Let’s take a tasty trip to El Paso and San Antonio with my favorite Birria Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. If you love birria tacos, you’ll love these toasty sandwiches, possibly more! The recipe pairs the bold flavors of slow-cooked birria beef with your favorite comfort food, grilled cheese.

No disrespect to traditional grilled cheese and tomato soup, but after tasting these sandwiches, you may never go back!
If you want to skip ahead to a visual on how to make an epic Birria Grilled Cheese, check out my YouTube video below!
Why You’ll Love Birria Grilled Cheese
If you’ve never tasted birria sauce, do your taste buds a favor and don’t wait another day. Infused with the juices from that slow-cooked braised beef, it’s a succulent sensation that’s impossible not to love. Fork-tender beef, braised for hours, is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

It doesn’t get richer or more unforgettable as soon as you take your first bite. The flavorful broth doubles as the perfect dipping side of consommé. Honestly, the consommé is so good, you might want to drink it straight.
Make plenty of braised beef because the leftovers are so versatile. Check out my Birria Baked Potato, Campfire Quesabirria Tacos, and Smoked Birria Burgers recipes for more birria inspiration!
Ingredients Round-Up
- Beef – The recipe starts with the best beef short ribs simply seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Chiles – The complex flavor and heat in the consomme come from a blend of ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, chipotle peppers in adobo, white onion, and garlic cloves.
- Braising + Seasonings – The flavor gets even more depth, undoubtedly from beef broth, Mexican oregano, black pepper, sea salt, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves.
- Grilled Cheese – Thick slices of bread, shredded Jack cheese, red onions, and then Mexican cilantro bring it all together in one freaking delicious package.
Now that you know what to get from the grocery store (or delivery!), let’s dive in and make these epic sandwiches over the fire cooking style.
How to Make Birria Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
First, preheat your fire to medium-high heat (around 375F). Next, heat up a Dutch oven over the fire for 3-4 minutes. Add the ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, and garlic cloves because they need to be charred for 30-45 seconds on each side.

Once charred, pour the water into the Dutch oven and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Next, remove from heat, then blend the chiles, garlic, onion, and chipotle peppers in a food processor until smooth. Set the paste aside.
Season your beef short ribs with salt, pepper, and garlic powder because, seriously, who doesn’t love that trio? Heat some canola or olive oil in the Dutch oven and sear the beef on all sides until golden brown.

After the beef ribs are seared, add the chile paste, beef broth, and seasonings to the pot. Cover and then let it all simmer over low heat for 3.5-4.5 hours, until the beef is fork-tender. Skim excess fat from the top as it cooks.

Once the beef is cooked and delightfully tender, carefully remove it from the pot. Next, discard the bones, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Then strain the flavorful broth to create your tasty consommé. After that, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces using your gloved hands and set it aside in a separate bowl. You’ll also have to resist the strong temptation to devour it immediately!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Assembly
Finally, to assemble the birria grilled cheese sandwiches, heat up a cast iron skillet to about 350F, a medium heat, for 2-3 minutes. Spread clarified butter, olive oil, or beef tallow on one side of each slice of bread. Layer shredded Jack cheese, the birria beef, more cheese, and a second slice of bread.
Toast the sandwich in the skillet for 45-60 seconds per side, until golden brown and the cheese is fully melted. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.

Serve your sandwiches with a side of consommé, topped with your chopped onions and cilantro. Cheers! Enjoy your cheesy, toasty masterpieces!
What to Serve with Birria Grilled Cheese
Take your Birria Grilled Cheese experience to the next level with some comforting sides! You can’t go wrong with crispy French fries, tater tots, or sweet potato fries.

Leftovers & Reheating Instructions
Leftovers are undoubtedly a win here. Store any leftover birria meat in a freezer-safe container or airtight container in the fridge. Reheat the beef in the consommé on the stovetop or microwave to keep it moist. Grilled cheese sandwiches are best reheated in a skillet or air fryer to revive the toasted bread.

More Birria
FAQs for birria grilled cheese sandwiches
Birria is a traditional Mexican dish with roots in Jalisco, known for its bold flavors and tender, slow-cooked meat. In Texas, particularly in cities like San Antonio and El Paso, birria has gained a special place in the culinary scene due to the region’s rich Mexican heritage.
Absolutely! Get as creative as you like. Try Oaxaca cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, or even a mix of American cheeses for your tasty sandwiches.
Thick-cut slices of bread like Texas toast work great. The sturdiness helps hold all that juicy birria meat and melted cheese.

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Birria Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
Beef:
- 5-6 Beef Short Ribs
- 1.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1.5 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Powder
- Canola Oil as needed
Chiles:
- 3 ancho chiles stemmed & seeded
- 3 guajillo chiles stemmed & seeded
- ¼ cup of Chipotle in Adobo
- 1/2 white onion sliced
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 2 cups of Water
Braising + Seasonings:
- 2-3 cups beef broth
- 1.5 tablespoons mexican oregano
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
Grilled Cheese:
- 3 cups Shredded Jack Cheese
- ½ cup red onions chopped
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- Thick Cut Sliced Bread
Instructions
Making Chile Paste
- Preheat your fire to medium high temperature (around 375F). Add a dutch oven over the fire to preheat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add your ancho chile, guajillo chile and garlic cloves to your dutch oven and let char for 30-45 seconds per side.
- Once charred, add your water to the skillet and let simmer over the fire for 7-8 minutes. Once simmered, pull the dutch oven off of the heat.
- Add your chiles & garlic in the water plus your chopped onion and chipotle in adobo to a food processor. Blend until completely smooth. Pour your paste into a bowl.
Making the Birria
- Add your short ribs to a bowl with some oil and liberally season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place your cleaned dutch oven over the fire and sear off each side of the beef until browned. Do this in batches if needed.
- Add all your short ribs to the dutch oven along with the chile paste, beef broth and all of the braising seasonings. Cover the dutch oven and let simmer over medium low heat until the beef is fork tender (about 3.5-4.5 hours). Make sure to skim the top of the sauce of fat as needed.
- Once the beef is tender, pull it off, and strain your braising sauce from the meat until it is a clean consomme. Add the consomme to a new bowl.
- In a separate bowl, begin to shred your beef. Dispose of the bones, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks.
Making Birria Grilled Cheese
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over a medium high heat fire (about 350F) for direct cooking. Add some oil and clarified butter to the skillet 2 minutes before cooking.
- Lay out a piece of bread and cover with a handful of shredded cheese, top with a handful of shredded beef then add some more shredded cheese and another slice of bread.
- Add the grilled cheese to the skillet and toast the bread for 45-60 seconds a side until golden brown. Flip and toast the other side, then pull off and repeat for the rest of the grilled cheese sandwiches.
- Add your consomme to a bowl and top with chopped red onions and cilantro. Slice your Birria Grilled Cheese and serve with the consomme. Enjoy!
What weight and cut on the ribs?
English cut short ribs and about 4-5 lbs.
What bread did you use?
Brioche sliced bread
Where did you find the dried ancho Chiles and dried guajilio Chiles? I can’t find them around here? Thanks!
Most Hispanic food markets should have them!
Amizon has them
I ordered off Amazon
This is fire……. Literally the sauce was so spicy I had to tame it with lime and honey. We like spicy but this was hot.
Otherwise it was so good! I made it on my black stone griddle and it turned out amazing!
Highly recommend
Maybe my dried peppers were just a little extra lol
You probably did not thoroughly de-stem and de-seed the dried peppers. I made sure to get every single seed out and it was not spicy whatsoever.
For your recipe for birria grilled cheese how many servings does this make??
About 4-6 servings.
Had my eye on this recipe for a while but I’ve been working my way through Food x Fire. Finally got around to it and I wish I had done it sooner. I too used dried peppers and 9 large cloves of high quality garlic. I cut the dried peppers open and removed the seeds and stems. That seems to have cut down on the spice level that other commenters have complained about. I went out to buy a French Peasant Loaf of bread so I’d have something sturdy to hold the sauce. They sliced it too thin. But that’s not Over the Fire’s Fault. If you haven’t tried his spice line through Spiceology I suggest to order some. Cheers All.
Could you use a different bigger piece of beef like maybe roast? If so what do recommend?
Sure use some chuck roast if you like!
I am stuck in an assisted living and trying to find an apt. in St. Louis. When I do, I will be grilling up these and other great sandwiches. Virgil and Keith I hope to hear that. Because, we are gonna eat and drink.
Bone in or boneless short ribs?
I prefer bone in but it doesnt really make too much of a difference.
Hi Derek, I love the recipe! I’d like to try this in a Dutch oven in my kitchen oven, what would you recommend for a time/temp? Thanks so much for the great content!
Should be able to follow the same instructions for time and temperature. The only difference is it wont be smoky from the grill!
All your recipes are amazing!! Love them all..thank you for sharing your recipes
I did your French onion pinwheels for Sunday dinner with family and it was delicious. Thank you
I made these this spring, they came out great, I will make them again.
Great recipe ty
Hi Derek! When you say 5-6 short ribs (since you use bone in) what’s the weight of those ? Trying to figure out scaling for boneless beef ribs to double the recipe .
Best regards ,
John
So I think its about 9-10oz per beef rib so that should make 50-60oz of bone in beef ribs. You can also just get a whole chuck roast and cube it up instead if you like!
I’d follow you anywhere. Your food is top notch, and I love cooking it. My husband loves it too! He loves when I feed him this.
In this article it doesn’t mention adding tomatoes but in the YouTube video you add tomatoes, is it better without or with ? I’m from the uk just bought ya food x fire book looking forward to using it
It’s not necessary! I have grown to like adding tomatoes so I would!