15 Best Cheese Toastie Ideas & Fillings - best toastie fillings uk
15 Best Cheese Toastie Ideas & Fillings - best toastie fillings uk

The Best Cheese Toastie Fillings & Ideas UK

We’ve got the best toastie filling ideas you’ll ever need.

Nothing says student life quite like the humble cheese toastie. My mouth is drooling already…

With a plethora of toastie fillings and ideas to choose from, you could probably get away with incorporating the dish into your weekly student menu a couple times a week. Just make sure to eat some fruit and veg at some point to prevent scurvy.

Toasties are super easy to make, they’re affordable (most importantly), and they taste incredible even with the most simple ingredients. It’s also a cosy, homely dish that’s just what you need when you’re a little homesick or need something comforting. 

And once you get the toastie maker out, it’s game over. You’ll be eating toasties for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next 2 months; until you’re bored of it and pack it away back into the cupboard to be seen again in 3 years.

But while you’re in your toastie era, there are loads of toastie ideas to choose from. Whether you’re veggie, vegan, or eat anything and everything, the world truly is your oyster when it comes to this cheesy, gooey goodness.

In this guide:

Best toastie fillings uk

Cheese and Marmite toastie

You either love it or hate it. And we love it. 

A cheese and Marmite toastie is an old-school classic. A controversial choice for some, but the Holy Grail for others. 

All you need is cheese (a mature cheddar works best) and Marmite. Grab that jar of Marmite from the back of your cupboard and you’ll see how delicious it can be. 

Cheese and bean toastie

Of course we can’t give you toastie ideas without mentioning our name’s sake. Cheese and beans is another student staple and for good reason. Beans are cheap, everyone has a tin or two in their cupboard, and it makes the perfect pairing with cheese on toast. 

Pizza toastie ideas

If you want to get more inventive with your toasties, you can try a pizza toastie.

For this, you’ll need tomato paste, mozzarella and all of your favourite pizza toppings like ham, red onion, courgette, peppers, pepperoni or even pineapple if you’re one of those people.

You’ll want to spread the tomato paste on your bread first then layer up the mozzarella and toppings. The result? A tasty pizza toastie which is quick to whip up and will satisfy any pizza cravings.

Perfectly customisable and one of those toastie ideas you’l keep revisiting.

Croque Monsieur

If you want a more fancy toastie, you’ll need to make a béchamel sauce (or you can buy one if you don’t want to make it yourself). You can easily make it at home using flour, milk, cream, butter, garlic, bay leaves and dijon mustard.

The rest of the fillings you’ll need are smoked ham and gruyere cheese. This is definitely a more fancy toastie, but it’s one that’s sure to impress your friends if they come over for lunch.

croque monsieur toastie ideas - best toastie fillings uk

Tomato and mozzarella toastie

Another classic that’s super easy to make. If you go to any coffee shop, they’re sure to be serving this up, but with a price point of at least £4. Save your money and make your own tomato and mozzarella toastie at home instead. All you’ll need is sundried tomatoes or tomato paste, mozzarella and spinach.

A similar take on the pizza toastie ideas. Simple yet delicious.

Brie, ham and fig jam toastie

Who said students can’t be boujee? 

This toastie is one of the toastie ideas you’ll keep around for when you want something a lil’ more special. The ultimate trio: ham, fig jam, and brie. Anyone else super hungry all of a sudden?

This toastie idea is a little fancier but still uber-tasty — plus, it makes for a great festive treat if you don’t want to cook an entire Christmas dinner for your flatmates. 

fig brie toastie ideas - best toastie fillings uk

Bolognese toastie

If you have leftover bolognese, you can use it to make a cheese toastie for lunch the next day! For spag bol inspired sandwiches all you’ll need is some leftover cooked bolognese in tomato sauce to add to both sides of your bread and sprinkle on a generous amount of cheese. This is a great way to reduce food waste and makes a pretty tasty lunch too.

Chilli cheese toastie

For this, you can customise your toastie however you want. You can opt for a spicy chilli cheese as the main ingredient, or you can use a regular cheddar with some chopped chillis or chilli jam instead to add the spice. If you find plain cheese toasties a bit boring, this is one to try out.

Bacon, brie and red onion toastie

Toasties aren’t just for lunch, this is a great one to start your day with. You can make a great bacon toastie with brie, bacon and red onion slices or red onion chutney. This can also easily be adapted into a vegan recipe too with some vegan bacon and cheddar.

Veggie toastie ideas

Use up whatever veggies you have lying around your kitchen to make a tasty lunchtime snack. You can pretty much use any vegetables you like in a toastie, as when paired with cheese and cooked it will taste great.

Some good toppings to experiment with are red onion, spinach, pepper or courgette.

Mayo, ketchup and cheese toastie

If you feel like a toastie but have limited ingredients in your kitchen and don’t want to go out, fear not as the mayo, ketchup and cheese combo is one that can easily be whipped up and requires minimal effort. It might not be for everyone, but you’d be surprised by how delicious it can taste.

Egg, tomato and onion toastie

Another chuck everything you have in your kitchen cupboard idea. Instead of a standard egg, tomato and onion sandwich, why not try toasting it instead with cheddar cheese?

Halloumi toastie

You don’t have to stick to cheddar cheese when you’re making toasties. If you’re a halloumi fan you can try substituting cheddar for halloumi in most toastie recipes, or you can try halloumi on its own with chilli sauce or even pesto.

Gouda and chilli cheese toastie

Switch things up and use gouda slices instead of cheddar if you have a more acquired taste. You can use chilli cheese as well, chilli jam or sliced chillis to add the spicy element or you could even switch the gouda for brie or halloumi.

Pesto, cheese and chicken toastie

Pesto pasta is a student staple, so you should find that you have a jar of pesto in your fridge. You’ll need your favourite cheese, your favourite pesto and some grilled chicken to make this one and it’s a quick and easy lunchtime classic.

Fancy cheese toastie ideas

We love a simple cheese toastie as much as the next guy, but sometimes the occasion calls for something a little fancier. This cheddar, mango chutney and chard toastie idea is super easy to make and delicious, too. A trio made in heaven.

Best vegan toastie ideas

The good news is pretty much all of these toasties can be made vegan or adapted to be vegan!

You’ll want to get your hands on some vegan cheese first, as the staple ingredient as well as some vegan meat substitutes and veggies. Here are are a list of vegan ingredients that can be substituted or included in the above toasties:

  • Violife cheese
  • This isn’t Bacon
  • Baked beans
  • Marmite
  • Spinach
  • Mexicana vegan cheese
  • Applewood vegan cheese
  • Vitalite vegan cheese
  • Cathedral City vegan cheese
  • Sacla’ vegan pesto
  • Tomatoes
  • Quorn vegan ham slices
  • Quorn vegan chicken slices

Our favourite vegan toastie ideas include:

  • Mozzarella vegan alternative, tomato and pesto (a classic that will cost £££ on the highstreet)
  • Vegan smoky cheese, pepper and avocado
  • Hummus and red pepper
  • Vegan cheddar cheese and red onion
  • Vegan cheese and spinach
  • Pumpkin and roasted onion
  • Veggie pizza – tomato puree, any veg you fancy, and vegan cheese
  • Jackfruit and vegan cheese (a pulled pork dupe)
toasties on plate - best toastie fillings uk

How to make a cheese toastie

There are two ways to easily make a cheese toastie. The first way is a bit of a cheat way, but it’s definitely the easiest way and it’s to get your hands on a toastie maker. They’re affordable and easy to find on Amazon or in supermarkets and honestly? They’ll change your life and are a student kitchen staple. You can also do it pretty much the same way using a grill if you have one.

If you don’t have a toastie maker or grill, you can make a toastie the good old-fashioned way, either on the grill or on the hob. If you’re using the hob you’ll need to cook the individual ingredients such as chicken, bacon or vegetables separately first. Then you’ll need to butter one side of each of the bread slices (the outside of the toastie) and add your cheese and vegetables to the other side to assemble the sandwich. Then simply fry your sandwich on each side, butter side down until the cheese has melted.

Hopefully, these cheese toastie recipe ideas will give you some inspo for new lunch ideas to try out if you’re struggling to think of what to make.

Reddit recommends — best toastie fillings UK

If you’re after ideas for the best toastie fillings UK, Reddit is the place.

Who better to judge a toastie than actual, real people? Exactly. So, we checked out Reddit to see what people are recommending. These were some common mentions and stand-outs:

  • Kimchi and cheddar
  • Mediterranean toastie — roasted peppers, aubergine courgette, sundried tomatoes, basil ,and mozzarella
  • White bread, ‘nduja, mozzarella and honey (fry in a bit of olive oil)
  • Bacon, brie and cranberry
  • Pizza toasties — pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, jalapenos (optional)

Need more ideas for the best toastie fillings in the UK? Check out the Reddit thread…

Don’t forget to check out 50 easy healthy lunch ideas for students! And check out our Student Beans food & drink student discounts for amazing savings.