If you’re looking for a delicious sandwich for either St. Patrick’s Day or just a random weeknight when you’re hungry for corned beef, this Corned Beef Grilled Cheese recipe is for you. It’s made on La Brea New York Rye bread, which holds up so well to the meat and cheese filled sandwich.
For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our recipes.
Rye bread is my absolute favorite bread for grilled cheese. Grilled cheese with tomato and bacon on rye blows any other grilled cheese out of the park. Rye bread is denser than other breads, so it holds up really well to the heat of making a grilled cheese so the integrity of the crunch is still there when you bite into it.
Traditional sandwich bread just doesn’t have that bite. Plus, if you’re using other ingredients besides bread and cheese, sandwich bread isn’t sturdy enough to hold them together. So your sandwich isn’t as satisfying.
I’ve mentioned this before but in North Carolina, our bread choices are pretty limited. I grew up with a now Internet-famous bakery in my hometown in New York, so we were really spoiled with good bread. And you don’t really miss good bread when it’s accessible, but you sure miss it when you can’t get it.
So, I can’t even put into words how excited we were to find La Brea Bakery bread in our local grocery store. The fresh bread is delivered daily, contains no preservatives, and is the best bread we can buy in North Carolina (and that includes the bread we’ve found at specialty delis in town).
So of course, when I found out La Brea was releasing a rye bread in time for St. Patrick’s Day, I had to scoop up a loaf for grilled cheese. But, like I said, it’s around for St. Patrick’s Day. So, I had to grab some corned beef too to make this Corned Beef Grilled Cheese.
If you’re a fan of delicious grilled cheese sandwiches that aren’t typical, try our Bacon & Jalapeño Pimento Grilled Cheese Sandwich next time.
Corned Beef Grilled Cheese Recipe
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Corned Beef Grilled Cheese Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus .5 tablespoon butter per sandwich
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup Guinness or similar stout beer
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
- 8 oz. of deli corned beef slices
- 6 slices La Brea rye bread
- 12 slices medium cheddar cheese
How To Make Corned Beef Grilled Cheese:
Cut the onions into thin slices.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet.
Add the sliced onions to the melted butter and cook for about five minutes over medium-high heat until the butter is completely melted and absorbed into the onions.
Add the olive oil to the pan and cook the onions for an additional five minutes until they really start to break down.
Pour in the beer and cook for 10 minutes until the onions are caramelized and the beer is completely absorbed into the onions.
Quick note: When the beer hits the pan, even though it’s not a lot of liquid, it sizzles a lot. This is fine, but just be ready for it because it is loud if you’re not expecting it.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir the Worcestershire sauce and stone ground mustard into the onion mixture until everything is combined.
Quick note: If you can’t find a jar labeled stone ground mustard, you can use any grainy mustard. We don’t recommend substituting yellow mustard. That has a different flavor that won’t mesh with this recipe.
Slice the corned beef slices lengthwise (like, from top to bottom) in 1-inch pieces. You can cut all the slices at once.
Add the corned beef, one piece at a time, to the pan. This is a little tedious feeling, but if you don’t do this, it won’t combine properly with the onions and you’ll end up with huge clumps of meat rather than a homogenous filling.
Stir until the corned beef and the onions are completely combined.
The corned beef will break up as you do this and that’s good.
In a small pan, heat 1/4 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
Add a slice of the bread and swirl it around in the butter to make sure it’s coated.
Add one slice of the cheddar cheese on top.
Scoop about 1/3 of the corned beef mixture on top.
Add a second slice of cheese.
Add another slice of bread.
Cover the sandwich and let it cook for about five minutes.
Remove the lid, spread an additional 1/4 tablespoon of butter across the top piece of bread.
Flip the entire sandwich, replace the top, and cook for another five minutes until the cheese is melted, that melted cheese is oozing out of the sandwich, and there’s a golden brown color on both slices of bread.
Make the other two sandwiches and enjoy.
Quick note: Of course, If you have a large pan with a lid, you can make all the sandwiches at once. It’s just easier to make sure the cheese melts fully if you make them one at a time.
What To Serve With Corned Beef Grilled Cheese:
Since the sandwich is kind of heavy, we usually pair it with a simple cucumber salad. That’s the perfect way to get some green onto your plate if you’re serving this for St. Patrick’s Day.
If you want something a little more filling, French fries are always the perfect side dish for a sandwich. Potato chips work too.
Corned Beef Grilled Cheese: Frequently Asked Questions
You can get corned beef slices at the deli counter of your local grocery store year round. We ask them to “slice it thin” for this recipe.
Just a rough estimate according to the sign at our deli counter: 1/4 pound will make one to two sandwiches, 1/2 pound will make three sandwiches, and 1 pound will make five to six sandwiches.
If you have leftover corned beef from St. Patrick’s Day dinner, you can use it in this recipe. Just slice it really thin (if you have a meat slicer you can use, that’s great … or maybe my dad is the only person on the planet who still has one). If it’s too thick, it won’t incorporate into the onions very well.
Corned beef is brined, which gives it a salty flavor. If you cook your onions in a salty butter, it really pushes the salt factor pretty high and you lose some of the nuances of the other flavors.
You can just drink it. Or, you can use it in our pulled pork or beer bread recipes, both of which have beer as an ingredient.
If you don’t need to make all three sandwiches at once, don’t build them. Build however many you need for that meal, then store the rest of the corned beef and onions mixture in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready for it, follow the rest of the recipe.
Reuben sandwiches are corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on rye bread. You can also get a Pastrami Reuben, which is the same except you swap corned beef for pastrami.
Traditionally, corned beef sandwiches are just corned beef on rye.
More About La Brea Bakery:
La Brea Bakery is one of the largest artisan bread sellers in the United States. You can find the bread, in its red, branded packages, in the bakery section of your grocery store (not the bread section). The majority of its bread, like this rye loaf, are fully baked, although the brand does have some take and bake loaves, which you buy in store and finish at home. And that’s amazing because who doesn’t love the smell of fresh bread?
The New York Rye Loaf that we used in this recipe is made with wheat and rye flour, plus classic caraway seeds. It’s a hearty, dense loaf that tastes incredible with a smear of butter and holds up really well when used as bread slices for a sandwich.
Honestly, we were so impressed with it. It’s such good bread (and if you know us, you know we don’t say that often). If you can find it in store, definitely grab a loaf or two.
We also used La Brea Bakery bread in our Overnight French Toast Casserole recipe.
Corned Beef Grilled Cheese
If you’re looking for a delicious sandwich for either St. Patrick’s Day or just a random weeknight when you’re hungry for corned beef, this Corned Beef Grilled Cheese recipe is for you.
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus .5 tablespoon butter per sandwich
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup Guinness or similar stout beer
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
- 8 oz. of deli corned beef slices
- 6 slices La Brea rye bread
- 12 slices medium cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cut the onions into thin slices.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet.
- Add the sliced onions to the melted butter and cook for about five minutes over medium-high heat until the butter is completely melted and absorbed into the onions.
- Add the olive oil to the pan and cook the onions for an additional five minutes until they really start to break down.
- Pour in the beer and cook for 10 minutes until the onions are caramelized and the beer is completely absorbed into the onions.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir the Worcestershire sauce and stone ground mustard into the onion mixture until everything is combined.
- Slice the corned beef slices lengthwise (like, from top to bottom) in 1-inch pieces. You can cut all the slices at once.
- Add the corned beef, one piece at a time, to the pan.
- Stir until the corned beef and the onions are completely combined.
- The corned beef will break up as you do this and that’s good.
- In a small pan, heat 1/4 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
- Add a slice of the bread and swirl it around in the butter to make sure it’s coast.
- Add one slice of the cheddar cheese on top.
- Scoop about 1/3 of the corned beef mixture on top.
- Add a second slice of cheese.
- Add another slice of bread.
- Cover the sandwich and let it cook for about five minutes.
- Remove the cover, spread an additional 1/4 tablespoon of butter across the top piece of bread.
- Flip the entire sandwich, replace the top, and cook for another five minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Make the other two sandwiches and enjoy.
Nutrition Information
Yield
3Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 971Total Fat 64gSaturated Fat 31gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 27gCholesterol 200mgSodium 1862mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 4gSugar 7gProtein 46g
Have you made this Corned Beef Grilled Cheese sandwich recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments.
Juyali - A LAtin Flair
Monday 8th of April 2024
I will definately try this! I love a Reuben sandwich.
Linda Primmer
Saturday 6th of April 2024
Looks so delicious. Grilled onions add so much flavor.
EsmeSalon
Thursday 4th of April 2024
Oh wow corned beef, that the best ever.
Tammy
Tuesday 2nd of April 2024
My mouth is watering...what a fabulous sandwich! You're making me hungry now haha.
Christina
Thursday 28th of March 2024
I think you are my soul mate. I don't think I've ever discovered a sandwich more perfect than this. Hands down the only thing I miss from the US is corned beef. But this,well this just inspires me to go to my local butcher and explain that I need this cut of meat. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Lisa
Thursday 28th of March 2024
Oh my gosh. This is absolutely the sweetest comment ever. You made my month! I hope your butcher can find it for you. PLEASE keep me posted. I'm so curious now!