Chilli Cheese Toastie
Leftover chilli con carne makes one of the best toasties there is. The challenge is temperature: cold chilli from the fridge is dense, and in a 4-minute cook the bread can be done before the middle is properly hot. Use chilli that's thick and cold enough to spread, keep it in a thin layer no more than 1cm deep, and cook for 5 minutes on a fully preheated machine so it's piping hot all the way through.
On this page
Recipe: Chilli cheese toastie
Ingredients
- 2 slices medium-cut white bread
- 80g leftover chilli con carne (about 3 heaped tbsp), cold from the fridge
- 40g mature cheddar, grated
- 10g red leicester or monterey jack, grated
- 4–6 slices pickled jalapeño, chopped (optional)
- 10g salted butter, softened
Method
- Close the toastie maker and preheat it until the ready light comes on, then give it an extra minute.
- Check the chilli. If any liquid runs when you tilt the container, simmer it in a small pan for 2–3 minutes until it's thick, then let it cool. Cold, thick chilli is easiest to handle.
- Mash the chilli lightly with a fork to break up big pieces of meat or beans, so it spreads flat.
- Mix the two cheeses. Butter one side of each slice and put one slice buttered side down on the bottom plate.
- Scatter a third of the cheese over the bread, leaving a 1cm border.
- Spread the chilli on top in a thin, even layer no more than 1cm deep, keeping it 2cm from the edges. Add the jalapeños.
- Cover with the rest of the cheese and the second slice, buttered side up. Close the lid slowly.
- Cook for 5 minutes in a standard machine or 6 in a deep fill. Check that the centre is steaming hot. Rest for 2 minutes before eating, as chilli holds a lot of heat.
The technique: heating a dense filling all the way through
Most toastie fillings are thin, like cheese, ham or tuna, so heat reaches the middle quickly. Chilli is a dense, moist mass, and cold chilli takes much longer to heat to the centre than cheese takes to melt. Three things solve it.
Spread it thin and even
Heat comes in from both plates, so the thickness of the filling sets how long the middle takes to get hot. A thin, even layer heats through within the cook time. A heaped mound can still be cold in the centre when the bread is brown. Mashing it slightly removes large lumps that would otherwise stay cool.
A longer cook in a fully hot machine
Five minutes rather than the usual four, after an extra minute of preheating, gets the centre of a thin chilli layer properly hot without burning the bread. Our how long to cook a toastie table lists times for other heavy fillings. If you often use thick fillings, a deep fill toastie maker gives more room. Allow 6 minutes with one.
Why not heat the chilli first?
You can, but hot chilli is runnier and more likely to escape before the bread seals, which is the same problem we solve in the cheese and beans toastie. If you'd rather start with warm chilli for speed, keep it thick and cook for 4 minutes.
Food safety with leftovers
Refrigerate leftover chilli within about 2 hours of cooking and use it within 2 days, or freeze it. Reheat it only once, and make sure the toastie is steaming hot in the centre. Chilli frozen in small portions can be defrosted in the fridge overnight, ready for toasties.
Other appliances
In a frying pan, cook on medium-low with the lid on for 4 minutes per side. The lid is essential, because it traps the heat that warms the centre (see frying pan toastie). In an air fryer, cook at 175°C for 10 minutes, turning halfway. Lower and longer suits dense fillings. For an oven bake for several people, see the oven toastie method.
Variations
- Veggie or bean chilli: works the same way. Mash the beans a little more.
- Chilli and sour cream: stir 1 tsp of sour cream into the cheese, not onto the bread.
- Nacho toastie: add a few crushed tortilla chips over the chilli for crunch.
- Jalapeño popper style: cream cheese and jalapeño. See the jalapeño popper toastie.
- Chilli beans and cheese: for when you don't have leftovers. Use tinned chilli beans, thickened as in the cheese and beans toastie.
Mistakes to avoid
- Thin, saucy chilli: it leaks and burns on the plates. Reduce it first.
- A thick mound: the middle stays cold. Spread it in an even 1cm layer.
- Too much filling: 80g is the limit for a standard machine. See how to stop toasties leaking.
- Eating it straight away: chilli stays scalding hot for longer than cheese does.
The plain base for all of these is our classic cheese toastie recipe, and machines with deep sealing edges are compared in best cheese toastie maker.
FAQs
Can I use frozen chilli in a toastie?
Defrost it fully in the fridge first. Frozen or partly frozen chilli won't heat through safely in a toastie maker's short cook.
What cheese goes best with chilli?
Mature cheddar for flavour, with a little red leicester or monterey jack for a smoother melt. Smoked cheddar is also excellent with chilli.
Can I use chilli with rice in it?
Yes, a little rice mixed into the chilli works, but it makes the filling bulkier, so use 60g in total and spread it thin.