Cheese Toasties… Made with Lower Carb Bread
Sometimes, we all need a bit of comfort food, don’t we? And at LoCho, we think there’s nothing more comforting than a good old-fashioned cheese toastie. If you’re trying to live a lower carb lifestyle, you might think that toasties are a thing of the past. They’re not. And below, we’re going to show you how to whip up a lower carb cheese toastie with all the goodness of the carb-filled classic.
Choosing your ingredients
As the name suggests, there are two stars of the show here: the cheese, and the toast. Picking the absolute best products will help you take your cheese toastie game to the next level. And then some.
1. Bread
When it comes to bread, what you’re looking for is something with a bit of texture; a bit of ‘bite’. Why? Because it’s the perfect contrast to that soft, squidgy, gooey cheese that’s packed inside. When you bite into your toastie, you get that immediate crunch, followed by that creamy, cheesy softness.
This means that most lower carb breads will be off the table. They’re naturally too soft to create that crispy/squidgy balance. But don’t fret. There are still some amazing options. LoCho loaf is one of them, featuring a blend of seeds that improve structure and produce a more chomp-tastic feel.
2. Cheese
While you might love a sharp cheddar (who doesn’t?), milder, more buttery cheeses tend to work best in toasties. That’s because the harder, more mature cheeses can go quite oily and chewy when melted. The more buttery alternatives ooze into a pool of Instagram-worthy stringy goodness.
Steer clear of the obvious: the cheeses that don’t melt – halloumi, feta, paneer, and so on. And if you want to keep things as low carb as possible, avoid options like cottage cheese and processed cheese. At LoCho, we love mild cheddar, mozzarella, Gouda, Gruyere, Emmental… basically all of them!
3. Extras
Let’s be honest. When you choose the perfect bread and the perfect cheese, there’s nothing else you need. A cheese toastie may be simple, but when done right, it can be the most mouthwateringly tasty snack. Sometimes, though, it can be fun to experiment with a few little added extras, can’t it?
So what works? Practically anything. You can easily pop in a few slices of chicken or ham. Or even some sliced bell peppers. Personally, we like keeping our cheese toasties as simple as possible. Although we are partial to a little bit of baby spinach on the side, and a dollop of tomato chutney.
Cooked to perfection
Whipping up a delicious cheese toastie – with lower carb bread – couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is take two lovely thick slices of your chosen bread, and butter one side of each. Place one slice onto a board, buttered side down, and top with your slices of cheese and any extras you’re adding in. Pop the other slice of bread on top, buttered side up, and that’s it. You’re ready to get cooking!
The easiest (and quickest) way to cook a cheese toastie is by using a toastie maker. It crisps up both sides at the same time, so you don’t have to wait long to get your teeth into your delicious snack. But if you don’t have a toastie maker, it’s no big deal. Just place your toastie into a warm frying pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. For a bit of extra crunch, use a spatula to press the toastie down in the pan every so often, allowing the butter to really get that lower carb bread all crispy.