Croque Monsieur – a classic French comfort food made with ham and cheese coated in a delicious made-from-scratch Béchamel sauce then toasted to a golden crisp perfection. It’s a ham and cheese breakfast/brunch meal on a whole new level!
Welcome to our 3rd day of French-themed cooking! In case you missed our first two easy and delicious French recipes, check them out: Easy Cassoulet and Nicoise Salad.
Okay, back to this recipe. Our recipe for today has looong been overdue. I was supposed to post this alongside with my Croque Madame, but decided to put it on hold. Guess it was meant to be shared for this special week-long French-themed cooking extravaganza. And thank you all for the positive feedback! Wish I could send each of you this popular cafe and bistro brunch Croque Monsieur.
What is Croque Monsieur?
Croque Monsieur is a popular French bistro and cafe quick snack, breakfast, or brunch traditionally made with boiled ham and sliced cheese sandwiched between slices of good quality bread and then topped with grated cheese or bechamel sauce. It loosely translates to “Mr. Crunch” as it is baked or fried to a crisp before serving.
Croque Madame vs Croque Monsieur
There’s just a teeny tiny difference between a Croque Madame and a Croque Monsieur. When you serve your Croque Monsieur with poached egg or lightly fried egg on top of it, then what you have is a Croque Madame. The name is attributed to the egg topping resembling a woman’s hat.
Like most French foods, these two are the simplest dishes you could ever prepare yet it’s all about evoking emotions and pleasure in every bite; which I guess is why French food is popular.
Croque Monsieur Ingredients
If you eat, breathe and live sandwiches, then you probably have most of the ingredients to whip up this over-the-top ham and cheese sandwich. However, you should know that it’s all about the QUALITY of ingredients when making an excellent legitimate French sandwich. You’ll need:
- French loaf bread or any brioche-like bread
- slices of good quality ham
- grated Gruyere cheese
- herbes de provence or thyme for topping
You can also use any rustic round Italian or French sourdough bread. And if you’re making ham for the holidays, this recipe is a good one to make use of the leftover ham.
Croque Monsieur Bechamel
And as for the sauce to take this sandwich to the next level, you’ll need:
- Unsalted Butter
- Grated Onion
- All-Purpose Flour
- Milk
- Bay Leaf
- A dash of Thyme (optional)
- Grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese
- Salt
- Pinch of Nutmeg
You can use any good quality cheese (that has the ability to melt) that you have on hand, but a great quality Gruyere cheese surely adds tons of flavor into your sauce; thus making your Croque Monsieur extra delectable!
Can I Make The Bechamel Sauce Ahead of Time?
To cut back on the prep time, you may make the sauce one day in advance and allow it to cool and place a plastic wrap directly onto the surface and keep in the fridge.
How Do You Eat a Croque Monsieur
I love serving my Croque Monsieur with some slices of avocado or an omelette on the side PLUS a good drink like this Mimosa here. Or you can serve it with any of the following below:
Stay tuned tomorrow for our last recipe for this French-themed culinary week! Enjoy!
How To Make Croque Monsieur
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat; add onions stir for about a minute or until foaming. Add flour, continue cooking, stirring frequently for about 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove saucepan from heat. Then gently add milk, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth, add bay leaf. Return saucepan to heat.
Keep stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil, thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan until hot, brush with half of the butter then place bread on it and brown each side for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining slices of bread sandwiches using the remaining butter.
Top each sandwich with 2 to 3 slices of ham. Combine half of the Gruyere cheese with the béchamel sauce. Adjust for seasoning. Spread a small amount of the Gruyere sauce on top of the ham and top each with another slice of bread.
Lastly, spread the remaining béchamel on top of the sandwich. Sprinkle with herbes de Provence or thyme and broil on low broil until cheese sauce is bubbling and evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes or less. Check every 30 seconds. Remove and serve with salad.
Croque Monsieur
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp grated onion
- 1 tbsp flour
- ¾ cup or 6 oz milk
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan/Gruyere cheese
- ½ tsp salt plus more for seasoning
- pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 thick slices French loaf bread or country bread
- 4 to 6 slices of good quality ham , about ⅓ pound
- 4 oz Gruyere cheese grated , divided
- Salt to taste
- ¼ tsp herbes de provence or thyme
Instructions
Bechamel Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat; add onions stir for about a minute or until foaming.
- Add flour, continue cooking, stirring frequently for about 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove saucepan from heat.
- Then gently add milk, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth, add bay leaf . Return saucepan to heat. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil, thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
For the Bread
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan until hot, brush with half of the butter then place bread on it and brown each side for about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining slices of bread sandwiches using the remaining butter.
- Top each sandwich with 2 to 3 slices of ham. Combine half of the Gruyere cheese with the béchamel sauce. Adjust for seasoning. Spread a small amount of the Gruyere sauce on top of the ham and top each with another slice of bread.
- Spread the remaining béchamel on top of the sandwich . Sprinkle with herbes de provence or thyme.
- Broil on low broil until cheese sauce is bubbling and evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes or less. Check every 30 seconds.
- Remove and serve with salad.
Tips & Notes:
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Nimo says
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I will be trying this for sure.
Can turkey be used instead of the ham please?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, turkey would do just fine .Thanks!