Easy Breezy Grilling Cheesy
with Lemony Couscous, Grape Tomatoes & Kale
- Wheat
- Milk
In the HF Kitchen, we’re pretty obsessed with grilling cheese—it has the ultimate ability to fry on the outside, and get all melty on the inside. For tonight’s edition of the Grilling Cheese Fan Club, we’re coating the cheese in Italian spices before pan-searing. On the side, you’ll make a lemony couscous with sautéed kale and grape tomatoes. Get ready for one beautiful and delicious veg-masterpiece.
Ingredients
1 unit
Yellow Onion
4 ounce
Kale
4 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Lemon
2.5 ounce
Israeli Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
8 ounce
Grilling Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
1 teaspoon
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Remove and discard any large stems from half the kale (all for 4 servings); chop into bite-size pieces. Halve grape tomatoes lengthwise. Peel and mince garlic. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. • Once onion is softened, add ¼ cup water (1⁄3 cup for 4 servings) and 1 tsp sugar. Cook, stirring, until onion is caramelized and jammy, 2-3 minutes more. • Add another drizzle of oil and chopped kale. Cook, stirring, until kale is wilted and tender, 5-7 minutes. • Add tomatoes and cook until just softened, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat; transfer veggies to a large bowl. Wipe out pan.
• While veggies cook, heat a drizzle of oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add couscous, garlic, and half the Italian Seasoning (you’ll use the rest in the next step). Cook, stirring, until couscous is lightly toasted, 1-2 minutes. • Add ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4 servings) and stock concentrate. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 5.
• While couscous cooks, slice grilling cheese into four pieces (eight pieces for 4 servings). • Place remaining Italian Seasoning on a plate. Coat cheese in seasoning, pressing to adhere. • Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for veggies over medium-high heat. Add cheese and cook until browned, 1-2 minutes per side.
• Transfer veggies to pot with couscous. Stir in lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: Reheat couscous over medium-low heat if needed.
• Divide couscous mixture between plates. Top with grilling cheese. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The lemon couscous, caramelized onions, and tomatoes create a beautifully balanced, fresh-tasting dish that many customers return to again and again.
- Ease of prep: Most found it straightforward to make, though a few noted it involves multiple pans and steps that require some multitasking.
- Suggestions: Getting the cheese to brown without sticking is the trickiest part — use a well-oiled, hot nonstick pan and avoid moving it too soon. Some found the kale benefits from slightly less cooking time to keep it from getting too chewy; others recommend using all the kale even for 2 servings, since it cooks down significantly. A few wanted more Italian seasoning to fully coat the cheese, so have extra on hand. Some found the dish a touch sweet and would skip the sugar for the onions next time 🌿.
- Leftovers: The couscous and veggie mixture keeps well and reheats nicely, though the grilling cheese is best enjoyed fresh as it doesn't reheat as well.
- Cheese: The grilling cheese is a fan favorite for its salty, savory bite, but some found it rubbery or bland — cooking it on a properly preheated pan helps achieve a better crust. A few noted the cheese can be too salty on its own, but the lemony couscous and tomatoes balance it out nicely.
Reviews from our home cooks
I am SO glad the recipe was for half the kale as it definitely needed ALL of it and it was the star of this meal. I skipped mixing it with couscous but layered it over. The tart of the lemon, the acid of the tomatoes, the salt of the cheese, and some couscous texture change all mixed so well together. I feel full without feeling like I ate a ton of calories. This is a keeper and glad I found a new way to eat my fav grilling cheese!
Delicious! I love the combination of the lemon and the saltiness of the grilling cheese. And pearl couscous is quickly becoming my favorite starch. And I love kale as the foundation vegetable in the recipe. I add all of it instead of the half it calls for, but it's still delicious!
I love this. The salad tastes so light with the lemon and I've become obsessed with couscous. The grilling cheese... So good. This is such a simple, easy and quick meal. It almost seems like it shouldn't be this good, but it is!!
This has been the best Hello Fresh meal I have had so far. There is a sweet and lemony taste to the cous cous and that is matched with tangy from the tomatoes and kale, and then the cheese is full of spice flavor and holds its texture to feel satisfying.
I really liked this recipe. Had not had grilling cheese before so it was something new and different. The combination of the couscous, kale and tomato was also really good. Not a detractor for me, but a family member did not like the "squeakiness" when eating the cheese.
THIS WAS OUTSTANDING! The couscous & kale blend had such flavor and the tomatoes provided a pop of juicy deliciousness on top. Always love that grilled cheese on top for a crispy, salty bite.
I had never heard of, much less, made a recipe using "grilling cheese". This was wonderful and a big hit with both my boyfriend and I. I did use all of the kale sent (for the 4 person recipe), and glad I did. Plenty of nice veggies and couscous ~ a great complement bedding to the cheese! Will order again :)
This was so well-balanced and delicious, with the salty chewy cheese contrasted with the caramelized onion and sour acidic tomato and the texture of the kale & couscous! Every flavor combined and complimented the others, and decent protein nutritional value without meat - I will definitely be making this again!
This was delicious, but I didn't like how the 4 servings meal only had the same amount of kale as the 2 serving meal. It should have been doubled. I had to add some kale from home to keep the veggie ratio up otherwise some servings would have been mostly couscous. My onions never got "jammy" so the instructions were a bit confusing. I love grilling cheese though so this was a good meal!
Lemon couscous and tomatoes really balanced the salt in the grilling cheese with some nice freshness and acidity. Very well-balanced
