When you’re craving a sandwich, try our quick air fryer grilled ham and cheese melt recipe. It’s fantastic and perfect for a kids afternoon or after school snack. This air fryer ham and cheese melt will be a favorite for the whole family.

air fryer grilled ham and cheese in basket

Quick Ham and Cheese Melt in the Air Fryer

The hot circulating air cooks the sandwich quickly and all the way through to melt the cheese. It so simple, you might wonder why cook it in the air fryer instead of the pan. Well, the #1 reason is because there’s hardly anything to wash. No washing of a pan is needed. All you need to do is to wipe down your air fryer basket or rack and you’re done!

Holding air fryer grilled ham and cheese

Video: Air Fried Grilled Ham and Cheese Recipe

How to Make Air Fryer Grilled Ham and Cheese Recipe Tips

  • The bread can fly around in the air fryer. If your bread is really thin and light, it will fly off the sandwich from the circulating air in the air fryer. We suggest using toothpicks to secure the sandwich together. Please you must remember to remove the toothpicks before eating! 🙂 Don’t poke yourself with the toothpicks when you bite into the sandwich.
  • You can use simple sliced bread, wheat bread or a slice cut from a crusty loaf. We also loving using some soft brioche buns too for this melt. The tender crumb of the brioche bread is fantastic!
  • Place slices of good melting cheese on both sides of the ham. The cheese helps the ham and bread stick together.
  • Close the sandwich and spread softened butter on outside of bread. Or spray with light olive oil spray. Some folks love spreading it with mayo on the outside.
  • Gently place the sandwich in air fryer and cook. Full air fryer grilled ham and cheese recipe instructions in the recipe box below.

What Type of Ham to Use?

There’s many different styles of ham to use. Also, there’s so many different flavors from honey smoked or hickory smoked to black forest ham. There’s so many great flavors to choose from.

  • What ever ham you decide to use, make sure it’s pre-cooked.
  • Simple sliced deli ham is great to use and it’s already pre-sliced. Like we mentioned above, there’s alot of different flavors to choose from.
  • Leftover ham off the bone. This ham is fantastic and flavorful. Just make sure it’s sliced thin enough for the sandwich. It’s easier to bite into if it’s not too thick.
  • Canadian ham is great too with great flavor. It can often be thick, so choose a brand that is thin enough.
  • Country ham is fantastic, especially when you have leftovers from a Holiday meal.
  • Here’s our recipe for pineapple glazed ham in the air fryer and our popular air fryer honey baked ham.
Holding ham and cheese sandwich
air fryer grilled ham and cheese in basket

Air Fryer Ham and Cheese Melt

Yield: 1 Sandwich
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
This may become your favorite way to make a grilled ham and cheese melt. Read the write up above for more tips and suggestions.
To ensure that the bread doesn’t fly off during air frying, use a toothpick to secure the sandwich together. Make sure to remove the toothpick before eating!
3.25 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

  • 2 slices bread
  • 2-4 slices good melting cheese (American, Swiss, cheddar, Gruyere, etc.)
  • 1-2 slices ham , about 1/4-inch thick
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 g) butter

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Layer the bread, cheese, ham, another slice of cheese, and then the top slice of bread (you want the ham in-between the cheese so when it melts, the cheese will hold everything together).
    Assembling ham and cheese sandwich
  • Butter the outsides of bread. Make sure to butter both the top and bottom slice.
    Buttering outside of bread on ham and cheese sandwich
  • Secure the top slice of bread with toothpicks through the sandwich. Lay sandwich in air fryer basket.
    Placing toothpicks into sandwich to secure the top slice of bread
  • Air Fry at 360°F/182°C for about 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese.
    Prepared ham and cheese sandwich in air fryer basket
  • Flip the sandwich and increase heat to 380°F/193°C to finish and crisp the bread. Air Fry at 380°F/193°C for about 5 minutes or until the sandwich is to your preferred texture. Check on the sandwich often to make sure it doesn't burn (different breads will toast quicker or slower than others). Allow to cool a bit before biting into the yummy grilled cheese sandwich!
    Finished air fried ham and cheese sandwich in air fryer basket

Notes

NOTE: If your bread is really thin, it will blow off in the air fryer because of the hot circulating air. Use toothpicks to secure the sandwich during air frying. Remember to remove the toothpicks before eating.

If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 455kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 750mg, Potassium: 187mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 633IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 378mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Sandwiches
Cuisine: American
Calories: 455

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