Gouda Grilled Cheese with Sweet Potato Tots and Bacon
Creamy spicy gouda cheese comes oozing out of this piping hot grilled cheese sandwich that is loaded with sweet potato tots and bacon! I used a spicy gouda cheese for this sandwich because I knew it would balance so well with the sweet tots and savory bacon! I love kale in a sandwich like this because the green color pops and the vegetal flavor ties all the ingredients together in a unique way!
Inspiration for this sandwich
You may be seeing lots of grilled cheeses pop up in your feeds lately. That’s because April is Grilled Cheese Month. I have been absolutely drooling over the amazing looking grilled cheeses everywhere and felt the need to join the party. As you guys know, I cook with lots of tots. I thought that sweet potato tots would be a fun way to add some sweet earthy flavor to the grilled cheese. Once I had the sweetness, I added some bacon for salty, and used sriracha gouda for a kick! The sandwiches came out amazing with tons of gooey spicy cheese oozing out of every bite. If you cant find a spicy gouda, you could just use pepper jack, or a plain gouda and add some hot sauce!
Cook the tots first
Sweet potato tots are usually creamier and softer inside than their regular potato counterparts. That is why they go so well in a sandwich like this! I usually cook them about 25 degrees hotter than it says on the package, and toss them with a little oil and salt before cooking.
Building the gouda grilled cheese with tots and bacon
I used a nice thick bread for this hearty sandwich. First add the cheese, then bacon.
I cooked the kale in a hot frying pan until crispy around the edges before adding it to the sandwich. when you cook kale like this it has a nice toasty flavor that is key to the sandwich! Kale goes on the bacon, then more cheese. As I mentioned you could use a non-spicy cheese if you would rather, or switch to a different type of cheese.
Next load on the tots! Then even more cheese!
Cooking the gouda grilled cheese with tots
Add plenty of butter to the pan and cook the sandwich while pressing it down. You could either press it with a spatula, or use an actual sandwich press if you have one! Alternatively you could do this in a panini press.
Just look at that cheese oozing out! The melty cheese is begging for you to take a bite.
The cheese pull is the sign of a good grilled cheese! The creamy tots, tasty gouda, and crispy bacon all work together to make an amazing sandwich.
Any food blogger worth their salt knows the best photo of food is taken when you stack it up high.
The flavors were so balanced in this sandwich. Sweet, salty, spicy, and bitter were all there. A friend and I had no problem killing these in just a few minutes. The creamy sweet potato really makes the sandwich more substantial and plays off the crispy bacon and bread.
Twists on this sandwich
You could use regular tots instead of sweet potato if you wanted. Or you could also use cauliflower tots! You could also just use a few slices of leftover roasted sweet potato.
I used a sriracha gouda, but if you can’t find it, you could use any spicy cheese. Or just use regular gouda and add some hot sauce to the sandwich.
If you have picky eaters, you could definitely skip the kale
If you love grilled cheese like me, check out this cranberry kale grilled cheese, or the naan grilled cheese with butter chicken soup.
Sriracha Gouda Grilled Cheese with Sweet Potato Tots and Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 ounces sliced sriracha gouda
- 16 sweet potato tots
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 leaves kale
- 3 slices cooked bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450. Place the tots on a baking sheet and toss lightly with oil. Bake for 12 minutes, flip, and bake 12 more minutes.
- Put the kale in a frying pan with some butter and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes on high heat to wilt and lightly brown in places. Remove from pan and wipe the pan clean.
- Build the sandwiches with cheese first on top of the slice of bread, then bacon and kale, then more cheese, then the tots, then even more cheese. Top with the second peice of bread.
- Add a little more butter to the pan and cook the sandwich. Cover it and lightly press it so that the cheese on the inside gets nicely melted and the bread gets golden brown. Flip and repeat.
- Remove from heat, slice, and eat!
This makes a fantastic sandwich! I substitute spinach for the kale, but everything else is exactly as described. I find myself craving these things.
Thank you!