Ham and Cheese Toastie
The secret to a great ham and cheese toastie is the order you build it in: cheese, ham, then cheese again. Cheese on both sides melts into the ham and holds the toastie together, so the ham doesn't slide out in one sheet on the first bite. Use 50g grated cheddar and 2 slices of thin ham folded to fit inside the sealing edge, and cook it for 4 minutes.
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Recipe: Ham and cheese toastie
Ingredients
- 2 slices medium-cut white or wholemeal bread
- 50g mature cheddar (or half cheddar, half gruyère), coarsely grated
- 2 thin slices cooked ham (about 35g total), honey roast or smoked
- 1/2 tsp wholegrain or English mustard
- 10g salted butter, softened
Method
- Close the toastie maker and preheat it until the ready light comes on, then give it another minute.
- Pat the ham dry with kitchen paper. Packaged ham is often wet with brine, and that liquid turns into steam that makes the bread soggy.
- Fold each ham slice in half, then in half again, so it fits within the inner sealing line of your plates. Ham that crosses the edge stops the bread sealing.
- Butter one side of each slice. Place one slice buttered side down on the bottom plate.
- Spread the mustard thinly over the centre of the bread facing up, keeping it off the edges.
- Scatter half the cheese over the mustard, keeping a 1cm border.
- Lay the folded ham on top of the cheese, then cover it with the rest of the cheese.
- Put the second slice on top, buttered side up, close the lid gently and latch it.
- Cook for 4 minutes in a standard machine or 5 minutes in a deep fill. Rest for 1 minute before cutting.
Why the layering order matters
Ham doesn't melt. Put a flat sheet of it on top of all the cheese and it forms a barrier between the cheese and the top slice of bread. The top slice then has nothing to stick to, so the toastie splits and the ham slides out.
Putting cheese on both sides of the ham solves this. Each melted layer bonds the ham to the bread next to it, so the toastie cuts and eats as one piece. The same cheese-meat-cheese structure works for any sliced meat, which is why our Cuban toastie and Reuben toastie use it too.
Fold, don't stack flat
Folded ham is better than flat ham for two reasons. It keeps the meat inside the sealing edge, and the folds trap pockets of melted cheese. Thin, folded ham is also much easier to bite through than one thick slice.
Choosing the ham and cheese
Thin-sliced honey roast or smoked ham from a pack works well once it's been patted dry. Thick-cut ham from the deli counter tastes better, but shred it into strips first so you can still bite through it. For the cheese, mature cheddar is the classic choice, and a 50/50 mix with gruyère gives a nuttier, French-style flavour. For more pairings, see best cheese for toasties.
Other appliances
In a panini press, use the same layers on thicker bread and cook for 5–6 minutes. There's no seal, so keep the ham 1.5cm from the edges. In a frying pan, cook it on medium-low with a lid for 3 minutes per side, as in our frying pan toastie method. In an air fryer, cook it at 180°C for 8–9 minutes, turning it halfway. In a microwave toastie maker, reduce the cheese to 40g, as the plates are shallower. See microwave toastie recipes for timings.
Variations
- Croque-style: add a spoonful of thick béchamel and use gruyère. The full version is our croque monsieur toastie.
- Ham, cheese and pineapple: pat 2 rings of tinned pineapple very dry, chop them small and keep them between the cheese layers.
- Ham, cheese and pickle: spread 1 tsp of Branston thinly in the centre in place of the mustard.
- Ham, cheese and egg: slice a hard-boiled egg thinly and put it in with the ham. Use a deep fill machine for this one.
- Ham, cheese and tomato: use deseeded, well-dried tomato slices. The technique is explained in the cheese and tomato toastie.
Mistakes to avoid
- Wet ham straight from the pack: the brine turns to steam and the bread goes soggy. Always pat it dry.
- Ham over the edges: it stops the seal forming, so the cheese escapes. See how to stop toasties leaking.
- Too much meat: more than about 40g of ham in a standard machine pushes the lid up and leaves the cheese unmelted.
- Mustard on the edges: it stops the bread fusing together, the same way cheese in the seal does.
Still choosing a machine? The best toastie maker guide compares sealed, deep fill and 3-in-1 models. For the plain version this recipe builds on, see our classic cheese toastie recipe.
FAQs
Should the ham go above or below the cheese?
In the middle. Put cheese both below and above the ham so the melted cheese glues each slice of bread to the ham. With cheese on only one side, the toastie tends to split apart.
Can I use ham that's past its best?
No. Cooking it in a toastie doesn't make spoiled ham safe. Use ham within its use-by date and within the time stated on the pack once it's opened.
What mustard works best?
English mustard adds heat in a very small amount. Wholegrain gives you texture and a milder flavour, and Dijon sits between the two. Half a teaspoon is enough for one toastie.
Can I freeze ham and cheese toasties?
You can assemble them unbuttered, wrap them tightly and freeze them for up to a month. Butter the outside of the frozen sandwich and add 1–2 minutes to the cook time, checking that it's piping hot all the way through.