Enjoy the taste of fall with open-faced apple cheddar melts made with crisp apples, crunchy sunflower seeds, and gooey cheddar—a perfect lunch sandwich.
A restaurant in my town used to serve this wonderful open-faced apple cheddar sandwich and every time I ordered it, I would realize that I'd forgotten how much I love it. I decided to recreate it at home and see if I could make a version as good as theirs. I believe that they use a combination of mayonnaise and mustard in theirs, but I've only used mayo. You could really use either or a combination of both. The melt is delightful anytime, but it would be a perfect fall lunch with fresh-picked apples. Since I'm impatient, I'm not waiting for fall...
Start with whole wheat bread, mayonnaise, sunflower seeds, an apple, and sharp cheddar cheese slices. Toast the bread.
While the bread is toasting, slice the apple and mix the apple slices with lemon juice to keep them from browning:
When the toast is ready, spread it with the mayonnaise.
Layer the apple slices on each piece. (You may double stack the apples but you may not be able to use the entire apple unless you want to eat with a fork.)
Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top of the apple slices (yum...)
Top each piece of toast with a slice of cheddar. Yes - my broiler pan has seen better days...
Toast until cheese is melted.
Cut into triangles and serve immediately. Oh my. It's delectable.
📖 Recipe
Apple Cheddar Melt
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise
- 4 slices whole wheat bread
- 1 apple
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Toast the bread. While the bread is toasting, cut the apple into thin slices and mix the apple slices with lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- When the toast is ready, spread it with the mayonnaise and layer the apple slices on each piece.
- Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top of the apple slices and top with a slice of cheddar.
- Toast until cheese is melted. Cut into triangles and serve immediately.
Nutrition per serving
Courtney Baker
True Story: I had my first and only apple cheddar melt years ago at this great little restaurant in Fredericksburg, VA, I and have never forgotten it. Today, I had some apples on hand and thought about that sandwich, so i did a quick internet search to make sure i was remembering the sandwich ingrediants correctly. Super happy when i found this recipe...and then blown away when i read your background info and realized we are probably referencing the same restaurant and sandwich from Fredericksburg. Small world!
Courtney Baker
Sammy T's was the name of the restaurant! And the only difference is they also add a little Dijon mustard - yum! Thanks for posting
Mary Ann
Yep, it was Sammy T's! They have changed ownership and many of the menu items have changed. You are right that they also added a little Dijon with the mayo. I've since moved from Fredericksburg, but I loved their black bean cakes and this sandwich with a salad and tahini dressing!
Thanks for commenting, and I'm glad you found the recipe - enjoy!
Grateful for Grace
Oh, this sounds GREAT!! (minus the mayo ;) )
Thanks. I really needed a few new lunch ideas.