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Fill up on savory roasted veggies with this Roasted Veggie Grilled Cheese. Stuffed with pepper, onion, and mushrooms and perfect for dipping in toasty sauce.

Three roasted vegetable grilled cheeses stacked on top of one another
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Today we’re whipping up a classic lunch favorite: The Grilled Cheese. Only in this recipe, we’re giving it an upgrade and packing it with veggies and rich gouda! And to achieve that sought after crispiness, we’ll coat the outsides of the bread in a generous layer of mayonnaise. It’s the best way to achieve that golden glow!

But we’re not stopping there. While living in the Netherlands I picked up a love for toasty sauce. Gouda grilled cheeses and other panini-style sandwiches (“toasties”) are often served with “toasty sauce”, a flavorful blend of mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce and that serves as the perfect sidekick for this gouda panini! 

You can use any sauce you’d like, but I definitely recommend using something to offset the crispiness and add extra savory flavor. We’re sauce people around here!

Close up view of 3 stacked roasted vegetable grilled cheeses displaying the fillings of pepper, onion, mushrooms, and gouda

Here’s what you’ll need

The ingredients in this pepper and mushroom grilled cheese are exactly what you’d expect: lots of veggies and delicious sourdough (or multigrain) bread! For the grilled cheese you’ll need:

  • Red Bell Pepper: Roasted bell peppers are a must on any vegetable panini. You can use red, green, yellow, or orange!
  • Sliced Mushrooms: As far as mushrooms go, you can use brown, white, or whatever you have on hand! You’ll need 2 cups.
  • White Onion: Next up, white onion. You’ll need ½ cup, sliced.
  • Bread: Bread can make or break a grilled cheese! For best results, use 4 thick slices of either sourdough or multigrain. 
  • Gouda: You’ll need 3 slices of gouda, as we’ll be using 1½ on each sandwich. Can’t find gouda? Cheddar, jack, or muenster also work well!
  • Mayonnaise: Did you know grilled cheeses are ten times better when the outsides of the bread are coated with a layer of mayo? It helps them reach that perfect golden color!

The toasty sauce is a quick combination of mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, and optionally hot sauce. Whip it up while your grilled cheese cooks!

A plate filled with three roasted vegetable paninis, toasty sauce, and tortilla chips

How to make a roasted veggie grilled cheese

This vegetable grilled cheese is made complete in just four steps. We’ll start by roasting the veggies, then we’ll assemble and cook the sandwiches panini-style.

Step 1: Roast the vegetables
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Slice the pepper, mushrooms, and onion, and throw everything onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to evenly coat. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. 

A baking sheet filled with sliced onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper

Step 2: Prepare the toasty sauce
While the veggies cook, mix together all of the toasty sauce ingredients (mayo, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce). 

Step 3: Assemble
Build two separate sandwiches by layering 1 slice of cheese, a heap of roasted vegetables, and ½ slice of cheese atop the bread. Spread mayonnaise on the outsides of the bread. 

A 4-step image outlining the correct steps for layering the roasted vegetable grilled cheese ingredients

Step 4: Cook the sandwiches
Finally, cook the sandwiches in a skillet over medium heat, or in a panini press. Cook until the outsides are golden brown and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately with the toasty sauce for dipping. 

A plate filled with three roasted vegetable paninis, toasty sauce, and tortilla chips

Grilled cheese variations

In the mood to mix things up? Here are some ways that you can switch up your vegetable grilled cheese.

  • Swap the Pepper: Any mild pepper works well here, to include green bell pepper, poblano, or anaheim.
  • Red Onion: This recipe calls for white onion, but you can also use red! You can spice things up by using caramelized or pickled onions too.
  • Pepper Jack Cheese: Though this sandwich isn’t a gouda panini without the gouda, it would also taste great with pepper jack (or even a pepper jack and cheddar combo). (Or check out our full list of best cheeses for grilled cheese 👈)
  • Sauces: Toasty sauce is the best for this sandwich, but you can use whatever you’d like! Blue cheese, ranch, and even plain hot sauce all taste great.
Three roasted vegetable grilled cheeses stacked on top of one another

More grilled cheeses and paninis to devour

Because you can never have too many jam packed loaded sandwiches, here are four more of my favorites! Each recipe presents unique flavor pairings like blueberry x balsamic and strawberry x avocado. 

Gouda Grilled Cheese With Roasted Veggies

5 from 7 ratings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people
A warm and cheesy Gouda grilled cheese with roasted red bell pepper and a sweet and savory mayonnaise toasty sauce. Perfect with tomato soup!

Ingredients 

Grilled Cheese

  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms, brown, white, or whatever you have on hand
  • ½ cup sliced white onion
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
  • Pinch salt and pepper
  • 4 thick slices bread, sourdough or multigrain are best
  • 3 slices Gouda cheese
  • 2 Tbsp mayonnaise

Toasty Sauce

  • 1 Tbsp mayonnaise, 15 g
  • 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce, 15 g
  • Splash of hot sauce, optional
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Instructions 

  • Roast: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Slice pepper, mushrooms, and onion. Throw onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to evenly coat. Bake for 15 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
    Side-by-side comparison of raw and roasted vegetables on baking sheets, with red peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Left: uncooked. Right: cooked and browned—perfect for pairing with a gooey gouda grilled cheese.
  • Sauce: Meanwhile, Mix together all Toasty Sauce ingredients.
  • Assemble: Build two sandwiches by layering 1 slice of cheese, a heap of roasted veggies, and ½ slice of cheese. Spread mayonnaise onto the outsides of the sandwich.
    Four-step sandwich-making process: Step 1, two slices of bread with gouda cheese; Step 2, added mushrooms and peppers; Step 3, more gouda cheese on top for a grilled delight; Step 4, mayonnaise spread on the top slice.
  • Cook: Cook over medium heat in a large skillet or panini press until outsides are golden brown and cheese has melted. Serve immediately with Toasty Sauce for dipping!
    Stack of gouda grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and onions on a white surface against a yellow background, next to a yellow checkered cloth.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.3g | Protein: 17.8g | Fat: 29.9g | Sodium: 1058mg | Fiber: 4.3g

Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.

did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
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5 from 7 votes

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31 Comments

  1. Sarah says:

    5 stars
    I love the War of Art! I’m constantly having to remind myself not to fall prey to the pull of procrastination and making up excuses. Glad you’re fighting back and getting back into the things you love.

    As for the toasties….YUM! Hello, lunch!

    1. Sarah says:

      Right? Making excuses is always my downfall. Glad to hear I’m not alone! Thanks so much for stopping by, Sarah! 🙂

  2. candy says:

    Roasted peppers are one of my favorite ingredients to use. Simple and delicious.

    1. Sarah says:

      Mine too! They just instantly spruce up any dish! Roasted garlic too 🙂 Actually just anything roasted!

  3. Platter Talk says:

    5 stars
    Thanks for this flavorful and delicious looking grilled cheese sandwich! Love the pepper and the Gouda!

    1. Sarah says:

      You’re very welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Claudia | Gourmet Project says:

    5 stars
    A friend gave mea good trick: concentrate hard stuff on between tuesdays and thursday and kepp the easy and light stff for mondays and fridays. sometimes it works 🙂 but do cook! I need more of these wonderful grlled cheese recipes!

    1. Sarah says:

      Good advice! I have an agenda where I have “cooking days” and “get tedious sh*t done days” and it seems to be working well. The cooking days feel like easy days, so my head has time to clear 🙂 Thanks so much for the advice, Claudia!

  5. Jessica Fancy says:

    5 stars
    Your food photography is phenomenal!

    1. Sarah says:

      Thanks so much, Jessica! 🙂

  6. linda spiker says:

    5 stars
    Gouda is my favorite cheese! love this recipe!

    1. Sarah says:

      Thanks Linda! I’m loving it more and more with each recipe I try 🙂 It’s just perfect in everything!

  7. Lauren says:

    I want one of these right now! This looks amazing and I pinned so I could just look at the pictures later! ha!

    1. Sarah says:

      Thanks so much for sharing, Lauren! 🙂

  8. Allison - Celebrating Sweets says:

    I’ve never met a grilled cheese that I didn’t like. And toasty sauce? Very interesting. Must try!

    1. Sarah says:

      Yes you must! Toasty sauce has become quite an obsession of mine 🙂

  9. Keisha says:

    Yum!
    Looks great

  10. Kari says:

    5 stars
    I love gouda and need to make this grilled cheese soon with my favorite tomato soup!

    1. Sarah says:

      Yummm this would be so great with warm tomato soup. As I type this my toes and fingers are cold and numb so soup sounds heavenly 🙂 Thanks for dropping by, Kari!