Gouda, Pear & Cheddar Grilled Cheese
with Lemony Arugula & Pecan Salad
- Soy
- Wheat
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
Upgrade your run-of-the-mill grilled cheese by adding sweet pear and nutty gouda to the mix. You’ll cook the pear until lightly softened, then layer it onto sourdough slices along with gouda and cheddar. Toast in a buttery pan until golden and melty, and serve with a lemony arugula and pecan salad on the side (all in a quick 20 minutes!).
Ingredients
1 unit
Pear
1 unit
Shallot
1 unit
Lemon
2 teaspoon
Honey
4 slice
Sourdough Bread
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
2 slice
Gouda Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
White Cheddar Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
2 ounce
Arugula
½ ounce
Pecans
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
4 ounce
Bacon
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil
Sugar
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Olive Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Quarter, core, and thinly slice pear. Halve, peel, and finely chop half the shallot (whole shallot for 4 servings). Quarter lemon.
• Heat a drizzle of oil and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a large pan over medium heat. Add pear, shallot, honey, juice from one lemon wedge, 1⁄2 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt (juice from two lemon wedges and 1 tsp sugar for 4). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until pear has softened, 5-7 minutes. • Turn off heat; transfer to a small bowl. Stir in juice from one lemon wedge (two wedges for 4). Wash out pan.
Heat pan used for pear over medium- high heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop. Wipe out pan.
• Evenly layer half the sourdough slices with gouda and as much pear as you like. Top with cheddar and remaining sourdough slices to form sandwiches.
Add bacon along with gouda, pear, and cheddar.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter in pan used for pear over medium heat. Once hot, add sandwiches and push around in pan until butter has absorbed. (For 4 servings, work in batches or use a second pan, using 1 TBSP butter for each batch.) Cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is slightly melted, 4-6 minutes. • Add another 1 TBSP butter to pan, then flip sandwiches and push around again until butter has absorbed. Cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is fully melted, 4-6 minutes.
• While sandwiches are toasting, in a large bowl, whisk together juice from one lemon wedge, 2 TBSP olive oil, 1⁄4 tsp salt, and pepper. (For 4 servings, use juice from two wedges, 4 TBSP olive oil, and 1⁄2 tsp salt.) • Add arugula and pecans. Toss to thoroughly coat arugula.
• Halve sandwiches on a diagonal. Divide sandwiches and salad between plates. Serve.
Bacon is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the unique combination of sweet pears, savory cheese, and caramelized shallots in this gourmet grilled cheese 🧀
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, though some found flipping the sandwich tricky due to slippery pears
- Suggestions: Consider adding bacon for extra flavor; some preferred less shallot to let the pear shine through
- Portions: A few found it light for dinner; pairing with soup could make it more filling
- Salad: The arugula salad divided opinions; some suggested adding dried cranberries or a balsamic dressing for more flavor
Reviews from our home cooks
5 stars! 10 actually! One of our MOST favorite meals. Just all of it goes so well together, the pear and the gouda and even the onion just compliment each other so well and we love the crispiness of the bread. Learning how to make grilled cheese with the butter melted in the pan first---WOW! Perfect way! The salad is so yummy too.
Good insides for a grilled cheese. The pear, shallot & honey inside was so savory. It paired well with the 2 cheeses. The only thing I'd change is have add one extra slice of gouda. I like super cheesy grilled cheese. The salad was good too.
I don't like pears but this was totally awesome. The slight sweet flavor with the gouda made it a nice, light and easy meal. Not heavy at all. I loved the arugula with the olive oil and lemon with the pecans. I will do it again.
The fruity grilled cheese recipes are one of my favorites! I love the combo of caramelized onions, sliced pears, and gouda stacked on a tasty slice of sourdough.
This has become one of my favorite meals. The salad is crisp and fresh. The blend of cheese and pears and sauce are so perfect. It's a really elevated grilled cheese! I order every time!
Elevates the grilled cheese to a whole new level and the tangy arugula salad is the perfect compliment to the rich, sweet sandwich.
So tasty and easy to make! I love the pear/ shallot combination and there was plenty of the arugula salad!
One square slice of Gouda for each oval shaped sandwich. Only covered half the slice. I had to supplement with my own cheese. Otherwise very tasty. The pear was underripe but okay to sauté although not much flavor. Salad was great.
Absolutely delicious! We really really liked this one. Great bread, the pears + shallots were stunning, and there was the perfect amount of cheese (& type of cheese). I wasn't a huge fan of the lemon + olive oil "dressing". and was glad I hadn't run out of olive oil to make it happen but it seemed not worth it as the end result salad wasn't enjoyable flavor-wise to eat. I think for the price of the meals & simple dressing should be included in a quick packet. Even a balsamic would be good.
The cooked pear w/ the sandwich is delicious. But we use 1/2 of the pear cut up fresh in the arugula salad. Two great ways to eat the pear!
