Air Fryer Cheese Toastie

Crisp buttered bread and a molten middle in 8 minutes. Why the butter goes on the outside, and the cocktail stick that stops the fan lifting the top slice off.

Prep

5 min

Cook

8 min

Total

13 min

Serves

1

Ingredients

• 2 thick slices of white bread
• 2 tsp softened salted butter
• 50g mature Cheddar, grated

Method

1. Butter one face of each slice of bread. This goes on the OUTSIDE of the sandwich, not the inside.
2. Lay one slice butter-side down, pile the grated cheddar on it and spread it to the edges.
3. Put the second slice on top, butter-side up, and press the sandwich down firmly.
4. Push a cocktail stick down through the middle. The fan will lift the top slice off otherwise.
5. Air fry at 190°C (375°F) for 4 minutes.
6. Flip it with a spatula and cook for another 4 minutes, until both sides are deep golden brown.
7. Take the cocktail stick out, cut in half and eat straight away.

Notes

• The cocktail stick is the whole trick. An air fryer fan will pick the top slice of bread up and blow it against the element — this is the most common way an air fryer toastie fails.
• Butter goes on the OUTSIDE. It is what toasts and crisps the bread; butter on the inside just makes it greasy.
• Grate the cheese rather than slicing it. Grated melts evenly in the time the bread takes to toast; slices leave you with brown bread and a cold middle.
• Sources range from 180°C (355°F) to 200°C (390°F) and 6 to 10 minutes total. Start checking at 6 minutes — thinner bread browns fast.
• 50g of cheese is plenty for thick-cut bread. Liana's Kitchen use 100g if you want it properly oozing.
• Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Watch it

More Air Fryer Cheese

• Air Fryer Baked Camembert17 min · serves 4
• Air Fryer Cheese Scones26 min · serves 4
• Air Fryer Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms25 min · serves 4
• Air Fryer Cheesy Garlic Bread15 min · serves 3
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks11 min · serves 3
• Air Fryer Halloumi Fries with Hot Honey20 min · serves 2

Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.

Recipe source: Method corroborated across five published UK air-fryer recipes: Liana's Kitchen (180°C (355°F), 7-10 min), Daisies and Pie (200°C (390°F), 6-8 min), Delicious Magazine (190°C (375°F), 10 min), Instant Pot UK (190°C (375°F), 9 min) and Hungry Healthy Happy (180°C (355°F), 10 min). All five butter the OUTSIDE of both slices and all five flip halfway. The 190°C (375°F) for 8 minutes given here sits in the middle of that range. Quantities follow Daisies and Pie (2 slices thick white bread, 2 tsp butter, 50g mature Cheddar); Liana's Kitchen use 100g of cheese. The cocktail stick to stop the top slice lifting in the fan is from Daisies and Pie.