This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy
Watch the recipe
If you’ve never had these sandwiches you’re missing out!
It’s fall and the temperature is unfortunately dropping fast! We need some good hot food to bear through the cold!
I love French food and I totally want to make more of it! Last year, I was really in a crepe phase (mostly savoury, such as my Chicken Crepes!), and for Valentine’s Day earlier this year, I delved into a Coq au Vin! Next year I totally want to try a Beef Bourguignon! I just love the warm, deep flavours of French cuisine. What’s your favourite French recipe? Comment below!
Let’s go back to earlier this summer where it was a Saturday morning and I had a busy day ahead! I went to one of my favourite local bakeries for brunch. I wasn’t sure what to get, but the Croque Monsieur appealed to me. I was informed that it’s a sandwich with ham and cheese so I said sure, why not! Now I sure love grilled cheese sandwiches, from my Mom’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich to an Open-Faced BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheeseto even a Spicy Bacon Grilled Cheese, let me tell you that the experience I had enjoying my sandwich just seriously took me on a trip to France! It was paired with a fried potato cake to complete the meal, plus I attempted to recreate it at home within just a few days after that outing! This was quite some time ago - to be honest with you I’m late to sharing this recipe on the blog because I thought I had already posted it!
As I describe more in my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, Making Cooking Fun!!, going out can certainly inspire you to make some wonderful food at home! Additionally, at the time of writing this recipe, Canadian Thanksgiving is soon approaching. If you’re serving up loads of ham for your family and you’ve got some leftovers, then making this Croque Monsieur recipe and/or Croque Madame recipe is the perfect opportunity to use up what you have! If you’re looking to create a French masterpiece, then try this Croque Monsieur recipe and/or Madame out as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Be sure to share it with me by tagging me on Instagram so I can see your fabulous sandwiches!
To follow along as I prepare these sandwiches, don’t forget to watch the video! If you haven’talready, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button to receive the notifications whenever I release a new video recipe! I love making the videos so you get the full picture of the recipes and you’re set up for success! Let’s get cooking!
What is a Croque Monsieur?▼
This Croque Monsieur recipe is a sandwich that consists of ham and cheese. The most common cheese used is Gruyere, but other cheeses can be added. Additionally, some versions use The sandwich is assembled and is pan-fried then baked in the oven. It can be described as a highly elevated grilled cheese sandwich! It originated in Paris, France in the early 1900s. These sandwiches are popular in French bistros and cafes, served as a brunch or dinner.
Croque Monsieur Pronunciation
You say croque as “kroak” and monsieur as “muh—syur.”
Why is it called a croque monsieur?▼
The name of the sandwich translates from French as follows: the verb croquer means “to crunch” or “to bite” and monsieur means “mister.” So in English you could say “Mister Crunch!”
While the exact origins of the sandwich is unclear, there are a few theories. One version claims that the sandwich was created by accident where French workers left their lunches too close to a hot radiator, resulting in the bread being toasted and the cheese melting. The other version states that the “crispy” part of the name comes from the fact that the bread is crispy - apparently the chef wanted to use baguette at first but realized he ran out, yet he still managed to make it work! For the “monsieur” part, it is believed a customer asked the chef where the meat comes from. The chef gestured to a man and replied to the customer, “c’est la viande de monsieur,” which means “it’s that guy’s meat.” The sandwich with the official name first appeared on a menu in a Parisian cafe in 1910.
Why You Need to Try This French Sandwich!
- Incredible flavours: These sandwiches really show the wonderful elements of French cuisine with the béchamel sauce, ham and all the cheeses. It’s hot, fresh, buttery and gooey!
- Perfect balance: This recipe will give you the perfect balance of sauciness, cheesiness, meatiness, and crunchiness!This sandwich emphasizes the crunchiness of your bread from pan-frying it then baking in the oven but with still a bit of softness so you can cut through.
- A wonderful brunch! I first had a Croque Monsieur for brunch and when I recorded the recipes the sandwiches were my brunch! If you’re going to be preparing brunch for a special occasion, take a trip to France and prepare these delicious sandwiches!
How Do You Eat a Croque Monsieur?▼
You could eat it with your hands but it’ll be quite messy with all the cheese and the béchamel sauce! I recommend you eat this with a fork and knife! Slice the sandwich in half before eating so you can reveal the incredible layers!
What Do You Eat with Croque Monsieur?▼
This is a very hearty sandwich, so it’ll be quite filling on its own. However, when I first had it at the bakery, it was served with a potato cake. Comment below if you want me to share a recipe for that! I recreated a potato cake in the air fryer the first time I tried making a Croque Monsieur at home! Since Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame are often served for brunch, you can pair them with McDonald’s Hash Browns. If you want something lighter, you could pair with a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad or perhaps even Vegan Minestrone Soup or Hot Tex Mex Chicken Noodle Soup. In France, you’d typically get a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame with an arugula salad and dressing.
If you’re looking for a beverage to go with your sandwich, coffee can be excellent, such as a Starbucks Cafe Mocha or Starbucks Chocolate Cream Cold Brew. For those who prefer tea, you would love a Masala Chai with your sandwiches!
To have a true French bistro experience with your sandwich, I think you would love to end your meal with Strawberry Nutella Banana Crepes!
What isthe difference between a croque monsieur and croque madame?▼
Croque Madame is the “feminine” version of the Croque Monsieur recipe. The only difference between the two sandwiches is that the Croque Madame has a fried egg (sunny-side egg) on top without the chives! The reason why a Croque Madame is called a Croque Madame is because the fried egg is supposed to represent a little hat that women wore in the 1960s!
What is the Best Bread to use for The Croque Monsieur Recipe and Croque Madame Recipe?▼
Any soft and fluffy white sandwich bread will work. The sandwiches need to be crispy on the outside, but we’ll achieve this from cooking our sandwiches. Furthermore, a good Croque Monsieur recipe needs the right balance of filling and bread, so you don’t want a bread that’s too thick, but also make sure your bread isn’t limp or else it won’t hold the fillings! A perfect option would be brioche bread. I would avoid sourdough or Belgian bread because they are already crispy, and they will become too hard when you cook the sandwiches.
What Equipment Is Needed?
- Measuring cups
- Pepper mill
- Cheese grater
- Whisk
- Cutting board
- Sharp chef’s knife
- Wire rack
- Fish spatula
- Microplane(if grating whole nutmeg for the béchamel)
Ingredients for This Croque Monsieur Recipe and Croque Madame Recipe
Time to go over the ingredients that we need! We’ll see what’s needed to make the béchamel sauce and the sandwiches themselves. For more details about the sauce, check out myClassic Béchamel White Sauce recipe. I use this béchamel sauce for literally everything, such as my classic mac and cheese and other variations such as butter chicken mac and cheese, along with cheese fries and my lasagnas! This will be spruced up a little bit for these special sandwiches.
For all ingredient quantities and instructions, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or click the “Jump to Recipe” button. You can save the recipe for later and scale it based on how many sandwiches you want to make - everything will automatically be adjusted!
For the Béchamel Sauce
- Milk: You can use 1% or 2% milk. This is added to the flour and butter. I recommend you use cold milk to avoid lumps in your sauce!
- Butter: I like to use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in the roux.
- All-purpose flour: Mixed with butter to make our roux.
- Nutmeg: Optional, but I feel nutmeg really makes a béchamel a béchamel with the excellent nuttiness it provides. You can use ground nutmeg or freshly grate whole nutmeg - I recommend the latter!
- Seasonings: We’ll add garlic powder and onion powder.
- Half and half cream: I don’t typically add cream to my béchamel sauce, but I did here in order to make the sandwiches extra special, especially if you’re using partly skimmed milk.
- Salt and pepper: Always to taste!
For the Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame Sandwiches
- Ham: I’m using thinly sliced smoked black forest ham. Of course any ham will work here! In fact, you could try substituting with thick Canadian bacon! That’ll be incredible!
- Cheeses: We’ve got lots of cheesy goodness here! My Croque Monsieur recipe and Madame recipe will use Emmental cheese, Gruyere, and white cheddar. You can also use “Swiss cheese,” which is a generic name for mass-produced Alpine cheese that’s milder than Emmental and more budget-friendly. Another cheese you can use is Comté.
- Dijon mustard: This will add an incredible extra kick to our sandwiches! I’m using a jalapeño stout Dijon mustard, but feel free to use regular or of any flavour - I particularly really like flavoured Dijon mustards!
- Butter: Needed to cook our sandwiches!
- Egg: We’ll be frying an egg to top the Croque Madame sandwich.
- White bread: I’m using egg bread here, but feel free to use a high-quality white sandwich bread.
- Chives: For garnish for the Croque Monsieur. You could also use fresh thyme.
How to Make Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame
For the Béchamel Sauce
Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour.
Then, add the garlic and onion powder. Cook for 2-3 mins, or until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The roux will begin to smell nutty, which is a good indicator that it is cooked.
Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer. As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Then add your cream and whisk well. Allow the sauce to simmer until it has thickened.
For the Croque Monsieur
Work with a pair of sliced bread at a time and apply 1 tsp dijon mustard on each slice. Then spread a heaping spoonful of béchamel on each slice. Add about 1/2 Cup of grated emmental, gruyere and white cheddar, 1-2 thin slices of ham, followed by 1/2 Cup of grated emmental, gruyere and white cheddar.
Heat a pan on medium heat and melt some butter. Add the assembled sandwich to the pan and toast until the sandwich is golden brown on one side. Flip, melt more butter and cook on the other side. Make sure the sandwich doesn't brown too quickly so that the cheese can melt. In the meanwhile preheat the broiler in the oven. Once the sandwich is ready, top with a large spoonful of béchamel, followed by 1/2 Cup of grated emmental, gruyere and white cheddar.
Broil until the cheese is molten. Top with freshly chopped chives.
Serve hot and enjoy!
For the Croque Madame
Follow the steps above. As the cheese melts, add butter to a pan and cook 1 egg sunny side up. Season with salt and pepper as needed. For a well done yolk, cover the pan and cook on medium low until the yolk is set.
Top the sandwich with the egg.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips for Incredible Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame Sandwiches
- Make sure to toast the sandwich gently on the pan to ensure the cheese has the time to melt as the crust becomes golden brown.
- Use different flavours of dijon mustard to add interesting twists to the sandwich.
- Use a mix of cheese as I have or go all-in on your favourite, rich cheese like emmental or gruyere to switch things up.
- The key to a good croque monsieur is bread that can be both soft and crispy. A good soft sourdough or egg bread or brioche would work great with this recipe.
CAN YOU MAKE This Croque Monsieur Recipe and Croque Madame Recipe in advance?▼
I would recommend that you do not. These sandwiches are supposed to be crispy, and if you make it in advance you’ll lose the crispy crust on the bread from the ham and béchamel! That’s not fun and our experience just won’t be the same!
Here’s what you can do: You can assemble the sandwich and wait until you’re ready to eat before topping the sandwich with béchamel and the cheese on top - and for the croque madame, fry the egg fresh. Store the assembled sandwiches in the fridge in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap. You can keep the assembled sandwiches in the fridge based on how long the ham will stay good for, so I recommend you keep the sandwiches for no longer than 2-4 days.
Comments
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!
Leave a comment