Croque Monsieur sandwiches are my absolute favorite sandwich in the world. The luscious béchamel, ham and toasty bread is just pure heaven to me. Usually it is easy to just make two for Marc and me, but this week I wanted to make them for a lunch crowd. Enter this wonderful croque monsieur casserole! I made it almost like a french toast casserole with an egg mixture to bind everything. All of the yummy elements of the sandwich were there with the béchamel, ham and gruyere layered over the bread base.
After it sat, I just baked the casserole for about 45 minutes. It became gloriously bubbly and the gruyere became slightly brown and crisp on top. This really made such a fantastic meal for a crowd. Best of all, I think it works anytime of day from breakfast through dinner. Hope you all enjoy it too! xo
This croque monsieur casserole has all of the elements of the amazing sandwich in a yummy croissant based casserole that works any time of day!
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 whole croissants diced into small chunks
- 1/4 pound deli ham diced small
- 5 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 ounces freshly grated gruyere cheese
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First, make the béchamel sauce. Get a small sauce pan on the stove and start to melt the butter in it over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour until you have a golden brown, thick roux. Slowly pour in the milk while you keep whisking. Add in the salt, then let the sauce gently simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, whisking it occasionally, until it is thick and luscious. While it cooks, start to assemble the casserole. Get out a 9 x 13 baking pan and spray it well with cooking spray.
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Lay out the chopped croissants in an even layer on the bottom, followed by the ham. Spread the finished béchamel on top of that in a thin layer. Then whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, herbs de provence and garlic powder together in a bowl. Pour it over everything and gently press down the casserole so that the egg mixture really soaks into it. Finally, sprinkle the gruyere evenly over the top. Cover it and put it in the refrigerator to develop flavor for at least an hour or up to overnight. When you are ready to bake it, pre-heat the oven to 350. Bake the casserole uncovered for about 45 minutes, until it is set and the gruyere is almost brown and crispy. Cut it into 6 large squares or even 12 small squares. Serve and enjoy!
I used to love making croque monsieur for brunch, but this casserole looks so good! Pinning so I can try this soon. 🙂
Oh thanks very much, I hope you try it soon! Let me know what you think :-).
This looks absolutely incredible! Thank you so much for putting this together and making it so easy to follow. Yummers 🙂
Rach – https://rachaelhope.co.uk
Thanks very much!! I truly appreciate that :-).
This looks delicious! Do you know if you could you use a different type of bread than croissants?
Sure, brioche or crusty French bread would work too!
This kind of casserole is a new one to me, but it sounds amazing!
Thanks very much!!
This sounds delicious and gourmet on a doable level! Sounds like a great brunch item!
It is definitely perfect for brunch! Thanks very much :-).