Add This Canned Vegetable To Grilled Cheese For An Explosion Of Spicy Flavor

​​If you're looking for a way to upgrade your grilled cheese, try giving it a spicy makeover. A trip to a Mexican grocery store or the international foods aisle of a supermarket will yield the secret ingredient for a flavor-bombed grilled cheese: canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Canned chiles are one of many pantry staples you should always have on hand, but they're also an easy way to transform a basic sandwich into something more gourmet.

If you're unfamiliar with chipotles, they're basically just dried and smoked jalapeño peppers with a heat level that's low to mid-low on the Scoville scale. In the U.S., they're typically sold canned in adobo sauce, which is a flavorful blend of hot peppers, spices, and vinegar. Together, the chipotles and adobo sauce can bring smokiness and heat to the rich cheesiness of a grilled cheese.

Because the chipotle peppers are typically canned whole, you can either keep them intact for the sandwich or chop them up. Some grilled cheese recipes also call for dicing the peppers and creating a spread of sorts with the adobo sauce and additional herbs, spices, and even cream cheese. How you use them is up to your preference, but it's best to start with a small amount and add more to taste if you're unsure about the heat level.

If you've never bought canned chipotles and don't know what to look for, popular brands you can choose include San Marcos, Embasa, La Morena, Goya, and La Costeña. La Morena and Goya were ranked the top options in a taste test from Milk Street, the magazine from America's Test Kitchen's co-founder, Christopher Kimball. Whichever brand you choose, you will probably end up with the chipotle morita variety if you buy the peppers in the U.S. These have a milder smoky flavor than the main alternative — chipotle meco.

Aside from deciding between pepper brands, crafting the best chipotle grilled cheese means picking the right cheeses and bread. For the diary portion, it's best to use a mild cheese in conjunction with a bolder one to balance the flavors. If you want a Mexican theme, you could use Oaxacan, queso asadero, or queso Chihuahua cheeses for a creamy, salty base. For extra spice, try pepper jack cheese. To inject less, you could combine a sharp cheddar with Monterey Jack. As for your bread choice, sourdough goes with just about anything and adds tang, while ciabatta offers a chewy interior and sturdy crust. Cuban bread is another good option for holding melted cheese and flavorful fillings while standing up to heat.

For an easy starting point, add some chipotles and adobo sauce to our Ultimate Grilled Cheese recipe. You can also look at other spicy creations for inspiration, such as our Oozy Kimchi Grilled Cheese. For even more advice, check out our tips for making the perfect grilled cheese.