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The toasted sandwich that quietly outranks the meat. Every ingredient from your local supermarket, chutney included.
By The Braaimate. Updated July 2026.
Difficulty: Easy. Makes: 4 broodjies. Prep: 15 minutes. On the fire: about 15 minutes.
At every braai there is a moment when the chops are resting and someone slides the broodjie grid over the dying coals, and that is the moment everyone actually came for. The good news for the homesick: this one translates almost perfectly. Australian white bread toasts beautifully, the cheddar here is excellent, and the only real debate left is onion or no onion. (Onion. Obviously.)
The one ingredient worth planning for is the chutney. Woolworths runs a South African range in its international aisle where Mrs Balls often lives, though stock varies from store to store, so check the shelf or ring ahead before you build your whole afternoon around it. No chutney to hand? We cover what to use instead in our South African ingredient substitutes guide.
Table of Contents
Braaibroodjies with Australian ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Butter the outside of every slice. Not the inside. This is what turns the grid marks golden instead of black.
- Build each sandwich: cheese first so it grips the bread, then tomato, then onion, then a proper smear of chutney. Season with salt and pepper and close it up.
- Clamp the sandwiches into a hinged braai grid. A simple toastie grid does the job if you do not have the real thing.
- Cook over dying coals, never over flames. Turn often, every minute or so, until both sides are golden and the cheese has completely melted. Around 15 minutes.
- Rest for a minute, cut on the diagonal, and serve while the meat is resting.
Notes
Grid stand-in
OZtrail deep grill basket
The hinged broodjie grid of your youth is hard to find in Australian shops. This is the nearest local relative: non-stick enamel-coated steel with deep sides and a 700 mm wooden handle that keeps your knuckles well away from the coals. OZtrail pitches it for burgers and steaks, and it earns its keep on anything that might otherwise fall through the grill.
The rules that actually matter
Coals, not flames. This is the whole game. Flames scorch the outside long before the cheese melts, and you end up with a black sandwich that is cold in the middle. Wait for the fire to die down to glowing coals, then cook low and patient.
Butter the outside. Said twice on purpose. Butter on the outside crisps and colours. Butter on the inside just makes the bread soggy.
Do not overfill. A broodjie that will not close is a broodjie that falls into the fire. Be generous, but keep it shut.
Onion, yes. Thinly sliced so it softens in the heat. Thick onion stays raw and fights you. This is the one hill worth dying on.
The chutney question
A braaibroodjie without chutney is just a cheese toastie with ideas above its station. Mrs Balls is the classic for a reason: sweet, tangy, a little spiced. If your shop is out, or you have not found the South African aisle yet, a good fruity chutney or a mango chutney will carry you through until you do. The full list of swaps lives in our substitutes guide, which is the page every homesick cook ends up bookmarking.
Make it your own
The classic is tomato, onion, cheese and chutney, and you should make that first. Once it is in your hands, a few upgrades are fair game. A pinch of chilli flakes for people who like a bit of heat. A rasher of streaky bacon for a version that will not survive contact with a nutritionist. A sharper vintage cheddar if you want more bite. What you do not do is add so much that the grid will not close. A braaibroodjie is a discipline, not a free-for-all.
What to serve them with
Traditionally the broodjies come off the coals just as the boerewors and chops are resting, and they are passed around while everyone waits. They are the warm-up act that everyone secretly prefers to the main. Serve them straight from the grid, cut in half, with cold drinks and low expectations of leftovers. There will be none.
Make these once and they become the thing your Australian friends quietly hope you will make again. And if anyone at the fire calls it a toastie, send them gently to our braai versus bbq explainer and let them read in silence.
