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Home » Recipes » Gruyère & Apple Toasts with Thyme and Honey

October 12, 2017

Gruyère & Apple Toasts with Thyme and Honey

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This apple toast screams fall through-and-through. Top toasted whole-grain bread with creamy smoked Gruyère, salty ham, and slices of sweet Honeycrisp apple.

Broiled to melty perfection then finished with honey and earthy thyme, these toasts are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Open faced sandwiches with melted cheese and apple on baking sheet

I just made a huge pot of roasted root vegetable soup (a slight variation from this recipe) and I think that’s a sign that I’m finally ready for fall. What are you most looking forward to cooking this fall?

I’m currently loving anything apple, especially this apple toast. It’s savory, slightly sweet, and wonderfully herbaceous thanks to fresh thyme. For these toasts, I like to use Honeycrisp apples for their crispness and sweetness, it pairs perfectly with the salty Gruyère and deli ham. 

Then just finish with  drizzle of honey and some fresh thyme. If you don’t have thyme on hand, you can use rosemary or sage too!

Toasted bread on black baking sheet
Toasted bread with shredded cheese on black baking sheet

Toasted bread with ham and shredded cheese on black baking sheet
Toasted bread with ham, shredded cheese, and apple on black baking sheet

Spring most often holds the title of being the season for fresh starts and new beginnings. And there’s no doubt a sense of rebirth sets in as the snow melts and we begin to crawl out of hibernation.

But this past weekend it dawned on me that as summer has slowly faded away, I’ve experienced similar feelings of reset and rejuvenation.

Open faced sandwiches with melted cheese and apple on baking sheet

However, instead of revving up and increasing the pace, it’s as if I’m slowing down, finding more patience, and taking a step back to appreciate the mundane aspects of life.

This past Sunday was the first day in the past few months that was a clean slate for us. Nothing in the house to work on, no recipes to develop or photograph, no projects to finish up, nothing on the agenda. You can imagine the anxiety it caused me!

Seriously, it was a bit uncomfortable not knowing what to do with myself. But it was exactly what Greg and I needed—a slow morning of coffee and CBS Sunday Morning.

We eventually found ourselves driving just out of the city to a winery—in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere—for live music, wine, and cheese. It was the epitome of a perfect Sunday afternoon.

The music was fantastic, the wine was pretty good for being Iowa wine, and the weather couldn’t have been better (although I could have done without the bee sting).

Open faced sandwiches with melted cheese and apple on baking sheet

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Toasted whole grain bread gets topped with creamy smoked gruyere, salty ham, and slices of honeycrisp apple. It gets broiled to melty perfection then drizzled with honey and earthy thyme, these toasts are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. | Zestful Kitchen

Gruyère & Apple Toasts with Thyme and Honey

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Zestful Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 15 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description

This toast screams fall through-and-through. Toasted whole grain bread gets topped with creamy smoked gruyère, salty ham, and slices of Honeycrisp apple. Broiled to melty perfection then drizzled with honey and earthy thyme, these toasts are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

 


Scale

Ingredients

4 slices thick-cut seedy whole grain bread

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 cup shredded smoked gruyère cheese (4 oz.)

4 slices thick-cut deli ham

2 Honeycrisp or braeburn apples, cored and thinly sliced

Honey, to taste

1 tablespoon fresh thyme


Instructions

Heat broiler to high with rack set to upper middle position.

Brush both sides of bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted on both sides, 1–2 minutes each side.

Transfer bread to a cutting board and arrange ham on baking sheet, broil until starting to brown, 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut each slice in half.

Divide gruyère among bread slices, top with ham and apple slices and broil for 3–4 minutes or until cheese has started to melt.

Remove from the oven, drizzle with honey, sprinkle with thyme and season with salt and pepper. Serve with additional honey and thyme.


Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below and tag @zestfulkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #zestfulkitchen!

Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, it’s one of my favorites. Happy Thursday!
Yum

 

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Filed Under: Autumn, Breakfast, Healthy Dinner Recipes, Lunch & Dinner, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: Quick and Easy

About Lauren Grant

Lauren Grant is a professional culinary food scientist, food writer, recipe developer, and food photographer. Lauren is a previous magazine editor and test kitchen developer and has had work published in major national publications including Diabetic Living Magazine, Midwest Living Magazine, Cuisine at Home Magazine, EatingWell.com, AmericasTestKitchen.com, and more.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Denise says

    October 12, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    This looks delicious and would be great also with tofu or tempeh for a veggie sandwich!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 12, 2017 at 3:30 pm

      Denise, that’s a great idea! I think tempeh would be delicious!

      Reply
  2. Georgie | The Home Cook's Kitchen says

    October 12, 2017 at 4:25 pm

    these look fantastic! great for an easy app! I’ve found that I’ve slowed down since summer, but have had way more time to work on my blogging projects! it’s been amazing!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 13, 2017 at 2:08 pm

      It’s nice to have a bit of a slow down, and even better to have more time to devote to the blog! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Libby Barclay says

    October 19, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    Made these for dinner this week! So yummy with a big fall salad.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 22, 2017 at 10:44 pm

      Yay! So glad you liked them!

      Reply
  4. Christine says

    February 22, 2020 at 11:30 am

    These were listed as an idea for a romantic picnic. I can’t bring a broiler on a picnic. Do they travel well?

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      February 22, 2020 at 1:46 pm

      They do travel well!!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Farm to School Recipes says:
    January 26, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    […] Honeycrisp Apple Grilled Cheese Toast with Honey Thyme […]

    Reply
  2. Archive of Daily Farm Recipes – Farm to School Recipes says:
    January 26, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    […] Honeycrisp Apple Grilled Cheese Toast with Honey Thyme […]

    Reply

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