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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Meat and cheese surrounded by crispy bread, this sandwich is the perfect way to use up leftover meatloaf.

Try making some Texas Garlic Toast to use as the bread for this sandwich. If you want a light side, why not try a salad like Homemade Caesar Salad or Strawberry Spinach Salad? Or, if you need something more filling, you can try Mom’s Potato Salad.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe.
Total Time: Making these sandwiches takes approximately 15 minutes.
Variations: Change up the bread you use, try a different cheese, add more condiments. Try making Meatloaf Sauce to serve with the sandwiches, or even some Meatloaf Seasoning to sprinkle on. Try this sandwich with rye bread instead of sourdough. make it your own.
Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a cutting board, a knife, and a large skillet.

What You’ll Need for Ingredients

Meatloaf: If you haven’t got any leftover meatloaf but you’d like to try this recipe, you can use a storebought meatloaf or make your own.

Bread: Realistically, you can use any bread you like for this recipe. Try using what you’d normally use for your favourite grilled cheese. Thick slices of white bread or sourdough are likely the easiest.

Cheese: The best cheese to use is one that melts into a soft texture. Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, or even Swiss will work well for this. Basically anything you’d normally use for a grilled cheese sandwich.

How To Make a Grilled Meatloaf Sandwich

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

Butter the outsides of the bread slices. Set aside.
Fry meatloaf in a pan over medium heat until both sides are browned. Be careful not to burn the meat.
Place a piece of bread, butter side down, in the pan. Add a cheese slice, one slice of meatloaf, a second cheese slice, and another piece of bread (butter side up).
Repeat process with second sandwich.
Fry until bottom slices of bread are browned then carefully flip sandwiches over to cook the other side.

meatloaf being reheated in a pan (flipped)

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making a Grilled Meatloaf Sandwich

Melty Cheese: If you’re having trouble getting your cheese to melt nicely before the bread burns, try covering the sandwiches with a pot lid for a few seconds. Better yet, if the pan you’re using has a lid, use that. Just trap the heat in there for long enough to get the cheese melting, without you having to crank the heat up and risk burning anything.

Meatloaf Options: If you haven’t got any leftover meatloaf at home and you feel like getting creative, try making a Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf or Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. Do that a day in advance so that the meatloaf can fully cool before you slice it to use in your sandwiches.

Full shot of a meatloaf sandwich, up close with cheese.

Storage Instructions

Fridge: While these sandwiches will absolutely be better fresh and hot, you can store the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or two. Since you are using meatloaf that has already been cooked, cooled, and reheated, it’s not ideal to repeat the process again.

More Delicious Sandwich Recipes

Looking for more easy sandwich recipes?

Try a Turkey Club Sandwich or Classic Toasted Tomato Sandwich for a quick lunch.

For more classics, try making a Classic Reuben Sandwich or Classic Tuna Melt Sandwich.

There you go, everyone. A delicious way to use that leftover meatloaf that you’re tired of reheating. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn