Birria Grilled Cheese Disney Copycat

This birria grilled cheese is crispy, buttery sourdough loaded with tender birria meat, melted pepper jack cheese, and salsa verde, served with warm birria dipping sauce on the side. It's rich, savory, slightly spicy, and completely over the top in the best possible way. Once you make it, you'll understand exactly why the one from Disneyland has people obsessed.

Why This Homemade Birria Grilled Cheese Rivals Disney's Version

My sister went to Disneyland recently and ordered the birria grilled cheese from the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café at Magic Kingdom. She texted me immediately after eating it with one message: best thing she's ever had at Disney. And she's been to Disney a lot. I was so jealous I couldn't stand it, especially knowing I have zero plans to get to Disneyland anytime soon.

So I did what I always do. I figured out how to make it at home. I researched different versions, studied what I could find about the original, and landed on this recipe. The secret to keeping it accessible without sacrificing any of the flavor is using store bought prepared birria. Trader Joe's makes a version that's excellent and cuts the prep time down significantly without cutting any corners on taste. Add your own touches from there and the result is a sandwich that tastes completely from scratch even though it comes together in about 30 minutes.

What makes this birria grilled cheese sandwich soo good is the combination of textures and flavors happening at once. The sourdough gets crispy and buttery on the outside while the inside is loaded with tender braised birria meat, melted cheese that soaks into the meat, and salsa verde that cuts through the richness with just enough brightness and heat. And then there's the dipping sauce. Warm birria consommé on the side for dunking turns an already incredible sandwich into something completely over the top.

If you love bold indulgent sandwich recipes like my chopped Italian sandwich or chicken melt, this birria grilled cheese is the one that tops them all.

Birria Grilled Cheese Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, or more as needed
• ½ cup diced onion
• 1 pound prepared birria (such as Trader Joe's for conveinence)
• 6 slices sourdough bread
• 2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or pepper jack)
• ¼ cup salsa verde

How to Make Birria Grilled Cheese

Step 1: Cook the Onion and Birria

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly translucent. Add the prepared birria meat and continue cooking until heated through, breaking it up slightly as it warms. If you're using Trader Joe's birria, reserve the braising liquid, that's your dipping sauce. Set the filling aside.

Step 2: Set Up the Grilled Cheese Station

In a separate skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place 2 slices of sourdough into the skillet at a time. Sprinkle a generous layer of shredded cheese over both slices and add a spoonful of salsa verde over the cheese. Let the cheese begin to melt, you want it just starting to soften and bubble before you add the filling.

Step 3: Build and Press the Sandwich

Once the cheese is beginning to melt, spoon the warm birria meat onto one slice and carefully close it with the other slice to form the sandwich. Press gently but firmly with a spatula to help everything adhere. Continue cooking until the bottom is deeply golden brown, then flip and cook the other side until equally golden and the cheese is fully melted throughout. 

Step 4: Repeat and Serve

Repeat the process with the remaining bread, cheese, salsa verde, and birria until all three sandwiches are done. Slice each grilled cheese in half diagonally since the pull on that melted cheese when you cut it is everything. Serve immediately with the warm birria dipping sauce on the side.

Tips for the Best Birria Grilled Cheese

Use sourdough bread. Sourdough is the right call here. It has enough structure to hold up to the juicy birria filling without getting soggy and it gets crispy and golden in the butter. The slight tang of sourdough also plays perfectly against the richness of the cheese and meat in a way that regular sandwich bread simply cannot replicate.

Do not skip the salsa verde. This is my personal twist on the recipe and it makes a significant difference. The bright tangy herby flavor cuts right through the richness of the birria and melted cheese and gives the sandwich a complexity that elevates it beyond a regular birria grilled cheese. It is the detail that makes people ask what is in it.

Use the birria braising liquid as the dipping sauce. If you're using Trader Joe's birria or any prepared birria that comes with braising liquid save every drop of it. Heated up and served alongside for dipping it transforms the sandwich into a full birria experience. 

Cook on medium heat. Birria grilled cheese needs time. Medium heat lets the cheese melt fully and the bread get golden without burning. Too high and you will have a burnt exterior with cold unmelted cheese in the middle. Low and slow patience here pays off every single time.

Press the sandwich firmly. After closing the sandwich press it down firmly with a spatula for 30-60 seconds. This helps the cheese bond everything together and creates a tight cohesive sandwich that holds its shape when you pick it up. Skip this step and the filling slides out with the first bite.

Make your own birria for the ultimate version. Trader Joe's prepared birria is an excellent and convenient shortcut that makes this recipe accessible on a weeknight. But if you want to take this to the next level use homemade birria. The depth of flavor from a properly braised batch of beef or goat is on a completely different level and worth the extra effort for a special occasion.

How to Store and Reheat Birria Grilled Cheese

Birria grilled cheese is best eaten immediately while the bread is crispy and the cheese is still melted and pulling apart. That said leftovers are worth saving if you have them.

The assembled sandwich: Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat place it in a skillet over medium-low heat with a small pat of butter and cook until heated through and re-crisped on both sides. The skillet is the only way to properly reheat this sandwich. The microwave makes the bread soft and soggy and undoes everything that makes it good.

The birria filling: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Having leftover birria filling in the fridge means you can assemble and cook a fresh sandwich in about 5 minutes which is honestly the ideal situation.

The dipping sauce: Store the birria consommé in a separate airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a small saucepan over low heat before serving. It tends to thicken slightly in the fridge so add a small splash of water if needed to loosen it back up.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Disney birria grilled cheese?

The birria grilled cheese is a menu item at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café at Disneyland. It features tender birria meat in a melted cheese grilled sandwich served with consommé for dipping and has become one of the most talked about food items at the park. This homemade version recreates that experience with sourdough bread, mozzarella or pepper jack, salsa verde, and warm birria dipping sauce on the side.

What is birria?

Birria is a traditional Mexican dish originating from Jalisco made from slow braised meat, typically beef or goat, cooked in a rich deeply spiced chili broth until fall apart tender. The braising liquid called consommé is served alongside for dipping. Birria became a massive food trend in the United States over the past few years through birria tacos and quesabirria and the birria grilled cheese is the latest evolution of that trend.

Where can I find prepared birria?

Trader Joe's sells an excellent prepared birria in their refrigerated section that works great for this recipe. Whole Foods and other specialty grocery stores often carry prepared birria as well. Many Mexican restaurants and taquerias also sell birria by the pound if you want fresh restaurant quality meat without making it from scratch.

Can I make homemade birria instead of using store bought?

Yes and homemade birria takes this sandwich to a completely different level. A properly braised batch of beef or goat has a depth of flavor that prepared versions cannot fully replicate. If you have the time it is absolutely worth making from scratch for a special occasion. For a weeknight Trader Joe's prepared birria is an excellent shortcut that still produces an incredible sandwich without the hours of braising time.

Can I use corn tortillas instead of sourdough?

Absolutely and that is essentially a birria quesadilla or birria taco which is equally delicious. Dip the corn tortillas in the birria consommé before placing them in a hot oiled skillet, fill with cheese and birria, fold in half, and cook until crispy. The sourdough version is the grilled cheese experience. The corn tortilla version is the traditional birria taco experience. Both are worth making.

What cheese melts best for birria grilled cheese?

Mozzarella gives you the classic stretchy cheese pull that makes every bite satisfying. Pepper jack adds heat and a slightly sharper flavor that adds to the spiced birria. Oaxacan cheese is the most authentic choice and melts best with a mild creamy flavor. All three work well and mixing two together gives you the best of everything.

Can I make this without the salsa verde?

Yes but it makes a noticeable difference and is worth using. The brightness cuts through the richness of the meat and cheese in a way that makes the sandwich taste more balanced and complex. In a pinch a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a handful of cilantro inside the sandwich achieves a similar effect without needing a full salsa verde. If you want something creamier, try my Chipotle cilantro lime sauce.

Is this the exact Disney recipe?

This is a homemade copycat inspired by the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café birria grilled cheese. Disney's proprietary recipe is not public but this version captures the same concept, crispy bread, melted cheese, tender birria, and dipping sauce, with personal additions including salsa verde and sourdough.

Copycat Recipes to Try Next

• Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole
• Taco Bell Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
• Chili's Skillet Queso
• Whataburger Patty Melt
• Trader Joe's Chili Crisp Dumpling Bake