Croque Monsieur

I vividly remember eating my first croque monsieur. It was at a cafe in Paris during college and it was love at first bite. I couldn’t believe that I had lived so long without it in my life. Since then I never got around to making it at home. I have ordered it out. We also did make them in culinary school, and it brought back all of those memories 10 years later. So this week I decided to try to make my first croque monsieur at home. It was so simple and incredible!

I diverted from tradition, and used smoked gouda for this version of croque monsieur. It just added an extra dimension of flavor that I loved. I was generous with it too and used 3/4 of a cup for two sandwiches.
After I finished my prep work, I made the decadent béchamel sauce. It is my favorite of all the classic French mother sauces. This version had lots of Dijon mustard, garlic powder and salt for depth. Instead of milk, I used heavy cream to make it particularly rich too.
Assembling the croque monsieur was easy once I made the sauce. I spread it evenly among my 4 slices of buttery challah bread. Then I piled ham and that yummy cheese on two of the slices before I closed them up.
I added even more gouda on the top slices of bread right on the thick layer of béchamel. Finally, I put on the finishing touch of a sprinkle of herbs de provence. That really brought the whole croque monsieur together. I loved that hit of lovely herbaceous flavor on top.

Then I just baked the sandwiches for 10-15 minutes until they became golden and bubbly. There were those gorgeous little brown spots on top when they came out. As soon as I bit in I was back in Paris at that wonderful cafe. It was just as good now as it was back then. I loved all of the smokey flavor couple with the bubbly cheese and toasty bread. Hope you all enjoy this take on the classic too! xoxo

Croque Monsieur
Croque Monsieur
4 from 2 votes
Croque Monsieur
Croque Monsieur
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

This is an incredible version of classic croque monsieur. Buttery bread, luscious béchamel, smoked ham and smoked gouda make for one incredible sandwich.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Croque Monsieur, Sandwiches
Servings: 2
Calories: 1031 kcal
Author: Jeanie and Lulu's Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch garlic powder
  • 4 thick slices buttery bread such as brioche or challah
  • 4 slices smoked deli ham
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated smoked gouda
  • 2 pinches herbs de provence
Instructions
  1. First, make the béchamel sauce. Combine the butter and flour in a medium sauce pan and heat them up over medium high heat. Whisk them together well until it is a golden paste. Slowly pour in the heavy cream until it is a uniform sauce. Then whisk in the mustard, salt and garlic powder. Let it all cook together while you whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes until it is thick and luscious. Set it aside, then pre-heat the oven to 425. Get out a sheet pan and line it with foil.
  2. Lay out the 4 slices of bread on the sheet pan and spread 1/4 of the béchamel sauce onto each slice. Nestle two slices of ham into the béchamel sauce on two of the slices. Then take half of the cheese and evenly divide it on top of the ham. Place the other two slices of bread on top with the béchamel side up and evenly divide the remaining cheese on top of that. Finally, sprinkle a pinch of herbs de provence on top of each sandwich. Bake them for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Croque Monsieur
Amount Per Serving (1 sandwich)
Calories 1031 Calories from Fat 473
% Daily Value*
Fat 52.6g81%
Saturated Fat 29.7g186%
Cholesterol 212mg71%
Sodium 2445mg106%
Potassium 58mg2%
Carbohydrates 83.8g28%
Fiber 4.5g19%
Sugar 10.2g11%
Protein 46.2g92%
Calcium 650mg65%
Iron 5.6mg31%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Croque Monsieur
Croque Monsieur

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17 thoughts on “Croque Monsieur”

  1. I’ve never heard of this dish. It looks so delicious. I am definitely going to try this at my kitchen! 🙂

  2. I wonder if turkey would be a good meat substitute (I don’t eat pork). This is a chic little dish. I’d love to try it.

    1. Oh turkey works fantastically in this recipe! I just recently gave up pork and beef not too long after I wrote this and tried it with poultry. It’s just as good :-). I hope you try it, let me know what you think.

  3. Hi we grow French Black Perigord Truffles in Australia and added them to your recipe on the weekend. Amazing!!!! Can I repost your recipe on my @AlpineTruffles Facebook page, please?

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