Easy Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich in the Air Fryer

If you love a good grilled ham and cheese sandwich, you will love this ham and cheese sandwich in the air fryer. It is a quick and easy air fryer ham sandwich which can be customized to your liking.

You might enjoy pairing a hot ham and cheese in the air fryer with one of our featured tomato soup recipes or one of our other simple soup recipes! The ease of soup and sandwich night can’t be beat! Some people think of soups as being a winter lunch or dinner option, but I know plenty of people who regularly enjoy soups year round.

Best Cheese for Hot Ham and Cheese in the Air Fryer

Cheddar is better. That’s my long standing motto since childhood.

Also, I will forever stand by my belief that asiago cheese is the BEST melting cheese! I try to keep asiago cheese on hand at all times. However, for this post, I used two slices of cheddar only. If you have some asiago on hand, use that in place of one piece of the cheddar.

But as I said in the first part of this post, you can customize the cheese for this grilled ham and cheese air fryer style.

Sandwich Bread for Air Fryer Grilled Ham and Cheese

My go-to breads for grilled cheese sandwiches usually involve nuts and grains. I like the texture of the extra ingredients against the smoothness of the grilled cheese.

In the past, I have used Braum’s honey oat or Nature’s Own honey wheat. All have turned out nicely as a choice for bread for air fryer grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. In these photos, I am using Dave’s Killer Bread thin sliced Good Seed. I love how crunchy the seeds are after this sandwich has been in the air fryer!

Of course, sandwiches are all about customization. If you are a white bread type of person, go for it!

Best Ham for Air Fryer Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (Including Leftover Holiday Ham)

My two preferred styles of deli ham are honey ham and smoked ham. I prefer thinly sliced deli meat. The cheese melts all ooey gooey into the folds of the thinly sliced meat.

However, the best ham is the one that is already your favorite. There’s no need to set yourself up for potential disappointment if you already have a favorite deli ham variety.

Now, if you have some leftover holiday ham, you can use that too! This is a great recipe for leftover ham from the holidays – you just have to make sure the ham is sliced or chopped thin so it will heat through evenly.

When putting the ham on the bread, it is important to fold the bread over itself so you don’t have much overhang. With an air fryer ham and cheese melt, any overhanging ham will get a bit too crispy.

What Type of Spread to Put on the Bread?

With a normal grilled cheese, you often add softened butter to the outside sides of both pieces of bread. You grill or griddle each side of the sandwich the butter allowing for a nice brown coloring and crispness to the bread.

The concept is the same for the air fryer ham grilled cheese. The spread you use will go on the outside pieces – not the inside.

Now, which spread you choose is another customizable element. You can either use butter or mayo (as I did in the photos). I also like to use Country Crock when I have it on add since it is soft and spreads easily. If you are wondering if it is safe to use Country Crock in the air fryer…yes, it is. There are plenty of recipes available online for adding Country Crock to air fryer entrees or desserts.

Speaking of Mayo, Add A Bit of Sriracha Sauce!

This is a totally optional step, but I like to add about one teaspoon of sriracha sauce to the mayo before spreading it on this grilled air fryer ham and cheese sandwich! It isn’t enough to make the sandwich spicy, but it does give it a nice flavor.

This recipe can also be used as a regular grilled cheese with ham – grilled in a skillet on the stove.

More Hot Sandwich Recipes from Planted in Arkansas

If you enjoyed our air fryer ham and cheese sandwich, be sure to check out these other hot sandwiches from Planted in Arkansas. Some are featured from other wonderful bloggers.

Ham Sandwiches

English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich

Air Fryer Turkey and Cheese Sandwich

Deluxe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Cranberry Turkey Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls

Air Fryer Peanut Butter and Jelly

Grilled Ham and Cheese in the Air Fryer

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Old Fashioned Ham Salad

Cheese and Ham Panini Sandwich