I vividly remember the first time I had grilled cheese with sliced fruit—nearly 20 years ago at a cozy Belgian-style café in Toronto called Le Petit Dejeuner. It was unlike anything I'd tasted before! Growing up, my grilled cheese never included fruit, let alone cheese of this quality. The addition of fresh apple brought a crisp sweetness that perfectly complemented the melted cheese. It quickly became my go-to lunch, paired with a salad, when I worked at a marketing agency down the street. It was the ultimate comfort food!
Of course I had to recreate this comfort food moment and in doing so, introduce our daughter Vienna to this wonderful combination with the best quality cheese possible. In my opinion, food is only as good as the quality of the ingredients that go into it. This is why we love L'Ancêtre Cheese Factory from Quebec. We’ve been using it for over a decade in our home because it’s really the best!
It’s organic, which means no pesticides, GMOs, or synthetic fertilizers—just pure deliciousness from pasture-raised cows, who have freedom of movement. Their diet is composed mainly of organic pasture so that they have high milk quality which impacts their longevity. We are more than what we eat, we are what our food eats afterall!
This sandwich may not be for everyone, because yes there is dairy and gluten (however you can use gluten-free bread), but there are options in the recipe to make it cow-dairy-free and gluten-free. This cheese is gluten-free with less than 1% lactose and no animal rennet.
L'Ancêtre Cheese Factory also has goat cheese, I’ve tried it and it’s also delicious. Most importantly, this grilled cheese is made with 100% real food.
The addition of sliced apple or pear makes it very memorable, plus you’re getting some more fibre and antioxidants too. When I make this for Walker or myself, I will often add some dijon mustard as well, it’s a wicked combo, but for Vienna we just stick to cheese and apple or pear.
Vienna’s fave lunchbox sammie is super easy, here’s the recipe.
Mains & Sides
Best Ever Grilled Cheese with Pear
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Ingredients
- 3-4 slices L’Ancêtre Unpasteurized Cheddar Cheese
- Thinly sliced pear (Bosc or Green Anjou)
- 2 slices of sourdough or gluten-free bread
- 1 tsp organic butter or ghee
Instructions
- Melt butter or ghee in a pan over medium on the stovetop.
- Assemble sandwich and place on pan. Grill until golden and then flip.
- Grill a few more moments until melty perfection. Enjoy!
You can find this wonderful cheese at your local health food store or in the natural foods section of your supermarket. They also make a variety of other items including butter, which is also delicious. As for the bread, we live in Toronto so our favourite local sourdough bread is from Blackbird Bakery and when making this gluten-free we use Golden Flax Thornbury Bread. It's on my list to try this with our Best Ever Paleo Bread!
This post is created in partnership with L'Ancêtre Cheese Factory but all opinions are my own.
