
The infamous chopped cheese sandwich is one of my favorite sandwiches, however getting the right bread is almost impossible on the west coast. Plus, it is not often that I have hoagies or dutch crunch around the house, I just don’t make those types of sandwiches that often. However, what I do have around the house is Hawaiian sweet sliced bread (think white bread but sweeter). As it turns out, Hawaiian bread is a perfect for making great hamburger and melted cheese sandwiches. So through trial and error, I arrived on this great hamburger and cheese sandwich that is similar to the chopped cheese sandwich. This sandwich has fast become my kids’ most requested item for lunch.
What is the Chopped Cheese sandwich?
A chopped cheese sandwich is made from ground beef, grilled onions (but not too much), shredded lettuce (that is how I make it), and tomatoes (I don’t add these because I don’t really like tomatoes), and american cheese. All in a hoagie or hero, dutch crunch, or whatever bread you will like (though traditionally it is a hoagie or hero roll). Kenji gives a great recipe and explanation of what the chopped cheese, and if you want to learn more I suggest watching his video. If you want to read more about the chop cheese, here is a great article for that as well.
Tips for making the Hawaiian Hamburger and Melted Cheese sandwich
- Break up the beef – Don’t be shy about breaking up the beef when it is in the pan. You want the beef nice and broken up for putting on your sandwich.
- Chicken Bouillon powder – DO NOT SKIP. If you don’t add this, then it is hard to get the same taste you want.
- Get your bread ready before you start cooking the onions and beef – You are probably going to make multiple sandwiches at a time, so put your mayonnaise on your bread before you start cooking your beef. The bread I use is Hawaiian sweet slice bread.
- When making do Use foil – If you don’t use the foil the sandwich is going to fall apart, plus it just looks so much cooler when it is wrapped in foil.
- Foil bits – When you cut the sandwich wrapped in foil your knife can scrape up tiny bits of foil. Make sure to use a non-serrated knife, and just clean up any bits of foil you see on the sandwich (if any).
- If you want the Extra Cheesy Look – Don’t break up the cheese while it is melting on the sandwich, if you want the sandwich to look gooeyer when you cut it.
- Eat right away – The hawaiian bread will get soft after 10 minutes, so make sure to eat your sandwiches right away to get maximum amazing.
I adapted this Hawaiian hamburger and melted cheese sandwich recipe from Kenji Lopez-Alt’s chopped cheese sandwich, you can find the instructions here. If you haven’t checked out his youtube channel it is amazing!

Hawaiian Hamburger and Melted Cheese Sandwich
Equipment
- Cast iron pan or stainless steel panl
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 lb Ground beef
- 2 slices Cheddar Cheese
- 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup Shredded lettuce
- 1 tbsp Chicken bouillon powder
- 2 slices Hawaiian sweet slice bread
Optional Ingredient
- 2 slices Tomatoes
Instructions
Prep
- Peel and dice your onion.
- Get shredded lettuce or wash and shred lettuce.
- Toast your hawaiian bread.
- Add mayonnaise to your hawaiian bread. I put it on both sides.
- Add shredded lettuce, and sliced tomato (if you are adding them) to one of the bread sides.
Cooking
- Add 1 tbsp of oil to your pan, and put your pan on medium.
- Add your ground beef to the pan, and cook until no red is showing. This will be about 5 minutes to cook. Chop the cheese and break it apart so you it is almost all broken apart.
- Add your 1 tbsp of chicken bouillon powder to the beef. Make sure to get it all over the beef.
- Add your onions to the pan, and cook until almost brown (not carmelized).
- Create a mix of beef and onions in a rectangle. Then add your two cheese slices to the top of your beef and onion mix.
- Cook until the cheese melts. Then remove the beef, cheese, and onion and put on top of the side of bread with the lettuce.
- Then wrap in foil, cut in half, and enjoy!
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