cheese, GRILLED CHEESE! And what goes perfectly with grilled cheese? Tomato soup that you can dunk in.
The tomato soup dipping sauce is literally tomato soup but adjusted so it’s thick enough to be a dipping sauce. I took my Chicken Parmesan Meatball Soup and made it without the meatballs. To ensure it was thick enough to dip in, I didn’t use as much broth as it called for. And depending on the season, you can use either fresh or canned tomatoes.
What’s great about this recipe is you can fry about 4 rolls at a time then stack onto a plate and serve to a crowd. Can you imagine grilled cheese roll ups while watching your favorite football team on TV? Or maybe your kids need a fun after-dinner snack before you run them to practice. Or maybe you live by yourself like me and just want to hoard all the roll ups. Which as a side note – the sauce stays good in the fridge for about a week or so, and since grilled cheese is not good leftover (trust me), just fry up a few when you’re ready to eat then reheat the sauce. Now dinner is ready in under 30 minutes!
Grilled Cheese Roll Ups With Tomato Soup Dipping Sauce
The dipping sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a week.
Ingredients
Tomato Soup Dipping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion (roughly half a small onion)
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Grilled Cheese Roll Ups
- 12 slices white bread
- 12 slices American cheese
- 4 tablespoons melted butter (add pinch of salt if unsalted)
Instructions
For the sauce
- In a large Dutch oven, heat up the oil until hot. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme. Stir all together and cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, and vinegar. Bring a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.
- Add the soup mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful - because the mixture is hot, it will expand greatly in the blender when you turn it on. If needed, puree in two batches.
For the roll ups
- Flatten one slice of bread to about half of its original thickness. Add one slice of cheese. Roll up bread and set aside, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining bread.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Dip each roll up into the butter. Once hot, turn the heat down to medium-low and add several roll ups without overcrowding (my skillet cooked 4 at a time). 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 remaining roll ups. Serve hot with dipping sauce.
Notes
*The key to melting the cheese without burning the bread is cooking on low heat. If the cheese is a bit thick, cover with a lid to help speed up the process.
Want more recipes like this?
Salsa Chicken Grilled Cheese
Apple Butter French Toast Roll Ups
Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast Roll Ups
Chicken Parmesan Meatball Soup
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Okay, now I want grilled cheese for breakfast – I’m reading this at 8am! Love, love, love the roll-up idea…so much fun! :)
Cheese is dairy; therefore, breakfast ;)
I completely understand your frustrations with work. I’m in the same boat. And if the daily self-evaluation weren’t trying enough, having to come up with answers for people is just as difficult if not more so at times. But if you love what you do and you’re happy, then it should work out! Patience is just so stinking hard.
At least you have these delicious grilled cheese roll ups and I love that the “tomato soup sauce” is so thick. I’m not a big tomato soup fan, but this looks perfect!
I’m learning lately that a lot of people are (or were, when they were my age) in the same boat. It’s great to know we aren’t alone, but patience is SO hard when you don’t know what will happen. Good luck in your endeavors :)
This is the best variation of french toast roll ups I have seen. I wish I had this for lunch right now! And I know how you feel. I’ve been looking for a job since a couple months before I graduated and still nothing yet, it’s worse having to tell people that all the time too. It’s hard to not get discouraged sometimes even though you know you are doing the right thing.
Ugh I remember that feeling too. It took me 13 months after graduating to land a big girl job (I was working at Target to pay off loans), and even then I moved to the middle of nowhere for it. I know not many people can just get up and move like I did. Good luck to you! It may seem like forever, but it will happen for you :)
It was a BIG jump to leave the security of a job. I have done that two or three times in my life. I call it Alice jumps down the Rabbit Hole. It always worked out. Not necessarily the way I had planned. Well normally when I do that I don’t have a solid plan. It give the Universe more room to bring you what you need. I am working an intense day job and doing my website—-trying to set up a life style that matches my heart. I too am impatient at times. I won’t tell how long I have been doing this and how many ‘morphs’ Plan B has gone through. But it is going forward. It is shaping up to be more me than I ever thought. So there is often more than light at the end of the tunnel—–think big—–think Rainbows! Sending you good vibrations!!!!!
Glad to hear it has worked out for you when you took the big leap! That gives me more hope :) I hope you can find that right life style to match your heart as I, too, did run my blog while working full time. It’s not easy and huge kudos to you for following your dream when all you want to do is veg in front of the tv (no, just me?)
I am craving all of the oozing cheesey deliciousness of these roll ups right now… they look amazing!
Thanks, Thalia!
This sounds absolutely wonderful for a stormy winter night. How ever, the “tomato soup” is really a marinara. Sounds like a fun dish. Some canned peaches or pears on the side would make a complete meal.
I was being playful with the sauce. I know it’s not an actual tomato soup, but I did take a tomato soup recipe and adjust it to be a dipping sauce.
This looks like a dish even I could make. (This is a compliment, somehow..)
Can’t believe it’s been two months already, I hope some awesome jobs come flying your way soon, just continue to jump up and down and shout here I am.
Oh, please let me know if you make it! :D and miss you <3
Someone will notice your insane talent soon-I’m sure of it! I totally relate though girl.
And mmmmm mmmm mmmm grilled cheese ROLL UPS! Amazingness. So simple but so brilliant!
I’d totally love to see you in the nearish future! Let me know when you’re free and maybe I can come to Pitt or something! :)
I hope so! I will continue to jump up and down in the meantime :) And I sent you a message about visiting!
It’s been two months? Craziness! I’m always thinking about you and keeping my fingers crossed that work comes your way. Not just any work – work that is fulfilling, that makes use of all your amazing skills and talents, and makes you happy. I’m glad to hear that you’re getting your mojo back in the kitchen. I can tell – this dish looks damn tasty! Anything with melted cheese and toasty bread is a winner in my book.
Yes, can you believe it?! I remember the days where you and I would vent, and now I *finally* did something about it. And not once has it felt like a mistake, even on my bad days. Think I can convince someone to hire me with these roll ups?
You are on a roll-up roll, Carla! Love this grilled cheese version, especially with the dipping sauce!
I know! When I was planning my schedule, I’m like, is this too much roll ups in one week? Lol Whatever, gotta stock up on carbs as the weather gets cooler ;)
These are BRILLIANT! I have my momma hat on right now so all I can think is how great these would be for kiddos. Much easier to manage than an entire grilled cheese sandwich.
Just made these!!!
Great tip with the melted butter.
I used regular Campbells Tomato soup (subbed half the water for milk) and made as directed. (I suppose I could have not added any extra liquid and the condensed soup may have stayed thicker for a dipping sauce.)
We made a set of regular plain roll ups, and a set of Garlic Parmesan ones!
I made separate melted butter and added; dried Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, and minced garlic to taste. They turned out AWESOME! My 4-year-old approves of both.
Ok that garlic parmesan version sounds amazing and now I have to try it for myself! Thank you for the idea and feedback, Mandy.