Is a grilled cheese sandwich as healthy as a cheese sandwich?

Grilled cheese sandwiches always make me think of my high school days. Although I prefer making them in a pan now, I look back wistfully on those thin factory-made grilled cheese sandwiches that came from cafeteria lady Sjaan’s little kitchen. The argument for not eating your own bread: surely this is just as healthy as a cheese sandwich?

But is that really true?

Grilled cheese sandwich as healthy as a cheese sandwich?

The AD looked into it. “Yes and no,” is the answer from nutritionist Nicole de Roos. “If the grilled cheese sandwich is made without extra margarine, its nutritional value is no different from that of a double cheese sandwich. If you use extra margarine, or the grilled cheese sandwich is prepared in a frying pan with a knob or squeeze of margarine, the calories shoot up.”

Personally, the word margarine scares the heck out of me. Where is the butter in this story? The butter that makes everything taste better? But I digress.

Texture

Because according to De Roos, margarine isn’t the end of the story; the biggest “danger” lies in the texture. “The crispy exterior and creamy interior also make a grilled cheese sandwich more interesting to your sense of taste than a plain cheese sandwich, so you soon end up eating an extra one.”

This is the secret ingredient to take your grilled cheese sandwich to the next level

Balance

But still, if you don’t do that, or if you would normally eat two double cheese sandwiches anyway, there is virtually no difference. Well… unless you make a pan-fried grilled cheese sandwich, which—let’s be honest—really is the most delicious.

My advice: eat the best version of your grilled cheese sandwich (there you go: 10 incredibly delicious grilled cheese sandwiches), enjoy it to the fullest and eat an equally delicious salad the next day. All good.

Also read:

• Next-level cheese sandwich
• Tips for the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich
• Why are grilled cheese sandwiches always cut diagonally?