Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!

For years, when we thought about grilled cheese we thought only about two pieces of white toast slathered with butter, with a slice of processed cheese in between them.  This would get fried in a non-stick pan and would usually be served with a cold glass of milk.  A thin, crispy but at the same time kind of soggy, sandwich…and we loved it.  It was one of the first things we learned to make ourselves when we were young, and we felt that we were teaching our parents a thing or two…grilled cheese was not something they grew up on. Now that we are older, and more culinary (we have a blog after all!), we still occasionally enjoy this classic…but we’ve also learned that there is more than one way to grill a cheese sandwich. The result? The original Mia Kouppa tsoureki and feta grilled cheese!

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!

Tsoureki is a traditional Greek Easter bread which is sweet and uniquely flavoured with mahlepi and masticha. Similar to a Jewish challah bread, it is typically braided and the crumb is a lovely, scented yellow colour.  It is a truly delicious bread, which is so plentiful during the Orthodox Greek Easter season. With an abundance of tsoureki, we were inspired to use this special bread to give a Greek twist to a North American classic.

Helpful hints

If you don’t have any tsoureki left because you’ve been busy making tsoureki french toast and tsoureki bread pudding, don’t panic.  Ask around, there may be someone you know who has a tsoureki they are willing to part with (unlikely, but try).  Otherwise, you can always bake a fresh batch yourself.  If you are looking for a tried and true tsoureki recipe, you can find ours here.

You’ll have to use your judgement with the measurements listed below, because much will depend on the actual size of your tsoureki slices.  We know that some people make their tsourekia larger than others.  The important part is to ensure that you use enough of each ingredient; so, use enough mayonnaise to completely cover one side of each piece of tsoureki, enough grated cheese to cover the mayonnaise, and well…you get the picture. And speaking of which…here are some pictures to guide you along 🙂

The mayonnaise slathered on your tsoureki may seem odd, but trust us, it’s essential. First of all, it is a great way to get the grated mizithra to stick onto the tsoureki, and finding ways to incorporate more cheese is always a smart idea.  In addition, the mayonnaise helps to create a nice crust on your bread, much nicer than using butter alone.

If you can’t find dry mizithra, then you can use grated parmesan or romano cheese (or a combination of both) for this recipe.  Your tsoureki and feta grilled cheese sandwich will still be delicious!

The feta you use should preferably be Greek feta as it is a superior product, never incorporating cow’s milk.  Cow’s milk is fine for other types of cheese, but not feta. It is important to slice your feta rather thinly (about 1/2 centimeter thick) so that you can be sure it will melt (or at least soften) at the same time that your tsoureki is nice and grilled.

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!
Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!
Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!

As always, try to use the best quality honey that you can find and afford.  Given that much supermarket honey is not pure honey at all, we tend to purchase our honey from local beekeepers, and other sources that we trust.  It makes all the difference, both in taste and health benefits.

This grilled cheese sandwich should be served immediately after it is cooked, to ensure that the cheese stays warm and melty, and the tsoureki maintains its crisp exterior.

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Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese

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Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese ™

Tsoureki and feta grilled cheese is a sweet, salty, crunchy and oozy grilled cheese sandwich that you’ll love!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Light meal, Lunch
Cuisine: Greek
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
Author: Mia Kouppa

Equipment

  • small frying pan, or crepe pan

Ingredients

  • 2 slices of tsoureki, each about 1/2 inch thick
  • 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
  • 1-2 teaspoons grated dry mizithra, or grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup (30 grams) feta, sliced thinly
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tbsp (15 grams) butter

Instructions

  • Spread a layer of mayonnaise over one side of each piece of tsoureki.  Then, sprinkle the mizithra evenly over the mayonnaise and press down firmly with your hands so that the cheese adheres to the mayonnaise.
    2 teaspoons mayonnaise, 1-2 teaspoons grated dry mizithra, or grated parmesan cheese
  • Melt the butter in a frying pan.  Place one piece of tsoureki into the frying pan, mayonnaise side down (in contact with the pan).  Arrange your slices of feta evenly over the tsoureki.  Drizzle with the honey.
    1/4 cup (30 grams) feta, sliced thinly, 1 tbsp (15 grams) butter, 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • Place the second piece of tsoureki over the cheese, this time keeping the mayonnaise side facing up.
  • Cook over medium heat, flipping carefully so that both sides are a nice golden brown.  It helps to use a spatula to also press down on the sandwich while it is cooking in order to help everything stay together.
  • When both sides of the sandwich are golden brown, remove from the pan.  Cut your sandwich in half and serve.
  • Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing!

18 Comments

  1. This looks like a super delicious toasted cheese sandwich 🙂

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thank you so much! We do love the combination of salty and sweet 🙂

  2. a little Swiss, a little Canadian says:

    This looks like the perfect grilled cheese sandwich to me! Love the added honey, I always thought I’m the only one who eats cheese with honey, lol.😋😍

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thanks Ursula! Cheese and honey is what dreams are made of 😊😊

      1. a little Swiss, a little Canadian says:

        😊

  3. Marisa's Italian Kitchen says:

    I haven’t had a grilled cheese sandwich in a long while and am so craving some right now! YUM!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Oh Marisa, we hope you get to try this one. It is so very good 🙂

  4. terrepruitt says:

    I did not know that the Greeks had a version of challah. At least it looks like challah. My dad was not really interested in Greek food and tradition. I don’t know why. I am very curious as to the taste of this because of the honey. And I couldn’t agree more with this: “finding ways to incorporate more cheese is always a smart idea”! Awesome. This sounds so delicious!
    I don’t use white bread or processed cheese when making grilled cheese. Mmmmm. This post has me wanting a grilled cheese!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thanks for your comment and kind words! 🙂 Tsoureki is like challah in that both are soft and sweet (and usually braided). Tsoureki traditionally is flavoured with different flavours like masticha and mahlepi…not always easy to find, although some bakers don’t use them (unfortunate we think). In any case, if you can get your hands on a good challah bread, you can definitely use that to make this grilled cheese. Or…check out our recipe for tsoureki 🙂 It’s a long process, but not necessarily difficult…and so worth it!! Thanks for stopping by!

      1. terrepruitt says:

        I need to check out all of your recipes! This year is the year I vowed to make Moussaka. I say that every year, but I am determined to do it!!!
        I made a grilled cheese sandwich today. 🙂 I used Ciabatta bread, sharp cheddar, and sliced gouda. I was not brave enough to use mayo, I just used butter. The Ciabatta was so yummy!
        Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog! 🙂

  5. miakouppa says:

    Thanks so much Terre 🙂 We do hope you give our moussaka recipe a try…it is a long process but one which can be divided over a couple of days if needed, and the result is so worth the effort 🙂 Your grilled cheese sounds divine. Hope you have a great rest of the week!!!

  6. Κaterina Κoroniotaki says:

    Such a tasteful recipe!!!

  7. Wow ! This looks super delicious, love the combo of cheese & honey.

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thank you so much! This was actually amazing! We ended up having it every day for about 2 weeks straight…and never tired of it 🙂 Now we are out of tsoureki…so will probably be baking some more. 🙂 🙂

  8. I know it’s a year late, but try tirokafteri with a drizzle of honey instead, best thing ever

    1. miakouppa says:

      Oh that does sound interesting!! The heat from the tyrokafteri must give a lovely kick 🙂

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