Gooey, cheesy, and really easy, this incredible Vegan Grilled Cheese with Bacon is the epic warm and toasty sandwich you've been longing for. Two slices of perfectly crispy golden brown bread are absolutely STUFFED with melty vegan cheese and smoky homemade vegan bacon for an amazing vegan sandwich experience. This sandwich will be loved by kids and adults alike—and it comes together in only 10 minutes!
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Hey Internet, I don’t know about you, but a vegan grilled cheese is my favorite sandwich. They’re a classic (especially with my Instant Pot Tomato Soup, which has directions for stovetop as well), they’re easy to make, they’re delicious, and they’re pretty much no-fuss. If you've struggled to make vegan cheese melt, then keep reading because I've got tips galore on how to perfectly melty vegan cheese (just like regular cheese) no matter what brand you're using. And I just love experimenting with vegan food and recipes!
I’m already a pretty big vegan sandwich fan. Some of my favorites include: Vegan Philly Cheesesteak, Vegan Tuna Melt, Vegan BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich, Vegan Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps, Vegan Chicken Salad, Vegan Tuna Melts, Vegan Reuben using my Vegan Pastrami or Vegan Corned Beef, Vegan Lobster Roll, Hummus Veggie Sandwich, BLT Wraps with Soy Curl Bacon, and my Portobello Bacon on a BLAT (“bacon”, lettuce, avocado, tomato).
If you love grilled cheese, I have good news for you. This delicious vegan grilled cheese sandwich recipe tastes BETTER than dairy cheese, and with our techniques it melts perfectly.
This easy vegan grilled cheese recipe makes the perfect vegan sandwich. It's got gooey cheesy, smoky meaty bacon, toasted bread, fresh tomato (not at all soggy, see my tips)... you'll love it, and it's ALL vegan and made with no animal products at all.
If you're wondering what vegan cheese I use, I've tried so many store-bought cheese products and so many different vegan cheese brands: Daiya slices or shredded Daiya cheese, Follow Your Heart, Violife, Field Roast Chao, Whole Foods brand vegan American style slices, etc. I've actually found that SHREDS work the best in a vegan grilled cheese, melting just like "real" cheese! But you can make slices of vegan cheese work too.
Dislike store-bought vegan cheese or can't find it near you? Try one of my vegan cheese recipes, like my 5-minute stretchy (thanks to tapioca starch) vegan mozzarella or vegan cheddar cheese, which are PERFECT for a melty vegan grilled cheese or vegan pizzas or or a vegan pasta bake or whatever you like. OR there are more ambitious vegan cheese recipes like my vegan brie (especially when made with coconut milk which makes it so luscious), vegan cheddar block, vegan camembert, vegan feta, and more. Those are also great and not hard at all.
Let's talk about the vegan bacon for a second. While this dairy-free grilled cheese is great without it, the inclusion of my homemade soy curl bacon makes this recipe the ultimate vegan grilled cheese. You can add the tomato or not, but please try the vegan bacon! You can make it up to 4 days in advance. It also freezes well! Just heat it up before using it in your vegan grilled cheese sandwich.
Anyway, this vegan grilled cheese is the real deal with good flavors, great texture, and extremely gooey melted vegan cheese. Try it the next time you're craving an amazing vegan sandwich.
Why You'll Love This Vegan Grilled Cheese with Bacon
- Tastes BETTER Than the Real Thing: I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the perfect grilled cheese sandwich... that just happens to be vegan. It has the best flavor and texture of any grilled cheese I've had, vegan or not. The cheese is SO melty, the bacon is so meaty and smoky, the tomato is so tender, and the bread is so nicely toasty, but there's no animal products to be found. It's not greasy, it's gooey and chewy and melty, and with a side like homemade fries, a veggie, or a side salad, it's the perfect meal.
- Grown Up Grilled Cheese: If you ever had Panera's "Big Kid Grilled Cheese" before they retired it, this kind of tastes like that. Before I went vegan, my go-to order at any restaurant was grilled cheese. I just loved that bacon grilled before I went vegan. So this vegan grilled cheese with bacon and tomato is like an elevated or grown up version of. a traditional grilled cheese. And hey, if you just want plain grilled cheese, just cheese and bread, you can totally use our tips to make your sandwich that way, just ignore the part about the vegan bacon and tomato.
- Simple Ingredients: Both the soy curl bacon and the rest of the sandwich use simple ingredients! If your personal preference is not to use store bought vegan cheese, you can easily try one of my nut-free cheese recipes (or you can use a cashew cheese) as the cheese in your sandwich.
Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutritional information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!
- Bread: Any sandwich bread should do, such as multigrain bread, white bread, etc. Bread made primarily with whole grains or sourdough bread tends to hold up a little better as a loaded vegan grilled cheese sandwich like this one. I bought a loaf of sourdough from a bakery and sliced it myself for thicker slices.
- Vegan Mayo or Vegan Butter: Our preference is to use vegan mayo to "butter" the bread. Our favorite brand is Follow Your Heart Original Vegan Mayo.
- Vegan Cheese: We used Violife Vegan Cheddar Shreds in this recipe and we feel this is the best vegan cheese for this recipe, but others will work. We've also made this recipe with Daiya shreds with success as well.
- Vegan Bacon: This recipe calls for my homemade soy curl bacon, which can be made fresh or made up to 4 days in advance. Or you can make it way in advance and freeze it! Just make sure that any cold vegan bacon is reheated in a pan before making your vegan grilled cheese.
- Tomato: This is totally optional but we think it's a fantastic addition. We like to use beefsteak tomatoes (or large heirloom tomatoes) because one slice fits perfectly on larger bread slices. You can also use smaller tomatoes like Roma or Kumatoes. We have a great tip to get the extra juices out of the tomato so it doesn't make your sandwich soggy!
- Ice Cubes: You could definitely omit this but it's one of our main tips for helping melt the cheese! You'll need two ice cubes per sandwich, possibly more if they melt quickly.
Substitutions
- Bread: As mentioned above, any sandwich bread should work. Use gluten-free bread if you cannot have gluten.
- Vegan Mayo or Vegan Butter: Ideally you want to use a vegan mayo or vegan butter made with oil as that is what will help really crisp the bread. Earth Balance Original Vegan Butter is great as are most store bought vegan mayo brands. Even vegan cream cheese or olive oil can work in a pinch.
- Vegan Cheese: We've tried a LOT of different brands of vegan cheese, and what we've found is that shreds work better than slices. But with our techniques, most vegan cheeses should work, and you pick what flavor works best for you, whether that's mozzarella style, cheddar style, or something more unique (some brands make a vegan gouda which is delicious in a vegan grilled cheese!). If you prefer to make some cheese, try my 5-minute melty vegan cheddar or melty vegan mozzarella. They're delicious, a lot healthier, and easy to make since they're basically a super thick and stretchy vegan cheese sauce.
- Vegan Bacon: You can use my vegan bacon bits (made with TVP or soy curl "crumbs" OR my portobello bacon as other homemade vegan bacon options. You can also just buy vegan bacon at the store and cook it separately according to package instructions, then just use it when my recipe calls for the vegan bacon. You can also omit it if you'd just like to make a regular vegan grilled cheese. While you could use other vegan meat replacements (like a veggie burger or sliced vegan sausage) they may be too thick to allow the cheese to melt around them. That's the magic of this vegan bacon grilled cheese!
- Tomato: If you don't like tomato in your grilled cheese, skip it. You could add other ingredients like thinly sliced red onion or spinach, or just omit it.
How to Make a Vegan Grilled Cheese with Bacon
- Prepare tomato: If you are using tomato, slice your tomatoes thinly and lay them on a doubled paper towel and wrap them loosely so both sides of the tomato are covered in two layers of paper towel. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes while you do other prep work. This is an optional step but it really helps reduce the liquid in the tomato slice which, if left in the tomato, can make your sandwich soggy.
- Prepare bread: Using a small spatula or a butter knife, add an even layer (not too thin) of vegan mayo or vegan butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Heat the skillet: Place a large nonstick skillet (one that you have a lid for) on a burner and let it heat on medium heat (if you are on a power burner, you may want to go slightly lower than this) for about a minute or two.
- A Note about the vegan bacon, if using: If you are using previously refrigerated soy curl bacon OR store bought vegan bacon, you will want to heat it up (or cook according to package instructions if you bought your vegan bacon from a store). Adding cold vegan bacon to the grilled cheese will inhibit cheese melting.
- Note: Cook one sandwich at a time. We've tried to save time by cooking two sandwiches at once and it usually ends in disaster as these are big and rather full sandwiches, making them a little challenging to flip. We also need room in the pan for the ice.
- Assemble the vegan grilled cheese: Construct your sandwich on the hot pan. Place down one piece of bread (butter side down), followed by a heavy sprinkling of vegan cheese shreds (or 1-2 slices, which if you are using, sometimes spraying each side with a mist of oil can help with melting). Then add the heated soy curl bacon in a single layer. Place a slice of tomato on top, if using. Try and keep everything as level as possible. Then place another layer of vegan cheese on top and finally the second slice of bread, butter side up this time.
- Use the ice cubes: This step really helps melt the vegan cheese. Add one ice cube on either side of the sandwich (it can be further away from the sandwich, that's fine) and quickly place the lid on the pan. This does two things: first, the steam will envelop the whole sandwich, allowing the cheese to melt faster; and second, it will cool the bottom of the pan, preventing the sandwich from burning while the vegan cheese melts.
- Cook the sandwich: Allow the sandwich to cook for a few minutes. As it cooks, lift the lid periodically to check the edges of the sandwich for the amount of cheese melting. If the ice cubes have fully melted, add more (only two at a time, don't add too much ice or your sandwich may get soggy on the bottom) and quickly place the lid back on. This way the cheese in the center of the sandwich will also melt. One way to test if the sandwich is ready is to give the top of the sandwich a light poke with the spatula or your finger. If everything is melted, the cheese should be fused with the vegan bacon, tomato, and bread. If done correctly, the bottom of the sandwich should only be lightly cooked. So long as the cheese has fused everything together, you're ready to flip.
- Flip the sandwich: Using a wide and thin nonstick spatula, carefully use one hand to swiftly slide the spatula under the sandwich and one hand to press down the top and flip the sandwich in one fluid motion. You can cook without ice now, and cook for about 2-4 minutes more to brown the other side of the bread. Once you have a golden brown crust on the sandwich, you're done with this sandwich.
- Repeat steps 6-9: If making a second vegan bacon grilled cheese, repeat steps 6 through 9 with new ice. Note that your pan may be hotter now, so it may go quicker and you may want to lower the heat just a tad.
- Serve: Once your sandwich is cooked to desired crispness, you can plate it and enjoy.
- Storage: We recommend enjoying vegan bacon grilled cheese fresh, but if you do have leftovers, wait till they cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in a heated nonstick skillet on both sides until thoroughly warmed.
Expert Tips
- Number of sandwiches: This vegan grilled cheese recipe makes two sandwiches, so you'll need 4 pieces of bread. Of course, you can easily increase or decrease the recipe based on how many sandwiches you'd like to make.
- Lower the heat: Low and slow is the safest way to cook a grilled cheese, but you don't have to go too low. We've found medium heat or medium-low heat are perfect. Cooking a grilled cheese on medium-high heat is a surefire way to burn your sandwich.
- Make just a regular grilled cheese: Don't want to use the vegan bacon or tomato? That's fine, ignore them and follow the recipe steps, even with the ice cubes. I promise, it makes for much better melty vegan grilled cheese sandwiches!
Serving Suggestions
This vegan bacon grilled cheese makes the perfect lunch or dinner. It's honestly the best vegan sandwich I've ever had and it's super easy to make whenever I get a craving for it.
It's honestly pretty filling on it's own but if you want a side, any of the following sides would be a good choice:
- A bowl of soup like my Instant Pot Tomato Soup, Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup, or Vegan Zucchini Soup
- French Fries or Sweet Potato Fries (we like to make our own using sliced previously steamed and refrigerated potatoes, then bake or air fry them)
- Side salad such as my Vegan Italian Salad, Vegan Avocado Salad, Vegan Watermelon Feta Salad, or Vegan Goat Cheese Salad with Strawberries and Pecans
- Veggie like Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Chips
- Fresh fruit
Storage Instructions
A vegan grilled cheese is one of those recipes that's best enjoyed immediately. However, if you can't finish it, follow these steps:
- Refrigerating: Allow the vegan bacon grilled cheese to cool to room temperature. Place in a small airtight container (or wrap in aluminum foil or plastic wrap) and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat your vegan sandwich in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until thoroughly warmed, flipping halfway through.
Frequently Asked Questions
We think vegan cheese shreds are definitely superior to vegan cheese slices for meltability and that gooey cheesy melty factor. You can still try our steps with vegan cheese slices and it may work depending on the cheese you use. Adding a light spray of oil to both sides of the vegan cheese slice can help too.
We genuinely love Violife the most, but also enjoy Daiya (if you're not a fan and you haven't had it recently, try it again as they did change their formula and the flavor is much better than it used to be).
Yes, you can use a panini press. We've used our Cusinart 5-in-1 griddler for this and it works quite well. You can use grill plates or griddle plates depending on if you want grill marks or not. Be careful when pressing the sandwich that the vegan bacon doesn't squish out the sides. I would still cook only one vegan bacon grilled cheese at a time.
We think a good nonstick skillet is essential to making a successful vegan grilled cheese, but by all means, use whatever pan you feel comfortable with.
More Easy Recipes for Awesome Vegan Sandwiches
- Vegan Philly Cheesesteak
- Vegan Lobster Roll
- Soy Curl Bacon Vegan BLT Wraps
- Vegan Chicken Salad (place in a sandwich and it's epic!)
- Vegan Tuna Melt
- Hummus Veggie Sandwich
- Vegan Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps
- Vegan BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich
<3 Liz
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Vegan Bacon Grilled Cheese
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 Sandwiches 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Gooey, cheesy, and really easy, this incredible Vegan Grilled Cheese with Bacon is the epic warm and toasty sandwich you've been longing for.
Ingredients
- 4 slices sandwich bread (we used thick-sliced sourdough)
- 4 tablespoons vegan mayo or vegan butter, or more, as need (we prefer vegan mayo)
- 1-2 cups vegan cheese shreds (see note 2 for brand recommendations + substitutions)
- 1-2 cups vegan bacon (we used homemade soy curl bacon, but see note 3 for substitutions)
- 2 thin slices beefsteak tomato or large heirloom tomato (or any tomato), optional
- 4-8 ice cubes, as needed (see step 7)
Instructions
- Prepare tomato: If you are using tomato, slice your tomatoes thinly and lay them on a doubled paper towel and wrap them loosely so both sides of the tomato are covered in two layers of paper towel. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes while you do other prep work. This is an optional step but it really helps reduce the liquid in the tomato slice which, if left in the tomato, can make your sandwich soggy.
- Prepare bread: Using a small spatula or a butter knife, add an even layer (not too thin) of vegan mayo or vegan butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Heat the skillet: Place a large nonstick skillet (one that you have a lid for) on a burner and let it heat on medium heat (if you are on a power burner, you may want to go slightly lower than this) for about a minute or two.
- A Note about the vegan bacon, if using: If you are using previously refrigerated soy curl bacon OR store bought vegan bacon, you will want to heat it up (or cook according to package instructions if you bought your vegan bacon from a store). Adding cold vegan bacon to the grilled cheese will inhibit cheese melting.
- Note: Cook one sandwich at a time. We've tried to save time by cooking two sandwiches at once and it usually ends in disaster as these are big and rather full sandwiches, making them a little challenging to flip. We also need room in the pan for the ice.
- Assemble the vegan grilled cheese: Construct your sandwich on the hot pan. Place down one piece of bread (butter side down), followed by a heavy sprinkling of vegan cheese shreds (or 1-2 slices, which if you are using, sometimes spraying each side with a mist of oil can help with melting). Then add the heated soy curl bacon in a single layer. Place a slice of tomato on top, if using. Try and keep everything as level as possible. Then place another layer of vegan cheese on top and finally the second slice of bread, butter side up this time.
- Use the ice cubes: This step really helps melt the vegan cheese. Add one ice cube on either side of the sandwich (it can be further away from the sandwich, that's fine) and quickly place the lid on the pan. This does two things: first, the steam will envelop the whole sandwich, allowing the cheese to melt faster; and second, it will cool the bottom of the pan, preventing the sandwich from burning while the vegan cheese melts.
- Cook the sandwich: Allow the sandwich to cook for a few minutes. As it cooks, lift the lid periodically to check the edges of the sandwich for the amount of cheese melting. If the ice cubes have fully melted, add more (only two at a time, don't add too much ice or your sandwich may get soggy on the bottom) and quickly place the lid back on. This way the cheese in the center of the sandwich will also melt. One way to test if the sandwich is ready is to give the top of the sandwich a light poke with the spatula or your finger. If everything is melted, the cheese should be fused with the vegan bacon, tomato, and bread. If done correctly, the bottom of the sandwich should only be lightly cooked. So long as the cheese has fused everything together, you're ready to flip.
- Flip the sandwich: Using a wide and thin nonstick spatula, carefully use one hand to swiftly slide the spatula under the sandwich and one hand to press down the top and flip the sandwich in one fluid motion. You can cook without ice now, and cook for about 2-4 minutes more to brown the other side of the bread. Once you have a golden brown crust on the sandwich, you're done with this sandwich.
- Repeat steps 6-9: If making a second vegan bacon grilled cheese, repeat steps 6 through 9 with new ice. Note that your pan may be hotter now, so it may go quicker and you may want to lower the heat just a tad.
- Serve: Once your sandwich is cooked to desired crispness, you can plate it and enjoy.
- Storage: We recommend enjoying vegan bacon grilled cheese fresh, but if you do have leftovers, wait till they cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in a heated nonstick skillet on both sides until thoroughly warmed.
Notes
- Note 1: Ideally you want to use a vegan mayo or vegan butter made with oil as that is what will help really crisp the bread. Earth Balance Original Vegan Butter is great as are most store bought vegan mayo brands.
- Note 2: We used Violife Vegan Cheddar Shreds in this recipe and we feel this is the best vegan cheese for this recipe, but others will work. We've also made this recipe with Daiya shreds with success as well. We've tried a LOT of different brands of vegan cheese, and what we've found is that shreds work better than slices. But with our techniques, most vegan cheeses should work, and you pick what flavor works best for you, whether that's mozzarella style, cheddar style, or something more unique (some brands make a vegan gouda which is delicious in a vegan grilled cheese!). If you prefer to make some cheese, try my 5-minute melty vegan cheddar or melty vegan mozzarella. They're delicious, a lot healthier, and easy to make since they're basically a super thick and stretchy vegan cheese sauce.
- Note 3: This recipe calls for my homemade soy curl bacon, which can be made fresh or made up to 4 days in advance. Or you can make it way in advance and freeze it! Just make sure that any cold vegan bacon is reheated in a pan before making your vegan grilled cheese. You can use my vegan bacon bits (made with TVP or soy curl "crumbs" OR my portobello bacon as other homemade vegan bacon options. You can also just buy vegan bacon at the store and cook it separately according to package instructions, then just use it when my recipe calls for the vegan bacon. You can also omit it if you'd just like to make a regular vegan grilled cheese.
- Note 4: Don't want to use vegan bacon or tomato? That's fine, ignore them and follow the recipe steps, even with the ice cubes. I promise, it makes for much better melty vegan grilled cheese sandwiches!
- Note 5: This vegan grilled cheese recipe makes two sandwiches, so you'll need 4 pieces of bread. Of course, you can easily increase or decrease the recipe based on how many sandwiches you'd like to make.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Tracy L
Amazingly good! And easy!