Here’s Our Classic Toast Hawaii Recipe For All To Enjoy!
Ham and cheese on toast with a slice of pineapple? Must be Toast Hawaii!
Also known as Hawaiian Toast, this somewhat strange dinner dish mixes sweet and savory flavors all into one! And no, it is not actually from Hawaii.
Made in minutes with a few simple ingredients like sandwich bread, cheese slices, ham, and a ring of pineapple, Hawaii Toast is a quick and cheap meal option for those feeling a little unmotivated!
Our German Toast Hawaii recipe is definitely one that brings back a few memories and a strong sense of nostalgia.
Lisa grew up eating Toast Hawaii. She always remembered the melty cheese on top forming to the ring of pineapple below. Lots of different flavors that all work together!
Looking for other simple European recipes? Try this easy cabbage potato soup, our delicious German potato pancakes, or this simple chicken paprikash recipe!
The History of Toast Hawaii
Turns out, this simple recipe for ham and pineapple on toast has quite the backstory. As the Toast Hawaii origin story goes, it was made famous by a German TV cook in the 1950s.
The theory is that the idea of the open-face sandwich was brought to Germany by American soldiers. They ate a similar recipe called a “Spamwich” which was from a popular American cookbook.
Since Spam (the processed meat product in a can) wasn’t available in Germany, they used ham as a substitute. And there you have it – a German dish popular to this day!
We can’t help but notice the similarity to Hawaiian pizza – which Eric loves – so it’s interesting to see another savory meal with pineapple and ham added.
How to Make Toast Hawaii – Step by Step
If you want to make Toast Hawaii at home, you can find the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
And if you want to see the recipe process photos, you can see them below. It’s so easy though that you probably won’t need the process photos at all.
First, toast your sandwich bread until it is lightly brown. You can use either white or whole wheat bread.
We usually like making it with whole wheat bread to give it the illusion of being a little bit healthier.
At this time also preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can lightly butter your slices of bread if you want to – that’s optional though.
Then place a slice of ham on each slice of bread.
Now add a slice of pineapple on top of the ham.
Finally, top it off with a slice of orange cheese.
Bake the Toast Hawaii on the middle rack of your oven for around 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and starts bubbling.
After removing it from the oven let it sit for a minute because the pineapple can be quite hot – but enjoy it right after because it tastes best fresh.
You can add a little bit of cranberry jelly in the middle of the pineapple hole before serving but that’s completely optional. Enjoy!
Toast Hawaii
Ingredients
- 4 slices of sandwich bread, white or whole wheat
- 4 slices of ham
- 4 slices of pineapple
- 4 slices of cheese, e.g. cheddar
- butter for spreading, optional
- cranberry jelly, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toast your sandwich bread so that it is just lightly brown.
- Place the bread onto the baking sheet with the parchment paper. You can spread some butter on the bread if you want (optional).
- Place a slice of ham on each slice of bread.
- Now add a slice of pineapple to the middle of each slice of bread.
- Lastly, place the slices of cheese on top of each pineapple.
- Bake the Toast Hawaii in the oven for around 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and starts bubbling.
- Remove the toast from the oven and serve hot. You can place a small dollop of cranberry jelly in the middle of the pineapple hole (optional).
Notes
- Lisa grew up eating this with the individually-wrapped processed orange cheese slices. However, when we make it now we usually use a slice of normal cheddar or even elemental cheese slices.
- Some people like adding cranberry jelly or a cocktail cherry in the middle of the pineapple after baking. We don’t usually do this but you can give it a try.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
I would add a teaspoon lingonberry
Some of family members like doing that too! I always like lingonberry with “Back Camembert” but don’t really eat it with Toast Hawaii – not sure why to be honest. /Lisa
No, no. Please use REAL cheese! Otherwise, thanks for the recipe! One of my childhood favorites.
I also like to use cheddar cheese or similar when making it now because I prefer the taste, but I did grow up using the single-wrapped processed cheese so I didn’t want to omit that, haha.