Caramelized Onion, Apple and Goat Cheese Melts Recipe (2024)

My husband and i are creasing with laughter. Are there ANY NYT recipes that don't add the ubiquitous red pepper flakes? Can Americans eat anything without them? Love the recipes, but...!

Passing along the best tip I ever got from the comments: slice your onions, microwave them for a couple of minutes in a single between layers of paper towels, and press out the excess water. Drastically cuts the caramelization time.

It has to be butter. All the way. No changes otherwise!

You can just omit the red pepper. I personally love it as does my family, but it doesn't make or break the recipes. I haven't made a bad recipe from this site. All of them are great and not difficult to prepare. A great combination. Thank you, NYT!

I like butter, but truffle oil is a very good option too. Why not add red pepper flakes? For most people, they lend a more interesting flavor than black pepper.

I see this better as an appetizer than a sandwich - make it a topping for bruschetta instead of a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. Fresh thyme and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top would would be pretty and festive.

Red pepper flakes come in several different flavors and heat levels. The world of cooking is becoming more diverse, just like the population, and more people have grown up with a little or a lot of piquancy than without. Some, who came from a culture without heat in their diet, have learned to love it. If you can’t take it, leave it out, but please don’t act as if it should be the norm. It’s like saying that everyone should eat as you do, and as we all know, variety is the spice of life!

I agree. I can't take the heat. Why does every recipe have to have red pepper flakes added? I grew up without hot spice in my food. I have tried them but can't adapt to them. I know it is trendy now but I wonder how many people really like them. I do understand that they are optional in just about any recipe.

Just made as a quick lunch - delicious! I used a soft, home made goat cheese and added some capers (as I had them in the fridge).

For those folks who do not like red pepper flakes, just omit it. Some like flavour and the chef is simply trying to do just that.

It is worth noting that red pepper flakes add complexity rather than heat in recipes such as this one. I would encourage the nay-sayers to try them, perhaps halving the amount for starters.

The nice thing about red pepper flakes is you don't have to add them if you don't want to...personally I think that most of the time they add great flavor.

Add slices of bacon, leave the Olives out and add Walnuts instead. Sprinkle of honey. Done.

I plan to use Montchevre or Laura Chenel plain. Both are nice soft goat cheeses.

I wanted to incorporate this into a brunch potluck dish, so I caramelized the onions in diced bacon fat, added the bacon to the onion mixture, chopped up the apples into small dices and stirred in with a drizzle of honey. Put some puff pastry dough in mini muffin tins, added the mixture, and baked at 400 for about 18 minutes. It was a huge hit!

Perfect recipe! Love the tangy flavor from the goat cheese mixed with the heat from the red chili flakes and cut by the sweetness of the apple. 10/10!

We like this! I certainly didn’t get caramelized onions in 15 minutes, but we think it’s good. We omitted Olives. Personally, I like red pepper. We did add honey and grilled the sandwich in mayo. Sue me!

Not worth the time and effort. If you’re going to slice onions and apples and chop up olives and caramelize the onions just to make a sort of grilled cheese sandwich…it better taste awesome. Nope. Just ok.

My modifications:Gochujang instead of red pepper flakes. (I couldn't find my flakes lol)Ghee instead of olive oil.

Not sure I would try this again. On the salty side and didn't hold together well, although could be operator error. Maybe I'll try the gruyere and onion next time

These were pretty good, not sure if I’d make it again as it was a little too rich and bland (a bit) to be worth it.

Everybody loved this. Def. double next time, as this barely fed 4 of us. Made w caramelized shallots (~4 c), 1/2 a log of goat cheese. Get fresh thyme, dried was OK but fresh would be better. Def. use mostly butter for all frying/caramelizing! Will be delish with pears, gruyere and some Black Forest ham...

All, if you sub out more than half the ingredients and then say it’s the perfect sandwich you’ve just made a different sandwich.

if you didn't like the idea of red pepper flakes, ignore this: I subbed red chili paste instead of the flakes... stupendous! Depth with just a tiny kick - not even a kick, maybe like a gentle tap. Also added some garlic and a couple spare shallots to the onions, mixed in shredded chicken to make it a bit more substantial. Nom Nom Nom.

I added coffee blossom honey to the goat cheese-onion mixture and it was delectable.

I wanted to incorporate this into a brunch potluck dish, so I caramelized the onions in diced bacon fat, added the bacon to the onion mixture, chopped up the apples into small dices and stirred in with a drizzle of honey. Put some puff pastry dough in mini muffin tins, added the mixture, and baked at 400 for about 18 minutes. It was a huge hit!

Flavor was great but a little heavy/rich. Maybe cut the goat cheese with Boursin or something a little lighter but still creamy. A little smear of cherry preserves inside the top slice was nice.

We really love this sandwich—we totally see why it’s a 5 star sandwich. I would suggest extra thyme (the earthiness really adds - maybe have extra available on the table to add), do not over do on the olives or it will take over, and we used cream cheese and it was great! Definitely will try with goat cheese. Keeper!!

I loved this. A few crumbled walnuts make a nice addition

Okay, not great. I followed the recipe exactly as I typically do the first time around. Onions took about 45 minutes to caramelize; sandwiches needed a ton of extra oil as the first side absorbed so much; and, though I tend to add crushed red pepper to everything, I found the flavor overpowered, rather than complemented, the rest of the flavors. We ate them but won't make them again.