Croque Monsieur

close up shot of hand lifting half of croque monsieur showing filling

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Here I'll show you the easiest and most irresistible way to make a classic Croque Monsieur!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: French

Servings: sandwiches

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £4 / $5

Equipment

Small Pot or Pan, Whisk & Wooden Spoon (for béchamel sauce)
Large Non-Stick Pan & Spatula/Turner (if it's not oven safe you'll also need a baking tray)
Bread Knife & Chopping Board
Cheese Grater

Ingredients

Sandwich

4 fairly large slices of Bread, sliced to around 1/2" thickness (see notes)
4 - 6 slices of good quality Ham (2-3 per sandwich)
4 square slices of Swiss Cheese (see notes)
1oz / 30g freshly grated Parmesan
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Butter, as needed

Béchamel Sauce

1 cup / 250ml Milk, at room temp
1/2 cup / 50g Gruyere, grated
2 tbsp EACH: Flour, Butter
1/8 tsp EACH: Nutmeg, White Pepper, Salt

Instructions

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small pot or pan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tbsp flour, then very gradually pour in 1 cup milk, whisking as you go to avoid lumps. Stir in gruyere until melted, then stir in nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Remove from heat and place to one side.
Spread 4 slices of bread with butter, then flip over and spread with a thin layer of dijon mustard. Top 2 of the slices with a slice of Swiss cheese, then fold in 2-3 slices of ham. Top the ham with another slice of cheese, then add bread mustard-side-down (so both sandwiches are buttered on the outside).
Add both sandwiches to a large non-stick pan over low-medium heat. Fry until they turn deep golden on the bottom with the cheese just starting to melt in the centre, then flip and fry the other side until golden. Don't crank up the heat, you want the centre to cook.
Spread over the béchamel sauce (give it a quick stir over heat if you need to loosen it up) then sprinkle over parmesan. Place under the grill and broil on high until golden and bubbly. If your pan isn't suitable to place in the oven, place the sandwiches on a baking tray and then pop them under the grill.

Video

Notes

a) Bread - Try and use a fairly firm loaf i.e something like a Sourdough. Some French varieties also work well too. Just don't use soft sandwich bread, it won't hold up and the sandwich will turn to mush!

b) Cheese:

Gruyere - A key ingredient. Some recipes call for Comte, which also works nicely, so sub that if you don't have gruyere.
Swiss Cheese - Some stores simply call it 'Swiss Cheese' but in terms of specifics I recommend Emmental or Leerdammer (which is Dutch, but it is very similar the Emmental).
Parmesan - This is for a final punch of flavour, but also to help the tops of the sandwiches crisp up nicely!

c) Baking vs Grilling - A lot of recipes call for the sandwiches to be baked. However, I find that if you fry the sandwiches on a fairly low heat long enough to start melting the cheese in the centre, you don't need to bake. Grilling is necessary to crisp the tops though.

d) Serving - If you want to make it a Croque Madame you can plonk a fried egg on top. I usually serve with Fries and a simple rocket/arugula side salad (rocket, shaved parmesan and 2:1 ratio of extra virgin olive oil: balsamic vinegar). Just shake the oil and vinegar in a jar with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Can also alter the ratios if you prefer it more vinegary.

e) Calories - Per sandwich with no egg or sides assuming 3 slices ham and 2 tsp butter each.

Nutrition