Croque Monsieur Recipe

This delicious French classic for a Croque Monsieur Recipe is a pan-cooked sandwich stacked high with ham, bechamel, and shredded cheese. You will be blown away at how simple to make and delicious it is.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating sandwiches. It doesn’t matter if it was a grilled cheese or a steak sandwich, chances are that was my lunch most of my youth and it’s still going down today.

Croque Monsieur

Croque Monsieur is a French version of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich sauteed in butter and finished with bechamel sauce and cheese. Another iteration is dipping the sandwich in a beaten egg and then sauteing it in butter.

This classic French sandwich started to pop up on menus at cafés all across Paris in the early 20^th century. It’s also known as the gentleman’s sandwich and is still on menus all across Europe and the United States.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Bechemal – This bechamel is one of the 5 mother sauces necessary to make this sandwich extra delicious.
• Bread — I prefer an artisan-style loaf, as it adds more texture and flavor to the recipe, but you can also use 2 slices of plain white bread.
• Cheese – Traditionally, shredded comté cheese is used, but you can also use gruyere, Swiss, or Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Ham – Black forest ham works well for this recipe, but also any country-style roasted ham is fantastic as well. In addition, this recipe is perfect for using any leftover holiday ham you may have.

How to Make a Croque Monsiur

Toast two slices of bread in a large pan or on a griddle with melted unsalted butter over medium-low heat or until toasted and then flip them over to toast the other side.

On one slice of the toasted bread, spread the Dijon mustard all over the top.

Add several slices of the ham to the mustard. Feel free to use as much as you’d like; I prefer 4-6 pieces.

Spread a few tablespoons of bechamel onto the ham.

Sprinkle some of the shredded cheese onto the bechamel.

Place the other toasted bread on top, spread on some more bechamel, and then generously sprinkle on some more cheese.

Cook under the broiler for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Croque Madame Vs Croque Monsieur

While both of these sandwiches have a different name, they are incredibly similar. The only difference is that the Croque Madame has a fried or poached egg on top of the Croque monsieur—that’s it.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: This sandwich is meant to be eaten as soon as it comes out of the broiler, but it can be reheated easily.

How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.

How to Reheat: Place the sandwich on a cookie sheet tray and bake in the oven at 350° for 5-7 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.

chef notes + tips

• With the leftover bechamel sauce, you can make potatoes au gratin, chicken nachos, biscuits and gravy, or lasagna Bolognese.
• Since artisan bread has large slices, you will likely have to cook them in batches.

More French Recipes

• Silk Pie
• Gougéres
• Boule
• Onion Soup
• Boeuf Bourguignon

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Croque Monsieur Recipe

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5 from 8 votes

This delicious French classic for a Croque Monsieur Recipe is a pan-cooked sandwich stacked high with ham, bechamel, and shredded cheese.

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 slices of artisan bread
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 16-24 slices of country ham
• 1 bechamel recipe
• 2 cups shredded comté cheese

Instructions

• Preheat the broiler to high heat.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a very large pan over medium-low heat until melted.
• Add 4 slices of bread to the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted and lightly browned.
• Flip the bread over to cook on the other side.
• On two of the pieces of toasted bread add 1 tablespoon of mustard to each spreading it around to cover.
• Add 4-6 slices of ham to the top of the toast with mustard and then evenly spread/layer on as follows: 2 to 3 tablespoons of bechamel, ¼ cup shredded cheese, a slice of toasted bread, 3-4 tablespoons of bechamel and ¼ cup of shredded cheese.
• Place under the broiler on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned.
• Slice the sandwich and garnish optionally with chopped fresh parsley.
• Repeat the process to make the other sandwiches.

Notes

Make-Ahead: This sandwich is meant to be eaten as soon as it comes out of the broiler, but it can be reheated easily.

How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.

How to Reheat: Place the sandwich on a cookie sheet tray and bake in the oven at 350° for 5-7 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.

With the leftover bechamel sauce, you can make potatoes au gratin, chicken nachos, biscuits and gravy, or lasagna Bolognese.

Since artisan bread has large slices, you will likely have to cook them in batches.

Nutrition

Calories: 954kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 58gFat: 62gSaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 196mgSodium: 2116mgPotassium: 819mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 1359IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 1032mgIron: 4mg

Course: lunch, Main

Cuisine: French

Author: Chef Billy Parisi