Roasted Butternut Squash Grilled Cheese with Apple, Sharp Cheddar and Crispy Sage
A butternut squash grilled cheese on sourdough, with sweet roasted squash, crisp apple, sharp cheddar, Dijon and fried sage leaves. A cozy fall lunch.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
Roasted Butternut Squash Grilled Cheese with Apple, Sharp Cheddar and Crispy Sage is a vegetarian lunch recipe made with butternut squash neck, olive oil, fine salt. It takes 55 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 639 calories, 22 g of protein and 5 g of fiber.
This sandwich works because the squash is cut thin, about 1/4 inch, and roasted until it browns. That makes it sweet and soft enough to sit flat in the bread without sliding out. Raw apple slices add crunch and a little tartness against the sharp cheddar, and a thin layer of Dijon keeps it from tasting too sweet. Frying the sage leaves first gives you crisp leaves for the filling and a sage-flavored oil for brushing the squash.
Ingredients
Roasted squash
- 12 oz340 gbutternut squash neck, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- ½ tsp3 gfine salt
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
Crispy sage
- 2 tbsp27 golive oil, for frying the sage
- 20 6 gfresh sage leaves
Sandwiches
- 8 slices256 gsourdough bread, about 1/2 inch thick
- 3 tbsp43 gunsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp30 gDijon mustard
- 2 cups226 gsharp cheddar, coarsely grated
- 1 medium182 gcrisp apple (such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), cored and very thinly sliced
Kit: rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, large skillet or cast-iron pan, spatula
Tips
- Use the neck of the squash. It has no seeds, so it cuts into even, solid rounds. Save the bulb for soup or roasting cubes.
- Roast the squash up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Lunch then takes about 10 minutes.
- Slice the apple right before you build the sandwiches so it doesn't turn brown.
- Grate the cheddar yourself. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking starch and doesn't melt as smoothly.
Swap ideas
- Pear instead of apple
- Softer and more floral, and it melts into the cheese more.
- Gruyère for half the cheddar
- A nuttier filling that stretches more and tastes less sharp.
- Mayonnaise on the outside instead of butter
- Browns more evenly and spreads straight from the fridge.
- A thin layer of fig jam or a drizzle of maple syrup with the Dijon
- Makes the sandwich sweeter, which is good if you're using a very tart apple.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
639kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 18.2 g 91%
- Sugars
- 9.8 g
- Sodium
- 1195 mg 52%
- Potassium
- 490 mg 10%
- Calcium
- 490 mg 38%
- Iron
- 3.5 mg 19%
- Vitamin C
- 20 mg 22%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.52 µg 22%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Squash, winter, butternut, raw, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Sauge, fraîche (values from the Anses Ciqual 2017 table, as reproduced by laurentberta.com). No fresh sage entry exists in USDA FoodData Central., Bread, french or vienna (includes sourdough), Butter, salted, Mustard, prepared, yellow, Cheese, cheddar, sharp, sliced, Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)
Method
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Toss the squash rounds with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, then lay them out in a single layer without overlapping.
Roast for 10 minutes, flip the rounds, and roast another 6–10 minutes, until a fork slides through easily and the edges are browned in spots. Set aside.
While the squash roasts, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a sage leaf sizzles right away when you drop it in. Fry the sage in one layer for 1–2 minutes, until the leaves turn darker and stop bubbling hard, then move them to a paper towel. They'll crisp more as they cool. Brush the sage oil left in the pan over the roasted squash.
Wipe out the skillet. Lay out the bread and spread butter thinly over one side of each slice. Flip 4 slices butter-side down and spread the Dijon over the unbuttered sides.
Build each sandwich on the mustard side: a quarter of the cheddar, a layer of squash, a layer of apple, a few crispy sage leaves, then another quarter of the cheddar. Top with the remaining bread, butter side out. Putting cheese on both sides holds the filling together as it melts.
Heat the skillet over medium-low and cook 2 sandwiches at a time for 4–5 minutes, until the bottom is deep golden. Press down gently with a spatula once or twice.
Flip and cook another 3–4 minutes, until the second side is golden and the cheese has melted at the edges. If the bread browns before the cheese melts, turn the heat down and cover the pan for a minute. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
Let the sandwiches rest for 1 minute so the cheese firms up a little, then cut them in half and serve.
Storage: Assembled sandwiches are best eaten right away. Roasted squash keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Crispy sage stays crisp for 1–2 days in a container at room temperature. To reheat a leftover sandwich, warm it in a dry skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes per side.
Questions
- How much protein is in roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage?
- Each of the 4 servings has 22 g of protein, 5 g of fiber and 639 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains unsalted butter and sharp cheddar. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 40 minutes of cooking, so 55 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage ahead?
- Assembled sandwiches are best eaten right away. Roasted squash keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Crispy sage stays crisp for 1–2 days in a container at room temperature. To reheat a leftover sandwich, warm it in a dry skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes per side.
- What can I substitute in roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage?
- Pear instead of apple — softer and more floral, and it melts into the cheese more.. Gruyère for half the cheddar — a nuttier filling that stretches more and tastes less sharp.. Mayonnaise on the outside instead of butter — browns more evenly and spreads straight from the fridge.. A thin layer of fig jam or a drizzle of maple syrup with the Dijon — makes the sandwich sweeter, which is good if you're using a very tart apple..
- Does roasted butternut squash grilled cheese with apple, sharp cheddar and crispy sage contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 10, 2026 ·American