Grilled Cheese Donut Recipe - One Sweet Appetite

Name: Grilled Cheese Donut
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3 glazed donuts; 3 tablespoons soft butter; 3-6 slices cheddar cheese

This Tom and Chee inspired recipe makes the most amazing sweet and savory grilled cheese donut! Cheddar cheese is slowly melted between a buttered glazed donut for a fun sandwich recipe.

Don’t forget to check out my other delicious donut recipes! You will love my Cookie Butter Donuts, Apple Cider Donuts, Chocolate Cake Donuts, and Maple Bacon Donut Recipe!

top down image of a donut that has been sliced in half and grilled with cheese on a wooden cutting board sitting on a bright blue backdrop

Recipe Features:

Quick and Easy– This recipe is SO simple and one of our favorites!
Sweet and Savory– The mix of the sweet donut with the cheddar makes this an irresistible combination.
Perfect Copycat Recipe– Inspired by the sandwiches at Tom and Chee!

This recipe is exactly what you think it is. It is a grilled cheese sandwich using a glazed donut as bread. There is no doubt in my mind that you will fall in LOVE with this flavor combo.

If you have never been lucky enough to visit a Tom+Chee, you are missing out on the most creative sandwiches and melts. They have a menu that surpasses none. With their crown jewel being a sandwich very much like this. It is like nothing you have ever tried and takes less than 10 minutes to make!

grilled cheese made out of a glazed donut on a wooden plank sitting on a blue backdrop with other glazed donuts in the background

Grilled Cheese Donut Ingredients

The list of ingredients for this tom and chee grilled cheese donut is short, I’m talking only 3. Which means there is zero reason not to try this out! Leftover donuts, if that’s really a thing, are perfect for this salty sweet treat!

The crispy outside you get from grilling the donut in butter and the saltiness from the cheese is a match made in heaven. You get a crunchy outside with a soft center that hits the right taste buds. You never knew how bad you needed this treat in your life until you tried it yourself!

Donuts: Use a glazed donut. The traditional Tom and Chee Grilled Cheese Donut Recipe uses glazed and it works.
Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will work with this recipe.
Cheese: Cheddar cheese. Do not use Kraft. Following the original recipe, cheddar cheese pairs beautifully with the glazed donut!

photo of the store front for a Tom and Chee

Why This Flavor Combination Works

If you ever find yourself ordering a grilled cheese donut tom and chee, you will probably wonder at some point how this is going to work. Good news is that these flavors were made for eachother.

The sweet glaze from the donut melts with the butter on the pan giving you the most incredibly crisp outside. The cheese slow melts on the center adding just the perfect salt. When you take that first bite your brain will explode with happiness.

Still not convinced? Think of it this way…. When you build, or eat, from a cheese board… There are a handful of different cheeses AND sweet fruits. Same concept but taken to an entirely new level with the donut.

How To Make A Grilled Cheese From A Donut

Place a skillet on the stove over medium heat.
Use a bread knife to cut your donut in half, creating two slices. Flip them inside out and lay them sliced side up on a plate.
Spread both pieces with softened butter.
Place one slice of donut, butter side down, on your hot pan. Layer cheese and the remaining donut piece.
Cook one minute on each side, or until browned and cheese is melted.

top down image of a grilled cheese made with a donut with text overlay reading "grilled cheese donut"

Looking for the classic? Try my Grilled Cheese Recipe! It is truly the best, especially when you use homemade garlic butter!

Recipe Notes:

What is a grilled cheese donut?

Honestly, this dessert recipe is exactly what it sounds like… A grilled cheese made with a donut.
The bread you would typically see in the classic grilled cheese recipe is replaced with a fresh glazed donut. The donut is sliced, spread with butter, and grilled with cheddar cheese sandwiched between.

What donuts make the best grilled cheese?

You can try any yeast based donut. However, I suggest staying away from cake donuts. They tend to be crumbly and do not slice well. Classic glazed donuts do the best and pair with the cheddar cheese amazingly.

What kind of cheese does Tom and Chee use?

Tom and Chee uses classic cheddar in their donut grilled cheese recipe.

What are the best toppings for grilled cheese?

Get creative! Try different donuts and different cheese combinations! Don’t limit yourself to cheddar and glazed.
This recipe is an excellent way to use up stale donuts. You’d never even know they are an hour or two outside of their prime.

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4.41 from 5 votes