This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Football season is coming and this buffalo chicken grilled cheese in the oven is the perfect football food! It serves a crowd and is always a hit! Spicy, cheesy, and perfect for dipping in ranch or blue cheese dressing.
I think it’s well known that I attend football related events solely for the food.
I mean, if you want to watch a bunch of grown men risk life and limb to chase a ball, then by all means, go for it. I’m just…not interested.
I am suuuuuuper excited for football food though. It’s probably my favorite cuisine.
This year, I’m serving up hungry football fans a big ol’ grilled cheese.
Have you ever made a grilled cheese in the oven? It’s so much easier than cooking them on the stove and this is a SHEET PAN grilled cheese! So it’s huge and it feeds a crowd.
Did I mention the buffalo chicken hiding inside? Sooooo good, you guys!
Baked grilled cheese is going to be your new favorite football food. 🙂
How to make grilled cheese in the oven:
I started this recipe by cutting the crusts off of a loaf of bread. You don’t technically have to do this, but it helps the bread fit in the pan a little better and I just think it’s tastier without the crust. You do you, though.
Melt some butter and pour it onto a rimmed sheet pan. Spread it all around and then top it off with a single layer of bread slices.
Add some shredded chicken to a bowl along with some hot sauce and ranch dressing mix. Stir that up. This chicken is sooooo good!
Top the bread with slices of cheddar and the buffalo chicken mixture.
Don’t forget the sliced cheddar! You need lots o’ cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich, y’all.
Top these off with more bread and brush the tops with melted butter.
Into the oven with your massive grilled cheese sandwich!
What comes out is toasty melty perfection!
We dip our buffalo chicken grilled cheese in ranch dressing, but blue cheese would work just as well. Use whichever you like best!
Hope you enjoy!
More football food you might enjoy:
Taco Chili: A big pot of chili with the flavors of a taco. Hard to go wrong!
Homemade Brownies: You need these in your life.
Fruit Pizza: Always a hit!!
French Dip Sandwich: One of the most popular recipes on this site!
Grape Jelly Meatballs: A classic!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs: You can’t go wrong with buffalo chicken!
Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 24 slices sandwich bread
- 1/2 cup melted butter divided
- 24 slices cheddar cheese
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
- 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
- ranch or blue cheese dressing for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the crust off the bread.
- Pour 1/4 cup of butter into a rimmed half sheet pan. Place 12 slices of bread in the pan to cover.
- Top the bread with 12 slices of cheddar.
- Add the chicken, hot sauce, and ranch seasoning to a mixing bowl and stir well to coat.
- Spread chicken over the cheese in an even layer. Top with the remaining cheese and bread slices.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the remaining butter over the tops of the sandwiches.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.
- Serve hot with blue cheese or ranch dressing, as desired.
Stephanie says
Sounds like a great way to make a bunch of grilled cheese at once! I’m curious, does the bottom slice of bread get crispy this way?
Karly says
Yes, it does!
Michael says
Nice, I haven’t made it but it sounds like a nice meal without all the effort to bake the chicken yourself.
Avon Bohemiangirl says
That looks delicious! Great idea instead of one at a time in a frying pan! Lol
rick reed says
I am also confused These are not individual sandwiches but need to be cut to served?
Karly says
So sorry about that! They don’t need to be cut to be served – I just went a little crazy in the math department for a minute. Recipe is all correct now. 🙂
Helen says
I so love your recipes. Thank you for sharing and dedicating the time to share.
Vickie says
Karly – This sounds like a great crowd pleaser but I am confused. In the recipe you state in the ingredients “24” slices of bread. In the recipe, your directions are to place 15 slices of bread on the buttered sheet pan, add the toppings, etc then top with remaining bread which would only be only 9 slices of bread. It this count correct? Or should there be 30 slices of bread-15 for the bottom and 15 to top off? Thanks for sharing!
Karly says
Well my goodness, that recipe was a mess. It should be 24 total pieces of bread, with two layers of 12 each, creating a total of 12 sandwiches. Sorry for the confusion!
Vickie says
Thanks Karly- You’re The Best!
Teresa Holman says
Karly,
You are the genius of now why didn’t I think of that! I love oven/AF grilled cheese, it’s so much better than from a skillet, it gets so crunchy! But, putting buffalo chicken on it, I’m ALL in!